Started to watch the second episode that I had taped the other day and got about five minutes into it and turned it off. I still haven't decided if I'm going to turn it back on again or not. I know a tv show or movie is vary (almost never) as good as the book. If you get lucky it captures the book's spirit and can move you in different ways than the printed word did. But this show....
Dr. Maura Isles is the scientist, she's the Medical Examiner. It's established that she's smart in the books. In the books she's somewhat cold, aloof, hard to get to know. Her and Jane (the Rizzoli of the title and a police detective) are friends, but it's a strained, not hang out at the bar type of friendship. I can forgive the show for making them closer, it works better on the screen I would imagine, having them be better friends so they can spend more time together. For large parts of the books, their paths don't cross until the murder scenes.
But what I'm finding harder to forgive and harder to want to watch is their quick cliched characterization of Dr. Isles. Since she's smart she has to be weird. In the second episode she's wearing some sort of wet suit type covering that is supposed to keep her cool in the heat. She's watching a ball game and ends up at bat, with the hood pulled up and looking like she belongs on the set of "The Big Bang Theory" not a police show. Why does being smart have to mean being strange? Nowhere in the books is this part of her character.
As far as the books go, I'm down to only three left to read. And this series just gets better as it goes along. It really is very good. I'm enjoying it a lot. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the tv show.
3 comments:
Have not checked this show out...I never read the books and it just looked too pedestrian on the clips
I don't know of the show or the books. Do you have some more details on the books so I can check them out?
Vinny, I'm afraid that the clips lived up to their presentation. I really wanted to like this show, I like the two leads a lot.
Trav, the books are mysteries, set in Boston. The two leads are Rizolli, a homicide detective and Isles, the M.E. What really sets these books apart from the pack is the characterizations of the two leads. And the details seem more real, as far as the CSI part of the stories. When something can't be figured out they say so in the book, they don't come up with some out of the blue solution that would never work. It presents two strong women working in a field that is normally a man's field, but making a go of it. I think you'd like them.
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