TV Review: Scandal

Shonda Rhimes has done it again.

Thursday night, ABC debuted "Scandal" in its "Private Practice" slot following the Golden Child, otherwise known as "Grey's Anatomy."

The show "Scandal" steps away from the medical field, and introduces us instead to the world of crisis management. More specifically, the world of Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), a super-tough crisis manager who runs a tight ship filled with "strays" as one of Olivia's employees tells newbie Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes) on her first day.

This cast of "strays" include; Stephen Finch (Henry Ian Cusick), a cad lawyer that Olivia deems needs to have a "normal life." Harrison Wright (Columbus Short), the self-appointed regal "gladiator in a suit." Abby Whelan (Darby Stanchfield), the no-nonsense private investigator, and Huck (Guillero Diaz), a computer genius who once worked for the CIA.

When introducing a large group of people to an audience, the first episode is generally a mish-mash of scenes that is short of plot substance and quick on trying to explain what---is what. This episode of "Scandal" was no exception.

In short order, we had a suspected murderer introduced and sentenced to spend the rest of the episode in a closed office. We had some kind of subplot with a kidnapped baby kept in a file box (???) that is ultimately rescued from the Russian Mob when a $3 million dollar ransom is paid, and perhaps more importantly, we learn that Olivia once had an affair with the President of the United States and appears to still have a thing for him despite the small fact that he is married.

It's often hard to judge a first episode when it is fast-paced. Since Rhimes is at the helm of this speed cruiser, we'll have to give the show some time to develop. Can it reach "Grey's Anatomy" success, or is it a watered-down version of Private Practice? If you're a fan of the other two, you couldn't help but see some similarities between Olivia and Addison. You might have wondered if Quinn is the new Meredith or is she just another Amelia Shepherd?

In other words, switching from Seattle Grace and the Oceanside Wellness Center to a lofty law office in Washington DC may take a bit of getting use to, but it should also be interesting to watch.

TV Review: The River

After missing in the Amazon for over six months world-renowned television host Emmett Cole (Bruce Greenwood) has been declared legally dead. The recent discovery that his personal beacon is still giving out a signal, however, convinces his wife, Tess (Leslie Hope) that he is still alive and she makes plans to rescue him.

The only drawback to this plan is that she doesn't have the money for the search, but if she can convince her son, Lincoln (Joe Anderson) to come along for the ride, the network that produced her husband's documentaries will pay for the trip.

...and so begins the journey for our merry band of misfits.

My first thought while watching The River last night was that I was happy the Smoke Monster from LOST had found work. What else could explain the odd similarities between The River's ghostly presence on The Magus (Emmett Cole's ship) and the black smoke that the gang from Lost kept running into?

There were other similarities (Lincoln is a doctor (Jack?) and the documentary producer, Clark Quietly (Paul Blackthorne) is surly (Sawyer?)), but as the night moved along this became less obvious. Well, not entirely...but I stopped comparing the two shows as much.

The River WANTS to be a classic horror thriller, but at times it seemed a bit campy. You know as soon as the group discovers tombstones in the middle of the Amazon that they are going to play into the story. Later, when they must rush back to the spot to dig up one of the graves, (Lincoln needs to reunite a ghostly daughter with her mother) it just seemed silly rather than creepy.

Still, the show did have some fun scary moments. Finding a tree full of hanging dolls is creepy and waiting for the dolls to move or look at someone was a nice spooky touch. It also gave us some questions to ponder about our cast of characters. Did Tess have an affair? Why was Emmett contacting Lena (Eloise Mumford) instead of his son or wife? What does the security guy know that no one else does?

Will I keep watching? At the moment, The River is sandwiched in between two of my favorite shows (NCIS, White Collar), so there's no reason not to unless the show does get really scary (which I doubt) or the network moves it against another one of my "must-see" shows.

For now - Sushiboofay gives it Two Fish with an order of sticky rice on the side!