Vedek

"Vanished" falls under a new sub-genre of action/suspense fare created by "24" and "Prison Break." No new ground here, but worth a look, if you're into serialized stories rather than seven-year-soap-operas. I have seen only the season premier, so the data are definitely not in on this one. The premier episode of any TV series is usually a shake-down cruise; you get to know the premise, the actors, the style. Gale Harold, as the star FBI senior agent, is setting the action-hero style and tone of "Vanished" and if they'll just let him run with the character, this could become the best offbeat FBI-in-action since "Bones" or "Numbers". Check out "Vanished" and see if you don't come away curious to see where it all leads.

I have watched all the "Listen Up" episodes to date. It started, as most TV sitcoms, rather slowly, but now the cast have hit their stride. The teenage son, Mickey, played by Will Rothhaar, has gradually become a main character of the ensemble cast. Rothhaar is a gifted comedian with truly inspired deadpan delivery. He's on his way to becoming a Major Talent, someday! The show's episodes are now well-crafted plots acted out by cast members who are really "clicking" together. In one recent episode, Mickey dated a girlfriend who turned out to be into Civil War Reenactment; she took him to Gettysburg in full 1860's regalia, and when he walked into the room dressed as a Confederate soldier, I nearly fell out of my recliner laughing. The look on his face was perfect! The boyfriend who can't believe he's really doing this for his girlfriend. Every show is a gem, now. Watch "Listen Up!" regularly and you'll find yourself becoming a delighted fan.

The user comments by 36-year-old Theo Robertson of Isle of Bute, Scotland, are sort of valid, although he is very dismissive and critical of TFATF's plot and "product placement." Like it's a bad thing. Perhaps living on an island in Scotland does not equip one to understand or fairly "criticise" a southern Californian car-cult movie. And he's 36, "...too old to enjoy TFATF by about...oh, twenty years?" I am 61 and I thought it was a fun movie. In New Mexico, we know A LOT about custom cars, low-riders and high-riders, and we understand how (and WHY)one might put tens of thousands of dollars into creating a really boss machine. Sure, TFATF is pure science fiction, the science being the cars and the fiction being the likelihood of scores of custom race car afficionados being able to commandeer a "deserted" street for a midnight race. But yes, the car cult does cross race and ethnic lines, because it's all about the cars.... And so what if the film has a lot of "product placement"? Personally, I didn't even understand half of what the characters were talking about when it came to custom engine parts. The movie does one thing very well: it entertains. Obviously. There's a very successful sequel out now. Compared to other movies in its sub-genre, The Fast and The Furious deserves an 8 or 9.