This is a busy week for TV series premiers. Some are new seasons, while some are brand new shows, trying to earn our loyalty. I knew Criminal Minds, on CBS, was slated to premier last night. It being one of my favorite shows, having won me over in the last season, I made time for it at 9.00pm. And the usual BAU members were in their elements, profiling unsubs and catching criminals.When it ended, I channel-surfed awhile and chanced upon this new series, Life, over at NBC. Straightaway I was hooked, no less because of the Zen-like statements made by Crews, the main character, a detective-turned-prisoner-turned-detective trying to take his life back. Besides, I like the name of the series, simply LIFE.
The guy with the Zen look is Crews ...The very first few scenes already set the tone: Crews reading The Path to Zen in his prison cell. I can't quite make up the author of the book but the picture at the back of the book seems to be that of a lady. Perhaps I would try googling later.
Obviously this is a well-read book, crumpled and all at the edges ...Among other things, the website of the show features a Zen guide. It contains a brief description of Zen meditation, and the emphases among the different Zen schools.
Open at your peril ... Just kidding.I managed to transcribe this statement of Crews (by watching the video, repeatedly) made to the face of a prison guard who was trying to provoke him to become an angry convict:
“Anger ruins joy, steals the goodness of my heart, forces my mouth to say terrible things. Overcoming anger brings peace of mind, a mind without regrets. Overcoming anger, I will be delightful and loved by anyone".
"The universe makes fun of us all," the hero intoned sagely. Go figure.On another scene, while he was speeding along a road in a car, he professed that he was not attached to the car. And true enough, he was shown here about to take a big bite off his favorite food, a fruit, after watching his car go under the back-tracking tractor driven by his erstwhile cell-mate.
"No attachment whatsoever."I think I will add this to my to-watch TV Series list. If you missed the premier, you can check out the pilot here and make up your own mind about it. But be prepared to be interrupted by some commercials from the sponsor, TARGET. But this would pale compared to the strings of TV commercials during the actual show last night.
[The images are all screen captures of the website, except for the first one, which was downloaded from the same site.]
