Review of ‘The Beast’

The Beast stars Patrick Swayze as a an FBI agent who is mentoring a new recruit, played by Travis Fimmel. I haven’t seen Swayze in anything since Ghost I think, so I don’t know if his current look is natural, due to aging, or induced by his recent illness. But the narrowing slightly wrinkled face and less than smooth voice rally adds to the character he plays. Agent Charles Barker is one who, after many years, has his own way of doing things, a way that some in the bureau are concerned about. He’s built a knowledge base about how people work and he may harm those he feels deserve it rather than bring them to the bureau’s justice. In one episode, a man who he was told would pay for his crimes was set free courtesy of the higher powers. Because the man was very deserving of some punishment and because the man would continue to do was he was before, Barker called on some ‘friends’ and the next morning’s news story was of the death of that man.

Fimmel plays the rookie Ellis Dove, who the bureau hopes will help them by corroborating their accusations of misuse of powers and probably other sins considered to be beneath a bureau agent. Fimmel’s Ellis is Barker’s gopher (get the coffee, get the car) but also backs him up as a partner. That Barker is crooked is in the back of his mind, but he’s still new, still learning, and finds that Barker isn’t yet doing anything so far off the charts that he can’t go along with it.

The plots, for me, are new and different. They are easy to follow and lead to surprises or logical conclusions. Although there is a main story along with the ‘Barker is bad’ subplot, you will be able to watch episodes out of order without feeling like you’ve missed anything. Definitely not a bad way to spend an hour.

Review of Spain: On the Road Again

Intrigued by the idea of seeing Spain through a non-typical travel show, I set up my DVR to record Spain: On the Road Again. The series follows actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s travels through Spain with chef Mario Batali, writer (?) Mark Bittman, and Spanish actress Caudia Bassols. It does not focus on her, she and Mario are the people who will draw viewers to the show. I was watching primarily see the sights of Spain and learn about the foods. I like the idea of four people, two of whom I was familiar with, traveling in pairs or as a group to see various sites, sitting down together to eat, tasting and cooking local delicacies. By the second episode though, I was moved to delete the show from my DVR. I didn’t feel drawn in by the four. The second episode I saw showed Mario and Claudia speaking in Spanish while Mark asked them to interpret what was being said while they traveled in the car (Gwyneth had gone home for a few days). Then I watched as they ate a meal outside of a restaurant and joked with eachother. It’s hard to enjoy the full flavor of manchego when you’re not the one eating it. I didn’t learn what it was or how it’s cooked, only that Mark wanted a certain kind of egg, and Claudia liked her meat fully cooked. I seemed like a attempt to show their chemistry rather than helping me know more about Spain or what they would be doing. I would have liked to see the chemistry develop as they were engaged in activities that ’showed’ me Spain.

While I was impressed to learn that Gwyneth spoke fluent Spanish, I was put off by Mark’s attitude, which is not warm. I was also put off by the fact that they were driving a Mercedes convertible. I could have forgiven the Mercedes if the hour-long show offered more.