Covert Affairs 1.04 – No Quarter (Short Review)

Aug 052010

Last week

Annie got to show off her car handling skills as she brought down a terrorist financier in Venezuela. It all started out as another routine mission gone wrong, of course.

This week

Annie gets sent on a simple courier job to Switzerland but things doesn’t go well and she has to use all her talents to fulfill her mission with Eyal (Oded Fehr) an erratic, irritating Mossad agent who starts out like he is god’s gift to women and the Swiss police on her tail. Eyal and Annie’s report is enjoyable and a great deal more interesting than her and Ben’s. Annie has such a natural flair to her that works well with the more intense Eyal, she is cool without being overbearing about it.

This was a change of pace from earlier since we follow Annie in the field for almost a whole episode with only minimum stops at the office and none at home. I like it, I am not saying they should skip her sister, the office drama or her bosses’ marriage problems but Annie in action is so much more entertaining.

An added obstacle this week was Auggie being suspected for being the leak and instead of being allowed to do his job helping Annie he spent most of the time hooked up to a polygraph. Who do you think is the press leak? I would guess it is slick wonder-boy Jai but that would almost be too obvious.

This is how I like my spy shows fast paced, light and entertaining action without too much drama. This is fast becoming one of my favorite new shows this summer.

Next week

Covert Affairs 1.05 – In the Light (USA)
Annie enlists the help of a reluctant former operative (Eriq La Salle) to stop a weapons shipment from a Sudanese arms dealer. Her mission attracts unusual attention, with Henry Wilcox (Gregory Itzin) and Annie’s ex Ben each showing interest in the case.

Covert Affairs 1.03 – South Bound Suarez (Review) July 27, 2010
Covert Affairs 1.02 – Walter’s Walk July 22, 2010
Covert Affairs – New Series Premiere Review July 14, 2010

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Covert Affairs 1.03 – South Bound Suarez (Review)

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Jul 282010

Last Week

Last week Annie wrestled with a renegade British MI6 agent planning an IRA attack on American soil. That was after Walter, a ten year old boy walked in.

This Week

This week Annie enters a more sordid part of the CIA business, she has developed an asset, a young college boy from Caracas who thinks he is in love with her only to get in touch with his sister back home. The sister is mistress to a government official (Victor) that has been skimming hundreds of million dollars the last years. CIA wants to know where they have gone. We start this episode as she makes her move to convince him he should introduce her.

While this takes place we also watch as the local agent in Venezuela is killed, this is not anything the agency knows about.

Annie goes to Venezuela with her new ‘boyfriend’ Diego. He can’t resist letting his hands wander and she has a hard time keeping him in check and at the same time it is quite sad the way they use ‘assets’ to get what they want. Diego’s sister is a beloved person; she is called the mother of the neighborhood for her charity work. Annie has a hard time convincing the sister and stealing the code key so they can put a trace on the money. There is a quite entertaining car scene where Victor reveals her as a trained agent and she dumps him out of the car and speed away. Annie gets back to the bank minutes before Victor and they discover that he has been financing terrorists. They flee the country with Victor on their tail.

The siblings are put into protective custody in a safehouse but the story is not over yet. About the same time Annie realizes the sisters charity money is from Victor the sister sneak out to meet Victor. The final confrontation reveals Victor as the monster he is as he tries to have the sister killed. Annie and Diego shows up in time to distract Victor while another agent takes them down.

One interesting detail in this episode was the meetings and support from Langley that made it feel more genuine and realistic. Don’t get me wrong this is a fun spy action adventure type of show but I find it a stamp of quality that they try to make the whole thing more realistic with things like that.

The way the sister has a hard time giving up on her love for Victor reflects back on Annie’s unwillingness to leave her love behind. It is clear that she will continue to carry a torch for Ben.

I like the episode but are not things moving a bit fast for Annie? I can understand if the agency wants to keep Annie in the frying pan to lure Ben out so maybe that is it. Annie convinces as a rookie agent and she feels like shit after the mission because what she had to do to Diego and his sister. Auggie is there with perspective, I like him a lot. USA has hit another great dynamic duo with Auggie and Annie.

Things learned

Annie’s name is Anne Catherine Walker according to her business card at the Smithsonian
Annie and her sister grew up as army brats

Next Week

Covert Affairs 1.04 - No Quarter (USA)
Annie needs Auggie’s help to return from Zurich where she is stranded with an untrustworthy Mossad agent. At the agency, Joan and Arthur suspect Auggie to be the CIA’s leak.

Link to USA preview

Covert Affairs 1.02 – Walter’s Walk July 22, 2010
Covert Affairs – New Series Premiere Review July 14, 2010

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Covert Affairs 1.02 – Walter’s Walk

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Jul 222010

Last Week

Last week Annie Walker a CIA trainee was pulled from the Farm into the frying pan with a simple courier job gone awry.

This Week

This week Annie gets to deal with CIA walk-ins and her sister’s suggestion that she be the kids’ legal guardian in case something happened to them.

During breakfast Dannielle asks Annie to become the legal guardian of her kids in case something happened to her or Michael. Annie wants to think about it and rushes off to work. Back at home later that night she refuses leaving Danielle more than a little miffed. But Annie will have reasons to reevaluate her thinking before the episode is over. When it comes to your family you do whatever you have to.

If you remember from the pilot, Annie was pulled from training and put into the field mainly because her previous love affair with a renegade agent. Her married bosses Joan and Arthur conspire to use Annie as bait to catch Ben Mercer. We don’t get to see Ben this episode but Arthur assigns a new agent to Joan’s department, which she resents, with orders to get close to Annie. Jai Wilcox (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is the name of the new agent and we are to understand he is sent there to seduce her.

Auggie and Annie continues to have fantastic report and this week it get more hands on in the training room when Auggie teaches Annie the secret of fighting for real (he used to be a field agent before becoming blind). I don’t get any romantic vibe off them so far but I wouldn’t be surprised if something developed down the line.

After helping Auggie move into their new modern offices Annie gets her first assignment to debrief walk-ins. Crack-pot City according to Auggie. Her weapon for the day is a can of pepper spray. One of the walk-ins is a mother concerned her son Walter is in danger since he decoded a secret message from a number station, followed it to a mailbox where he saw a man pick up a secret message and he claims the man saw him and now he is scared. Annie is a bit surprised when the alleged college kid turns out to be ten. I think the kid played his role very well; he had all the symptoms of functional autism down pat. After giving Annie the specs for the still broadcasting station he and his mother leave.

With Auggie’s help they confirm the code, they have to raid the CIA museum to get a decoder and they need the previous recordings Walter made. The message originated in Belfast making it IRA related so Annie is assigned a British MI6 liaison to check out Walter’s apartment. The difference between CIA and MI6 becomes evident when the middle aged British agent appears; CIA is young and lacking in experience while MI6 is getting a bit on the old side. What I don’t understand is why they had to meet at a market with a silly protocol instead of him just showing up at the CIA with his credentials? His name is James Elliot.

Walter and his mom never came home from Langley so Annie and the Britt search the premises but before they are finished they are attacked. Annie fresh from training has trouble fighting the perp before James pops him a third eye. Walter has an impressive amount of equipment but it seems he brought the tapes in question with him. This time they almost get out before the cops arrive but they this time they are not even questioned before an undercover agent springs them.

Joan and Arthur continue to have a troubled relationship. I can’t sense any warmth there; I doubt they will make it. But it is well played and adds to the dynamics of the show.

Annie is miffed mostly on herself concerning her sister’s will and the fight she almost lost the day before but Auggie cheer her up and shows her how a real fight works, you have to be closer. That was a fun scene.

British intelligence leads them to a former IRA operative living in the US. They decide to pick him up as he arrives at Union Station.

Annie is not satisfied with the outcome and gets permission to look into Walter’s disappearance. Using clues found at the apartment she tracks them down to a cabin. She gets the tapes from Walter and start to transfer them to Auggie at Langley. Annie has a cozy chat with the mother about taking care of Walter that affects her thinking about Danielle’s will. When the mother tells that they tried the British embassy as well as the CIA pieces fall into place. James has been lying to her; he said he never heard of it. She finds the tracker on her phone as his car pulls up behind her. He brought two goons with him. Annie pulls a McGuyver killing the two goons and then has a very satisfying brawl with James where she gets to use her Mace for effect.

James was a double agent for IRA planing to pin the bombing on the former IRA member. That’s the part of the story I have a hard time believing. Doesn’t IRA get most of their funding from the US? Why would they set off a bomb there?

The episode ends with Annie signing Danielle’s will.

So far I like this quite well. It is fast paced; it got human interest and a cast to be fond of. I can’t wait on next weeks episode.

Said and Done

Finally a room with windows (said the blind guy)
This guy has gone analog in a digital world

New Intro

They had a new intro this week. It reminded me a little of Chuck.

Next Week

Covert Affairs 1.03 – South Bound Suarez (USA)
Annie targets a college student to get information about a corrupt government official in Venezuela, but the murder of another agent who was involved in the investigation complicates her task.

Covert Affairs on USA Network – “South Bound Suarez” …
Uploaded by USANetwork. – Full seasons and entire episodes online.

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Covert Affairs – New Series Premiere Review

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Jul 142010

I don’t know what it is with me and spies, so many of my favorite television past times are spy affairs like Chuck, Nikita, Alias, Jake 2.0 and now Covert Affairs. 50% of the CIA is young people with less than five years of on the job and they are recommended to date each others to avoid having to vent outsiders. It is like Club Med without the drinks, Auggie tells Annie.

Title: Covert Affairs
Original channel: USA
Genre: Spy drama
Status: Series premiere

This show mixes exciting spy action with everyday drama as it follows the lives and adventures of young CIA agent Annie Walker, her colleagues and family. Annie is a wiz at languages; she lives in her sister Danielle’s guesthouse with a cat. She is burned by love. She had three weeks of bliss on Sri Lanka with this guy a couple of years ago before he left her in the middle of the night with a note that said “The Truth is complicated”. You could say she got trust issues.

Annie Walker is one month from graduation at the Farm, CIA’s training facility when she is taken to Langley for a mission that needs her looks and language skills. As unbelievable as it might sound CIA is out of good looking girls that can talk Russian, I know the cold war is over but come on! The writers should have been able to come up with something better there. She is sent undercover as a call girl to an hotel to pick up intel from a known Russian assassin. It should have been an easy mission but what fun would that be. A sniper vents the place and she has to escape leaving the intel behind in the confusion. The good with that is that she goes back and meet the FBI investigator in charge (they have chemistry I hope we will see him again).

The action continues fast paced throughout the pilot and Piper Perabo is gorgeous, witty, determined and yet vulnerable. She gets very convincing when she is angry. It is easy to draw parallels to Alias but the show manages to distinguish itself and so do Piper.

Aggie and Annie has wonderful chemistry already, that is unusual so early in a show. It usually takes me a couple of episodes to be convinced they really like each other. I have been a fan of Christopher Gorham since Jake 2.0 (loved that show) and he is brilliant and charming here playing Auggie the blind tech who introduces Annie to the CIA.

They work at DPD (Domestic Protection Division) a part of the Clandestine Service. Their department boss is the razor-sharp Joan Campbell and she is married to their big boss Arthur. Their marriage is a rocky affair; they even go to company provided couples’ counseling. I am not sure Joan is wrong, Arthur seems like a player but he is good at covering his tracks. His main concerns seem to be that someone is leaking information to the press.

Annie’s family doesn’t know what she works with and part of the charm is to see her balance living with a normal family of four. Her sister is worried she doesn’t date so she invites a blind date to dinner, humor and catastrophe. Plus her sister thinks she is a bad liar, if only she knew.

There is a big mystery around Annie’s lost love Ben Mercer (Eion Bailey) he shows up and saves her life as a guardian angel and the CIA knows about him, they want him for something and Joan and Arthur is using Annie for bait.

Cast

Annie Walker played by Piper Perabo (loved her in Coyote Ugly) is an intrepid young agent in training for the CIA
Auggi Anderson (Christopher Gorham, loved him in Jake 2.0 a sort of predecessor of Chuck) Blind tech guy and Annie’s partner.
Arthur Campbell (Peter Gallagher) Director of the Clandestine Service and married to Joan
Joan Campbell (Kari Matchett -) is Annie’s boss, chief of DPD (Domestic Protection Division)
Conrad Sheehan III (Eric Lively) Annie’s attracted to him in the pilot but he is being written out and replaced with Jai Wilcox according to tfc.
Danielle (Anne Dudek) is Annie’s sister
Ben Mercer (Eion Bailey) is the love of her life. They had a three week of bliss on Sri Lanka before he left in the middle of the night with a note that said “The truth is complicated”. Now he is Annie’s guardian angel/stalker but also unknown to Annie a person of intense interest for her bosses.
Jai Wilcox (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is Annie’s new love interest, we haven’t seen him yet.

Pictures

Next episode

Tuesday, July 20

Episode 1.02 – New CIA agent Annie Walker is still forced to work on low-key cases until she is tipped off that an IRA cell operates in America.

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New On TV in July 2010

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Jun 302010

July is here with a full harvest of entertaining summer TV. In the new series that premieres this month we have a village that hides a secret in Syfy’s Haven, young CIA agent action in Covert Affairs and science versus gut feeling in Rizzoli & Isles.

Some great returning shows this month too especially Warehouse 13 and Eureka.

We have the ongoing Futurama, The Gates and True Blood to keep us company too.

New Series

Haven – Series Premiere (Syfy). I might be too scared to watch this. I loved most of the Movies and TV miniseries made of Kings works. The promos are thin in content but makes me want to watch.

Syfy’s all-new one-hour drama series Haven, starring Emily Rose (Jericho, Brothers and Sisters) is based on the novella The Colorado Kid from renowned author Stephen King. The series follows the shrewd and confident FBI agent Audrey Parker (Rose) who has a lost past, and arrives in the small town of Haven, Maine on a routine case. Before long, her natural curiosity lands her in the epicenter of activity in this curious enclave, which turns out to be a longtime refuge for people that are affected by a range of supernatural afflictions.

As the townspeople’s dormant abilities begin to express themselves, Audrey helps keep these forces at bay while discovering the many secrets of Haven — including one surrounding her own surprising connections to this extraordinary place.

Covert Affairs - Series Premiere (USA) Tuesday July 13.

Good with some light summer entertainment, Mr Jake 2.0 is in it too beside Piper Perabo who I liked since Coyote Ugly in 2000. CSI-SciFi expected.

In COVERT AFFAIRS, USA’s newest original series, we meet Annie Walker (Piper Perabo), a young CIA trainee who is suddenly thrust into the inner sanctum of the agency after being promoted to field operative. While it appears that she has been hand-picked for her exceptional linguistic skills, it may be something from her past that her CIA bosses are really after. Christopher Gorham plays Auggie Anderson, a CIA military intelligence agent, blinded while on assignment, and Annie’s guide in this world of bureaucracy, excitement and intrigue.

Peter Gallagher is Arthur Campbell, the formidable director of Clandestine Services for the CIA. Sendhil Ramamurthy plays Jai Wilcox, an agent with a rich family history within the walls of the CIA. Anne Dudek plays Danielle, a married mother of two and Annie’s older sister who knows nothing of Annie’s life as a spy. Kari Matchett plays Joan, head of the CIA’s Domestic Protection Division…and Arthur’s wife.

Rizzoli & Isles – Series Premiere (TNT) July 12. This is a series I hope work out, I like the synopsis.

RIZZOLI & ISLES follows Boston detective Jane Rizzoli (Harmon) and medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander), complete opposites and good friends who solve crimes and bust some of Boston’s most notorious criminals. Growing up at opposite ends of the economic spectrum, the two remain strikingly different from one another in many ways. Jane, the only female detective in Boston’s homicide division, is a tough and gutsy cop who doesn’t let her guard down (except with Maura), dodges her overprotective mother and is better at basketball than her brother. Maura, meanwhile, is usually more comfortable among the dead than the living. She is always impeccably dressed in designer duds with a steady, sometimes icy temperament. And she is working on curbing her tendency to diagnose the people she meets – including her first dates. Jane and Maura often find themselves working together as both use their brilliant minds and expertise to figure out the “who done it” as well as the “how done it” of Boston’s most complex cases.

Despite their many differences, Jane and Maura are best friends, with a quirky and supportive relationship. As Tamaro explains, “That Jane and Maura are so different and yet so effective as a team makes them unusual.… There’s something rare about their relationship that I see in the world but not enough on television: two smart, strong, competent women who instinctively drop the protective shield when they’re with each other.”

Returning series

Warehouse 13 - Season 2 premiere (Syfy) July 6. Peter, Myka, Artie and Claudia is back to retrieve quirky fantastic artifacts for the big warehouse. The first season ended in a pickle we should see resolved this season. The first episode is named Pisa.

Secret Service agents Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering are appointed to a secret storage facility housing unusual artifacts in South Dakota after saving the life of the President. The agents are responsible for tracking down missing objects from all areas of the country, as well as monitoring for supernatural activity that might hint at the presence of a new object that they must acquire

Eureka – Season 4 premiere (Syfy) July 9. I love Jack Carter and the quirky town of Eureka.

Small town. Big secret. A car accident leads U.S. Marshal Jack Carter into the top-secret Pacific Northwest town of Eureka. For decades, the United States government has relocated the world’s geniuses to Eureka, a town where innovation and chaos have lived hand in hand.

Episode one is Founder’s Day - The 60th anniversary of Eureka becomes life-changing in more ways than one when a marriage proposal is eclipsed by a mysterious transport to a military site and a new face in the crowd.

The Closer – Season 6 premiere (TNT) July 12. Brenda is one of my favorites cops on TV.

“They’ll bring you in. She’ll make you talk.” Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) is a police detective who transfers from Atlanta to Los Angeles to head up a special unit of the LAPD that handles sensitive, high-profile murder cases. Despite a tendency to step on people’s toes, Johnson manages to convert even her strongest adversaries with her unique ability to get to the truth

First episode: The Big Bang – The investigation into the murder a man who loved to take pictures of celebrities from the privacy of his own balcony, Brenda & the squad think their maybe a connection close to the woman who was having an affair with him. There is one problem Brenda might not have anticipated a missing murder weapon and moving into a new office.

White Collar – Season 2 premiere (USA) July 13. Another delightful con man is back.

It is about a convicted white collar criminal who winds up working for the FBI man who caught him. To stay out of prison, convicted bond forger Neal Caffrey offers to help the FBI capture other white collar criminals using his expertise as an art and securities thief, counterfeiter and racketeer.

First episode is Withdrawal – Neal helps the FBI foil a chain of high end bank robberies.

Psych – Season 5 premiere (USA) July 14.

Fake Psychic. Real Detectives. Shawn Spencer has developed a keen eye for detail after being instructed by his police officer father to note even the most minute details of his surroundings. After conning the police into believing that he’s a psychic, Shawn opens a detective agency with best friend Burton Guster

First episode is Romeo and Juliet and Juliet – When the daughter of a Chinese Triad family disappears, Shawn and Gus take on the case.