FRED MANTEGHIAN BLOG

Pass around the Prozac. 24, Prison Break, The Unit, Lost, Alias, and the capo di tutti capo of all showsThe Sopranos, are over for the season (or in the case of Alias, forever). But the end of the school year doesn’t necessarily signal the death kneel it did back when a warm summer breeze shot me into a verse of “No More Teachers, No More Books.” Now, we have options.

Let’s start with season two of The Closer (TNT and available in HD on DirecTv), the quirky little crime drama about LAPD lead investigator Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson. Kyra Sedgwick, wife of Kevin Bacon (she is a one-degree winner!), is eccentric and afflicted with phobias (sugar) and disabilities (reading a map). The bull pen crew is engaging and about as manageable as a herd of cats. Catch it if you can.

Season three of the 4400, the show about 4400 alien abductees who are returned without so much as a note or their lunch money is back. So far, after two episodes, the quasi-terrorist allegory is a little weak, but with at least 4300 of the insurgents still alive, the possibilities for the rest of the season are endless.

Saved, a show about a rich kid who would rather drive an ambulance than finish med school (that old chestnut), looks interesting though, frankly, I’ve only watched half of the first show. The rest is on Tivo. Also available in HD on TNT (and shown immediately after The Closer), it looks like a drama that might be interesting enough to watch, at least until the good shows come back in the fall.

Monk, the USA show that is so good, they have to split it up into two half seasons, returns in July. I can’t wait. I myself am only mildly neurotic, but Monk is so instructive, I should be full fledged OCD in no time.

Following Adrian Monk is a new show about a fake psychic who hustles the police for a living. The cross marketing advertisements for Psyche and Monk are funny, but we’ll have to wait until I see at least half an episode before I can determine if the show will be a winner.

Remember, I predicted Threshold would be the smash hit it never was. So stay tuned.