Merlin Season Four continues

I am increasingly behind schedule in reporting on the Leveson Inquiry, the publication of the first report of the joint Coalition Government/opposition sponsored inquiry into the August Riots and other current subjects of importance, so writing about a fictional and mythological programme can be regarded as an indulgence but it is part of what I am and therefore in its own way a valid component of my public and private contemporary art project. Today Merlin and then a start on Leveson 8, then Boardwalk Empire, then The August Riots and then Leveson 9.

Previously I only reported on the first three episodes of season four of the BBC I Saturday evening prime time series Merlin and in this piece I intend to cover the next five or six episodes. I broke off at episode three because it marked the point when Arthur became King of Camelot, a kingdom which appeared to occupy a comparatively small area perhaps the size of a medium English County surrounded by a number of other King or Queendoms.

His relationship with the servant girl Gwen (Guinevere) appeared to have become more open although her status appeared left in the air, no longer a servant or was she and if so to whom? The prospect of her becoming his wife as in the legend remained open.

His relationship with Merlin as his man’s servant also appeared to remain the same which was not just odd but is irritating because in no other fictional setting would someone who had saved one’s life several times remain unrewarded in this way. I appreciate how he did this and the frequency mostly remained secret but the script writers have included saying more than one that Merlin had done so. Although programme is scheduled just before the watershed it has become more silly and formulaic.

It is known that Morgause, the bad black arts sorceress, has gone to where bad black arts sorceress go but Morgana, her half sister, and illegitimate daughter of the Arthur’s father, has gone into hiding after killing him with the help of Arthur’s uncle, Agravaine de Bois, who appears to have a position at the court similar to that of a Regent despite Arthur being crowned King. It was evident that the duo would become the threat and enemies in this fourth series with the question how would it possible to achieve ten stories before one or both were dealt with and still have a fifth series in the making.

The other issue which has dominated the series is would white magic become acceptable as the means of combating the black and would the last remaining dragon became acceptable given that Merlin was the Dragon Master and had freed him. To what extent would Merlin be able to develop his powers and become his own man and not dependent one Gaius, the court physician and Merlin’s mentor?

In Aithusa, a character who I cannot remember his origins, comes to Camelot with one of the three pieces of an artefact which will lead to the last known Dragon’s egg and he who releases the dragons controls them. This is of significant to Merlin who as part of his inheritance and panoply of growing powers is a Dragon master having freed the only known living dragon Kilgarragh as part of a deal to save Arthur and fulfil his own destiny which the dragon knows. Understandably the dragon thinking he is the last becomes excited about the possibility that the line will continue reminds Merlin of his duties as well as future power and presses him go save the egg and their respective futures.

Gaius knows of the arrival of the stranger and warns Merlin about getting involved although he does not know about Merlin’s reliance and subsequent control of the dragon. Merlin helps the stranger to gain possession of the second piece of the artefact or it may be the third held within Camelot and narrowly escapes detection. Arthur with Merlin, as the cook as well as personal man’s servant, for a small unit of Knight, the small number of Knights and entourage is always a puzzle given the dangers they usually encounter on such missions, set out to retrieve the missing treasure unaware of its significance.

My recollection is that some druids become involved and that Morgana has an interest in gaining control of the baby dragons for her own purposes but I may be mistaken and according to one reference source, I am.

As the series has progressed the plots have become thinner and more open to challenge, and in this instance the expedition appear to be able to track the villain unaware that he is also keeping an eye on them. He takes the opportunity of poisoning the soup stew of the day while Merlin is absent but Merlin is able to counter the problem and goes off on his own leaving the party to sleep off their near miss with death.

In the final scene Merlin narrowly prevents the egg being lost and is able to hatch and if I remember there are two possibly three baby dragons that go off with Kilgarragh to be raised in secrecy and peace. There is a spectacular explosion. It was this episode which led me to feel watching was not a priority so I record and look at episodes in batches and with the fast forward button to hand.

In the next episode His Father's Son Arthur, despite several admirable qualities, is none too bright, and at times positively stupid, falls into a trap laid by his uncle and against his own instincts and Merlin’s judgement, and executes a visiting King who is up to no good testing out Arthur strength.

The man who is executed turns out to be a neighbouring King which begs the question why Arthur and Merlin did not know and his wife played by the outstanding actor Lindsay Duncan) is understandably angry and upset and organises her army with the help of Morgana. The two hate the Pendragons with the inside help of Agravaine who is even more stupid that that Arthur into believing that his days are numbered as soon as Morgana gains which she believe is her rightful position.

His approach is to drive a wedge between anyone whose influence runs counter to his and his target is Gwinevere. Fortunately before the battle at which Arthur appears to command a large army which makes even more curious his going off with just as handful of retinue presumably to fit into the BBC budget, the knights who have come to the fore in the series express their faith and support which helps to overcome the doubts nurtured by his uncle about his ability to command better than his father. Merlin exerts pressure to find a solution which avoid bloodshed

Arthur bravely goes off to see the Queen and offers for dispute to be settled though a trial by combat which back in Camelot everyone agrees is a good plan until they realise that Arthur is intent on an all or nothing proving of his Kingship by being their champion. With the help of the dastardly Agravaine Morgana charms the Kings sword so that it becomes so heavy as to be unwieldy and thus ensure his downfall and being crowned Queen.

As can be anticipated the champion of the opposing forces is a Goliath of a man but who Arthur is able to match until Morgana uses her spell. Merlin works out what is going on and counters the influence so that Arthur wins fairly, spares the life of the other champion and wins the respect of the leader whose husband he executed.

In A Servant Of Two Masters the issue of Merlin’s role and relationship comes to the fore when they off again into wilds on their comparatively own when they encounter a numerically superior group of baddies. Merlin’s inability to use his powers to foresee has become alarming when he appears to be mortally wounded. The King is distraught and admits to Merlin what a fine fellow he is and struggles to keep Merlin alive and the baddies
running into the mercenaries again

These are no ordinary baddies but in the employ of Morgana of Agravaine and Merlin just about recovers to work out what is going on and creates a rock fall which enables the King to escape but Merlin is captured and Morgana who still does not know who Merlin really is nevertheless wants to used him in her plan to get rid of Arthur.

The King orders a party of knights to go and find Merlin which given all he has said and done is surprising that he does not go off himself with appropriate numbers. The series relies on the loyal viewers who are not watching the X Factor to ignore such inconsistencies. They expedition cannot find the wizard and conclude that there is a traitor in their midst.

Morgana decides on a new plan which is to insert a tiny hydra like creature into Merlin, reminding of a very different level of fantasy series who name presently escapes and I am too lazy in the first Friday dawn of December 2011 to research and whose purpose is to change Merlin into someone determined to kill Arthur.

Arthur who finds a new man’s servant unacceptable decides to this time lead a new expedition in search of the man who continues to risk all to keep Morgana and others from destroying the King and Camelot.

He finds Merlin with neither appreciating what has happened and Gaius do not also appear to notice anything to worry about even when he spots Merlin going off with some poison. Merlin is going to use the stuff on the food of the King. It is only Gwen who spots that Merlin is different, persuades Gaius and the two prevent Merlin from killing the King and bringing him back to normal but only on a temporary basis.

Now it is Agravaine, under pressure from the King who casts the blame for what has been happening on Gaius which results in at last Merlin waking up to the fact that Agravaine has been in league with Morgana. Gaius understands that Merlin has to break the creature in him at its source so the young wizard switches into the 80 year ancient figure that we have seen from time to time in previous seasons as well as the present one. Morgana believes that the old man is Emrys the previously mythical great wizard forecast to be her downfall, not realising that the old man is also young Merlin.

The two engage in the power battle we have seen from time to time in the form of lightening type bolts and eventually the creature inside him is destroyed and he departs leaving Morgana in quite a bad state. Why Merlin does not kill her there and then should be obvious.

It is Agravaine in The Secret Sharer who finds the unconscious Morgana who on recovery reveals that Emrys is aware of their plans which means their priority task is to find Emrys and destroy her rival. She decides that the best way to achieve this is to kidnap Gaius with Agravaine implanting the idea that it is Gaius who has been the traitor inside the camp. Meanwhile appears to have been given an additional post as secretary speech writer.

Morgana had enlisted the help of a new creature who appears to be a cross between a truth obtained by force as well as a truth seeker with insight and knowledge who she bribes to help her. The creature kidnaps Gaius and his disappearance appearing to confirm that he is indeed a traitor. His will is gradually broken down his will until he reveals the truth that Merlin is Emrys.

Merlin is horrified that the King believes the lies Agravaine has spread about Gaius being the traitor and confides in Gwen about the treachery of the Uncle. The two set about trying to find out where Gaius could have been taken while Morgana and Agravaine are also on their way back to Gaius and the creature with the intention of killing Gaius and Merlin once they know the identity and location of Emrys.

We then enjoy a further battle between Morgana and Merlin and where it is her bribed creature that intervenes and not only saves Merlin but fails to inform Morgana, declaring that he know that Merlin is Emrys and offers his fully support to enable the young wizard to fulfil his destiny. However again Morgana is left unconscious to fight on which is a puzzle!

I think that it is in this episode on returning to Camelot that when Arthur apologies to Gaius for doubting his integrity that Gaius take the opportunity to suggest to the king that not all magic, wizardry, sorcery white witchery and such like are forces for evil and which brings awareness there are many around him who are protecting him, whether he knows it or not.

The final episode of this report Lamia is something of an interlude. The wife of the head of a village in Kingdom comes to Camelot to report to Gwen nasty goings on.

This suggests that witchcraft, demons or such like are involved and through Gwen the King is involved and he wants to go off to help taking Gaius with him. But because of major health problem in Camelot Gaius persuades the King to use Merlin in his capacity as a trainee physician.

Merlin quickly discovers that there is something going on beyond his existing powers and sets off to return to Camelot to consult Gaius. At this point the party come across some more bad men who appear to be ill treating a girl who the Knights rescues and then appear to come under her power. She treats Merlin as the enemy turning the rest of the knights against him and insisting they must help the girl rather than help the village.

Arthur with Agravaine, now that Gaius is available, set off to the village to find out what is going on and come across the baddies who have been killed. In the village Gaius confirms Merlin's belief that sorcery is at work. A survivor of the baddies talks about the girl who Gaius works out is a dangerous evil creature called a Lamia a hideous monster who takes the shape of a young girl or vice versa.

Meanwhile Merlin and Gwen have become effective prisoners of the knights and the Lamia as they reach her destination where one by one they fall to the treachery of the creature. Realising that Merlin is different from ordinary men the girl transforms into the creature and they do battle. It is Gwen who intervenes as the King and his party arrive believing that it is Gwen who has saved Merlin which in one sense is true. This does not prevent the King reverting to his usual treatment of Merlin. The village recovers and we await the climactic series ending

The Sopranos season 4 begins

It is a bright and mild for the time of the year on the last Sunday in November and I am spending my day working on the submitted testimony of victims of the abuse of the power of the print media and catching up in the latest three episodes of the Sopranos. This was the position until about 4 in the afternoon having also listened to the three disk set of a Satyagraha which arrived on Saturday morning and which means I can also complete my writing of the opera seen a week ago

It was just before 4pm that I first learned news that a former Newcastle and Welsh midfield player, Welsh International and present Manager of his national side had been found dead at his home in Cheshire at the age of 42. It was later suggested that he had taken his own life as there were no suspicious circumstances.

I switched over to various news channels and sports football news and live broadcasts and listened to 606 on radio Five Live BBC. There was a moving film of Shay Given his former Newcastle team mate in tears playing for Aston Villa against Swansea and a succession of influential figures from the world of foot expressed their shock and sadness at the news with several posing the question why? The man was married with two sons he adored and a beautiful wife. He had appeared on a BBC programme the Saturday lunchtime talking about the games to be played over the weekend. Everyone agreed that he was a stable and balance individual, who cared for others, football players, sports journalists and football supporters. There had been no previous indication that he was upset, emotional disturbed, depressed or considered taking his own life.

This tragic event and the immediate public reaction merited headline news during the rest of the evening including a statement issued on behalf of the Prime Minister. It therefore can be argued that his death is a matter in the public Interest as well as being of interest to the public.

But this goes to the heart of the Leveson Inquiry. The family have been asked to left in peace and a subsequent statement that they would contribute to celebrating his life at a later date. My response is to not only accept their request but to argue that the circumstances should remain private for the family unless there is any evidence that the police statement that there were no suspicious circumstances must be questioned.

The news has been filled with hours of stories about the man. When he moved from Everton to Newcastle after a distinguished career at Leeds United where with other midfield players he was known as something of a hard man on the field I had my reservations. However he quickly won over the hearts and minds of everyone including myself and when he moved back to the North West after five years with the club here was regret at his moving on, and there is now as his premature death. I had noted that the Welsh team had won the last three games under his captaincy and that he was bringing pride back to a nation where Rugby union has always been its first love as a national sport and where the football team was not supported because of its repeated failures to progress in the International arena.

Returning to the Sopranos I watched the first episodes of season four and begin and end with Tony being angry frustrated and under increasing pressure from within the family and from his associates.

In one of a couple of brief conversations with Dr Melfi in which he has a few moments of honesty, he confesses that his wife has expressed anxiety about what will happen to her and the children if he should suddenly die or be sent to prison for a long period. Dr Melfi suggests that he gives up his career as a crime boss. The cause of his mental and emotional state is best reflected in the lives of his family and “professional associates”. It follows the disclosure at the end of the previous season that his son has inherited the problem of passing out in moments of great stress, something which Tony has also inherited and which in his instance he is in the wrong profession and no amount of psycho analysis or counselling support will make a difference.

In the first episode For All Debts Public and Private his wife Carmela become anxious about her future and those of her children after seeing the wife of one of his former associates who Tony murdered because he was blackmailed into spying for the Feds, handing out free samples at a local supermarket. She presses Tony for information about the financial provision he has made for her and the children should he come to an untimely end or end up in prison for a long time. Tony assures her that he has made secret provision. He cannot provide the normal family trust provision or investments for having to disclose the source of the income. Tony recognises he is indebted to his wife for tolerating not just his criminality but also his way of life. Later when he does not return home for the evening meal she has prepared she hears of an armed robbery believed to have mafia connections. Tony is elsewhere occupied, on this occasion.

The episode has longer term significance in revealing some of the ways Tony is stashing hundreds of thousands of dollars around the house. His uncle complains to him that organising his defence for his forthcoming trial has cost him over a million dollars and he outlines some of the way that the lawyers continue to demand fees. Tony has told Carmela that there is a shortage of funds for various reasons despite his hoarding of cash. He tells his Uncle the same story and then berates underlings for their failure to increase their earnings from criminal enterprises. Carmela had warned that hiding cash earned no interest a point made in the recent episodes of Romanzo Criminale. Tony then offers to take over a warehouse, a “worthless” site from his uncle for $100000 to help him out when in fact he has been tipped off that he site will needed for a development project worth much more as a consequence.

His mood for parsimony leads to beating up the barman at the Bada Bing for wasting money by throwing away old ice cubes which is just one manifestation of his edginess. Christopher is present and again full of resentment because Tony is using him as his beck and call driver unaware that Tony has significant plans for him. The reason that Tony does not return home for dinner is because he has arranged a party for a visiting New York Crime Boss to discuss the progress of new Esplanade development in which he has a shared financial interest. He takes Christopher to introduce him to the Crime boss. A group of girls dressed as air hostesses (they may be air hostesses) are brought to the party for a sex orgy. Christopher participates but is called away by Tony as the evening is underway.

This is the second purpose and the main cause of the title. He takes Christopher to a roadhouse where he explains that the police officer responsible for his father’s death when he was only a child is holding his retirement party. Tony had though his father’s killer had already been dealt with long time past but Tony admits they have kept the corrupt police officer on the payroll because he had been useful but now with his retirement the account could be closed. He gives Christopher the man’s home address where he lives on his own. Christopher waits and attached the man to the stair banister with handcuffs. The first denies involvement and then attempts to bargain. Christopher turns up the volume of a gangster movie and shoots the officer dead using the man’s own gun so that it looks like suicide. He visits his mother who has remained a widow and a drinker and talks about his father. Before he leaves he pins a 20 dollar bill he has taken from the killer’s wallet to a shrine of pictures and memorabilia in the room.

The new season opens with Tony going out to the gate of his domestic property to collect the local paper. Tony always starts each new season going out to the gate of his home for the paper and what he wears indicates his mood. His is dishevelled in a dressing gown and boxer shorts.

He then enters the breakfast room only to find Carmel going through a pile of papers with AJ for a school project. AJ has just started at the new school following his expulsion and persuading his parents not to send him to army school. Tony complains about the boy’s bad grades so AJ comments that he has not been enrolled long for any grades to be issued. AJ is off the radar for most of the rest of the three episodes.

It is Meadow who causes both parents concern. The daughter spends most of her time in bed or lounging at the family pool with female friends. She walked out of internship and makes excuses about getting any form of summer job. She then announces that she is going to miss a college year and go to Europe with a friend, paying her way with casual work and also participating in a film being made by a contact of her friend in Demark. Dr Melfi suggests that the girl should talk over problems with a professional counsellor because of depression following the murder of her boyfriend despite having dumped him because he was cheating on her rather than his criminality.

When the counsellor presses her about the family interests she clamps down on appearing to confirm that her father is involved with the Mafia. However she later informs the parents that she is still going to Europe with the blessing of therapist and that she can do what she likes as she is eighteen and storms out of the house. The parents think she had gone to Europe as threatened. They do not know that she had gone back to College and as warned finds that all the popular courses have been filled. She takes one under Philosophy which includes morality and social responsibility. The parents do not know where she is after a stand up row with her father.

Carmela attends a monthly social event organised by the Catholic priest for Italian wives and girlfriends and they take along Christopher’s fiancée Adriana. The speaker gains repeated applause by going through various stereotypes about Italian women to establish a sense of Italian pride and then broaden this to stereotypes about all Italians being part of the Mafia. She makes the point that only a minority are part of the criminal fraternity. This incenses one of the party of wives and girl friends who exclusively involved with Mafia criminals. She berates the priest for allowing the woman to make such comments given the position of Carmela and the amount of money the crime family donate to the church.

One of the group rushes off, the wife of gangster Bobby Baccalieri, to get a new tooth crown fitted. When her husband a call from their son to say his wife has asked if he can buy some food on his way home, he moans at this in part because of major traffic hold up which he learns is not only from a car accident but an accident in which his wife is killed. He is overcome with remorse and guilt for having told his son that his mother can be a real pain sometimes. At the usual flamboyant funeral wake attended by the crime family he is distraught and inconsolable and has the sympathy of the women folk because he not taken a mistress as is the custom and considered to be faithful.

Carmela who has so far become emotionally attached to a Parish Priest and to the handyman friend now turns her attention to Furio the killer hard man with a pigtail who Tony brought to the USA after his visit to the Southern Mafia to arrange a new deal on one of the enterprises he took over from Uncle Junior. Furio has bought a new house in the area and that he remains unattached becomes the subject of gossip within the women and of the extended “family.

It will be recalled that in the previous season Tony had a counter productive and destructive affair with another patient encountered at the office of Dr Melfi. He had one previous affair which also was related to the relationship with his mother and her relationship with his father.

This cycle of destructive relationships is also the record of one of Tony sisters, Janice who has accidentally killed one of her destructive affairs among several. She attends a family dinner organised by Carmela and who also invites Rosalie Aprile with her live lover Ralphie. Ralphie and Janice have a quickie which continues with a passionate affair kept in secret until Ralphie decides that he does not want to cope with Rosalie’s negativity and decides to move in with Janice without advising her of his intentions. She is also in receipt of analytical counselling and her need for approval from her brother through a succession of negative relationships. She throws Ralphie out of the house just as he is moving in.

In No Show Paulie Walnuts has been arrested and is in prison on a gun charge. Paulie had previously indicated his support for one of the New York bosses whose underboss Johnny Sack now has a home within the area under Tony’s control hinting that if there is to be a move on Tony’s it will have his full support. He is angered that Tony and his former associates have not kept in constant contact with him so he rings the underboss to express his dissatisfaction with the situation.

Tony has to keep low because of the imminent trial of Uncle Junior and he is aware that the Feds have been trailing members including himself. The family has a celebration to mark the birthday for made man Albert Barese at the Vesuivio where attention turns to the allocation of no show job at the Esplanade building development. These are official paid work jobs where the appointed individual does not have to work but spend the day on site lounging in chairs and enjoying chat with other given positions. Paulie was the Capo responsible for oversight of the site and he is allocated the first no show hob while he is in prison. Christopher is given the overseeing role held by Paulie while Furio and Paulie’s son are also allocated no work jobs hence Furio no longer being available to drive Tony. Tony who was not at the dinner alienates Barese who is a longer established made man than Christopher and Ralphie who has organised the dinner and subsequent meeting makes a joke about the wife of Underboss Johnny Sack who is significantly overweight.

Later Paulie is told the joke which he regards as bad taste and passes the information back to Sack’s who when discussing the Esplanade projects demands an increased share of the profits and also a share of the profit Tony has made from buying Uncle’s warehouse building as the information came for one of Sach’s associates. Tony does not understand why the Underboss is tetchy or cuts Ralphie.

There is also trouble on site when during a supervisory visit Tony finds out about the value of Internet fibre optics cabling and the no show crew and site manager believe that Christopher is giving the nod to steal and reselling the cabling for a side profit. Tony is not amused because such losses affect the profitability and completion date for the contract. Christopher apologises and takes it out on the crew. There is further trouble when Silvio Dante who is also in bad humour at the sudden rise to position of Christopher arranged for a lorry load of tiles to be stolen. Tony is enraged and comments that the load will be worth tens of thousands of dollars. Silvio hands over a wad of $2000 he has with him and promises the rest. Tony makes the point by adding “by the end of the day“.

The main story during the second show is the role of the Fed agent who has befriended Christopher’s girlfriend. They have become very close which annoys Christopher when he always finds her home when he returns for a drug injection. The girlfriend is giving up drugs and is trying to persuade Tony to do so. He promises after a final getting high following his promotions. He is suspicious about the undercover agent although on the basis that he thinks she is an male minded lesbian. Before this the agent thinks Adriana is about reveals secrets about Christopher and the mob family when in fact she wants to tell her that she had an abortion as a consequence she may not be able to have children which she dares not tell Christopher who has given her a fabulous diamond bracelet and said she would one day replace Carmela as the first lady!

In the third episode Christopher which covers Columbus Day as well as the fortunes of Christopher Moltisanti the Feds decide to cut their losses when under pressure Adriana breaks with her best friend so they arrest Adriana who is sick all over the interviewing table when told she has a choice between charged with possession for distribution of drugs after a search of her home which carries a maximum 25 year penalty or agrees to provide them with up-to-date information on the activities of Chris and his associates.
She does not have to wear a wire. Christopher had built up homes of marriage and of replacing Tony as the boss in future.

The main reason for the title is that native Americans are staging a protest about the attention being given to Christopher Columbus. This leads to various conflicts. Tony and other members visit a stud and racing stables where he has an interest in a horse and where the owner is Jewish and takes offence when a Columbus critic says he behaved as badly towards the indigenous population as did the Nazi in the Holocaust. Those from Southern Italy also do not rate Columbus who they regard as a man representing the hated North. However the majority of the Crewe see the criticism as personal to them and confront protestors assembled at the Columbus statue leading to arrests and violence.

Tony operates a different approach and attempts to blackmail the lead protestor by threatening to reveal that one of their leading hero’s was not in fact from a native Indian family. Tony is also introduced to another wealthy native American who runs one of he new casinos. When they make a hospitality visit they find the purpose is a quid pro quo arrangements getting a national Italian background singer to perform free for a week at the Casino. Worse still the man rings Tony to say that the appeal for restraint has failed.

The trial of Uncle Junior begins with the knowledge that the Feds had placed someone undercover at the hospital which had been used for Tony and other’s to meet with Junior while he allegedly went to see his doctor who had been bribed to facilitate the meetings. The undercover agent appears to be a nurse who Junior offered to take a trip after the court appearance was over, He warns Tony that the woman will have gained information on their meetings and who was there although she was never present inside the room and he had not disclosed damaging information to her. Tony continues to be concerned about his future with considerable justification.

Blue Bloods and Romanzo Criminale

I received an Income Tax notice on Friday which claimed I had underpaid tax by about a third and which as all my income is PAYE deducted was surprising and even more so when it appeared my income was significantly greater than the official notice from my occupational providers who supply the notice for end of year tax purposes. I understood how the mistake had been made but the task of getting an immediate correction proved time consuming and possibly a substantial telephone bill. I spent hours in spells trying to talk to someone being told to wait for an advisor. Eventually I got fed up and rang my occupational pension provider and got another automatic response revealing that the notice was a mistake and should be ignored as there was blunder at the Inland Revenue which was being investigated to find out what had happened. Thinking this was just a regional problem I mentioned to a London based family member who said that another relative who is not a pensioner had a similar experience. Does this mean those who have got an overpayment notice are to be disappointed?

Before continuing with the Leveson Inquiry it is time to catch up on some entertainment TV as the programme bank is nearly full so I will do some cops and robbers 21^st Century style and three stories from Blue Bloods the series based on the NYPD. They are entertainments based on communicating the difficulties confronting an NYPD police officer similar to its predecessor Hill Street Blues but with the added twist of covering a family where five members are hold present or in one instance past ranks from Police Commissioner to Rookie, Street Co Detective or Assistant DA. While this is a device to demonstrate that despite the challenges it is possible to have a married life with extended family lunches around the Sunday dinner table there is a strong dose of reality medicine within the sugar coating.

Tom Selleck is Francis "Frank" Reagan, the USA style Police Commissioner and widowed father of Danny, Erin, and Jamie. His role is more like that of the present London Commissioner working to a Mayor than the elected Public Interest supervisor to be introduced into the UK next year. It appears that Frank is a personal appointee as are the other Chief Officers and once a new Mayor is elected, possibly of a different political party all the chief officers offer their resignations enabling the Mayor to accept any from those he dislikes or seek a major policy change which it is felt the individual opposes.

There has already been a I am a Black Mayor you are a middle class White Cop prejudice start to the new Mayoral reign. This raised its ugly head again in the second episode of three now covered as the second season draws to its close as “Black and Blue”, An outspoken local clergyman and long time friend of the Mayor allowed two of “henchmen” to throw Will Estes as Jamison "Jamie" Reagan, rookie police officer and former Harvard Law graduate, Frank’s youngest son, down a flight of stairs together with his sergeant who is badly injured and hospitalised.

The Clergyman then arranged for a line of male parishioners to prevent the police gaining entry to the building and commenced to harangue them with multi channel TV news crews in attendance and a larger crowd of parishioners all black with the majority of police white. Frank attends the scene as does the Mayor and Frank ignores pressure to commence talking and orders his men to move the non violent civil disobedience blockade of the building and finds that the two men have escaped through the rear. It is amazing this was no planned for but this is the kind of series where it is best to go with the flow and not question too much.

The Commissioners then increases his popularity stakes with the Mayor and Black Community by arranging a search of the Church premises, undertaken by his middle son Daniel "Danny" Detective Reagan played by Donnie Wahlberg together either his sister, Bridget Moynahan as Erin Reagan-Boyle, Assistant District Attorney and single mother or Danny’s female partner Jackie Curatola (Jennifer Esposit). Once on the premises Jamie having been injured, goes along to assist identification of the culprits that could have ended the career of the sergeant is able to confirm the two attackers from named photographs on a wall and this quickly leads to their capture.

Meanwhile Frank has been checking out the Pastor with various interests and established that there has been official interest for sometime arising from the misuse of government funds and this also leads to his arrest. It gets the Mayor of the hook who admits that he had his reservations about the lifetime contact which led to him keeping the man at arm’s length long time back but the man had political clout so as a politician he had to go along with the situation.

Jamie also features in the main other story of the episode named Medicade when as an uncover officer working the clubs he is contacted by the son of the local Mafia boss (also under investigation by the Feds) whose life he saved when he overdosed on some bad drugs and Jamie took him to casualty and then departs to protect his position. The Feds had been hoping for this contact wanting James to go under cover again for them but because of the danger this is optional and Jamie has his doubts about maintaining a legend during any ongoing relationship required with involvement in such a family.

Jamie agrees and attends a large family gathering at the son’s restaurant where he is first quizzed by the mafia boss who appears satisfied with the explanation why he did not stay with his son at hospital. Jamie is also warned off the attractive daughter who is rehearsing the song Hallelujah and insists on accompanying the two young men when the Mafia son announces he is off to pay his respects to the drug dealer who gave him the bad stuff. Jamie has been advised that he is to observer and report but not give himself away or actively participate in any criminality. He manages to get out of cutting the man after he is forced to take a lethal cocktail of snorted drugs. James finds the experience unpleasant and not his cup of tea when he is forced to leave the man without medical and quickly returns to uniform street duties. One suspects this is the start and not the end of this particular story line.

This is a grey area where it is evident that on both sides of the Atlantic it is unrealistic and impractical for undercover officers not to participate in unlawful activities to a degree especially in situations where the idea is to gain the confidence of ringleaders and gain access to membership lists and representational meetings with other groups nationally and internationally. In the recent real situation discussed at some length the individual became confused, to put it mildly, commencing a serious long term relationship with one individual and over the eight year period getting to like and have more in common with them than his only family, friends and colleagues.

The episode is called Medicade because of an insurance scam in which there is prior arrangement for a vehicle to be driven into the back of a stationary one, enabling an individual make substantial personal damage claims. What goes wrong is that the person making telephone contact is killed when taking off his seat belt to retrieve the phone which has slipped out of his hand. Danny solves the case. In the story Danny and his wife are having a romantic weekend with an evening meal and hotel stop over away from their two sons who are having a boys out with their dad and great granddad Henry Reagan, retired Police Commissioner, played by Len Cariou who is in fact only five years older than his actor son in real life and therefore requires some aging make up to justify the age difference of father and son.

The boys are taken out for a meal, do some fishing and watch a western until they sleep. They experience a similar time to that which Frank had with his father and grandfather when he was their age and remains a lasting memory. The boys are told to enjoy their food out because when they grow up they will find there is a time when starting their own homes and families they will not be able to afford to eat out which strikes the boy’s as unfair. The story thus making the point of the important role of grand parents and great grand parents can have in passing on their experience (for better or worse).

The romantic evening goes badly at first when Frank is called out but after he returns the evening ends on a high note.

In "Lonely Hearts Club Jackie Danny’s partner goes undercover as an escort Internet site girl when she and Danny track down a serial killer who is murdering prostitutes in hotel rooms.

We see the first part of the latest murder when the girl bribes the reception clerk for a room to meet her client who asks her to turn round and it appears he then strangles her. This is correct but first he has injected a paralysing substance into her neck. The body is washed with surgical spirit as is the room to remove DNA. Later there I a record of two other similar killings and the three girls all have same build and appearance as Danny’s partner who has already had a narrow escape from being raped in an earlier episode. Danny is concerned but the girl is confident about doing the job she has trained for.

Danny interviews the bereaved mother only to find that she has become estranged because of her daughter’s way of life and says that she is not surprised by the death as she assume it would be a matter of time. I saw her behaviour as suspicious noting that we had not seen if the murderer was male or female. Despite having cameras and audio in the room things go awry and the assistant just about escapes with her life again. Danny rescues to find that the murderer(s) is in fact the interviewed mother and her son who believe they are doing God’s work.

Assistant DA Erin Reagan is still concerned that her teenage daughter Nicole "Nicky" Reagan-Boyle wants to join the force and is forcing her on a tour of artistic experience including the Met Opera which she enjoys more than anticipated and a contemporary art centre where she has considerable misgiving. She attributes certain qualities to one picture which her mother pooh pooh’s only to be supported by an attractive man who says he is an art agent who has direct knowledge of the artist. This provides the opportunity for mother to commence yet another romantic engagement. The daughter wears teeth braces to promote the notion that doing so does not make a young woman unattractive.

There is one other story line. Frank is facing union problems because of the political tax cutting budget and the union leader is proposing a pay freeze for a year but no job cuts and no out sourcing. Frank arranges a meeting at which the various departmental head outline their proposals to the union boss. One quip is the threat for the police to develop Blue Fl, mass sickness leave because of the inability to strike.

One of his retired father’s function is to arrange an annual sports event and meets one of his former deputies who boasts he is working for a private security corporation that had contracts in the USA as well as abroad. They want the grandfather onboard because they believe he will carry weight in their bid to take over some non policing functions. He declines because of expensive suits he will have to wear and a long tiresome train journey and not being available for the family as much as he would like especially his weekly Sunday roasts.

The things always ending well or relatively well is not so when looking at Cops and Robbers Italian style 1970 and based on true events when several collectives of young gangsters combined into one collective providing the whole of Rome with illegal drugs in Romanzo Criminale an Italian production with English sub titles. While the comparatively young handsome Police Detective, a kind of middle ranking senior officer with some independence reporting directly to the judicial system on the management of individual investigations, knows that members of the Collective were responsible for the kidnapping and death of someone early on, for several brutal gangland killings since and for the drug racketeering he is unable to gain sufficient evidence for a successful prosecution, although in one instance he did and higher ups arrange for the evidence to disappear.

His is also compromised in two ways. The first is repeated interventions to prevent his communist sister activist from arrest and imprisonment and in the latest two episodes viewed he arranged for her to leave the country to Paris as the situation becomes too hot following the kidnapping and execution of the former Prime Minister. He is photographed although we do not know who by. He is also attracted to the beautiful and confident upper class prostitute girlfriend of one of the senior members of the racketeers who repeatedly offers herself to him in exchange for not being asked to spy on her gangster lover. By the end of the two episodes the Detective has gone with another call girl who as a day job working in a bar.

His previous target Dandi whose a third lead member in the gang continues to cause his colleagues concern so they devise a plan to set up a brothel with his girl as the Madam so that she can become the full time official girl friend of Dandi. There is a complication during the two episodes when a punter dies from a heart condition and in order not to attract attention they get rid of the body unofficially. This causes two problems. The first is that the deceased was a friend of a friend recommended to the brothel because an Asian girl was known to be working there and the family is concerned about the disappearance. The major threat comes when the girl panics about the implications of covering up the death and makes contact with the police. She is silenced by money and threats, just before the Senior Detective arrives.

The focus of the first of the two episodes covered is the wish to get rid of the Gangster Terrible who has continued to control a major part of the city separately from the collective. He attempted to get rid of the leaders and take over their rackets and plans an assassination attempt. This fails and the two assassins are captured and forced to join forces with the Collective and enable the gang to enter the stronghold. However Terrible and escaped and gone into hiding. When this is discovered t Libanese is persuaded to let the leader of the original other gang to take a small group to take their rival out including piercing his heart with Libanese’s knife

The killing takes places on the big celebration of the wedding of the gang member who has got the school age girl pregnant. There are complications because of the need for the gangster to covert to Catholicism before the wedding takes place. The priest is given a large bribe of donation to the poor to expedite matters to enable the wedding to be organised early. Before the happy day there is an indication of the growing wealth of the syndicate in that there is a debate about which style of suit the young man will wear and they settle for a St Laurent.

Meanwhile a bank robbery has taken place with a death and the Detective chief believes he has evidence to pin the robbery on the man who killed Terrible and locks him up. I believe the individual has the nickname as the Cold. He is the one who had a regular girlfriend who had been going out with his younger brother who did not tell abut his life as a gangster until he was arrested in her presence and they have not had contact since. He is introspective and longs for a different life and has become moods and aggressive in his otherwise calm and sympathetic manner acting as brake on some of Libanese rasher moments. It takes time for others to find the man who had stolen the motorcycle of Libanese used in the robbery. The Motorcycle is placed outside the police headquarters while the Cold is in custody thus confirming that there is no real evidence. This all takes time meanwhile some of the friend wondered if The Cold had committed the robbery and this has filtered to him while in prison. Worse was to come when he is discharged and finds that by a majority the decision had been taken to open a casino.

There is more to the coolness between the two men. Libanese has become very ambitious. They had been invited to a lunch meeting with the Mafia who offer a deal to provide all the drugs allowing the new group to keep all the profits without requiring a cut from these. This only serves to increase money and the Mafia offer advice in going into business venture including property and investment speculation. The Cold hankers for keeping things small and for the past relationship. At one point the senior detective visits the small dingy club type haunt where they spend hours together playing pool and card games as well as a crime HQ. After his release The Cold makes friends with the young man who committed the bank robbery and who is more interested in the thrill than the money which to some extent meshes in with the Cold as well as sharing his passion for fast motorbikes so they go off and look at the stars and philosophise about star sign personalities. The Cold has told Libanese that the higher you rise the harder you fall.

Tremé second season ends

For the past two days I experienced an arthritic kind of pain in my right leg which was crippling in its impact at first. Sometime ago I experienced a similar reaction and obtained a gel from my general practitioner which worked like magic and fortunately I had more than half a tube left and so far it is working just as well although after just over a day usage there is still a lingering sense that all is not as it should be,

I begin a late catch up after spending the greater part of the day listening to the editor of Guardian present a powerful condemnation of the News of the World and the section of the printed media whose behaviour had led to the inquiry being held. However his thoughtful introduction which included observations and suggestions for the future which clearly had the ear of Lord Leveson was an introduction for the presentation of the QC representing 51 victims who are to give evidence to the enquiry. He launched a blistering assault on the behaviour of the whole genre of tabloid journalism which suggests it is going to be an import week as the can be described as he fight back begins. However it is important not be carried away demonstrated by the media who briefly referred what he said in of the first witnessed to appear and to some of the others. It may be they have taken cognisance of the of the plea that in giving evidence they should not be revictimised by the processes of giving testimony or by the media reminding of the circumstances which provoked the hounding.

I have watched the last two episodes of Tremé in succession and note that they completed a series which was not as good as the first but which improved as it progressed.

The series ended with an episode focussed on the New Orleans Heritage and Jazz Festival which covers one three and one four day weekend with a three day break in between and has the hallmarks of Glastonbury except for its emphasis on Jazz and Folk, including New Orleans foods. Last year there were seven music stages with and five performance tents plus exhibitions. Some main liners perform the whole range of jazz from traditional, blues and marching bands to mainstream and modern. This is a very different kind of event to the Mardi Gras and other similar events which are designed for riotous living. This event has a performance schedule from 11 to 7 each day although wine, beer as well as soft drinks and water are on sale.

Antoine Batiste (Wendell Pierce): The trombonist does not have a good end of season as his band falls apart which for me is not surprising because he plays neither one thing or the other music, He puts more time in for the pre High School band and in particular the trumpet players and a few finds who have formed themselves into a group and do a street gig as the New Orleans Heritage and Jazz festival approaches. He is a spectator at the event.

LaDonna Batiste-Williams (Khandi Alexander) continues to suffer the effects of the rape and physical beating and when her husband puts the foot down she agrees to sell the bar and remain in Baton Rouge with her husband and sons. Following Counselling she commences to have marital relations although her anger with everyone, especially men continues and comes to a head when she visits another bar to see if they are interested in acquiring some of the equipment from the bar. He she spots one of the rapists sitting and drinking. She calls the police and has the young man arrested giving him a good kicking at the same time. Accompanied by her husband she visits the police/court house where they apologise for the error which led to the release.

She gets her spirit back and her husband says that she should not sell the bar and that he and the boys will move into the City so they are together.

Antoinette "Toni" Bernette (Melissa Leo. She continues to be frustrated with the lack of progress on the death of young man who came as a visitor and stayed but her enquiries suggest that there has been a cover up with missing file information. Unbeknown to her friend has moved in homicide as number two to try and get the evidence to bring the end and those involved in the conspiracy to cover up what during the flooding and subsequently. Because of his apparent lack of cooperation with her investigation the two are no longer on good terms.

Her relationship with her daughter Sofia (India Ennenga): Toni changes as a consequence that the Mayor where she works as an Intern three day a week after school is found to have taken kick backs. Sofia comments that people one trusts and admires key one down and her mother realises she is talking as much about her father as the Mayor. She is able to admit her anger at the suicide and this brings about a reconciliation with her mother who she is also appreciates is looking out for her in relation to the upcoming court proceedings. She rejects an invitation to smoke a piece of weed with a regular young man who fancies her.

Nor is it a surprise when Janette Desautel (Kim Dickens) seriously considers moving back to New Orleans when the opportunity comes of managing a restaurant. Her move to the top notch counter restaurant is a successful one as she begins to provide New Orleans-Louisiana dishes

I have head of Jambalaya. The first and most common is Creole jambalaya (also called "red jambalaya"). First, meat is added to the trinity of celery, peppers, and onions; the meat is usually chicken and sausage such as andouille or smoked sausage. Next vegetables and tomatoes are added to cook, followed by seafood. Rice and stock are added in equal proportions at the very end. The mixture is brought to a boil and left to simmer for 20 to 60 minutes, depending on the recipe, with infrequent stirring. Towards the end of the cooking process, stirring usually ceases. Some versions call for the jambalaya to be baked after the cooking of all the ingredients.

The second style, more characteristic of south-western and south-central Louisiana, is Cajun jambalaya, which contains no tomatoes (the idea being the closer to New Orleans one gets, the more common tomatoes are in dishes). The meat is browned in a cast-iron pot. The bits of meat that stick to the bottom of the pot are what give a Cajun jambalaya its brown colour. A little vegetable oil is added if there is not enough fat in the pot. The trinity (of 50% onions, 25% celery, and 25% green bell pepper, although proportions can be altered to suit one's taste) is added and sautéed until soft. Stock and seasonings are added in the next step, and then the meats are returned to the pot. This mixture is then simmered, covered, for at least one hour. Lastly, the mixture is brought to a boil and rice is added to the pot. It is then covered and left to simmer over very low heat for at least 1/2 hour without stirring. The dish is finished when the rice has cooked.

While an upmarket Jambalaya may be something which Janette would cook I suspect she is not into the Po Boy or
Muffulettas.

Looking at the list of 100 food outlets at the Heritage and Jazz Festival there were Po Boy’s Hot Sausage, Roast Beef, Crabmeat and Soft Shell crab meat, Paneed chicken, Fried Shrimp Turkey Guiariniera, Louisiana Crawfish, Cajon Duck Cochon du lait, which at one level is no more than a hot sandwich. The muffulettas are more my cup of coffee as a traditional muffuletta consists of one muffulettas loaf, split horizontally. The loaf is then covered with a marinated olive salad, then layers of capicola, salami, pepperoni, emmentaler, ham and provolone. Although some restaurants will do their own take on these ingredients, a proper muffuletta must always have an olive spread and never contains cream cheese. The sandwich is sometimes heated through to soften the provolone. The size of the muffuletta is enough to feed more than one person, and many stores sell quarter or half-muffulettas. Described a round Sicilian bread it resembles Stotty here in the Northeast the Barm cake in Yorks and Lancs

The olive salad consists primarily of olives, along with celery, cauliflower and carrot, found in a jar of Guiariniera. The ingredients are combined, seasonings such as oregano and garlic, are added, covered in olive oil and allowed to combine for at least 24 hours. Today, the Muffuletta has become the signature sandwich of New Orleans

I also liked the sound of Sausage Pecan Catfish Meunière but expensive; Fried Crab Cake with Smoked Tomato & Jalapeño Tartar; Alligator Pie and the Louisiana Crawfish Etouffée or Remoulade.

Jeanette returned to New Orleans to stand bail for her former deputy Chef incarcerated because if immigration problems and they are on the own and into bed soon after. It is not clear if she gives her booked flight and restaurant due session a miss or comes back for the Heritage and Jazz festival where she is very much an item.

Albert "Big Chief" Lambreaux (Clarke Peters) the Mardi Gras Indian chief gets his way in two respects as first his son agrees to finish recording the album mixing modern and traditional sounds in New Orleans and which leads to doing an afternoon set at festival and then he raises the $20000 cash from family and friends to enable the chief to undertake a DIY repair on the his property shell while they wait for insurance government money.

His son Delmond Lambreaux (Rob Brown) gives up his flat to returns to New Orleans to help his father with the work and this appears to become a permanent move when his white girl friend understandably rejects his suggestion that he moves his things over and stays there whenever he needs to be back in the city. This could pave the way for a relationship with Jeantte in the third series.

Alas Davis McAlary (Steve Zahn) is one of the characters worse off at the end of these series than the beginning although his relationship with Annie goes from strength to strength. His record independent label record financed by his aunt is a great success except that his band take over and have no place for him except for his novelty rants while his aunt also sells out for $40000 of which he only gets just over $4000 after expenses have been deducted,

He does help to comfort Annie Tallarico (Lucia Micarelli): who was present going home from a gig when the leader of the band is shot dead. The penultimate episode opens with a meeting, singing and playing in the adjacent part of his closest friends followed by the discovery of relative who admits the long bearded southerner was something a fraud having grown up in middle class Washington. She has got hold of some incomplete compositions of her mentor and with Davis encouragement she starts to complete the pieces. Davis does a red eye set at the old radio station hoping to get back in the good books of the station owner.

Sonny (Michiel Huisman) Anni‘s former lover continues in his new life and seems to have given up playing his guitar as well as drugs for work with the fishing fleet. He meets Annie and Davis and she mentions the exhibition photo of him rescuing the baby during the flooding. He takes an interest in the daughter of the Chinese shrimp boat fisherman and she says he has to ask her father if they can date. The father arranges for him to go on a fishing trip on his boat before giving consent. The trip provides an opportunity to show the extent to which the bay is being overrun by oil exploration and the ongoing contamination from leaks.

This just leaves Terry Colson (David Morse) who moved from being a lieutenant for the NOPD to deputy at their homicide division where his refusal to hand over papers to Toni to help in her investigation is a cover for his own work to find the evidence to expose the head and those within the team who have covered up their involvement in deaths that occurred during the floods. This story is carried over to the third series.

The other story lead is that of second season newcomer Nelson Hidalgo (Jon Seda) the politically connected developer and venture capitalist from Dallas, who becomes involved in the renewal efforts in post-Katrina New Orleans, he has a penchant for fast women, getting drunk and for dodgy deals as well a developing love for the culture which he explores at every opportunity. He is challenged by his brother to say what he creates or contributes. He is also busy buying up properties at above market prices in an area because he has been told there are plans for future redevelopment. However he gives the impression of being affected by the comments of his brother,

All the music videos are available on the official site.

Strike Back

I could not sleep after going to bed at 1 am on Wednesday November 9th 2011 and decided to get up and watch television and after flipping through the various channels came across the first episode of a series which had recently completed two seasons, watched and was sufficiently impressed to then spend sometime the following morning trying to find out if it was possible to continue viewing and after checking Sky Anytime and the Internet went back to Anytime and checked the individual channels and discovered the full first series and was immediately able to complete the second of the opening double episode and then the remaining four episodes of the first season.

On the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a Special Forces unit takes part in an operation to release a hostage, during which, John Porter disarms a boy named As'ad wearing a suicide vest. After the hostage is found, two soldiers are killed and one is left in a vegetative state. Believing the boy was responsible, and that Porter did not kill him, he is dishonourably discharged from the service and which creates a gulf between himself and his daughter and subsequently with his wife as he unable to find suitable employment or settle into civilian life. He is wracked by guilt and that his closest friend remains in a coma.

Seven years pass to so that the series is based on the world of 2010 when the series was given its first airing, A former colleague (Hugh Collinson) who was involved in the 2003 successful extraction has become head of a unit at MI6 and he has obtained employment for Porter as a security officer to the building.

In Iraq the daughter, Katie Darmouth, of a former government Minister, and front line news reporter, is kidnapped outside of Basra by a an organisation called the "Sword of Islam"; A young man was spotted by Katie observing her prior to the kidnap and when she sees the same young man participating in the kidnap she is able to capture his picture on her phone which is passed to the MI6 Unit. The picture of the young man is circulated and is seen by Porter who recognises him as the young man in the photo. He visits Collinson and pleads to be reinstated to assist in the rescue of the hostage and capture the young man who might be able to establish that the soldiers were killed by another. He is refused in part because he has suffered from post traumatic stress.

The former Minister is insistent that action is taken to find secure the release of his daughter and on learning that Porter is convinced he knows where the girl could be held, he presses the authorities to reinstate Porter who is subject to psychological and physical testing. The clinical psychologist, an attractive young woman, has sex with him because as it is later reported it was evident that the lack of a sexual relationship was the only thing holding him back!

The situation becomes intense when the kidnappers uploaded a film of the woman demanding the release of someone held at Belmarsh Prison. Upon realising one of the kidnappers is As'ad, Collinson accompanies a field unit managed by an MI6 HQ female officer Leyla Thompson who has reservations about using Porter. When they think they have lucky break and able to trace the location of the last broadcast the unit is killed as it is a prearrange bobby trap with only Leyla surviving.

The disaster leads the Government under pressure from the former Minister to seek to negotiate with the consequence that the captors claim their demand is not being taken seriously and chop off one of the woman’s hands at her wrist. It is at this point that Porter attempts a one person rescue in defiance of the Government‘s unwillingness to risk further personnel. He has been equipped with the latest tracking device inserted into a tooth cavity. He has a two part plan. The first is to get him captured and taken to where the woman is being held and to play on the Muslim commitment that having saved the life of the young man he is indebted to his saviour. He also hides a small blade in a contained in his anal cavity. He persuades the woman to trust him and this includes being beaten on her back and his plan nearly does not work as she is about to be decapitated on camera when he breaks out of where he is being held and rescues her. The captors have checked and removed his tooth tracking device but they manage to get out a Satellite phone location and escape with the help of the young man. However although a helicopter reached the trio in times, orders have been given by Collinson not to bring back the young man who has sworn that he did not kill the soldiers.

Back home, Porter learns from the woman that the young man had sworn he had not killed the British Soldiers and that they had been killed by another British Soldier. Porter guesses correctly that it was Collison. He is reunited with his family.

For the second two parter the action switches to the Capital of Uganda Harare where a Former S.A.S believes he is being hired by the British Government to kill the President and Dictator Robert Mugabe. It is in fact a body double and agent is captured and placed in prison. He is to be put on a show as a means of rallying opposition to British campaign against the Ugandan President. This would be every embarrassing for the British government so the MI6 special unit are instructed to arrange to get the man out of prison and the country although there is also the suggestion of a fall back position of the man being killed so he cannot talk.

Porter has been offered and accepted a field operative appointment with MI6 and he is selected for the mission with Leyla Thompson, appointed his liaison officer on the ground. His task is to get himself arrested and into the same prison as the would be Mugabe assassin, to make contact and get him out.

Leyla goes first to South Africa and from there into Uganda under a false identity posing at a South African official seeking the extradition of Porter. She visits to advise him that the man is to be moved early for trial early and she undertakes to have a vehicle waiting outside the prison on the morning of the appointed day for the break out.

Porter has prepared for the breakout by undertaking a prize fight for money as the champion of a prison guard who gains significantly financially from the side bets on the outcome. He persuades the guard to arrange another contest at dawn in which he offers to fight two men and thus increase the odds for the Guard. With the prisoners and guards focussed on preparing for this event he stages the breakout and persuades the would be assassin (Masuku) to trust him. Leyla is ordered by Collinson to abandon her involvement in the mission and get herself out of the country leaving Porter and Masuku to fend for themselves after they managed to escape.

They hotwire a car which Porter drives into the countryside to an off road location where the car is hidden in the brush and Musaku finds that Porter has prepared a grave for him under orders from London. Musaku is able to convince Porter that he was set up in that as just with the break out the Colonel Tshuma had crack security troops waiting for him kill the Presidential double.

In fact London has worked out they have a traitor and discover that the link man in the Embassy in South Africa is in the pay of the Mugabe administration and Collison makes his way to South Africa to confront the Embassy official who his team has discovered lives in fine style with substantial funds in offshore accounts.
Porter and Masuku attempt to make it out of Uganda to South Africa on foot chased by Colonel Tshuma with the help of an indigenous tracker. At one point the two men are nearly capture but manage to escape by jumping off a cliff into a river.

They come across a young girl being raped at a one nun orphanage and on intervening find that some bandits are using the children as hostages as part of a alleging helping to get people over the border for payment. The group are in fact killing the people they are supposed to help but they are able to rescue two of the children although a fire fight follows. As it no longer safe for the orphanage to remain the nun takes the children on her own over the border while the two men hold off the Colonel and his men until the British S.A.S unit arrives. The Colonel is killed in the battle and Masuku, who was previously a trained S.A.S operative elects to stay in the area. Collinson is thwarted in bringing the Embassy traitor to justice as the man commits suicide.

Porter had upset his daughter by having to cancel a weekend home not knowing that his wife was due to go into hospital for an operation which was not considered life threatening. Because of complications the woman dies understandably leaving the daughter shocked and distressed. Collinson breaks the news to Porter while he is in South Africa recovering from his injuries and he is able to talk to his daughter via computer video link.

The final two parter of this first series is set in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan on the border with Pakistan. British planes called into assist American patrols fighting on the ground are called in to assist with air rocket fire only to find that at the last moment the rockets are deflected and his patrols they are attempting to help with understandable alarm on the part of the USA.

It is discovered that former British computer technology specialist called Baxter had disappeared and turned up in Afghanistan and is believed to be behind the incidents. The story is a complicated one. It appears that Baxter was recruited by the CIA and his wife and children fast tracked into the USA and provided new lives and identities. Baxter has joined a warlord with a base in Pakistan who has a plan to take control and bring stability once Foreign forces leave and part of the plan is to bring disunity between the British and USA force to get them to leave sooner than later. Unbeknown to Baxter who is an idealist the Warlord who is an educated and cultured is being supported by the USA government via the CIA to take over the country when they depart.

Porter is sent to extract him but the CIA lean on Collinson to leave them to their fate when they are captured by as USA patrol unaware of the background or involvements of the CIA and MI6 interests. The CIA wants the world to believe Baxter was a rogue British agent and nothing to do with the USA.

Porter and Baxter escape and Porter who has posed as a guidance system arms dealer offers to provide the codes for the latest rockets coming on stream and is taken by Baxter to meet the Warlord Zahir and then tells the warlord that Porter must be SAS from his behaviour and Porter is then tortured to reveal intelligence information on the location of British forces which of course he does not know. He eventually is able to persuade Baxter that that the Warlord is working with the CIA and that the death of two men is being exchanged for more arms and intelligence. They manage to escape and make contact with the HQ.

Throughout the second and third stories the question of who killed the two British soldiers in Iraq leaving the third in a coma has remained to be answered. Porter has established a sexual relationship with the clinical psychologist who passed him fit to return to active duty and the Leyla has also had her suspicions about the behaviour of Collison ever since refused to allow the young man who had helped Porter and the TV Journalist to escape. When the third soldier dies the two women combine to get the evidence to clear Porter and reveal the truth of Collinson. With the death of the third soldier arrangements are made for the bullet in his body to be removed and tested and it is found not only to have been fired by a British weapon but the one which had been used by Collinson.

When Collinson yields to the CIA pressure to abandon Porter and Baxter Leyla blackmails him into assisting and he goes to Afghanistan and uses a jeep to locate the two men and then arranges for an air extraction. Unfortunately Baxter is killed by one of the Warlord’s men so Porter, having been advised of the situation has to confront Collinson about what happened alone. At first Collinson denies liability and gains control of the situation proposing to kill Porter, saying that he will also be to show that in fact the weapon in his possession originally belonged to Porter. Porter then gains control and Collinson admits that he had also seen the boy with a weapon but he, as Porter, had hesitated, about killing him. He had then heard further noise and movement and opened fire killing his own men.

He admits that he had the opportunity to tell the truth of what had happened but decided not to do so. He had then covered up since but also tried to look out for Porter and his family. He is badly wounded as they come under increasing fire and he then provides cover for Porter to escape.

The episode ends in a cliffhanger, as a Delta force elimination team is given the green light by the CIA to intercept and kill Porter, on the grounds he is a rogue officer heading for Iran.

The second and third stories did not have the same authenticity as the first although both contain moments which one suspects are close to the reality. The series is a success because of the inclusion of two outstanding British Actors. Porter is played by Richard Crispin Armitage (born 22 August 1971) known for his roles as John Thornton in North and South, Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood, and Lucas North in Spooks. He is currently cast as Thorin Oakenshield in the two-film adaptation of The Hobbit.

Collinson is played by Andrew Lincoln (born Andrew James Clutterbuck; 14 September 1973) is an English actor, known for his roles in the TV series This Life, Teachers and Afterlife, and the films Love Actually and Heartbreaker. He currently plays the lead role in AMC's television series The Walking Dead.

Sopranos season three ends and Romanzo Criminale continues

I begin Crime report with the series featuring Mafia life within past decade or so and the last two excellent productions of the third season of the Sopranos.

The main character Tony, the Mafia New England area boss is persuaded to take back Gloria Trillo as his mistress; the car dealership executive who he meet at the office of his psychoanalyst Dr Melfi where there was a double booking. Dr Melfi had suggested that Tony was attracted to women who possessed similar characteristics to his mother, and in this instance of her patient someone with self destructive tendencies, warning both that the affair would end badly, potentially for both of them.

By coincidence Carmel has a car leasing deal with the same dealership so when it is necessary to take the vehicle in for work and Gloria overhears the situation she offers to drive Carmel home and pumps her about her family and relationships on the journey. She then phones separately one evening to suggest a new model and when Carmela talks over the call with Tony he grasps that the woman has gone out of her way to get to know his wife so he breaks the relationship and warns Gloria what will happen if she makes any further contact with his family. When she phones him in distress later he visits and nearly strangles her. He arranges for an associate to frighten her about the consequences of attempting continuing contact and this appears to have the desired effect. Later in discussing with Dr Melfi, Tony goes as far as he is ever has before in admitting that she was right and that part of the attraction his need to prove himself and gain the love of his mother who had rejected and betrayed him and which he had failed to admit and accept. While not breaking her professional commitment she indicates Gloria’s self destructiveness which the woman continues to refuse to deal with.

The important aspect of this second similar relationship in the three seasons so far is that Dr Melfi suggests to Tony that he will never leave Carmela because she is the one good person in her life. When he returns home he looks upon Carmela in a more appreciative way.

Tony has business problems centred on Jackie Aprile Jnr in the first instance. He is pleased to learn from Carmela and that the relationship with their daughter Meadow has ended. Jackie Jnr and his partner in crime intervene when three other young punks disrespect the owner of a cafe they are in and they fight and kick them out as Christopher arrives and he gives them a talk’in to for the damage caused. Afterwards they comment on the fact that although young Christopher is a made man. Later they discuss with Ralphie Cifretto who has moved in with Jackie’s Jnr’s mother their wish to get ahead and he tells the story how Tony and his father got themselves fast tracked made by doing a major job involving an associate and although they had to pay back most of the money it singled them out as young ‘Turks’ to be reckoned with.
This inspires them to raid a poker game involving Christopher and others resulting in the organiser of the game being shot and a fire fight in which one of the trio is also shot and the second executed after being caught by Christopher and one of the others. Furio, the hard man Tony brought back from his visit to Italy is wounded in the leg and requires private medical care to take out the bullet and dress the wound. He subsequently walks with a stick.

Jackie Jnr goes on the run and into hiding with a black crack dealer living in a Housing project. Christopher demands satisfaction but Tony tells him to hold off and leave it to him to sort out. Christopher is angry and upset and while continuing to respect in the sense of accept Tony’s authority, he says he withdraws his love and Tony notes to himself that this means trouble.

When Tony speaks with Ralphie and superficially appears to accept the man‘s reluctance to have the boy killed because he is living with his widow. Tony had tried to keep the boy away from crime as his father had wished. When there is a delay in the matter being resolved Tony reminds Ralphie that he has been made up to a captain and that indecision is a bad example and reluctantly Ralphie arranges for Jnr to be executed, shot in the head when he goes out of the hideaway,

The death is presented within the Family and to the media as drug related and when the family arrange the usual mafia style funeral with an open coffin with seating for everyone to pay their respects, mass, high display of flowers followed by wake it is daughter Meadow who sees the hypocrisy. She agrees accepts her father’s insistence it was drug related and nothing internal to the extended crime family. For use outside the Family. When Jnr’s sister speaks out about the situation to a friend it is Meadow who reprimands for speaking to a stranger and insists that the family is concerned with the waste disposal business but the business in such that they come into contact with gangsters but that does not mean they are the same. However later she gets drunk at the house of bereaved and then attends a separate gathering at the restaurant. Uncle Junior is celebrating because his lawyer has got him freed from house arrest and he is persuaded to sing the Italian song ‘Core nratgo’ which he sings remarkably well and brings most present to tears but not the drunk Meadow who says the whole thing is bullshit and throws bread rolls across the room. When Tony goes to remonstrate she runs out and dangerously across the road to get the bus home.

The couple are also having problems with AJ who with a friend steals the exam papers so they get high marks which alerts the school head to cheating. Both have urinated from nerves in the out office and the head says they have been able to match their DNA which as Meadow says would have taken six weeks and therefore they have admitted unnecessarily. He is expelled which angers Tony who decides to send him to military school which horrifies the young man when he learns the nature of the regime. When the boy is dressed in the uniform of the school and looks in the mirror he fells humiliated he pleads with his father not to be sent to the establishment and then has a passing out fit as he did when appointed the defensive football captain. Tony is able to admit that his own condition as that of his son is heredity.

This only worries Tony more about his wish for the two children to have a different life. He talks about this for the first time with Dr Melfi and his fear that his son will follow in his footsteps. He was given no choice but to follow his father. He wants A.J. to have the maximum choice and this is why he is pleased Meadow is away from the family at College in New York and away from his life.

His wishes are clearly genuine which endears him to Dr Melfi but when she had talked of Gloria attracted and needing to be with danger she could have been speaking of herself.

Carmela has also become ambivalent about her life as the wife of a crime boss. She goes to confession and then has a chat with the new priest who has come from Africa or is an African American. He does not share the previous advice that she should leave Tony having made her marriage vows but he advises she should take all steps not to profit from his illegal gains so she hides and then stops wearing the gaudy expensive ring which Tony had bought for her. She is seen studying a text book on the examination to become a registered Estate Agent. The priest also advises that she concentrates on the good side of her husband and his life. This has come about because when visiting an art gallery she becomes emotional on seeing a picture which a baby and child, The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Jusepe de Riberia. Later she bursts into tears watching TV and then realises it is a commercial for dog food. She worries about her health especially if she has ovarian cancer and this raises questions about her life with Tony.

There is an incident which Tony has to deal with that also suggests something of the way subsequent seasons may develop. Paulie Walnuts is upset because he provided information which enabled Ralphie and his associates to pull a job which yielded $100000. He thinks he should have half. He wants this because his mother needs residential care and he takes her to the established where Tony had placed his mother and which is the most expensive in the state and costs $8000 a months and $40000 up front. Paulie demands a sit down meeting with Tony as arbiter and after hearing the case Tony rules that Ralphie should pay a fee, an eighth at $12500.

This angers Paulie and when he meets one of the New York Underbosses who has a home in the area he has a beef about Tony and his admiration for the boss, Carmine Lupertazz, which the Underboss says is reciprocated. Paulie says meaningfully that if there is ever anything he can do for the boss they just have to ask.

There is also an indication Tony is likely to come under renewed pressure from the Feds who have been affected by the removal of the listening device in the lamp in the basement which Meadow took to college. With Uncle Junior in remission from his cancer they are able to proceed with RICCO trial hence the lifting of the house arrest. Now they decide to concentrate on Christopher and his fiancée. They propose to target Christopher by appointing female Agent Deborah Ciccerone on an undercover mission to befriend Chris' fiancée, Adriana La Cerva, and report back on whatever information she can find. She is required to have a new hair do and clothes in a similar style to Adriana and then befriend her when shopping at her favourite store. Shortly after this Christopher is arrested at the funeral of Jackie Junior together with Silvio for illegal gambling.

I now move back to the 1970’s in Rome and the attempt of young petty criminals to use drug distribution to create and city wide crime controlling gang Romanzio Criminale.

The funds acquired from combination of two gangs to kidnap a Baron had provided the basis for the take over attempt. The group then intimidated the majority of dealers to accept the new regime in return for a stipend of 10% of their previous income. One who used force was subsequently eliminated. However it was necessary to accommodate one group who supplied the drugs and another who had their own territory.

They had not escaped the attentions of the authorities although this has two conflicting consequences. A Police Commissioner was correctly convinced that it had been members of group behind the kidnap and this led to establishing that a beautiful upmarket prostitute Patrizia and become the paid girl friend of one of the group with the nickname of Dandi. He has used marked notes to buy time from the girl who had then spent the money. The Commissioner now attempted to persuade Patrizia to confirm his suspicions and give evidence, but this she refused and he became more and obsessed with by her beauty, sexuality and personality.

The Commissioner gets a breakthrough when he receives anonymous tip about the location of the body which proves correct and he persuades the presiding judge to agree to the arrest of the ‘Crew’ and to search their known premises in search of evidence to justify charges. The five or was it six leading members of the two crews involved return to one of the jails where they had previous experience as youngsters and some reflect on the incidents which led to their subsequent adult criminality.

Dandi for example was a young waiter no more than a boy who dreamed of sexy women who were well known personalities. One day a famous woman comes with her man, for a drink and he is allowed to present the bill and seek an autograph taking the opportunity to stare into her cleavage noted by the older male companion who gives him a large tip to save as he will need much money if he wants to have a woman like this in the future. The companion is called Dandi, a name which the young waiter adopts as his hero.

We also learn why The Cold hates his father. As a youngster he discovers that his father has a mistress who runs a local store and becomes defiant and gets and gun and robs the store.

He discloses to his brother that he is now with the girlfriend and understandably the brother is angry and wishes to have nothing more to do with him. Just when he finds the courage to tells the girl he is a criminal he is arrested when they are together.

The Libanese continued to live alone in the caravan in a field since being asked to leave by his mother. He has now rented an expensive modern apartment In the first report I left him feeling sorry for himself on a seaside beach with the rejected fur coat wrapped around him for comfort,

He returns to the caravan to find a note with the necklace he gave to his girlfriend before she was raped by the Terrible and his men. He finds her working at a beachside restaurant where the owner has died two years before. She appears to want to get together again saying she did not understand why he had not contacted her since the incident. He said he was ashamed to look her in the eyes. She returns to his flat where they make passionate love. In the morning he finds that she has gone, having emptied his safe, his wallet and taken his car. Returning to the restaurant he finds she has left saying she did not need the job anymore and went off with her boyfriend. He uses his men to track the couple down and kills the boyfriend. Later the girl kills herself in the posh flat. They weigh the body with rocks and push into a lake as I presume they also did with the boyfriend. The Libanese returns to get rid of the caravan setting it on fire and just after this the police arrive to arrest him.

The big event of the last report was the real life kidnapping of the former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Morro by the Red Brigade. As I understand what actually happened the authorities approached the Mafia and other crime heads in Rome to see if they could help in finding the Minister with the offer of concessions. The Mafia invite the new Kids on the block to a meeting with a shadowy figure who appears to have links with the Government and the police/security services who seeks their help which is agreed. However when after the first efforts fail they have a lead which they report they are told there is no longer interest because it is believed he has already been killed. The authorities are grateful for their efforts.

On remand in prison the group find that the prison is controlled my a mafia boss from the south and that one his protectors is the remaining brother of three who were supposed to look after the kidnapped Baron and who the group killed so they could not be identified after one the trio killed the Baron. Their lives are under threat after refusing the offer to work for the Mafia boss. With the help of a prison guard an attempt is made on the life of Libanese but it is foiled. He pays to bring in a knife but then the cell is raided and the knife is found and he is placed in solitary with the other inmates who takes the rap because he is inside for double life.

While in solitary one of the others works out a way to get a weapon, a cross from the chapel with one end fashioned into a sharp weapon. The Libanese works out that someone must have disclosed the whereabouts of the body and one of the groups admits that he got drunk one night with one of the men of the Terrible and boasted to him the location. Thus they know that it was Terrible who had acted against them.

First on the agenda are the Don and his protectors. They elect the one who got drunk to do the killing of the main thug and who threatened Libanese and then strip the Don of his authority and then arrange for him to be shifted to another prison in the South.

The case against them falls for lack of evidence. They do not know that the tape recordings of their individual interviews when they refuse to answer questions and make fun of the interviewers had a double purpose. The tapes were then processed and checked against the one of phone call made to the Baron’s family requesting more money. The process takes time but as the end of the remand period approaches there is match with one of those on remand. However just before they present the proof to the judge the original tape is removed and another corrupted tape put in its place so the inquiry team think it is a technical malfunction, at least at first, and with no copies made, the case cannot continue. The Judge insists that the prostitute gives evidence but the Commissioner says this is not possible so the Judge works out he is having some kind of relationship with the woman.

The rest of the second episode covers their release from prison where they all picked up by loved one or other relatives with the exception of the Libanese. Even the Cold finds his brother waiting. He goes to see the girl who says that she may have accepted him had he told her beforehand.

Dandi goes to see Patrizia who is with a client who he beats up badly telling her that she is his woman and will obey him.

The member of the gang who used his teenage school girlfriend to hide the guns for the kidnapping was told never to come back by the father is now told that his daughter is pregnant so he visits to ask her what she wants to do.

The Libanese returns to his new flat and finds the original copy of the convicting tape at his bedside with a note that he owes a favour. The body of Aldo Morro has been found as directed by the Red Brigade. The Police Commissioner
Is upset by the news and the failure to get the gang and gets drunk.
On returning to the police station the following day he finds Communists have been rounded up for questioning including his sister who he gets out by vouching for her but not disclosing the relationship. She is not grateful saying she has an ideology and expects action to be taken by the authorities and that her brother must decide if he is for change or the status quo and cannot sit on the fence.

The final scene to be recorded is the conversation involving the mysterious old one who requested their help and then said it was needed and appears to confirm that some political and other interests decided it was better for Morro to die and they were behind getting the new Roman mob out of jail but to be used for some other purpose in the future.

Next I turn to Prohibition time and the Atlantic Boardwalk and then to New York’s finest and Blue Bloods and the perspective of modern day cops.