Private Eyes

I like lighter crime procedural shows. I was sad Castle and Bones are ending. I loved Psych and Monk and shows like that or if you really want to do a throwback, McMillian and Wife and those kind of shows. There is really nothing left on like those right now. Both the lead actors, the Grandpa and the daughter are all quite good. I like Ennis Esmer from The Listener, another light crime show I miss. The premise is good and the chemistry between Jason Priestly and Cindy Sampson, (whom I have never heard of before) is good and it works. I like that they are not trying to hide Canada. I watch a ton of shows shot in Canada that try to be somewhere else. It gets annoying. This show is fun and light hearted and relaxing to watch. I hope they give it a 2nd season. Update, they gave it more than two seasons, going into season four. Very pleased. Keep up the good work. They all seem to have found their flow together and the show feels like it really found it's pace now.

At first glance I really liked the show. It reminds me of Castle, the story about a father and a crime solving duo. The story lines are smooth and the comedy is natural. The most important thing here is that while it is being compared to classic shows, it has a present twist. From a personal point of few, this feels fresh to me and that's why I like it. I hope this as long run. After Castle ended, I had nothing of this genre to watch! A comedy, crime series helps in reviving my mood. Its not about the art, the originality nor the clichés for me, its about the successful characterisation which transcends the realm of the 2 dimensional television and plays out as a reality in my head. I'm giving 8/10 for just that. The show has managed to reach out to me and I would like to show my appreciation.

Jason Priestley who will forever be identified with Beverly Hills 90210 as all American Brandon Walsh for several seasons has changed his famous zip code to a native Canadian postal code. His name certainly guarantees a bit of box office attraction for his new Canadian series Private Eyes.

I did a bit of a double take when I saw he was born in 1969 making him as I write this 49 years old. Granted he was no teen when he was playing one, but I have to say he looks pretty good for his age. We should all age so well.

Priestley whom I remember on a long ago interview said he was a hockey player as a kid plays an ex-hockey player and is now trying to reinvent himself as a private detective. He works for Cindy Simpson who took over her dad's detective agency and he's come in as an operative.

The series has a Remington Steele like quality to it with the chemistry between Priestley and Simpson. Hopefully it will have as long a run as Remington Steele did.

There have been a lot of detective shows through the years. Some lean to being campy comedy like Moonlighting, others end up a murder of the week procedural like Castle, and others like Veronica Mars end up being side jobs they do while doing other things. Granted I LOVE all of those shows but it's been a while since there has been a good P.I. show where the characters are both actual P.I.'s with random cases to solve. Veronica Mars came the closest.

Here we have a more realistic side to the P.I. life. I really don't care for spoilers myself and I don't want to spoil the plot so what I really need to say is... if you've hungered for a pure P.I. show with random cases this is what you've been waiting for. It does, again, air a little more on the realistic side but without being dark. Like how it's not realistic for Magnum P.I. to be doing a stakeout in a Ferrari. Or how it's not realistic for a writer to be involved in every murder that goes through a precinct in Castle. Or how it's not realistic for a man to take the name Remington Steele so the female P.I. can solve cases that only the big boys get. So anyone that appreciates those kinds of little touches should, like me, find a lot to love with Private Eyes. It may start out seeming like it isn't going to live up to the claims I'm making but stick it out as it's definitely more than the first impression gives.

I didn't think I was interested after the pilot episode. It seemed too gimmicky and redundant. Yeah, yet another pair of ill-suited, mismatched detectives "forced" to work together blah blah... But, I'm glad I watched a couple of more episodes. They made some right turns in the development of the characters and their relationships. I appreciated they toned down the macho animosity and even turned the Shade/Maz dynamic into a sort of reluctant buddy kind of thing. I'm really tired of all the hatred and competitiveness in everything you see these days. This show takes me back to the last century (I can't believe I'm old enough to say that!) and PI shows like Harry O, Rockford and Magnum (the REAL one). Lighthearted humor and a little escape from reality in a relaxing manner is a welcome change from all the explosions and shootouts and car crashes and helicopter crashes and plane crashes and military invasions and, well... you get it. Oh, did I mention all the shouting and backstabbing and assaulting and battering of the "reality" shows? Thanks for "Private Eyes". I'm glad it's still on.

Addendum: The way I rate shows... I don't usually review anything less than a 7 because 6 would be a failing grade and I won't waste my time watching it. I'm old; I don't know how much time I've got left. Since I probably turned it off before getting even halfway through, it wouldn't be fair to rate or review it. 7 is watchable but I may go a while between episodes since, though somewhat entertaining, there are other shows more interesting or compelling. 8 would be a regular in my lineup. 9 is a must see and probably bingeable. 10 is just the epitome of superbity and headed for my all-time favorites list. I'm adding this to my reviews because it seems there are a lot of binary reactions to pretty much everything these days. I am not a like/unlike kind of guy. I see a lot of grays so if I give something a 10 it doesn't mean the only alternative is a 1.