Condor37

I cannot say it better than many of the commentators here why this episode, amongst so many great episodes, is so great. The film noir quality, the various possible suspects, the gangster gone straight quality that that actor gives, the significant role of a producer in shows and plays, the pure desire for true acting that the producer's wife exhibits, recognized and articulated beautifully by the critic, the quotes from Shakespeare and in the context of the story, the ambitious and extortion side of show business, and, as mentioned, Ray Collins bringing the gravitas and humor From what I have read from what now is a disappeared website of very thoughtful fans of the show, there was a true sense of spirit amongst the actors, writers producers and production team when making these episodes, so when they made this episode, with allusions to the process of making a show, gives it even more intrigue and fun.

I was going to give this show a 9 rating for the reasons written below, but the final scene, after Elsbeth just tells us she feels sorry for the villain because of his skill as a director and her appreciation for what all is involved with good theater and acting, and sad for his demise, yet at the same time happy that she "gets the job", and the fountain spraying and the lights in the background, like a Broadway show, make me realize the producers and writers and actors are trying to do something really great here.

I only watched this pilot because I saw a recent article about Carrie Preston, the main character, who I liked because of her role with "Person of Interest" as Finch's fiance, a small, but significant role, in a series that touched on big picture issues like AI or government corruption, and personal issues of love and trust and sacrifice, with great guest actors, and even humor, and great shots of The Big Apple So, too, Elsbeth has great shots of the Big Apple, and this time, the references to acting and fun, interesting details about stage plays, though this is not my world, I appreciate how it can teach us about ourselves, so I see this series going in that direction, not only a fun, Columbo 2.0, but interesting details for us to learn from. Maybe even Carrie's real life husband Michael Emerson can be a guest character, or even others from Person of Interest, and probably various talented stage actors. With great location shots of NYC, maybe even The Big Apple will get its shine back!

Sarah Silverman here is one of many great guest actors, comedians and artists who have been on the show over the years. In this episode it is almost all comedy, but with a point, often referring to other themes of the show.

She is really great, and not to compare with other great actors who have been on the show, but it makes me think of John Turturro playing Monk's brother, Ambrose. With Sarah it is almost all comedy, but with some good points about fan obsession, and reflectively, the fallacy of an "idol" being self-deceived by flattery, edging to the serious, but teaching through humor.

With Ambrose, it can be very deep, his own phobias can be humurous, but like Adrian, are also serious, so too their sibling relationship, and any long term family friendship relationship, the humor and the pathos leading to a deeper appreciation and wisdom about the value of people in our lives, even with their shortcomings.