When I initially wrote this article, I was typing at two in the morning when I should have been packing to leave for New York to visit my best friend for the weekend. Oddly enough, even though that trip was way back in December, as I sit here and type right now I need to prep for the same best friend coming to visit from New York! Mainly cleaning, but I’m also in a mad knitting frenzy to finish a scarf for her. I’ve just got a little over two days to get everything finished. Strike that, not even a full two days as I have to dedicate a good chunk of that time to work! …Anyone want to lend me a time turner?
But enough with my stress induced rambles as they is not the focus of this column (actually, the scarf is totally relevant but I’ll cover that next month). Instead, I shall use my friend’s home and my former destination as the inspiration for this month.
New York City seems to be a magnet for crime in fiction (and if one draws their knowledge about the city’s crime levels from all the literature and TV shows, it’s a miracle people still want to live there), and as a result there is a wide variety of options for those of the mystery-inclined. In fact, two of the shows I am keeping up with this season take place there: Castle and Person of Interest. I have to admit, my preference tends to lean a bit towards Castle for its humor, but when this article was initially written it was not a wise idea for me to discuss Castle (lack of sleep + Nathan Fillion can lead to dangerous giggle fits) thus the topic of the month went to the other show.
Person of Interest had my…well…interest quite a while before its premier last fall. As a LOST fan, I was quite eager to see what one of my favorite actors in the series, Michael Emerson, was up to now. He did not disappoint, playing Mr. Finch, the creator of a machine that monitors and tracks just about every camera and electronic method of communication. The Department of Homeland Security used this machine to help track down terrorists, but chose to ignore the warnings of other, “irrelevant” crimes. Deciding that he could not ignore this, Finch strikes out on his own, trying to stop as many of these crimes as he can, eventually recruiting the help of a down on his luck, but exceptionally talented, ex-Green Beret by the name of John Reese.
I will admit when I first heard about the plot, I couldn’t help but draw similarities to the movie Minority Report. However that disappeared at some point through the first episode, and I can enjoy them separately. Where Minority Report was futuristic and was firmly in the sci-fi genre, Person of Interest is very much set in the real world, and relies on a realistic way to set up the all-knowing machine at the center of the plot. If you have your fears of Big Brother watching your every move, then this show will not help you forget them. I initially thought I could make a game out of it to see just how many cameras I could pick out when I visited the New York, but that was wiped clear out of my mind as I was a bit overwhelmed by the place. Although I did count a good number of security guards at the doors of pretty much every shop I went into...I guess that could sort-of count?
Some people might jump to point out that the crime drama genre has its subtle differences from the mystery one, but all the better that I’ve chosen this show to review as there is practically a mystery cycle. First, there is Finch who is trying to solve the crimes before they happen. The catch is that he only has a person’s social security number and nothing else to start with. He and Reese have to figure out if the “target of the week” is the victim or the attacker, and how to halt everything before it starts. But while Reese does his work for Finch, he also tries his best to glean any information about his partner’s past, about which we know very little. And in the wake of Reese’s exploits comes Detective Carter, who’s trying to solve the case of the mysterious man who keeps popping up like a vigilante who either makes her work harder or easier depending on his mood. In the episodes that have aired since my visit to New York the circumstances with Detective Carter have changed a bit, but she still knows very little about Reese.
Well…alright, maybe it’s more like a mystery chain rather than a cycle as it doesn’t loop back to Finch, but it’s still incredibly fun to watch, albeit not quite as interactive as Professor Layton (see previous column). These mysteries are based more off of a lack of information rather than actual clues and evidence, so each episode’s plot cannot really be “solved” unless you count guessing based on instinct.
As far as the individual character plots go, some catching up might be required if you’re jumping into the series right now, otherwise due to the episodic nature of the series it shouldn’t be too intimidating for newcomers. However if you want to catch it while it’s airing I’d recommend staring soon; we’ve been getting more and more tidbits of the overarching plot, prepping no doubt for the last few episodes of the season.
But enough with my stress induced rambles as they is not the focus of this column (actually, the scarf is totally relevant but I’ll cover that next month). Instead, I shall use my friend’s home and my former destination as the inspiration for this month.
New York City seems to be a magnet for crime in fiction (and if one draws their knowledge about the city’s crime levels from all the literature and TV shows, it’s a miracle people still want to live there), and as a result there is a wide variety of options for those of the mystery-inclined. In fact, two of the shows I am keeping up with this season take place there: Castle and Person of Interest. I have to admit, my preference tends to lean a bit towards Castle for its humor, but when this article was initially written it was not a wise idea for me to discuss Castle (lack of sleep + Nathan Fillion can lead to dangerous giggle fits) thus the topic of the month went to the other show.
Person of Interest had my…well…interest quite a while before its premier last fall. As a LOST fan, I was quite eager to see what one of my favorite actors in the series, Michael Emerson, was up to now. He did not disappoint, playing Mr. Finch, the creator of a machine that monitors and tracks just about every camera and electronic method of communication. The Department of Homeland Security used this machine to help track down terrorists, but chose to ignore the warnings of other, “irrelevant” crimes. Deciding that he could not ignore this, Finch strikes out on his own, trying to stop as many of these crimes as he can, eventually recruiting the help of a down on his luck, but exceptionally talented, ex-Green Beret by the name of John Reese.
I will admit when I first heard about the plot, I couldn’t help but draw similarities to the movie Minority Report. However that disappeared at some point through the first episode, and I can enjoy them separately. Where Minority Report was futuristic and was firmly in the sci-fi genre, Person of Interest is very much set in the real world, and relies on a realistic way to set up the all-knowing machine at the center of the plot. If you have your fears of Big Brother watching your every move, then this show will not help you forget them. I initially thought I could make a game out of it to see just how many cameras I could pick out when I visited the New York, but that was wiped clear out of my mind as I was a bit overwhelmed by the place. Although I did count a good number of security guards at the doors of pretty much every shop I went into...I guess that could sort-of count?
Some people might jump to point out that the crime drama genre has its subtle differences from the mystery one, but all the better that I’ve chosen this show to review as there is practically a mystery cycle. First, there is Finch who is trying to solve the crimes before they happen. The catch is that he only has a person’s social security number and nothing else to start with. He and Reese have to figure out if the “target of the week” is the victim or the attacker, and how to halt everything before it starts. But while Reese does his work for Finch, he also tries his best to glean any information about his partner’s past, about which we know very little. And in the wake of Reese’s exploits comes Detective Carter, who’s trying to solve the case of the mysterious man who keeps popping up like a vigilante who either makes her work harder or easier depending on his mood. In the episodes that have aired since my visit to New York the circumstances with Detective Carter have changed a bit, but she still knows very little about Reese.
Well…alright, maybe it’s more like a mystery chain rather than a cycle as it doesn’t loop back to Finch, but it’s still incredibly fun to watch, albeit not quite as interactive as Professor Layton (see previous column). These mysteries are based more off of a lack of information rather than actual clues and evidence, so each episode’s plot cannot really be “solved” unless you count guessing based on instinct.
As far as the individual character plots go, some catching up might be required if you’re jumping into the series right now, otherwise due to the episodic nature of the series it shouldn’t be too intimidating for newcomers. However if you want to catch it while it’s airing I’d recommend staring soon; we’ve been getting more and more tidbits of the overarching plot, prepping no doubt for the last few episodes of the season.