Cop Shows

I am not a big fan of cop shows. I don't watch and of the Law and Order or CSI shows. I don't even watch Reno 911. Recently, however, I have gotten hooked on two cop shows. The first was something I heard about while on my vacation to the British Isles. Life on Mars is about Sam Tyler, a British copper who after being struck by a car finds himself back in 1973. The combination of dry British humor and kitschy throw back styling won me over immediately. The interplay between Sam and his modern police procedures and his boss, who communicates more with his fists than his head, moves the story along as Sam tries to figure out just why he finds himself in 1973.

The second of the shows is both geographically and conceptually worlds apart, yet with striking similarities. Jack Carter finds himself just as much out of place as Sam Tyler does, only Jack does not have to leave 2006 to do so. Instead he finds himself in Eureka a city created proposed by Albert Einstein and run by the government, where the best and brightest scientific minds ply their craft building the weapons of the future and creating more than a few odd crimes and mysteries for Jack, a U.S. Marshal turned sheriff, to solve. In a sort of Columbo-esque sort of way, Carter seems to bungle his way through his investigations, revealing moments of brilliance that impress some of the resident minds and antagonizes others.

Both show are enjoyable fun and worth checking out.

Rules for the Rally Monkey

At the risk of sounding like some sort of grumpy old dude, I feel compelled to offer a set of rules for your consideration for the Angels use of the Rally Monkey. While at the 4-3 Angels win over Boston last night, I was troubled by the seemingly random appearance of the monkey immediately following the 7th inning stretch. No warning, no build up, just a monkey. So with that in mind here are my rules for the use of the Rally Monkey.

1) The monkey is not allowed out of his cage until at least the 7th inning.
2) The monkey is not to appear before action has begun in the inning in which the appearance is to be made.
3) If a clever movie trailer parody is going to be used, do not, do not, do not let the monkey be seen prior to that trailer being shown.
4) Always punch the music from the beginning of the use of the Rally Monkey.
5) Do not show an older lady with a stuffed monkey after the showing of the trailer, that is what the hot younger chicks are for.

So far I just have 5 simple rules that will help us all enjoy the craziness that is the Rally Monkey.