Consortium of Seven: Year 4

         Another week where I start this expecting to be dropping a short piece due to other pressing matters, but then I remember this, then that, and it swells.        At least through the 22nd of this month I'm under the gun concerning some other matters, and it will likely continue to wreak havoc on the rest of my life. So, the following two Friday columns after today may be light. We'll see.       Arrived on Netflix yesterday was the second half of the second season of The Lincoln Lawyer . As mentioned several weeks ago , this is an adaptation of Michael Connelly's 2011 novel The Fifth Witness .      In the face of the ongoing strike, and very likely just as part of constant experimentation to see which method works best for generating viewer interest on these streaming platforms, they broke this second season into two, five-episode halves, hoping to generate a mid-season cliffhanger buzz. I...

      Rolling into the middle of July already?! I hope you've each been able to avoid the worst of what your region's been dishing out in local weather, be it oppressive heat, violent storms, and/or flooding rains.       The Screen Actors Guild has joined the picket lines the Writers have already been on since May, presumably adding to the pressure for whatever deal's to eventually come as the screen entertainment industry continues to wrestle with what the new normal will be.       For now, though, we continue to have a great deal out there, new and old.       As I roll into the weekend, I'll be happily getting around to seeing this week's return of What We Do In the Shadows (new Thursdays on FX, and Fridays on Hulu), and the final two episodes of this final season of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (Amazon Prime).        The covert war against shape-shifters hit the two thirds point wit...