Rizzoli & Isles renewed for Season 6!

Rizzoli & Isles renewed for Season 6!: It's official! Rizzoli & Isles will be back for a 6th season with 18 episodes. But first they need to finish season five! ;-)


More at Thoughts from a TV Geek.

My thoughts on Rizzoli & Isles season 5 premiere

[This review was written the day after the season premiere but was accidentally left in drafts rather than posted.]

Season 5 of Rizzoli & Isles premiered last night and before the episode was over #RizzoliandIsles was trending on Twitter. The writers, along with star Sasha Alexander were all tweeting live from the writers room. (Check out the picture gallery for some of the pictures they posted.) The ratings surprised me a little. Turns out the live ratings were lower than last season by almost a point. Season 4 was getting around a 6.8 and episode 501 received a 5.8. That doesn't include later 7 day viewings nor DVR recordings.

As to the episode itself - I enjoyed it. I thought the ratio of personal to case was good, and I actually followed the case with interest. Those who have read my past reviews know that I've always felt the weakest part of this series has been the crimes themselves. Last night I think they did good. If this is a sign of the future of this show under new showrunner Jan Nash then I'm happy about the change so far.

This site has rizzles in the title, and for those who may not know what that stands for it's the term used for those who see the subtext in Jane and Maura's relationship - that maybe they're more than friends. I have to be honest, I no longer look for, nor see much of rizzles going on. We all knew they were never going to get together. These are two straight friends who love each other like family. With the events in this episode and some spoilers I've read about things coming up the subtext is very much going underground this season. What surprises me is that I'm okay with that. I'd rather watch a good crime drama then have continued on the path this show was on. I'm not saying it was bad, but I know to a lot of fans like myself Rizzoli & Isles had gone from a show that we all talked about and watched together and loved, to just another show on television. Something had happened between the third and fourth season. For me personally I can't put my finger on exactly what it was but it showed in my waning dedication to my website and blogs.

I watched last night's episode twice. That says a lot. Season four I only watched the episodes once. Compare that to season one and two when I watched the episodes four to five times each. I'm hoping last night is a sign of my passion for this show coming back. Truth be told, I missed it.

SPOILERS

So Jane really is pregnant and is going to have a baby. Interestingly, Angie Harmon has wanted that for Jane. I don't see a problem, I just hope Casey falls by the way side. He has proven not to be relationship material.

I felt that they handled the death of Det. Frost very well. I'm sure next weeks episode will pay tribute to not only the character but the actor who portrayed him, Lee Thompson Young. From the previews tissues will be required.

Family opens up about actor Lee Thompson Young's suicide

Family breaks silence on actor Lee Thompson Young's suicide

[Excerpts]

After almost a year of silence, the family of Columbia-born actor Lee Thompson Young is opening up about his tragic death, and spreading the word about a foundation they've founded to help others who struggle with mental illness.

According to University of South Carolina psychiatrist Dr. Ashley Jones, Young's diagnosis isn't uncommon. In fact, 2.6 percent of American adults are affected by bipolar disorder.
"It's very different than the normal ups and downs we have during the day," Jones said. "The depressive episodes last about two weeks. And with that, we see depression, hopelessness, sadness. Then there's a mania. They could be euphoric or grandiose with high self-esteem."
With medication and therapy, Young continued on his road to success and the roles got bigger. By the age of 29, he was a regular on another popular television show, 'Rizzoli and Isles.' In August 2013, something changed.

[Read the full article]

SPOILERS Season 5 of Rizzoli & Isles

There are loads of spoilers out there for season 5 of Rizzoli & Isles and we've compiled a list of some of them. We'll be updating as more and more spoilers become available.




SPOILERS ALERT!

If you don't want to know what's going to happen don't read any further.

Episode 1 "A New Day"

• We won't find out about Frost's death until the end of the episode. It will be a car accident.
• Jane is pregnant.

Episode 2 "Goodbye"

• As the title suggests, the service for Frost takes place in this episode.
• Jane delivers the eulogy.

More SPOILERS:

• Maura meets a professor and begins to fall for him in Episode 5
• Tommy Rizzoli will be back for at least one episode.
• Susie Chang will be in quite a few episodes.
• Jane will possibly get a new partner by episode 8.

Source: The internet

SPOILERS: Last 4 episodes of Rizzoli & Isles Season 4

• Paddy Doyle asks Maura to let her biological grandfather, Patrick Doyle Sr., temporarily stay at her house.
• Casey is made a colonel and gives Jane an ultimatum - He will re-enlist unless Jane married him. It's believed that's how the season ends.
• Jane and Maura get massages in episode 5x13.
• Tommy Rizzoli and Frank Rizzoli Sr. will appear in 5x14. Tommy is also in episodes 15 & 16.
• Hope tries to make amends with Maura.
• Tommy announces some big plans - an engagement.
• Frankie sustains an injury and ends up getting closer to Maura.
• Lee Thompson Young's stand-in and body double is featured in the final episode. (via Nanci Cascio)
• Tommy starts slipping back into old bad habits and fights with Frankie.
• Jane reveals some shocking news. (Possibly engagement to Casey.)
   

Source: All around the internet.

New Showrunner hired for Rizzoli & Isles

New Showrunner hired for Rizzoli & Isles, Jan Nash is replacing Janet Tamaro who left after season 4. Also, Lee Thompson Young's death will be handled in the first episode of season 5.

In the article below it states that Rizzoli & Isles is the #1 show for TNT, and it's second only to The Walking Dead for scripted series in the history of ad-supported cable television. Not bad, ladies. :)





Source: www.deadline.com

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday November 18, 2013 @ 10:58am PST

EXCLUSIVE: Jan Nash is joining TNT‘s flagship drama series Rizzoli & Isles as executive producer/showrunner. She will succeed creator/executive producer Janet Tamaro, who stepped down as showrunner in September, right after the series wrapped production on Season 4. One of the first orders of business for Nash and her writing team will be dealing with the death of Rizzoli & Isles co-star Lee Thompson Young, who committed suicide in August during the filming of the second-to-last episode of Season 4. His death was not addressed in the final episodes of Season 4 and will be dealt with at the opening of Season 5. Rizzoli & Isles is TNT’s No. 1 show of all time and the No. 2 scripted series in the history of ad-supported cable television, behind only AMC’s The Walking Dead. The series reunites Nash with Warner Bros TV and its cable division Warner Horizon. She previously worked with the studio on another TNT drama series, Memphis Beat, as well as CBS procedural Without A Trace. Nash, repped by WME, started her career on the ABC comedy Ellen.

Without Lee: Some of the cast & crew from Rizzoli & Isles tweets about Lee Thompson Young

I put some tweets together from the cast & crew
in memory of Lee Thompson Young.

I liked a Rizzoli & Isles crime story! What's up with that?

I don't know why. I can't explain it. Last night as I was watching the latest episode of  Rizzoli & Isles I discovered,  much to my horror, that I actually LIKED the CRIME STORYLINE. Ladies and gentlemen that does not happen with this show! Unless it has to do with Maura's mobster father I don't care about the murder nor who did it. What is going on here??

Episode 4x10

I look back at it now and it was not anything overly exciting. Drag racing. I don't get into drag racing. Car blows up. Okay, yeah and? I have been trying to put my finger on why it is suddenly the writers have managed to keep my attention focused on the crime.

If you look at my Rizzoli & Isles rants and reviews in the past I have always been upfront about the fact that the crimes in this show are secondary with me and I really could care less. It wasn't even some wonderful subtext between Jane and Maura. Nice friendship scenes and funny moments but nothing that screams rizzles. So, here I sit - baffled.

Was it just decent writing? Incorporating everything well enough to hold my interest to all of it? I really can't say. This season has been very up and down for me. A gradual build to one of the best episodes of the series (4x05) back down to the, 'yeah just another episode' episodes, and then this.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm just wondering out loud how or why this happened. Why now? Why this episode?

I'd love to hear your thoughts? Write to me here or on Twitter.
@kellyeneal


Posted from sister blog: Thoughts From a TV Geek

Season 4 SPOILERS

Here are some spoilers I've found from around the internet.

• If you ever wondered what it would be like if Maura and Jane switched places, then an upcoming Rizzoli & Isles season four episode is for you. When a suspect with information decides that Jane is not a "nice lady," Maura is the only one he trusts and thus, she will be the one interrogating him. Jane doesn't let Maura just waltz in there unprepared, of course. That's where the fun starts. (EOnline)

• Episode 3x01: Family issues and politics take center stage after a community parade turns deadly. Maura struggles with her own family issues. Casey makes a surprise visit along with some shocking news. (tv.com)

• Bass and Joe Friday are BACK! (Janet Tamaro)

• As for the new season as a whole, Angie Harmon enthuses, “We’ve gone back a bit towards the pilot, as far as going more dramatic. The playful banter is still there, but the cases are a lot more serious — which I’m excited about.” (TVLine)

• Prison Break's Amaury Nolasco will recur as Lt. Det. Rafael Martinez, the newly appointed head of the Boston Police Department's drug unit who has a personal and professional history with Jane. (TVGuide)

• Paddy Doyle (John Doman) is back and standing trail for murder. It's no secret Maura's family storyline is one of my favorites in the show. Here's what we know:

In Episode 4 Paddy stands trial and Jane has to testify against him. Plus we learn that Doyle and Cavanaugh grew up in South Boston together, and Doyle worked as Cavanaugh's confidential informant to help get drugs out of the area. (TVGuide)

On the first day of Paddy’s murder trial, Maura gains insight into her father from Hope (Sharon Lawrence). Korsak opens up about Cavanaugh’s tragic past. And in an unexpected twist, Maura must decide which side she’s on when she and Jane unravel a shocking secret about Paddy and Hope that affects them all. (TNT)

• Maura and Cailin (Maura's half-sister) start to bond so much that the teen ends up staying with Maura. (TVGuide)

• Rondo will be in Episode 5!

• Giovanni is back.

#1 Show We Can't Wait to Watch - Rizzoli & Isles

"Rizzoli & Isles" (TNT, returns June 25)

TNT's hit procedural puts a spin on the usual crime drama by giving us two female leads: hard-nosed cop Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and fashionable medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander). Plus, there's an unspoken sexual tension between the gals that plays well with a certain segment of the viewing public. "Prison Break's" Amaury Nolasco joins the cast this season as a former colleague of Jane's who's now in charge of the police department's drug unit. 

 

 

 

Source 

Sasha Alexander interview with T.V. Guide

A Day Out With Rizzoli & Isles Star Sasha Alexander

Source

Sasha Alexander is nothing if not brave. After all, this is the same actress currently starring as medical examiner Maura Isles on Season 3 of TNT's smash procedural Rizzoli & Isles — who walked away from a lead role on NCIS after only two seasons. She married the son of legendary Italian sex symbol Sophia Loren, a gig not for the faint of heart. And today, Alexander, 39, is swinging upside down from a trapeze suspended far above the Santa Monica Pier her suggestion despite admitting that she's spooked by heights. We set out to investigate what fuels her fearlessness.

TV Guide Magazine: When you quit the plum part as NCIS Agent Caitlin Todd in 2005, did everyone think you were nuts?
Alexander: Yeah. People don't realize that on a network show, you make 24 episodes a year — that's 10½ months a year, 17 hours a day. It's hard core. Plus, people really loved the character, and the way they did it was really shocking...it was a bullet to the head, you know?

TV Guide Magazine: Any regrets?
Alexander: I really firmly believe in my heart that I would not be where I am today happily married, with two kids, doing things creatively that I want if I had stayed. I didn't want to wake up and be in my forties and go, "Oh, my gosh!" But people don't understand.

TV Guide Magazine: Let's travel even further back on your résumé — to a little place called Dawson's Creek. You played James Van Der Beek's older love interest! Do tell...
Alexander: I was so fascinated by how these very young people — James and Josh [Jackson] and Katie [Holmes] and Michelle [Williams] were dealing with being teenagers and going through all that. Fangirls were really jealous of me, like, "What's he like to kiss?" And I'm like, "Good?" What do you say?

TV Guide Magazine: So how'd the role in Rizzoli & Isles come to be?
Alexander: After NCIS, I wanted to be really diligent about picking characters I want to play every week and that show all sides of me. They brought me in to read with Angie [Harmon] — we'd never met, but we immediately clicked.

TV Guide Magazine: The show hinges on the chemistry between you as best friends a bond that was tested earlier this season. How would you describe the dynamic?
Alexander: There's a friction, a fieriness, that I think is good. I feel like, this season, we've really hit an amazing stride together...there's a looseness, a real synergy. Jane and Maura rebuilding their trust [after Jane shot Maura's biological gangster father] has made things much stronger.

TV Guide Magazine: Who's your real-life Rizzoli?
Alexander: She's an actress Jessica Capshaw from Grey's Anatomy. We met 12, 13 years ago because people would always say, "You remind me of my friend Jessica," and it was the same for her about me. So many people said it mutually that finally we saw each other at an audition and she said, "Hey, do you mind waiting for me? Let's go have a coffee." And that was it. She's the godmother to my daughter, I'm the godmother to her son. She's hilarious.

TV Guide Magazine: How did you and writer-director Edoardo Ponti get together?
Alexander: We met at film school at USC. He was always lovely he had a smile that gave me enormous comfort, even though I didn't know him. Eight years later, I'd worked an all-nighter on NCIS and I was sitting in a restaurant eating breakfast with a hat on, and he walked up to my table and said, "Sasha, do you remember me?"

TV Guide Magazine: What's it like having a bombshell for a mother-in-law?
Alexander: The first time we met, it was intimidating. This was six months in. But the minute I walked in, she gave me a hug and a kiss. She's an extremely warm person. She's phenomenal; she's stunning. She loves to eat and sleep and live. When we go out, we have Prosecco, chocolate and everything in between. It's funny: I took her to the airport yesterday, and she was like, "What is this book everyone's talking about?" I bought her Fifty Shades of Grey and told her she needs to read it.

People.com ignores Sasha Alexander

Angie and Sasha on People.com.

This is a little rant of mine that I posted on Tumblr and decided to also post here.

I don’t do a lot of ranting, but with this video [Pictured on the left] I simply have to. It’s not about the video itself. It’s actually very cute. It’s the fact that the video is about Rizzoli AND Isles and has BOTH Angie AND Sasha in it, yet People.com titled it “Angie Harmon: Even the Dead Should Get Pedicures.”


Was Sasha not in the video? Are they not promoting Rizzoli and Isles TOGETHER?

Now I understand that Angie is the one who talked about the dead getting pedicures, but it’s the title of a video that they’re both in. They’ve completely ignored the other half of the “team.” Even the subtitle mentioned Timothy Hutton’s appearance in it but NOT Sasha! That upset me.

Now I know you’re probably thinking, “Hey, relax. It’s not really a big deal.” Normally I would agree with you, however I know there are a lot of fans out there who have felt, as I do, that Sasha’s been given almost a secondary role in the media. Combine that with the fact that this is the second television series that I’ve loved with two female leads that has had the media make one actress take a back seat over the one that they deem the “star.” The other was Renee O’Connor on Xena. At least that show was named for only one of the characters. Rizzoli and Isles are the two leads!

Angie has been on how many daytime talk shows in the last two years and it wasn’t until the series third season that Sasha gets on The Talk and Racheal Ray. This isn’t Angie’s fault. Please don’t think I’m blaming her, because I’m not. Not at all. This is the media and television studios, and it really upsets me.

Maybe Sasha doesn’t mind. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if she doesn’t, and If that’s the case then I completely respect that. It’s just that when I saw that there was an “Angie” video, and then realized it was both of them, It really bugged me that Sasha’s name was missing.

Does anyone else feel the same way?

Lee Thompson Young on watching Sasha Alexander & Angie Harmon work.

“This is really a treat for me as an actor, to watch Rizzoli and Isles playing off of each other, and I’ve developed this analogy in my mind that it’s like watching Charlie Parker and Miles Davis having a little improv session, because their styles are so different.”

“They’re almost like polar opposites,” he adds. “And yet they find this rhythm together so they can play back and forth, and it’s like a master class. I feel like INSIDE THE ACTOR’S STUDIO every day. I’m like,’ “Wow, how did she get there?’ It’s really a pleasure to watch the chemistry between the two [Harmon and Alexander].”

Source

Episode 308 SPOILERS

Daniella Alonso will debut in her recurring role as Riley Cooper, a new neighbor of Jane's who captures the attention of Angela, Frankie, and Frost. "I can't share details because there's a twist to my character," Alonso teases. "It's been a blast to be on the show... I've been working with everybody!" [Soap News]

Jane moves to a new apartment after the stalker incident in episode 307 "Crazy for You".

Rizzles alert: Jane and Maura lying on the same mattress with glasses of wine. [Absolutely Angie]

Maura speaks Serbian.

Frankie has an interview with Cavanaugh about moving to detective.

Official TNT Synopsis:
A bride is killed right before she walks down the aisle, and Jane and Maura must figure out if the groom’s ex-girlfriend is a suspect, or if there’s a deeper connection to the bride’s European roots. On the home front, Jane has a new neighbor who captures the attention of Angela, Frankie and Frost.

Janet Tamaro - Hoyt, Maura fencing, 15 episodes

Question from Bay Keech:
Hi there, I have a question. Would Jane have to deal with Hoyt again after his death in season two?
Janet's response:
One of the challenges of this show (because each episode is "closed-ended" and must stand on its own) is it's difficult to circle back and reference episodes new viewers may not have seen. I do my level best to keep our returning fans happy, but I also to try not to exclude new fans. So the short answer is probably not.



Question from Tish Buford:
Jane had asked Maura once in a previous episode if she played sports. One of Maura's answers was fencing, by any chance would we ever see Maura perform fencing in an episode?
Janet's response:
Just after I read this question, Sasha Alexander (who plays Maura Isles) asked me the same thing!! So, yes, I suspect we’re going to see Maura fence.


Question from Melanie Reber:
Janet, Can you please tell us fans why there is so little of Rizzoli & Isles each season? I as well as others (I'm sure) would like to know why the girls don't get as many episodes as other TV shows?
Janet's response:
Many cable networks order anywhere from 6 episodes to 15. TNT orders 15 "Rizzoli & Isles" episodes, which is a heck of a lot better than 6. Thanks for your interest, though. Glad to know you’d like more.



Source: TNT

Norman Buckley, Betty Buckley's brother, Directing episode 311 Rizzoli & Isles

Norman Buckley began directing episode 311 of Rizzoli & Isles today. Buckley has directed numerous television shows including Pretty Little Liars, The Client List and Gossip Girl. His sister is acclaimed Broadway star Betty Buckley.

From IMDB:
The OC episode "The Metamorphosis", directed by Buckley, was selected as one of the five best episodes of the series by Entertainment Weekly magazine.
The Gossip Girl episode "The Handmaiden's Tale", directed by Buckley, was selected as one of the top ten TV episodes of 2007 by Newsweek Magazine.



From the set of Rizzoli & Isles:

Sharon Lawrence talks instant chemistry with Sasha Alexander on Rizzoli & Isles

SHARON LAWRENCE
RIZZOLI AND ISLES
by: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?
A) I did the show "Rizzoli and Isles" and I am also on the show "Drop Dead Diva" again this season. I think that airs in August. I'm also in the film The Middle of Nowhere, which was just honored as one of the gala films at the LA Film Festival. It will be released by Participant in October. It won also won Best Director at Sundance for Ava DuVernay, the first African American woman to ever win that award. I also serve Women in Film, the group that's been around for thirty-five years working towards a global vision for women in the entertainment market place.
Q) What can you tell us about your character Dr. Hope Martin on "Rizzoli and Isles?"
A) She is the long lost and long discussed birth mother to Maura Isles. She is not aware that her daughter is someone who has actually enlisted her assistance in a technique to determine a murder victim. She doesn't know that the scientist working right across from in the lab is indeed her daughter. She does feel a real excitement about someone who shares her passion for this work and who respects the techniques she developed as a scientist in the 80s to determine bodies during the Bosnian War. That endeavor in her life is one that I think is very telling. She's reuniting the physical remains of people who have passed with their families. And actually, with her own story, she herself has a huge piece missing. She and Maura share that passion for the work that they do, that analytical sensibility, but they also have a big gap that only Maura knows the truth about.
Q) Were you a fan of the show before being asked to guest star?
A) Yes! And I was really a fan of the fact that it's based on a book written by a woman, Tess Gerritsen, and created as a television series by a woman, Janet Tamaro. I liked it stars two female leads and I think it very accurately shows the complexity that women have. These women are daughters, colleagues, friends and professionals and the show really does capture the modern woman's juggling act. It's very gratifying to serve their vision.
Q) What challenged you about this role?
A) Well, I think the emotional depth of a character who has lost someone is always a compelling thing to play. On "Drop Dead Diva," I also lost a daughter, but there is a much lighter and more soulful well draw from - a sense of completion. She is someone who has been able to move through her grief in a more productive way. This character is someone who is trapped in a way that she doesn't quite understand and certainly doesn't acknowledge. She is someone who lives in her mind the way Maura does. For me, as an actor, one of the challenges and one of the rewards was trying to find the way to create a realistic portrayal of mother and daughter who have never known each other, but yet share similar qualities. We physically resemble each other in a very striking way so that was easy or helpful. Then I worked to find the physical behaviors or quirks that Maura has and included them in my performance.

Q) Was there instant chemistry when you began working with Sasha Alexander?
A) Yes! Unequivocally it was great! She is an amazing actor. What she manages to balance - she's aware that she's only inches away from the woman that gave her away and who she's had all these complex feelings for. Her assumption about this woman is not true and she can't even reach out, touch her and tell her because it's literally an emotional bomb that could go off in their lives. Watching her work is just amazing.
Q) What were some of your favorite scenes to film for the show?
A) Some of my favorite moments were around a dinner table with Angie Harmon and Lorraine Bracco, who are hysterical! Sasha is so gracious, graceful and playful and seeing their bond - that was really a delight. It isn't always like that, but this is a very happy group of people.
Q) What do you think it is about the show that continues to captivate so many viewers?
A) I think we can identify them as friends. We can identify them as people who work for a living. We can identify them with what makes them driven in their duty and what parts of their lives they have to work harder at balancing. I think you can't underestimate the chemistry between those two beautiful gals who are just easy and fun to watch, especially what they bring out in each other.
Q) You are a part of the social networking site Twitter. Why is that such an important place for you to connect with fans and promote your work?
A) I don't devote my Twitter feed to just my work. It's really just as much about things I find inspiring, interesting and compelling in life. For me, it's a way to find out things that I am interested in that other people are doing and sometimes pass that on. It isn't just a tool for business.
Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?
A) I'm grateful that we live in a country where we can tell stories freely, knowing that women in Iran are killed sometimes for expressing themselves through music. We are very fortunate in this culture to have the freedom to tell our stories the way we see fit. I encourage women to understand that everybody's story is vital and valuable. You can put it out there in the world in many forms.

Source starrymag.com

Review: Rizzoli & Isles episodes 303 & 304

It seems that both of these episodes were a huge disappointment to the majority of the rizzles fans. I wasn't in the majority. Don't get me wrong, they were not the best Rizzoli & Isles episodes, by far, but I thought they were okay. They weren't spectacular where I'm chatting about them every day and watching them over and over, but they weren't so bad.

I guess to compare, I felt the same way watching the last two Rizzoli & Isles episodes as I do after watching an episode of Leverage. I like Leverage. It's funny and I like the characters, but I don't watch each episode five to ten times and I don't talk about them with friends. It's a normal television show I happen to watch and like. That's how I felt about the last two episodes of Rizzoli & Isles. (Although I'll admit I did watch them several times.)

That's why I'm reviewing both in one post. Not a whole lot to talk about.

Episode 303:

•  I love Jane and Maura. Whether they're friends, co-workers, family, or anything else. I love the chemistry, the banter, the teasing, the way they turn to each other in times of need. I love that Maura has become part of Jane's family. I simply love it every time Sasha Alexander and Angie Harmon are on screen together. Period. 
• There were a lot of great one-liners in this episode, and I found myself laughing quite a bit.
• Dennis was a nice guy. If he shows back up I wouldn't complain. I like that he was into art like Maura. She hasn't really had anyone to share that with. 
• I love Rondo in this episode. I love that they're touching on his back story. It will be nice to see that unfold.
• I like Casey. I like that he and Jane have a history and also that the storyline is progressing slowly. You know what else I like? That Angela calls him Charles. I don't know why but I do.
• I really loved that Maura was waiting for Jane at the end. I did a screen shot titled "She Waits" for that. (It's a song by Zero 1 that went through my head at the time.)
  

Episode 304:

• Again, Jane & Maura together in a scene is always great. Some cute interactions in this episode. I like how Maura kept trying to get Jane to do something active.
• Love the dog! For those that may not know she's actually Lorraine Bracco's dog and really does do those tricks.
• I like that it was Maura that brought the dog back. Nice scene between her and Casey. Naturally the first thing she wants to do is to help him, and then she tells him to talk to Jane. She wouldn't promise not to tell. Love her.
• Maura and Angela should have at least one good scene per episode. Love them together.
• Speaking of Angela, her blogging was awesome. And Angela's Guardian's, so funny. Anyone shipping Angela and Cavanaugh? I wouldn't be surprised... It could happen. "Not one word Rizzoli." Too funny.

Crime wise Rizzoli & Isles will never be Criminal Minds (my favorite crime show.) When I want a great crime show I have that to turn to. The homeless vets were sad and I liked Rondo's involvement. The dolls were creepy, but the killer was predictable. Luckily, I don't spend the time trying to figure out who did it cause I'll find out in the last five minutes anyway. I enjoy the interactions, not only between Jane and Maura, but also Frost, Frankie and Korsak. I think Angie's comment about how they could have a Frost and Frankie sitcom was dead on. They've been funny together.

I do want to know what the hell Jane does besides piece together information that everyone else gathers for her. lol Has anyone else noticed that? Even Korsak seems to be taking orders from her when he's her superior! She stands there and says "look for..." "do we have..." and everyone gives her the answers. I want that job!

All and all two okay episodes. I'm really looking forward to episode 305. Maura's family is probably my favorite storyline in the series.

Sharon Lawrence talks about working with Sasha Alexander

With "Throwing Down the Gauntlet" airing tomorrow night, the interviews with Sharon Lawrence, who plays Maura's biological mother, have begun to appear.

Here are the two most recent interviews:

Were you already a fan of Rizzoli & Isles? What attracted you to playing a role on the show?

Sharon: Yes, I was very interested in the launch of it because for years I've worked with an organization called Women In Film. We are a support network for women in the executive and creative positions in the industry. So the fact that it was a show sourced from material written by a woman and then created as a television series by a woman and it stars these wonderful actresses and is about women in the workplace, I was very interested.

What can you tell us about your character?

Sharon: I play Dr. Hope Martin who is the birth mother of Maura Isles. She is someone who we find out from Maura, not only shares the DNA of our leading lady but shares a passion for science. She herself is a pathologist and works to develop techniques to identify the remains of victims of the Bosnian wars. So she has dedicated her after the loss of a child to connecting those who have passed with their families and their stories. I think it may be a window into the psychology of loss. Especially women, are so committed to connecting, that even in the midst of their own sense of loss they may find healing in helping other people. Particularly to fill the gaps of the mystery of a story. 

So, does Hope know that Maura is her daughter?

Sharon: This whole relationship is still a mystery to Dr. Hope Martin. She is not aware that the woman just inches away from her across the lab table is indeed the daughter that she thought died at birth.

Are you in one episode or is it a longer story arc?

Sharon: It's a longer story. There are three (episodes) at this point.

Can you share any behind the scenes tidbits from the set?

Sharon: Sasha Alexander is such a great actress and such a lovely person. She has a great sense of balance in her life. I felt really compelled to find the resemblance (between the characters). I mean, we look alike which was helpful and kind of stunning how much we did favor each other but the physical behaviors is what I found really interesting. To observe her as an actor and try to incorporate that into some of my own characterizations. It was also really fun to watch Angie Harmon and Lorraine Bracco together. They're a scream. They should just take it on the road. They are really entertaining.

Source tv spoilers 

PCM also did a great interview with Sharon Lawrence where she talks more about working with Sasha Alexander and Bruce McGill.

Rizzoli and Isles Episode 305 SPOILERS - TV Guide

More photos from this episode here >>
  





TvGuide.com:

How does Maura track down her birth mom on Rizzoli & Isles? — Jessica
ADAM: With a case, of course! Maura reaches out to her mom, Dr. Hope Martin (guest star Sharon Lawrence), who just so happens to work in the same field. But don't think she tells Hope up front that she's her long-believed-to-be-dead daughter. "It's drawn-out," Lawrence, who will appear in three episodes, tells us. "Hope has a daughter from her marriage. There's a lot to play. Maura's too smart to throw in a bit of information that could blow up in everybody's face, so it'll take a bit."