Ace's Take on Some 2012 Season Finalies

Not necessarily in order of importance:

Criminal Minds - Emily's leaving. Again.

The Mentalist - Red John rears his ugly head. Again.

Bones - Tempe's on the lamb because, due to a frame job, she's the main suspect in a murder case.

Castle - Castle and Beckett are hooking up, finally.

Person of Interest - A plotting diabolical broad became very interesting, as always.

Awake - Finally some closure for Detective Michael Britten when he emerges into a third reality as the series ends. Seriously, though, I'd like to see actor Jason Isaacs in something else - he rocks.

CSI - I'm sure I'm not the only one to suspect that something bad was going to happen to D.B. Russell's family when the show opened up with D.B. (played by Sam Malone, played by... I forgot his name) at home with wife and daughter and cute little granddaughter. Well, in the end, it did. The bad guys snatched his granddaughter. Leaving a note that read, simply, "Karma," which referenced something said during an interview to a mobster who's son had just been killed. What did you expect D.B.?

American Idol - The fix was in. The crew had given a standing ovation to Phil-Phil on the final night of competition. Despite the fact that he had absolutely murdered a Billy Joel song earlier in the night, they had been told that the shows producers, their bosses, wanted Phil to win. Knowing that, I threw all 50 votes I could muster to Jessica Sanchez, but it was to no avail - don't underestimate the power of the standing O. If Idol wanted to maintain the vaguest illusion of integrity, they could suspend the judge's criticism for the final show. I mean, these are the finalists - let the people decide. Of course, the highlight of the show was a performance by J-Lo live on the Idol stage - she was there, live, but as always, because of her own vocal shortcomings, she lip-synched. This is the woman who tells contestants they were "pitchy." She would know, the Queen of Pitchiness.

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad: CSI

We’ve always been fans of the original CSI – CSI (Vegas). This season’s dynamite premier, “Goodbye, Warrick Brown,” did nothing to dampen our enduring affection for the program. Besides us, some 23 million other viewers also tuned in.

CSI: New York has also gotten off to a good start by attracting its largest audience since November 2006. In last week’s episode, Lieutenant Dan, played by Gary Sinise, stumbles onto a murder while taking a flight down to Washington, D.C. I must confess that even though I’m from the northeast, this show always repelled me for various reasons. For one thing, every scene, whether interior or exterior, seemed to have been shot in near darkness. Secondly, Melina Kanakaredes, who we had loved on The Guiding Light and Providence seemed a little too glamorous for a cop. Thirdly, there are just so many images of bullets piercing body parts that a guy wants to see with his late-night snack. But, because of a lack of competition, CSI: NY is currently our 10 PM Wednesday choice.

Though, initially, I was receptive to CSI: Miami, over the years I’ve grown tired of Horatio Caine’s predictable one-line quips as well as his side-winding delivery. Is there a practical reason why he can’t face people head on? Every time David Caruso (Caine) sidles up to someone, I can’t help laughing which is bad for a show that’s supposed to be a drama. Luckily, it’s up against some flimsy competition – Boston Legal which has long since run out of gas and My Own Worst Enemy which will never get off the ground. In the meantime, we’ll still be watching Horatio, but we’re eagerly awaiting a decent alternative.