'Rizzoli & Isles', 'Bones', & High School Reunions

Tonight on 'Rizzoli & Isles' there's a dead classmate at Rizzoli's high school reunion.

Sound familiar to anyone?

Think 'Bones'--"The Death of the Queen bee" (S5Ep17).

How much do you want to bet that Isles will end up attending Rizzoli's reunion with her, reminiscent of how Booth attended Brennan's?

 

rizzoli & isles--don't hate the player. season 2 episode 5.

"Don't Hate the Player"
-Rizzoli & Isles Quips & Quotes

Boston does love its Red Sox, and that fact was fully supported in tonight's 'Rizzoli & Isles' episode. Sure, they called the team The Pilgrims, but we all knew what they were talking about.

Top "Wait a minute, is this 'Bones'?"
Rizzoli's bad boy brother is back in town (and out on parole). Hmm, remind anyone of Russ on 'Bones'? Shocking that 'Rizzoli & Isles' and 'Bones' have yet another parallel.
----
Isles cuts open a heart and examines it
"What is it?"-Rizzoli
"I'd be guessing"-Isles
"God it's torture sometimes"-whispers Rizzoli
pause
"Have you. Seen this. Before"-Rizzoli
"Yes. In propylene glycol poisoning."-Isles
"Anti-freeze"-Rizzoli

Top Islesism
"What does your gut say?"-Rizzoli
"I don't listen to my intestines"-Isles
---
After discovering a dead body in the Pilgrim's (baseball team) showers:
"The murder object is a heavy cylindrical object"-Isles
"Hmm, what could it be"-Rizzoli

Top Gay Moment
"Unzip me"-Isles
"Huh?"-Rizzoli
"Because you can't go like that...We'll trade clothes"-Isles
Rizzoli puts on Isles' dress. Isles glances at Rizzoli's shoes.
"Oh. Those shoes are fashion homicide"-Isles
"Those shoes are foot homicide"-Rizzoli
Rizzoli poses in Isles dress and shoes
"OH. You look sexy"-Isles
"You look, like you're wearing...my clothes"-Rizzoli
----
"His balls? Don't they inspect them before they pitch?"-Isles
"Umm, different balls Dr. Isles"-Frost
Rizzoli grins

Top Straight Moment
Sexy baseball players asks Rizzoli out. She accepts.

Top "You're like my girlfriend!"
Rizzoli and Isles watch baseball together.

Top "Huh, this show's basically 'Bones'...lets have a cute convo between our two lead actors"
"I'm off to do my..."gum shoe thing""-Rizzoli
"I shouldn't have used that term"-Isles
"No you shouldn't"-Rizzoli
"Because it actually refers to galoshes, which you aren't wearing"-Isles

Quips & Quotes, Rizzoli & Isles -- "Sailor Man"

'Rizzoli & Isles' Season 2, Episode 3---"Sailor Man"

Top Islesism
"You and Frost are site specific friends."-Isles
"Wait, would we be friends if we didn't work together?"-Rizzoli
"Well we'd never see each other. It's a false syllogism."-Isles
"Huh?"-Rizzoli
"You know, all rabbits have whiskers. These animals have whiskers ergo they're rabbits."-Isles

Top Gay Moment
"Well, you don't want to sleep with me..."-Rizzoli
looks at Isles, long pause
"...do you?!"-Rizzoli
"No!!"-Isles

----
Rizzoli stands behind Isles and slips her arms around her waist. They pose, facing Giovanni (Maura's 'boyfriend'):
"I really really enjoyed your company, but Jane and I we're..."-Isles
"BFFs"-Rizzoli
"More than BFFs"-Isles
"Yeah, we're LLBFFs"-Rizzoli
"Yeah, like life long BFFs"-Isles
"Get it?"-Rizzoli

Top "Wait a minute, is this 'Bones'?"
"Look at his shoulder to hip ratio...lengthy metatarsals...you know what that means!!"-Isles

Top Straight Moment
"I wanted to ask you out."-Giovanni
"It would be faster if we went to my apartment."-Isles
"Faster?"-Giovanni
"Um. Faster....(Isles pause to think of an excuse) Faster for me. Because I work long hours." -Isles

Top "You're like my girlfriend!"
Maura and Jane take Mama Rizzoli out for brunch. Together. On a Sunday.

Top "Huh, this show's basically 'Bones'...lets have a cute convo between our two lead actors"
"Is he gone?"-Isles
"Not really."-Rizzoli
sighs-Isles
"He's kind of like a bedbug."-Rizzoli
(nods) "Hard to eradicate."-Isles

Quotes & Quips 'Rizzoli & Isles' Season 2 Episode 2

'Rizzoli & Isles', Season 2 Episode 2, "Living Proof" Top Quotes and Quips

Top Islesism
"The stomach is like someone's grocery bag, so revealing, it's my favorite part" grins--Isles

Top Gay Moment
"I wanted a bunk bed, but you gave me a pink canopy bed instead...I wanted a bunk bed to build forts...Ma, I don't like pink!"-Rizzoli

Top "Wait a minute, is this 'Bones'?"
"No, no, she had quite robust reproductive organs."-Isles
"Do you find that sexy in a woman...robust reproductive organs?"-Rizzoli to Detective Barry

Top Straight Moment
"Look at his shoulder to hip ratio...lengthy metatarsals...you know what that means!!"-Isles

Top "You're like my girlfriend!"
"What's this?!" sounds slightly disgusted
Isles then picks up a small painting at the Rizzoli family yard sale. Rizzoli stands beside her mother frantically signaling to Isles. Isles gets the hint.
"...Because, it's beautiful. What are you asking?"-Isles
"I was going to ask for 5."-Mama Rizzoli
"Hundred? It's priceless."-Isles
Isles then opens her wallet to get $500!

Top "Huh, this show's basically 'Bones'...lets have a cute convo between our two lead actors"
"You're not very good at sales."-Isles
"What? That's a $300 stroller."-Rizzoli
"...$1,499"-Isles
"And how do you know that? Maura, been looking for baby stuff?"-Rizzoli
"No, I was online stopping and the baby store was just a click away..."-Isles
"Well stop it, you don't have a baby."-Rizzoli
"Yet."-Isles

"I've always seen you as the maternal type"-Isles
"Are you lying?" looks shocked-Rizzoli
Pause
"Yes" grinning-Isles
"I hope you get hives."-Rizzoli
...
"Be quiet, I'm trying to enjoy my dirt bath...shhhh"-Rizzoli
"Did you just shhh me?!"-Isles
Isles throws dirt at Rizzoli
"Maura stop it"-Rizzoli
She keeps throwing
"Stop it!

...Maura!"-Rizzoli

End of episode

'Bones' and 'Rizzoli & Isles'--striking similarities

Back in March I talked about how 'Bones' and 'Rizzoli & Isles' are in many ways the same show. Now that I've seen the first episode of 'Rizzoli & Isles'' 2nd season (reviewed here) that belief is only solidified.
Once again, here's why...
'Bones' and 'Rizzoli & Isles' are the same show
(read my original, longer blog post on the topic here):

*Booth (L) and Rizzoli (R) both investigate homicides. And they're both way more about the action than about the hard science. Plus they both have partners who are all about the science. And who aren't as good at reading social cues as they are. Oh, and they both know their way around a gun.

*Dr. Maura Isles (L) and Dr. Temperance Brennan (R) are both attractive women who use their medical/forensic backgrounds to investigate homicides. They are both socially awkward and tend to take things way too literally. And they are both shown working with a particular homicide investigator (see above).

*Oh, plus Brennan was a foster child and her biological father is an ex-con/murderer, while Isles was adopted as a child and her biological father's a mobster/hitman.

*And they all go by their last names most of the time.

*Their relationships with each other are the heart of the show. Audiences want Booth and Brennan to end up together. And many viewers see an attraction between Rizzoli and Isles as well. In fact in the episode "I Kissed a Girl" the producers played with this idea, pleasing many fans by having Rizzoli and Isles mimic a lesbian relationship.

* Both shows are watchable largely because of the strong relationships between their main characters. While producers insist that Rizzoli and Isles are both heterosexual it doesn't deny the fact that if they didn't have quipping banter the show wouldn't be as enjoyable. Same goes for 'Bones'.

*Oh, and let's not get distracted by the fact that the cases are a bit too similar. In the first season of 'Rizzoli & Isles' and 'Bones' our main characters were dealing with a masochistic serial killer who loved to torment the professionals (and who focused in particular on Isles and Brennan).

*The same woman, Janet Tamaro, is involved in both shows. She's an executive producer for 'Rizzoli & Isles', was a supervising producer on 'Bones', and has written episodes for both shows.

*Finally, they are both based on best-selling crime novels. And both of them borrow little from these books, choosing instead to infuse far more comedy than is on the written page.

If you love 'Bones' you'll probably like 'Rizzoli & Isles', while the show is clearly still in its infancy, and could definitely be made stronger (more interesting mysteries!) it echoes the first season of 'Bones'. And we all know how well that show turned out...

Rizzoli & Isles Season 2 Premiere "We Need Another Hero"

'Rizzoli & Isles' finally premiered tonight at 10 pm on TNT.

I don't want to ruin too much for you, so please stop reading now to avoid spoilers.

'Rizzoli & Isles' opened with Rizzoli still recovering from her injury that happened at the end of last season (where she saved her brother by shooting herself. It's complicated. Watch Season 1 and maybe it will be clarified). And by recovering we really mean whining. Of course Isles is there trying to help her recover. And pointing out, in what can only be compared to typical Brennan ('Bones') fashion, that her pain isn't real anymore because it's not medically possible.

Now, lets talk about the men. Once again the show managed to introduce romantic possiblities for our main characters. Rizzoli was approached by Charles (her ex-boyfriend from high school) about 15 minutes into the episode, and two seconds later we learned that Isles was dating Rizzoli's surgeon. But don't worry, the writers aren't going to ruin the possibility for future romance (I'm talking heteronormative romance here, even though I love the insinuations of less heteronormative assignations). Charles was gone (I'm guessing temporarily) by the end of the episode because his leave time was over. And Isles realized that her surgeon boyfriend was as pompous as Rizzoli had said he was.

The thriller/mystery plots are all right, but nowhere near as detailed or intelligent as many of the other criminal justice shows out there ('NCIS', 'Law and Order: SVU, etc.). Still, Alexander and Harmon's ability to act so seamlessly together, and to have what appears to be a realistic friendship on-screen, is the true reason that the show is successful. Their chemistry makes the show's writing seem stronger than it is...in this episode the buddy cop conversations continued (see my prior post with quotes) and that really helped the episode move along.

I'm not going to tell you what the solution to the mystery was, but if you haven't figured it out before the detectives do you've missed some major hints. Or you've just been distracted by Rizzoli & Isles brilliant quips.

If you missed the episode tonight you can catch it tomorrow (July 12) at 12 am on TNT.

Top Quotes from Rizzoli & Isles Season 2 Premiere

Top Quotes/Quips from "Rizzoli and Isles" Season 2 Episode 1

'We Need Another Hero'

Top Islesism
sarcastic I need to learn how men compartmentalize!--Rizzoli
serious They simply separate things into different compartments.--Isles

Top Gay Moment
sarcastic "Why don't you mind your own buisness?"--Rizzoli
serious "You are my buisness."--Isles

Top "What a minute, is this 'Bones'?"
asking for advice "What do you do when fear is killing you?"--Rizzoli
serious "Well, it's very hard to die from fear unless you have a congenital heart condition".--Isles

Top Straight Moment
Rizzoli's mother opens her daughter's bedroom door only to see Rizzoli in bed with her ex-boyfriend from high school (Charles). She stares.
"Hey, Mrs. Rizzoli"--Charles
disparaging "Hello. Charles."--Mama Rizzoli
cut to...
"So, too sick to wash the dishes, but not too sick to have intercourse."--Mama Rizzoli

Top "You're like my girlfriend!"
"Dr. Isles offered me her guest house"--Rizzoli's mom
cut to...Rizzoli talking to Isles
"Are you crazy? You bought this guest house for your mother, not mine! ...Why are you doing this?"--Rizzoli
"Because she's your mother."--Isles

Top "Huh, this show's basically 'Bones'...lets end it with a cute convo between our two lead actors"
"You guessed!"--Rizzoli
"I did not guess."--Isles
"Dr. Isles gueesssed. Dr. Isles guessseed"--Rizzoli
pause
"I did not!"--Isles
"Did too!"--Rizzoli
"Did not"--Isles
cut to credits

read my analysis of the season 2 premiere episode HERE.

Rizzoli & Isles Season 2 Premiere

When is the Rizzoli & Isles Season 2 Premiere?

Tonight!

At 10 pm on TNT.

I'll be watching it, will you?

Check back tomorrow for my analysis.

'rizzoli & isles' & the lesbian subtext

Just A Little Gayity Gaiety

The LA Times Article

Recall how I talked about the quite obvious lesbian subtext in 'Rizzoli & Isles'? here!

Here's an article from the LA Times that agrees with me: "'Rizzoli & Isles'--are they or aren't they".


(We can always hope, right? I mean look at Booth & Bones...)

Check out Season 2 on July 11th!

Janet Tamaro, "Rizzoli & Isles", "Bones" (how did I miss this?)

You may have never heard of her, but I've decided that this post is going to be about Janet Tamaro:


I am in awe of Janet Tamaro. Basically I want to be her when I grow up.

Not only has she won a bunch of journalism awards, and reported national news stories, but she has written for a bunch of different series ("Bones", "Law and Order: SVU", "CSI: NY" etc.).

She has also been a producer for both "Bones" and "Rizzoli & Isles".

The only negative thing (if you can even call it that) is that those two shows are so similar. See my prior post if you don't believe me. Still, is there really too much of a good thing?

Didn't think so.

This really does explain why the two shows are so similar!
Oh, and I want to be her because of the genius of her writing/producing skills.
Not that being a journalist isn't spectacular as well.

Women in Science (Body of Proof)

"Bones" vs. "Rizzoli and Isles" vs. "Body of Proof"

There are now quite a few women who feature prominently on crime/medical television shows. They are often presented as science brainiac types. Unfortunately, they often have flaws which are far less likely to be present in their male counterparts.

Some of these women are:
*Temperance Brennan (also called Bones) on the television show "Bones"
*Maura Isles on "Rizzoli and Isles"
*and now Megan Hunt on "Body of Proof"

All of these women are presented as being remarkably intelligent. Brennan is a brilliant forensic anthropologist who is better at analyzing bones than (it seems) anyone else in the world of criminal forensics. She is also extraordinarily socially inept, to the point of aspergers. She is also clueless about popular culture, which often makes her seem unintelligent. That is not to say that people who have aspergers or are unaware of popular culture are unintelligent, more often than not it's the exact opposite. But when it's presented on television things often seem black and white, and unfortunately all that shines through the screen is her relative stupidity.


On "Rizzoli and Isles" Dr. Isles plays the medical examiner. She is skilled at her job, and is presented as a kind-hearted woman (she attempts to comfort Detective Rizzoli by showing up at her apartment and offering to spend the night in a non-sexual way. I promise. Well, kind of. Actually, I think it's totally sexual, and so would a lot of viewers, but I don't think that's what the writers were going for. Here's my post on the topic). But Dr. Isles, like Dr. Brennan, lacks social skills, and is unable to read people. For instance, in one episode, involving very wealthy friends of hers she sides with the friends, instead of supporting Rizzoli, and doesn't understand why Rizzoli is hurt. She also doesn't understand why her own wealth is an issue. Seriously? This is a woman who is supposed to be one of the smartest women on television? And she doesn't understand conflicts about social economic status?



Megan Hunt is the newest woman to join the genre. Her show, "Body of Proof", premiered last week on ABC. The show is yet another crime procedural/medical/forensics show. Dr. Hunt is a spectacularly gifted neuroscientist who has had to give up her operating career due to a car-crash related injury. She is now working as a medical examiner (sound like anyone we know?), she is also socially awkward (wait...this sounds kind of familiar), and stated in the series premiere that she "doesn't have any friends". She often finds the key to the whole mystery, but she is unlikable every step of the way.

All of the flaws that these women have frustrate me. I realize that it wouldn't really be watchable television if they were flawless, but the type of flaws that they do have seem to put a damper on their remarkable intelligence. On "House" Dr. House is also an incredibly intelligent yet flawed character, however, his flaws serve to emphasize his intelligence (sure, he doesn't care about morals, but his ways of proving he doesn't care are brilliant schemes...for instance, last week he hid ragweed in Wilson's vents to make him think he was allergic to a cat that House disliked).

Unfortunately, "Body of Proof" is a "Bones"/"Rizzoli & Isles" copycat that lacks any spark. I'm watching "Bones" because it's witty, a little off-kilter, and because the leads have great chemistry. I'm watching "Rizzoli & Isles" because the crimes are interesting, Sasha Alexander is hot, and I'm secretly hoping the title characters will get together. I'm watching "Body of Proof" again tonight...because I want to give it another chance. But honestly, a poorly portrayed genius-yet-flawed female character? I've seen that too many times before. And at least before the show she was in had other things to offer.


"Body of Proof" normally airs on ABC on Tuesdays at 10 pm, but you can also often catch it on Sunday nights at the same time. In fact, it's on in about 3 hours! So, check it out, see if you agree with me, leave a comment etc.

p.s. I'm not going to go on a rant about this, but do you notice that all of the extra-smart women are brunettes? And look how similar their looks/hair length/poses are in those photos.

"Bones" and "Rizzoli & Isles" are the Same Show

"Rizzoli & Isles" and "Bones"

(Again with the spoilers)

...I got a little confused earlier this week when I finished reading several of Tess Gerritsen's novels. Gerritsen is the author of the Rizzoli and Isles thrillers, and last summer TNT premiered a show of the same name that was loosely based on her books. I watched the show when it was on the air, and when I stumbled across Gerritsen's books in the library I decided to try them. There was only one problem...as I read I continually tried to compare the books to the television version of "Rizzoli and Isles", and I kept on getting images from "Bones" stuck in my head.

Obviously, I'd expect "Rizzoli and Isles" to be very different from the thrillers that it's based on. When I first started watching "Bones", based on the novels by Kathy Reichs, I had already read all of her books. There were very few similiarities, but I wasn't bothered. Books are books, and television is television.

But what bothers me about "Rizzoli and Isles" and "Bones" is that the two shows are shockingly similar.

Lets list the ways:

*Rizzoli is a hot-headed detective. She's knowledgeable about guns/bad guys. So is Booth.












*Isles is an attractive woman who is awkward in social situations. She works with dead bodies. Brennan does both of these things.







*They all go by their last names most of the time.

*Their relationships with each other are the heart of the show. Audiences want Booth and Brennan to end up together. And many viewers see an attraction between Rizzoli and Isles as well. In fact in the episode "I Kissed a Girl" the producers played with this idea, pleasing many fans by having Rizzoli and Isles mimic a lesbian relationship. In fact, if you search "Rizzoli and Isles" on Youtube all you'll find is videos that are edited to show a lesbian "relationship".

*Oh, and let's not get distracted by the fact that the cases are a bit too similar. Charles Hoyt is the serial killer in "Rizzoli and Isles", and he keeps going after single women. Howard Epps is the serial killer in "Bones" and he, you guessed it, also goes after single women (in his case teenage girls). Both of these men are sexually perverse. And both have bizarre relationships with the women trying to hunt them. Hoyt attacks Rizzoli and becomes obsessed with her, while Epps becomes immersed in the idea of beating Bones at a mind game.

Many of my friends who love "Bones" also thought that "Rizzoli and Isles" was a great show. I can understand why they watch both. It's like getting two doses of the same (pretty good) thing in the same week.

Want to know when 'Bones' Season 7 is premiering? Click HERE. 
And click HERE to find out when the second half of 'Rizzoli & Isles' Season 2 will air.