Reminder: 'The Closer' Season Four Finale Tonight
February 23, 2009 by Chandra

Don’t forget, my fellow Brenda Johnson groupies, that tonight TNT presents The Closer’s fourth-season finale “Double Blind.”
Brenda and Fritz’s wedding is only a day away, but both of them have their minds on their jobs more than their impending nuptials. Fritz is called to a stakeout in the hopes of finally arresting a drug lord known as El Jefe, and Brenda gets tied up in an investigation into a robbery and murder at an escort service.
Unfortunately for us longtime viewers, with Brenda’s parents and Fritz’s sister dealing with the wedding details, the question remains whether the bride and groom will actually make it to the altar. I honestly have no idea if they will or not, either (wish I did).
Before the episode airs, you can preview it in the earlier sneak peek post and check out photos of Brenda’s lovely wedding dress, too. Let’s hope the deputy chief gets to put the garment to good use.
The Closer airs Mondays on TNT at 9pm EST. Next week, March 2, Holly Hunter’s Saving Grace returns on Mondays at 10pm EST with the midseason premiere “The Heart of a Cop.”
The Closer: Brenda's Wedding Dress Photos
February 20, 2009 by Chandra

As we fans of The Closer already know, this Monday night, February 23rd, is the fourth-season finale “Double Blind,” and goshdarnit, we deserve a Brenda-Fritz wedding at last!
I was watching some other series on TNT recently, however, and a promo came on during a commercial break that showed the couple arguing and then Fritz walking away angrily, leaving Brenda in tears. That’s not a good sign, I tell ya, especially considering how much networks like those annoying little things called cliffhangers to keep viewers running back to find out what happened at the beginning of the next season.
So, in an effort to gently blow some good wedding mojo in TNT’s direction, here are a few photos of Brenda trying on her gorgeous wedding dress back on the season’s 12th episode, February 2nd’s “Junk in the Trunk.”
It’s been a while, but I clearly remember Brenda getting into one of her typical impatient snits while trying the wedding dress on and asking her mom Willie Ray (Frances Sternhagen) with frustration why she has to wear white anyway — it’s not like she’s… And they left her comment hanging. Ha ha! So true though.
Enjoy the photos after the jump (the one above is from “Double Blind”) and check out a sneak peek for the season finale in the earlier post The Closer: ‘Double Blind’ Season Finale Preview.
Saving Grace: ‘The Heart of a Cop’ Winter Premiere Preview
February 18, 2009 by Chandra
Get psyched, Holly Hunter fans! It’s almost time for TNT to start serving up fresh weekly doses of Saving Grace again. The series returns to TNT on Monday, March 2, at 10pm EST — less than two weeks from now — with the midseason premiere “The Heart of a Cop,” the first of eight episodes remaining in Season Two.
When we last spent time with the cops from Oklahoma City Police Department, it was the midseason finale “You Are My Partner.” Bobby, recently and unexpectedly gone undercover, was nowhere around, and Ham dropped the bomb on Grace that he wants a new partner after returning from a brief sabbatical to get his act together.
During the winter premiere, we’ll meet new cop and single mother Abby Charles, played by well-cast guest star Christina Ricci. Ricci will be hanging around for three consecutive episodes, and on “The Heart of a Cop,” she’ll be temporarily teamed up with a reluctant Grace, while Grace’s old partner and lover Ham will be placed with Butch since his usual partner Bobby is still undercover.
The Closer: 'Double Blind' Season Finale Preview
February 18, 2009 by Chandra
Can you believe The Closer’s fourth season is coming to a close already? And, here we fans are, still waiting for Brenda and Fritz to get hitched.
It looks like there’s a possibility viewers might have to wait even longer because when the fourth-season finale “Double Blind” opens, the big wedding day will be only one day away, yet the betrothed will continue to be more focused on their respective law-enforcement careers than their upcoming nuptials. Typical.
So, while Brenda’s parents, Willie Ray (Frances Sternhagen) and Clay (Barry Corbin), and Fritz’s “intuitionist” sister Claire (Amy Sedaris) take charge of the wedding details, the bride-to-be investigates an escort service linked to a murder and a robbery, and the groom-to-be attempts to finally nab a drug lord called El Jefe.
TNT remains on the ball getting episode sneak peeks out early, so follow the jump to sample a bit of “Double Blind” and Team Brenda brainstorming at the scene of the latest crime. Fingers crossed we actually get a wedding somewhere in there, too.
TNT Jada Pinkett Smith Drama Adds ‘Alias’ Alum Michael Vartan
February 17, 2009 by Chandra
Here’s some excellent casting news for a series we haven’t even seen yet. Back in September, I wrote about Jada Pinkett Smith’s potential TNT original drama Time Heals, which has since become a reality. Now comes news that Alias and Big Shots alum Michael Vartan, a perennial fan favorite, has joined the cast of the series as a replacement for Jeffrey Nordling (Dirt, 24), who played the same role in the pilot.
Time Heals stars Smith as Christina Hawthorne, a recent widow, single mother of a difficult teenager daughter, and passionate nurse who has a big conscious and lots of determination when it comes to making sure patients are treated with respect. As the director of nursing at her North Carolina hospital, Christina is also a very successful career woman.
Vartan plays Christina’s colleague Tom Wakefield, the director of medicine at the same medical facility. The two have a close relationship, which might be about as close as they come, if you get my drift.
This sounds like a series I could follow regularly, so good thing it will premiere later this year, although TNT hasn’t announced a set date yet. Visit the network’s Coming Soon website to check out a brief blurb and photo of Smith in her new gig. I’m looking forward to the other newbie starring The Practice’s Dylan McDermott, too.
The Closer: 'Fate Line' Preview – Amy Sedaris Alert
February 11, 2009 by Chandra
Brenda’s parents return on the February 16th episode of The Closer called “Fate Line.” I don’t know how other viewers feel, but it’s always good times to me when sweet Willie Ray (Frances Sternhagen) and Clay (Barry Corbin) Johnson are around. Plus, talented Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) arrives on the scene to play Fritz Howard’s sister.
Trivia Time: Sternhagen, who looks nothing less than wonderful, is an unbelievable 79 years old in real life, and she’s more than ten years older than Corbin, who turns 69 months from now in October!
As for “Fate Line”: While Brenda prepares for her and Fritz’s upcoming wedding and copes with her parents, someone discovers a cell phone that has text messages hinting at a potential murder. The case becomes even more urgent when the police realize more than one homicide may be involved.
And, if that’s not bad enough, Fritz’s sister Claire (Sedaris), a vegan psychic, becomes involved with the investigation. I just know she and Brenda are going to get along like two peas in a pod … not!
A sneak peek at the episode follows the jump, this one showing the members of Team Brenda putting their thinking caps on in the Murder Room.
The Closer: 'Power of Attorney' Preview
February 3, 2009 by Chandra
Next up on TNT’s The Closer, which is still chugging along as good as ever, is the February 9th episode “Power of Attorney.”
When a woman is found brutally raped and murdered in her home, all eyes turn towards the prime suspect, a known sex offender who lawyers up before he’s even arrested. The attorney turns out to be a match for Brenda, and he winds up stringing Brenda and her squad along with a variety of manipulative tactics.
Sounds like yet more good times. Sneak a peek at the episode in the preview after the jump, which is the usual excerpt showing Team Brenda at the scene of the latest crime and being their typically funny selves. It’s good to see TNT putting these videos out so early, isn’t it?


