2022 Highs and Lows

Here’s a quick look back at what I considered to be some of the notable highs and unfortunate lows in the realm of popular culture, circa 2022.

Highs

The Batman

Robert Pattison’s Batman may have been a little too broody (and it didn’t help that his Bruce Wayne was even broodier), but The Batman finally gave us a film that focused on Batman as a detective rather than just a crime fighter with nifty gadgets and vehicles.

IVE

Easily one of K-Pop’s 2022 MVPs, girl group IVE rang in the year still riding high on their debut hit, the exotic “Eleven”. They then followed that up in April with their undeniable comeback, the hypnotic “Love Dive”. Before the year was through they released their third-straight banger, “After Like”, which all but confirmed that the six-member group had definitely become a K-Pop force to be reckoned with.

“Unholy”

Amidst the multitude of chart-hogging tracks culled from big releases by Taylor Swift and the like, this provocative and enticing one-off from Sam Smith and Kim Petras arrived seemingly out of nowhere and soon managed to shake things up nice and good as it slinked its way to the #1 slot on Billboard’s Hot 100.

Glass Onion

This follow-up to Knives Out, one of the breakout hits of 2019, sees Daniel Craig return as detective Benoit Blanc, who is once again thrust into a twisty-turny murder mystery. A romp even more enjoyable than its predecessor, Glass Onion weaves a deliciously layered tale. Murder mystery buffs should also appreciate the film’s very strong The Last of Sheila  vibes (right down to a surprise cameo by that film’s co-writer, the late Stephen Sondheim, who appears as one of Blanc’s Zoom chat buddies, along with another late murder mystery great, Dame Angela Lansbury).

Opening Credits (Archer, CSI: Vegas, Dynasty)

Too many television shows these days have taken to blandly running their opening credits overtop the opening scenes of each episode, so I raise my glass in appreciation to the few that have continued to give us the traditional name-and-faces montage set to some catchy theme music (or classic track by The Who, if that be the case).

Lows

Warner Bros/Discovery merger

The fallout and ensuing deadly domino effect of this merger was largely felt by DC Comics Entertainment properties, most notably, the shelving of the nearly-finished Batgirl movie (budgeted at an estimated $70-90 million), the cancelation of Wonder Woman 3 and the dismissal of Henry Cavill as Superman. The latter move coming just days after Cavill tweeted a confirmation that he had indeed returned to the play the role of the Man of Steel once again. Ouch.

Halloween Ends

I’ve already written about this at length, but the tl:dr version is this: As a standalone film, it’s fine. But as the concluding chapter to an already-uneven trilogy, it misses the mark completely, almost (intentionally?) becoming this era’s answer to Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

iPod Touch no more

Apple announced this year that they were discontinuing the iPod Touch, with 2019’s 7^th Gen model being the last iteration. For people like myself, who prefer to keep their massive music and video libraries separate from their iPhones, this was devastating news. (However, I’ve since taken advantage of the large assortment of new 6^th and 7^th Gen models still available to be had through online retailers, so here’s to delaying the inevitable!)

Happy New Year, everyone!

Giving Thanks

So, even though here, in Canada, we had our Thanksgiving back in October, I’m not going to let that stop me from using the just-passed US Thanksgiving as my tie-in to this post.

It’s been a pop culture cornucopia as of late and in the spirit of the (US) season, I would like to take this time to give some quick thanks for following content I’m currently enjoying during these otherwise dismal times.

CSI: Vegas

As I posted earlier, the OG CSI is my comfort food television, and this reboot is hitting the right spot with its mix of the old and the new, with CSI vets Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle (William Petersen and Jorja Fox) returning to their Las Vegas stomping grounds and easily sliding into roles on a new CSI team without making it seemed forced or unnatural.

And of course, the franchise’s trademark displays of gruesome, chilling, always-inventive methods of murder and untimely demise, is aces, as always.

Twice

We already got a double-shot of K-pop queens Twice earlier this year, when their comeback single  Alcohol-Free  was quickly followed by their Japanese release, Perfect World. But then, almost out of nowhere, Twice announced the impending drop of their first fully-English single, The Feels (which got the 9-girl act their first Billboard Hot 100 hit). And while we were still being knocked and rocked by that standout track, along came their regularly-scheduled second Korean comeback single of the year, the delightful Scientist.

To which I say, twice the Twice is always nice!

Aquaman/Green Arrow: Deep Target

It’s one thing for DC Comics to take their blond, bearded, and mustachioed look-alike bro-heroes, Aquaman and Green Arrow, and have them co-headline a new limited series in which they both sport new, nearly interchangeable, all-green outfits. But when said limited series revolves around the Sea King and the Emerald Archer trying to figure out how they’ve managed to switch identities, powers, and skills (but NOT their actual bodies), then you know that DC is not above having a little chuckle over what they have wrought.

Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip

This long-awaited event is basically The Avengers  of the Real Housewives universe. What we have is a filmed getaway in Turks & Caicos featuring an all-star Housewives lineup, culled from four franchises (Beverly Hills, Atlanta, New York, New Jersey).

Watching how the various housewives click or don’t click with each other is a joy, but the best part is that Bravo didn’t feel the need to include ANYONE from the mess that is RH of Orange County, even though that was the show that kicked off this whole thing.

It’s CSI: Vegas, baby!

The original CSI is one of my ultimate “comfort food” television shows. Each episode offered up a tight murder investigation that was usually tinged with unusual and intriguing details. It was satisfying, you always knew what you were going to get with it, and it was always given well.

So, imagine my elation when I heard earlier this month that the OG of the CSI franchise was coming back to television. That’s right, it’s CSI: Vegas, baby! Old faces, new faces, and all the casino-lit corpses and clues anyone could ask for!

In preparation for its fall debut, I thought I’d take a quick peek back at this CBS franchise’s history and how we got from CSI to CSI: Vegas

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – 15 seasons (2000-2015)

The original, the classic, the one that started it all—and not just in terms of the CSI franchise, but the whole modern procedural era, with its revolutionary use of visual effects to “zoom into” a victim’s body to visually depict whatever trauma had caused their untimely demise. It paved the way for many shows, including the entire NCIS franchise.

Focusing on Las Vegas’ graveyard shift CSI team, this one starred William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, George Eads, Jorja Fox, and later notable cast additions like Elisabeth Shue and Ted Danson. CSI finished its first season as the 10^th most-watched show on television. By it’s third season it was number 1.

CSI: Miami – 10 seasons (2002-2012)

The second series in the franchise figured the best way to differentiate itself from the original was simply to switch shifts. Meaning that instead of playing against the darkness of the graveyard shift, this Miami team would be a day-shifters, (mostly) examining crime and carnage while basked in the warm and sunny tones of the Florida morn (this was also what kept me from becoming a regular viewer. I like my crime scenes dark n’ creepy, thank you very much).

Eventually CSI: Miami became mostly known for star David Caruso’s increasingly cringey cold open one-liners (for example, at the scene of a guy killed outside a speed dating club: “What he didn’t know is that sometimes….speed kills”). CSI: Miami’s highest-rated season was its third, where it came in at number 7 for the year.

CSI: NY – 9 seasons (2004-2013)

Two seasons after the debut of CSI Miami, the franchise expanded with the arrival of CSI: NY, starring Gary Sinise, Melina Kanakaredes, and Sela Ward. This one was set apart from the other CSI shows by having a more urban location, I guess? I don’t know. I only ever watched one episode. I’m not a fan of Gary Sinise, so anything he’s in usually goes right to my “do not watch” list.

It was the first CSI show to never have a season ranked in the top 10, and only cracked the top 20 once, when its fifth season topped out at number 17 for the year.

CSI: Cyber – 2 seasons (2015-2016)

Oh, what can I say about CSI: Cyber that I haven’t already said? Suffice to say, everything about this was bonkers, and that’s why I loved it. This way-too-late-in-the-game franchise entry flipped the focus from crime scenes to cyber crime as it followed the cases of the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Division.

That’s right—it was a CSI show about a non-CSI team. It was filled with janky logic and melodramatic techno-babble. And perhaps the best/worst thing is that during its run, star Patricia Arquette won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress…and then had to return to filming this, a show that once tried to posit that a roller coaster could be an accessory to murder. Fun fact: CSI: Cyber‘s two seasons were the two lowest-ranking seasons across all CSI shows (number 39 for the first and number 50 for the second).

One notable thing, after CSI: Original Recipe wrapped up its run, Ted Danson joined the second season cast of CSI: Cyber, making him the only person to be a series regular on two CSI shows, and giving CSI: Cyber the most significant connection to the original series than any other show in the franchise.

That is, UNTIL NOW.

CSI: Vegas