ACROSS
1 Early Welsh
6 Subpar
performance ...
or not
11 School sweater
letters
14 Wedding, e.g.
15 All small, say
17 As
19 Ancient
communication
medium
20 Modern
communication
medium
21 Parts to put
together
22 Memphis-to-
Nashville dir.
23 Washington
portraitist
27 Bocelli album
that includes
“Bésame
Mucho”
32 A’s
38 __ work: menial
labor
39 Venerate
40 1992 opponent
of Bill and
George
41 As
44 What a bump
may affect
45 Sources of
peeps
46 Nation with a
pyramid on its
currency: Abbr.
49 Title for actor
Gielgud
51 Channeled, as
water
55 Most trusted
60 A’s
62 Real bargain
63 Quarters in the
wild
64 CIA predecessor
65 __ bird
66 Not worth it,
perhaps
DOWN
1 Point of
imminence
2 Musician from
County Donegal
3 Sagging
4 Keith of country
5 Underwater aid
6 Leg up
7 On vacation
8 Lose it
9 “The Smartest
Guys in the
Room” subject
10 Sighed
agreement
11 1493 Lisbon
arrival
12 Israeli weapons
13 Mennonites, e.g.
16 “Just a __!”
18 Heathrow : his ::
Orly : à __
23 Vermin
24 Serpico, for one
25 Severe
26 River in Hades
28 Toon with a blue
do
29 Trails for
bloodhounds
30 Go back to zero
31 Swiss borders?
33 __ Palmas: Gran
Canaria capital
34 Author LeShan
35 __ de famille
36 Otto minus
cinque
37 H.S. equivalency
test
42 Inform
43 Registers
47 “Never __ boy
to ... ”
48 Dangerous biter
49 Like 48-Down
50 Unlikely to be
chipper
51 Acceptable
52 They’re often
broken
53 Luau
entertainment
54 Suffix with
percent
56 “Get lost!”
57 Nobelist Wiesel
58 “Glad to help”
59 Kitchen meas.
61 Acct. entry
By Jeffrey Wechsler
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
03/10/17
03/10/17
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
RELEASE DATE– Friday, March 10, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
xwordeditor@aol.com
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HELP WANTED
NBC
‘Taken’ a stale outing
Remember
the
2008
film
“Taken?” Given that the movie
grossed over $200 million and
spawned a cult around Liam
Neeson (“Schindler’s List”) as
an unstoppable action force, the
chance that you remember it is
high. However, the average movie-
goer likely doesn’t recall — or
chooses to forget —
the 2012 and 2014
sequels,
“Taken
2” and “Taken 3,”
respectively.
While
these films generated
solid
box-office
figures, they were
replete
with
trite
dialogue,
rushed
storylines and a generic brand of
supporting cast.
Unfortunately, NBC’s television
adaptation of the film trio, the
unoriginally-dubbed
“Taken,”
reeks entirely of the latter two
movies.
As
the
series’
title
indicates, the show attempts to ride
off the coattails of the first movie,
while simultaneously paying little
attention to the qualities of the film
that made it successful. This lack of
awareness dooms the show, with
“Taken” offering nothing in the
way of a compelling storyline or
decent cast, along with containing
some of television’s most bland
writing.
From the series’ first scenes,
“Taken” gives off the impression of
lazy production. The show opens
with Clive Standen’s (“Vikings”)
character, Bryan Mills, aboard a
train with his sister Cali, forgettably
played
by
Celeste
Desjardins
(“Lost & Found”). The entire
setup doesn’t attempt to hide the
obvious: their lives are in danger,
evidently being pursued by men
donning trench coats and refusing
to remove their hands from their
pockets. Such suspicious-looking
attire immediately sticks out to any
audience member as a poor excuse
for a criminal’s garb. It’s the type
of outfit that is so stereotypically
and classically linked with shady
activity
that
it
leaves
viewers
wondering
just how much
effort the show’s
creators put into
“Taken.”
While
some programs do
have
predictable
elements, the fact
that it was clearly apparent from
this scene that Cali was going to
be murdered by these assassins
is a sign of sloppiness — the sort
of which prevents “Taken” from
gaining any momentum.
The show’s overall lack of care
and creativity extends into its
writing, which is plagued by a
continuous stream of unoriginal
and banal lines. Outside of a solid
speech by Romano Orzari (“White
House Down”) as the series’ central
antagonist,
“Taken”
has
only
generically-written conversations
that sound as if they are ripped
straight from any terrible action
movie of the past 20 years. Even the
briefest, simplest scenes contain
vague, nonspecific language that
does little to entertain viewers or
present “Taken” ’s plotline in an
interesting or exciting way, with
Standen describing his late-sister
by saying: “She was something,
let me tell you. Beautiful. Kind.
Smart.” With such general lines
filling the show, it’s no wonder
none of the characters display any
depth.
To make matters worse for
“Taken,” it is composed of an
unconvincing cast that lacks any
semblance of chemistry. Playing
the show’s star, Standen brings
little emotion or intrigue to his
part, claiming extreme remorse
over his sister’s death yet never
showing any. As an intelligence
officer, Jennifer Beals (“The Book
of Eli”) is also content to read
monotonously from the series’
generic script. Despite possessing
terrifying roles on the surface as
characters with cartel connections,
Gaius
Charles
(“Friday
Night
Lights”) and Monique Gabriela
Curnen
(“The
Dark
Knight”)
inspire zero fear in either viewers
or Mills himself. For the cast of
“Taken,” its only redeeming quality
is Kris Holden-Ried (“Lost Girl”),
who delivers a quality performance
as a corrupt DEA agent driven by a
sincere emotional desire to protect
his family, unlike Standen.
Though Holden-Ried is solid in
his part, his role is far too minor and
his performance not memorable
enough to fix the inherent flaws
of “Taken,” which are extreme.
The series’ lazy production value
extends to nearly every aspect of
the show, begging the question
as to why NBC elected to market
it so heavily and with such high
expectations. As a television show,
“Taken” bears nothing in common
with the successful film beyond
the names of its characters, and it
should be avoided like the plague.
CONNOR GRADY
Daily Arts Writer
“Taken”
Series Premiere
NBC
Mondays at 10:00
p.m
CBS
‘The Good Fight’ laudable
I’ll admit, when I first heard
about CBS’s plan to make one
of its first series for its new
online portal, CBS All Access,
a spinoff of “The Good Wife”
(after “Star Trek Discovery”
was
delayed),
my
reaction
was an eyeroll. At its peak,
“The Good Wife” was one of
the best shows
on
television.
However, by the
end of its run, it
was
struggling.
Its finale ended
on such an angry
and bitter note
that I didn’t know if I wanted
to ever spend more time in
the universe and with these
characters. Still, my love for
the majority of “The Good
Wife” ’s run piqued my interest
just enough to get me to tune
into “The Good Fight,” and
I’m so glad I did. With the new
series, Robert and Michelle
King’s (“BrainDead”) writing
feels reinvigorated and fresh
as they somehow make old
characters more compelling
than before.
“The Good Fight” follows
Diane
Lockhart
(Christine
Baranski, “Into the Woods”)
who, as she’s about to retire,
loses her life savings when
a ponzi scheme run by her
investor, Henry Rindell (Paul
Guilfoyle, “CSI”) is exposed.
She’s forced to postpone her
retirement and go to work for
the firm Reddick, Boseman, &
Kolstad. Lucca Quinn (Cush
Jumbo, “Vera”) works there as
well, and Diane brings along
Maya Rindell (Rose Leslie,
“Game of Thrones”), a new
associate who is also Henry’s
daughter.
“The Good Fight” continues
what
“The
Good
Wife”
started in terms of letting a
great ensemble of New York
City actors work with strong
material.
Something
“The
Good Wife” did
so very well was
build out a deep
cast
of
strong
actors, from the
regulars to the
guest
stars.
It
all
starts
with
Baranski,
who
provides
a
compelling center for the show.
She portrays layers of Diane
that we haven’t seen before.
She’s clearly hurt after her
husband cheated on her and
Alicia
(Julianna
Margulies,
“ER”) exposed it publicly in the
“Good Wife” ’s finale. As she
works her way through losing
her life savings and starting a
new job, Baranski brings these
emotions to life. Jumbo also
does excellent work as Lucca,
as we see her take the lead
on cases and become a more
relevant character.
Being on CBS All Access
means “The Good Fight” can
do more in terms of language
and sexual content than “The
Good Wife” ever could. As
Diane finds out about the
Rindell’s ponzi scheme, the
show cuts to commercial, but
not before she can exclaim,
“Fuck!” It sounds jarring at
first, but the show takes its
extra abilities and runs with
them, and the language is now
a part of the fabric of the show.
It’s through the story where
“The Good Fight” truly stands
out on its own. The case-of-
the-week format remains from
“Wife,” but fewer episodes
seems to allow for them to
come up with cases are more
interesting than later seasons
of “Wife.” This year, we’ve seen
a surgeon fight for the right to
assist a surgery in Syria over
Skype and a woman try and
regain the rights to her eggs in
order to have a child, running
into twisty legal hurdles along
the way. The show’s also found
a more natural way to integrate
politics into the show. The
first episode opens with Diane
watching
President
Donald
Trump’s inauguration with a
shocked look on her face, and
the show had a story in its third
episode where the lawyers at
Reddick, Boseman, & Kolstad
struggle to keep a client who
wants to go to a firm where the
leaders are close with Trump.
Throughout “Wife,” the Kings
showed an interest in keeping
up with current affairs, but on
“Fight,” they have found a way
to be relevant without forcing
it.
“The Good Fight” reminds
me of exactly what I missed
about “The Good Wife” in the
first place. It has a similar
cast
of
extremely
talented
actors
with
a
compelling
central character in Diane.
It’s surprising how well the
pieces of this show fit together,
and I’m excited to see where
they take these stories and
characters.
ALEX INTNER
Daily Arts Writer
“The Good Fight”
Series Premiere
CBS All Access
Sundays
Being on CBS All
Access means
“The Good Fight”
can do more in
terms of language
and sexual
content than “The
Good Wife” ever
could
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TV REVIEW
TV REVIEW
6 — Friday, March 10, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com