Release Date: June 2, 2015
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 757 minutes
Based on the best-selling crime thriller books by Tess Gerritsen and executive produced by Jan Nash (Without a Trace), Rizzoli & Isles focuses on tough-as-nails Boston police detective Jane Rizzoli (Harmon), who has an uncompromisingly brash and beautiful bull-in-a-china-shop approach to both cases and life, and the brilliant medical examiner from a privileged background, Dr. Maura Isles (Alexander), who may be the best-dressed science nerd in New England. Together they are close friends and complete opposites who solve some of Boston’s most notorious crimes.
In Rizzoli & Isles: The Complete Fifth Season, Jane and Maura continue to work together to solve the city’s most puzzling cases, including, investigating the murder of a mother who is killed while jogging in a park and, when a seller of rare books is killed, Jane and Maura are drawn into the world of Keltic writings as they investigate his murder. The team’s detective skills are also put to the test when they discover the mummified remains of a woman, and Jane and Maura investigate the death of a man who died suspiciously in a bathtub filled with ice during a heat wave. Season five is loaded with several more exciting new cases and action-packed adventures no Rizzoli & Isles fan will want to miss.
The very first episode of Rizzoli & Isles that I ever watched was “Born to Run,” the seventh episode of the first season (in 2010) in which Rizzoli & Isles investigate a shooting during the Boston Marathon. It was this episode that captivated me and really put this show on the map. As you know though, I watch a ton of TV so this show never quite made it on my weekly watch list. But I’m always so fond of it when I do catch it on so when I got the chance to review the fifth season, I jumped at the chance.
This season begins unlike any other as Lee Thompson Young’s death was written into his character’s storyline on the show (the show went with a car accident) and the show’s world had to say goodbye to Frost. It was handled very well. On the other hand, in the beginning of the season, Isles is the only person who knows that Rizzoli is pregnant so it was very interesting to go from the Frost storyline and saying goodbye to Rizzoli’s pregnancy storyline.
Now I can’t quite compare this season to any other as this is the only season I’ve seen in its entirety. But I can say that the themes of love and loss for the main and recurring characters really shone through and I really appreciated and enjoyed where both Rizzoli & Isles’s story lines went as the season progressed.
The episodes that stand out the most to me this season include “Doomsday,” in which a guy is dead inside his doomsday shelter (#bugout), “Lost & Found” in which a young student is witness to a nightclub murder, and “Burden of Proof” which was highly entertaining because of Isles’s determination to bond with her boyfriend’s 12 year old daughter (LMFAO). Said boyfriend is played by Enver Gjokaj who is one of my “Hollywood crushes” if I must say. Needless to say, it was so great to see him on the show. Anyway, in regards to chemistry…and the leads… I much prefer Sasha Alexander’s portrayal of Isles as Angie Harmon has a dry humor that you either love or hate and in real life, I love her humor but for her character here as Rizzoli, it just doesn’t move me. But together, they are a great team and it works so well.
Anyway, this season was great. I loved the positive note that it ended on. I love that the people Rizzoli & Isles and their teams come in contact with aren’t just people that come in and quickly go out of their lives but instead, really make an impact on them. That’s special. I’m tempted to go back and watch the episodes from previous seasons that I have yet to watch to see what other goodness I’m missing out on. I wish there were more hours in the day. Anyway, if you’re a fan of the show, this is an obvious add to your collection. If you like crime dramas, this is a less intense crime drama to add to your watch list!
Stepping Through the Stunt: The Burden of Proof Bridge Sequence (18 minutes) – In this feature, the crew walks us through the episode, “Bridge to Tomorrow” as Angie Harmon prepares for her stunt scene on location, on a bridge (a bridge in Long Beach, CA). It was great to see how this story, one scene in particular in this story came together from a writer’s standpoint, from a stuntman’s standpoint, from a technical standpoint filming this scene…it’s pretty cool to see the breakdown of this scene. I’d say this is the only must watch bonus feature here.
Appearing in this Feature:
Executive Producer, Jan Nash
Stunt Coordinator, Merritt Yohnka
Writer, Katie Wech
Production Designer, Adam Rowe
Director, Norman Buckley
Stunt Performers, Jahnel Curfman & Mark Aaron Wagner
Deleted Scenes (3 minutes) – Unaired scenes from the episodes “Knockout” and “Burden of Proof” are included on the DVD and there is one scene each, for a grand total of two deleted scenes. Both of which you don’t need to watch.
Gag Reel (4 minutes) – This is one of the least funniest gag reels I’ve seen but somehow I still enjoyed it. It’s only four minutes so, give it a watch if you’ve got the time.
I never realized that this series was based on a book series. That always automatically more interested in a show. 🙂 Sounds like you really enjoyed this – sometimes I love to just wait and watch a whole season of a show all at once!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction