I always enjoy watching Rizzoli & Isles. It is easy on the mind, no nasty stuff. The main characters Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon formerly of Law & Order), and Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander formerly of NCIS) have a great rapport together. They make their dialogue fun, and it is usually well written and intelligent.
The stories are usually pretty interesting mysteries. The supporting cast of Lee Thompson Young and Bruce McGill was very good. Unfortunately, Lee Thompson Young committed suicide at the end of season 4, so his great charisma is missed in seasons 5-7. Lab Tech Susie Chang (Tina Huang) was a great member of the Medical Examiner's Office for a couple of seasons. Jordan Bridges played Frankie Rizzoli, the brother of Jane, and he was also a detective. Most of the time, he provided useful police work and background information about the victims and suspects.
On the negative side was mainly Lorraine Bracco, who played the mother of the three Rizzoli siblings. She was loud and obnoxious in every episode, and was always meddling in the personal lives of the three siblings, and sometimes in police business too. I did not mind Bracco in small doses, but in some episodes she had more screen time than anyone else. Fast-forwarding is the best way to watch her acting.
Her other son Tommy, Jane's moronic, underachieving brother and his baby's mother were another storyline that never ended and was incredibly annoying. Colin Egglesfield played Tommy, and he has all the personality of wet cardboard.
There were a variety of know actors that played various key characters that came in and out of the series. The guest characters were often a plus.
In the last year, the show spent a lot of time on Frankie falling in love with Nina. Combined with all the time that was spent on Mom (Bracco), Vince and Kiki, and Jane and Maura's friendship. It seemed like the show became a full time family drama that hardly had any connection to police work and crime.
The stories are usually pretty interesting mysteries. The supporting cast of Lee Thompson Young and Bruce McGill was very good. Unfortunately, Lee Thompson Young committed suicide at the end of season 4, so his great charisma is missed in seasons 5-7. Lab Tech Susie Chang (Tina Huang) was a great member of the Medical Examiner's Office for a couple of seasons. Jordan Bridges played Frankie Rizzoli, the brother of Jane, and he was also a detective. Most of the time, he provided useful police work and background information about the victims and suspects.
On the negative side was mainly Lorraine Bracco, who played the mother of the three Rizzoli siblings. She was loud and obnoxious in every episode, and was always meddling in the personal lives of the three siblings, and sometimes in police business too. I did not mind Bracco in small doses, but in some episodes she had more screen time than anyone else. Fast-forwarding is the best way to watch her acting.
Her other son Tommy, Jane's moronic, underachieving brother and his baby's mother were another storyline that never ended and was incredibly annoying. Colin Egglesfield played Tommy, and he has all the personality of wet cardboard.
There were a variety of know actors that played various key characters that came in and out of the series. The guest characters were often a plus.
In the last year, the show spent a lot of time on Frankie falling in love with Nina. Combined with all the time that was spent on Mom (Bracco), Vince and Kiki, and Jane and Maura's friendship. It seemed like the show became a full time family drama that hardly had any connection to police work and crime.