I'm going to take a moment to touchbase on Hudson & Rex.
Andrea and I decided not to watch the rest of season 7.
We are not happy with the direction of the series and the totally unfair treatment of John Reardon who played Charlie Hudson.
The Great Indoors left a comment on my September 9th post about Hudson & Rex that really drove home what was going down with this show. Here is some of that comment.
What's happening on this show right now is a travesty. They fired John Reardon while he was still battling cancer... Instead, they've got a new (and completely awful idea)... get a random guy to come and be the lead for S8. And the cherry on top of this shitty cake? They named the guy Mark Hudson! That's right, a cheap ploy to keep the title, and the branding.
The Great Indoors had more to say on the subject and was quite passionate about what was going down with Hudson & Rex. My own research corroborated what was posted in these comments and when I shared all this with Andrea, we both agreed that we would stop watching the new episodes of the series. We were willing to tolerate some Hudson-less episodes of Hudson & Rex in deference to John Reardon's health issues but not as a permanent change to the status quo if Reardon was well enough to come back.
And I agree: bringing in some random guy who's last name also happens to be Hudson? Most indeed "a cherry on a shitty cake".
But we would continue to catch up on the 6 seasons that preceded this travesty. As much as we came to this series for the wonder that is Rex the crime fighting dog, we're become enamored with John Reardon's world weary Charlie Hudson with his sardonic humor and every man charm.
I've also become engaged with other elements of the show such as it's setting. Like Springfield in The Simpons, the city of St. John's is as big and sophisticated as any specific plot needs it to be.
Several plots on Hudson & Rex hinge on St.John being the hub of the Canadian art world. Or the center of Canadian fine cuisine as high end restaruanteurs fight it out for wealth, power and prestige.
On the other hand, it sometimes seems like a smallish, almost rustic city and if you want to do something really sophisticated, you need to go somewhere else in Canada to do that.
There's more than enough good Hudson & Rex to keep Andrea and I entertained without wading through the drek of a production that treated both the actor and his character so badly.
In addition to the treatment of John Reardon, I'm not sure I support keeping the show going after Diesel died and the use of his emergency back up stunt double dogs to continue the role of Rex.
In those 6 good seasons, Diesel brings something special to the role of Rex like with the odd tilt of his head when someone is discussing a case like he's actually following the conversation.
Speaking of crime fighters with dogs, let me post a bit about Sue Thomas, F.B. Eye.
This show is about a woman named Sue Thomas (duh!) who is deaf and gets a job working for the FBI. She is a very capable lip reader and is often called upon by the FBI for surveillance work where electronic devicess cannot be used.
She has a "hearing ear" dog named Levi who alerts Sue to things she might miss because she can't hear such as a knock at the door or a clock alarm, stuff like that. Unlike Rex, Levi is not trained as a crime fighting dog but since he accompanies Sue everywhere, even to crime scenes and what not, he can become part of the crime fighting action.
Levi once jump in front of Sue to keep her from getting shot.
Sue Thomas, F.B. Eye ran from 2002 to 2005 as part of the PAX television network which was geared towards more conservative programming content policy, restricting profanity, violence and sexual content. Nobody on Sue Thomas, F.B. Eye so much as says a "hell" or a "damn" and Sue's romantic relationships are very chaste. And each episode's crime plot usually has some kind of heart warming human interest story arc running alongside.
Sue's faith is part of her life as she references things like "God having a plan" or "God give me a sign", that sort of thing. But it's not an in your face preachy sort of thing.
The character of Sue Thomas is portrayed by Deanne Bray who like Sue is deaf and communicates via American Sign Language and English. Sue can speak to non deaf people and can even sing and play the piano.
And Levi? He is a 100% good boy!
BONUS TV Dog Story
One Saturday morning recently on H&I, I caught an episode of The Adventures of Superman called "The Dog Who Knew Superman" that originally aired November 14, 1953.
Superman rescues a dog named Corky from a well. Corky happens to belong to the wife of a mobster. And Corky, not fooled by a pair of glasses and ill fitting suit, knows Clark Kent is Superman. Trouble and hilarity ensue.
There's a point where Superman and Corky get separated and Superman is very worried that Corky might be in danger. It calls to mind this year's Superman movie where the Man of Steel is super stressed out about what Lex Luthor may have done with Krypto.
OK, that is that for this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.
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