Category Archives: tv show

Battling Darkness

Battling Darkness is a documentary from 2013 which takes a look at the way the church deals with Exorcisms and how they’re portrayed by Hollywood on film.

Virginia Madsen was listed as taking part, I’ve half an interest in this kind of thing anyways and so naturally I was interested and found a copy, and…

… Well, let’s just say if I’d found a copy just for Virginia Madsen I might be a tad disappointed.

Which is to say, yes, she takes part in it… Just, not for very long. At all.

Battling Darkness is a 48 minute 2013 documentary that gets at spiritual warfare; the kind that’s about demons, exorcists, theology, and psychologists and all without pretending it’s anything but framed in a Christian worldview

It opens with a premise: the “visage of Satan” all but died before The Exorcist landed in 1973, and since Linda Blair’s possession, the world’s been obsessed with evil as both spectacle and reality.From there, we get quick cuts and talking heads. Psychologists, Exorcists, Pastors, and Linda Blair herself, all asking “is what Hollywood shows is Biblical or just sensationalism at its finest?”

They trot out the usual suspects for this kind of thing: Tony Campolo, Neil Anderson, Hank Hanegraaff, plus a Vatican certified exorcist, Father Gary Thomas And yeah, they toss in psychology, ask questions about possession versus mental illness, but the answer inevitably steers back to spiritual warfare as fact, not metaphor.

The trailer promises “examined with objectivity and insight”, but the lineup makes the tone clear: this is less “balanced academic inquiry” and more “Christian voices explaining the spiritual realm.”

(if you are reading between the lines here and thinking this kind of thing is wasted on me, then you’re right)

So what does it deliver?

If you’re already inclined to believe that demons are real, it’s a tidy little package: half-hour, familiar faces talking at you (note, not to you), some clips of exorcisms, a handful of psychologists for spice and seasoning.

You’re not getting peer reviewed studies or push back from prominent secular psychiatrists, this is all about getting you confirmation.

It’s what it says it is. No surprise reveals, no ideological sleight of hand.

If you walk in expecting clinical nuance, you’ll leave bored and / or annoyed by the absence of rigorous skepticism.

If you’re deep into evangelical spirituality or curious about what Christians consider spiritual warfare, it hits the expected notes. SURPRISE!

Virginia Madsen’s input is minimal, a quick comment on how dark The Exorcist is as a film, and that’s about the only contribution she makes to the whole thing – It’s a bit bizarre she’s in it at all, but… There we go.

Worth watching? Only if this is your lane. Long enough to provoke thought, short enough not to overstay its welcome.

Just don’t mistake it for a forensic or medical investigation.

It’s faith first, questions second which is comforting if that aligns with your worldview, frustrating if not.

As you may have guessed – I’ve little time for this kind of fluff – I don’t mind more balanced approaches, but things like this only serve to reinforce a view that already exists and either way, are a complete waste of time.

Availability:

You can find it on YouTube, and other places – I’ve not found it anywhere to buy though.

Trailer:

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Metropolis

Metropolis was a TV Travel Guide style Documentary that ran on the Travel Channel in 2015 for a total of 6 episodes, Virginia Madsen would feature in 3 of them;

Episode 1: Manhatten
Episode 2: San Francisco
Episode 5: Paris

Well. I say “featured” – She was in them at least. And, not for very long each time and in each episode she wears the exact same thing…

So. Yeah – If you’ve even seen a Travel Guide style Documentary from the Travel Channel, or indeed any of the Discovery documentaries, then you can kind of guess what this is.

For the uninformed – They’re little puff pieces which highlight an area, and then some places to go see in those areas. They aren’t a bad thing but you aren’t going to learn much from them either.

Various celebrities will talk about various places and generally be nice about the place they’re talking about.

Quick cuts, B-Roll footage, Voice overs – That kind of thing.

Is it worth tracking down?

Well. I did…

BUT – Not especially if you’re just casually interested.

As an example of how things are going to go if or when you watch it, in the first episode we learn that Virginia Madsen things the Bagels taste better than anywhere else in the world thanks to the water.

As always, I’ll avoid spoilers and not ruin the rest of them for you 🙂

Availability:

You can find it streaming, but it seems to be Geo-locked everywhere I found it, so depending on your location you need a VPN to watch it.

Trailer (for the Manhattan episode):

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Holidazed

Holidazed. Another year, another Christmas effort from Hallmark. And, another Christmas project for Virginia Madsen following on from Better Watch Out and Operation Christmas Drop, kind of.

If you’ve read up on those efforts from me already then you’ll already know I’m not a massive fan of the Christmas theme. But, as always I’ll give it a go.

Holidazed gets off to a good start, the first shot is of Virginia Madsen driving a Pink Cadillac through town, I mean as the start of these things go, I’ve seen a lot worse. OK. So, it’s not Virginia as such but her character, Connie.

We follow Virginia Madsen, well, Connie and her Pink Cadillac till she arrives home where we meet some of her family before which sees her married to Chuck (John C McGinley) with grown up kids all coming home for the holidays. From there, the story shifts focus, introducing other families in the neighborhood.

And that would be when we begin to understand the show a little. Each of the families introduced is a bit “quirky” and have their unique family dysfunctions. Gay couples that haven’t come out to their Grandma, divorced couples dealing with new partners and old friends with unresolved attractions meeting up again. All played out to little tunes prompting you to see the humor, or drama, in the situations, etc.

It’s Christmas, you know – Got to have these little adventures and put things under microscopes to see the error of peoples ways or they’d never get that redemption arc we’re all so desperate to see.

Yeah, I know. I sound a little jaded by these things—BUT—no, no buts—I’ve got nothing. I’m just not a fan of these kinds of comedy dramas at the best of times. Throw Christmas in, and I’ve still got nothing. Just not a fan of these kinds of comedy dramas at the best of times, throw Christmas in and I’ve still got nothing. Call me Scrooge, call me Grinch and it’d be nothing I’ve not heard before.

The drama for the Manetti-Hanahan family revolves around a long-running feud with a neighbor, one their daughter has just made worse by falling for the neighbour’s son. This upsets Chuck as head of the household, and the feud who then proceeds to throw jibes at her by calling her a traitor and referring back to his days in the armed forces.

There are 8 episodes in total of Holidazed, the first one introduces us to all the families in the neighbourhood, the next six episodes deal with each family as the main focus and the finale brings them all back together for the wrap up.

I’d hoped for some kind of crossover between the episodes, but there didn’t seem to be any. They are self-contained and all end on some kind of cliff hanger, normally involving some kind of shock to one of the members of the family as some kind secret or revelation is played out.

The Manetti-Hanahan family get their turn in the seventh episode, which gets introduced with Virginia introducing us to a previous Christmas Eve related event via a first person talk to the camera, which gives us more insight on why she’s trying so hard to make this one a success.

This episode picks up where the first one left off, following the usual formula—melodrama, escalating conflicts, and leading up to the inevitable Christmas Day reckoning.”

Although, to its credit Connie does have a line which hangs a hat on the whole thing within the first five minutes with “Is it too much to ask to have a Hallmark Christmas for a change?”, which I won’t lie – Did amuse me.

The rest of the episode delivers exactly what you’d expect. More drama is piled on as we learn that Connie is a bit more highly strung than normal as she’s waiting for a call from the Doctors about a test she had done a few days before. She missed the call from the Doctors with the results and she’s left hanging now till after the festive period.

Virginia Madsen is her usual excellent self here, falling back on her matriarch of the family role as she herds her wayward family into behaving themselves. In the first episode she even whips out a Behavioural Contract she wants her family to sign in an effort to enforce the Holiday spirit.

It’s not a bad thing to watch but nothing we’ve not seen her do before. And, she gets to flex her comedic side once again which is always nice to see. It’s an exercise in balancing exasperation and warmth in a way that makes Connie’s frustrations feel genuine rather than just sitcom-level antics. Just.

The eighth and final episodes brings the whole thing full circle and the resolutions to the dramas that have happened previously are all played out. It’s obviously an episode full of spoilers, but I will say it holds very few, if any, surprises.

There isn’t even any reference to the factg that both Virginia Madsen and John C McGinley both starred in Highlander 2 back in the day, I guess it’s still too soon for either of them to joke about.

To be fair to Holidazed, it’s well done for what it is. It’s obvious they aren’t for me, but I can respect them for what they are and a lot of people do like them, especially around Christmas. It’s harmless enough, the actors put in good, if not predictable turns.

Availability:

Not great at the moment. Was streamed on the Hallmark Channel but, it’s too early for a physical release of it just yet. Guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens with this one.

Gallery:

Holidazed - Promotional Shoot 1 image

Trailer:

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Voltron: Legendary Defender

In 2016 Netflix collaborated with Dreamworks to bring us Volton: Legendary Defender, a reboot of the Voltron series which first debuted back in 1984.

It’s true what they say, classics never die, especially in the day and age of reboots, and Netflix.

The history of the whole show is too much to go into here, especially as we’re all only really here to talk about Virginia Madsen, and the part she plays in the Voltrons history is only about 10 minutes of actual screen time. And, honestly I’m not the best person to talk to about Voltron at the best of times.

Technically, not even screen time, it’s voice time….

Virginia’s sultry tones can be heard in the third season of Voltron: Legendary Defender episode “Hole in the Sky”. She voices Commander Hira.Commander Hira comes from an alternate reality in which the roles of the heroes and villains of the regular Voltron universe have been reversed. It takes the regular heroes a few minutes to catch up with what exactly is going on, but when they do they aren’t at all impressed.

Virginia Madsen does her cartoon villain thing here, she seems to have a thing for doing these kinds of roles on cartoons looking back at her work in the DC Universe with Justice League (and Unlimited) and Stuart Little 3. I get a very real sense she revels in this kind of thing. It’s a very calm, collected and even calculated presence she gives Hira, quite unnerving when the truth about what they are doing is revealed with the mind control stuff.
It’s a subtle, and chilling performance for sure. It’s all effortless, like she’s taking a Sunday stroll through the park with her dog.

Availability:

Well, it’s on Netflix for sure – How long is anyone’s guess, it was supposed to be retiring this year in 2024, but as of the time of writing (October) it’s still on no warnings that it’s leaving anytime soon.

Unlike other Netflix shows you can purchase the DVDs for the series, although I could only find them on Reigon 1 DVDs which means you’ll have to be in the US or have a multi-region DVD player to watch them.

Trailer:

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Justice League Unlimited

Justice League Unlimited (JLU) is Virginia Madsen’s third dip of the toe into the DC Animated Universe, and her second in the realm of the Justice League specifically having previously played Dr Sarah Corwin in the Justice Leagues The Brave and The Bold episode a few years previously.

JLU is of course a part of the same animated universe, it’s a continuation of it – And it’s one that over its run managed to keep the high standards as the rest of the shows that came before it. Blending a good mix of action, character development and damn good storytelling JLU widens the scope and the mix of the heroes and brings even the most secondary character into the limelight.
Virginia Madsen would this time lend her voice to Roulette AKA Veronica Sinclair, a cunning and manipulative villain who runs an underground fighting ring called Meta-Brawl. She pits super-powered villains and heroes against each other for entertainment, capitalising on their abilities to attract Gotham’s elite. Roulette’s lack of actual superpowers is offset by her ability to manipulate others and organise elaborate and more often than not, dangerous events.

Roulette appears twice in the Justice League Unlimited, the first time is in the second or fourth season episode, depending on which version you have – Either way, the episode is called “The Cat and The Canary”.

Roulette has managed to snag Wildcat to fight in her Meta-Brawl event, he’s feeling a bit redundant these days as he doesn’t actually have any superpowers to speak of and feels he can’t keep up with the other “Supers”.
His former protege, Black Canary, finds out about all of this and gets naturally concerned. She drags Green Arrow with her to convince Wildcat that he doesn’t need to do this, or anything, to prove himself. But, before anyone can get a grasp on it all Roulette has set up a fight between Wildcat and Green Arrow.

Obviously, this was never going to end well for Roulette. But, it’s fun to see it play out anyway.

The next time we see Roulette is in the third season (or fifth season) episode, “Grudge Match”.

In Virginia Madsen’s second episode Roulette is back (obviously) with a new, and what she thinks is an improved version of her Meta-Brawl. This time she’s calling it Glamour Slam and just has women doing the fighting. She takes her idea to Lex Luthor and he agrees to let her use some of his mind control technology he’s acquired from Grodd to get some of the Justice League heroines into the ring against their will. Black Canary, Vixen and even Wonder Woman herself all get thrown into the brutal battles for others’ entertainment.It eventually comes down to Huntress to notice something isn’t right with Black Canary and sets about rescuing her from the clutches of Roulette’s mind control.

And, well – Yeah – This goes about as well for Roulette as the first time we saw her.

These pesky villains, do they never learn?Virginia Madsen plays Roulette with an obvious relish. You can tell how much she enjoys these kinds of roles and just has fun with them. For some reason I always imagine her sat in her recording booth with a huge grin on her face as she hams it up.

Availabilty:

Good, no probelm at all finding it on DVD or Blu-Ray. The Blu-Ray I bought from America was Reigon Free as well, so – Bonus.

Trailer:

Not an official one, but…

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The Event

While I can’t be 100% sure, I’m pretty confident NBC’s The Event was their attempt at jumping on the bandwagon when all the conspiracy shows were hitting the air. It was that time when TV stations were throwing new shows at the wall to see what stuck.

Shows like LOST, 24, Flash Forward, Fringe, Heroes, and Prison Break all had elements of political intrigue, worldwide conspiracies, or extraterrestrial involvement, heck – sometimes a mix of everything, with a splash of a little something extra to give it a spin, or make it edgy.

The Event tried to tick ALL the boxes.

The plot centres on a group of extraterrestrials who crash-landed on Earth in 1944 near the end of World War II. These aliens look human but age at a much slower rate. The U.S. government, fearing what their presence might mean, locked them up in a hidden facility in Alaska called “Inostranka.” Their leader, Sophia Maguire (Laura Innes), represents only a fraction of their population. The rest, known as Sleepers, have lived undetected among humans, quietly influencing world events and waiting for their time to reveal themselves.The big mystery in the show revolves around a major, looming moment, rather ominously referred to simply as “The Event”, that the aliens hint is coming.

We the viewers, are left to speculate as to what exactly that is.

Is it a catastrophe? A hugely uplifting moment for humanity? Who’s a Sleeper? Who can we trust?

Etc.

I’ll admit, I was all in for shows like this for a while. I even own several of them in complete box set form, The Event included. Just the one season, though, at the risk of spoilers, it was one of the doomed ones.

Beyond the global stakes, The Event also focused on personal stories, including one character in particular: Catherine Lewis, played by none other than Virginia Madsen, because, let’s face it, I wouldn’t be talking about this show otherwise.
Catherine is the widow of a U.S. senator who died under suspicious circumstances. And we know how shady that can be. While Madsen’s role wasn’t massive, it was pivotal in pushing the government conspiracy into the light. Catherine’s suspicions about her husband’s death became part of a bigger investigation into what the government was hiding about the aliens.

I wouldn’t say we see anything new from Virginia Madsen in this role. Don’t get me wrong, she’s perfect for this kind of part, but it also feels a little like lazy casting. Virginia can do this kind of thing in her sleep, and let’s be real: she can probably act circles around most of the cast. If they’d needed her to carry more of the show, she could’ve done it with ease. The role had plenty of room to grow, and with Virginia Madsen behind the wheel, it would’ve been in safe hands.

But, alas, the show was cancelled, and Catherine’s character arc was cut short, along with everyone else’s. Another TV show that asked way more questions than we’ll ever get answers for.
Is it worth watching? That’s not an easy one to answer. It’s good, and I did like it – But it’s one of those shows where the cancellation hurts. Too many questions, not enough answers. It’s probably not worth putting yourself through the emotional wringer, knowing there’s no closure.

That said, watch it if you like. You’ll probably enjoy it if you’re into this kind of thing. Just don’t come looking for me when you’re hitting forums, searching for what could’ve been.

Availability:

Good, not hard to find at all on DVD

Trailer:

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Monk

Monk may seem like a bog standard “crime of the week” procedural show on the surface, but it offers so much more. Beneath the crime-solving with a bit of quirky thrown in premise is a properly human portrayal of a man grappling with his own mental health.

The series aired from 2002 to 2009, with Tony Shalhoub in the lead role as Adrian Monk, a private detective with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). While Monk’s OCD is what makes him brilliant as an investigator, the show doesn’t shy away from the darker, more debilitating aspects of his condition. Tony Shalhoub’s portrayal of Monk won him numerous awards, and for good reason. He balances the genius that is Monks with the tragedy of his illness.

Monk’s OCD is both a gift and a curse. Yes, it sharpens his attention to detail, making him an incredible investigator, but the show never treats it like a superpower. Instead, it offers a realistically nuanced portrayal of the emotional toll the disorder takes on him, and those around him. The show’s honest depiction of this struggle is what takes it beyond the typical TV Show formula used here.

While Monk focuses on solving standalone mysteries, there are deeper, long-running arcs that add an emotional weight to the story. Central to the series is Monk’s quest to solve the murder of his wife, Trudy. This mystery haunts him, and despite his investigative genius, the answers always seem just out of reach—until they aren’t. Without giving too much away, the way the show resolves Trudy’s murder is possible on the most satisfying things ever filmed for Television.
In the show’s eighth and final season we’re introduced to T.K. Jensen, played by Virginia Madsen. T.K. quickly becomes a part of Captain Leland Stottlemeyer’s life in the later seasons. Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine), is Monk’s closest ally, often frustrated but always loyal. As a police captain, Stottlemeyer has a tough exterior, but T.K. brings out his softer side.

She’s introduced in “Happy Birthday, Mr. Monk” as a journalist who reviews household appliances, and Stottlemeyer is instantly smitten with her, I mean, yeah – Who wouldn’t be? Right?

We next see Virginia Madsen as T.K. In “Mr. Monk is the Best Man,” she. and Stottlemeyer are preparing to get married, but the dangers of his job begin to take their toll on her. After their home is broken into and a stalker threatens their safety, T.K. has second thoughts about marrying a police captain. With some help from Monk’s assistant, Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard), T.K. ultimately decides to go through with the wedding, leading to a beachside marriage.T.K.’s final appearance comes in “Mr. Monk and the End,” where she remains a supportive presence as Monk finally uncovers the truth about Trudy’s murder. It’s pretty much a blink and you’ll miss it kind of appearance, but a nice touch for the final episode and the wrap up of Stottlemeyer’s story.

Could anyone have played T.K.? – Well, probably if I’m honest, but – it’s always a treat to see Virginia Madsen playing a role in anything.

Her character definitely adds to a show on its final approach to its landing. Most of the heavy lifting happens in her second episode, and she does an excellent job portraying the conflict of someone preparing to marry a man in such a dangerous line of work.
Virginia Madsen enjoyed her brief time on the show, particularly her more background role. Speaking with The LA Times in their Sunday Conversation section she’d have this to say;

“I don’t necessarily need to be the star. And when you work in an ensemble, it’s exciting and it’s fun and it’s creative, and I work really well as a team. I like the family feeling. “Monk” was like that. There wasn’t any mean competition. There were no divas on the set. It was a real feeling of family. That was another thing we talked about at the beginning: I said we’ve got really young people on this show, and I want you guys to support me in making a family, so I want to do stuff together and I want to bond, and they were like, “Cool.””

I think it’s obvious I’ve a soft spot for Monk and his adventures over the years, and it hardly seems worth bothering to recommend a show with eight years of history before you get to the Virginia Madsen part.

But, if you’re the kind that likes to binge a box set every now and again you can do much worse than this show. Even if you just watch the final season you should get some enjoyment out of it.

Availability:

Good. You can buy individual series on DVD, or treat yourself to the whole thing.

Gallery:

Monk - Behind the Scenes 3 images

Trailer:

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The Practice – Season 6 – Episodes 1 and 2 – “The Candidate”

The Practice is a TV Show that was on air from 1997 to 2004. It’s a Legal drama and centres around the good people of Boston working for a Law Firm. During its early years it’d win an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, and it would go on to spawn a spin off series, Boston Legal, which ran from 2004 to 2008. Both of these shows would be the brainchild of David E. Kelley who was also responsible for bringing the other famous Boston Lawyer, Ally McBeal to our screens and the whole thing was a “shared universe” before they became popular.

While it was on air The Practice was well known for pulling in high profile guest stars, many of these guest slots would be awarded with a prestigious Emmy Award afterwards. You’ve got the likes of Sharon Stone, William Shatner, Viola Davis, Donnie Whalberg and Gina Gershon to name but a very few who’ve thrown their hats in The Practices ring.I won’t pretend to have watched it all, in fact any of it apart from the episodes featuring Virginia Madsen, it’s just not my type of show. Like CSI: Miami and Law and Order, these kinds of shows just don’t do anything for me.

Virginia Madsen would guest star in two episodes in 2001’s sixth season in a story called “The Candidate”. They’d form the first two episodes of the season and would first air at the end of September that year.

The story of The Candidate revolves around Senator Keith Ellison (Dylan Baker), he’s found by Ellenor Frutt (Camryn Manheim) after he calls her to his home. He’s not in a good way, he’s covered in blood and stood near the body of a man. The Senator claims he was defending his wife, Marsha (Virginia Madsen) from an attack, but it soon turns out that the man in question was actually having an affair with Marsha.

The waters are muddied. Or, bloodied if you will.
Virginia Madsen does her thing in this as you’d almost expect. We’re not in Emmy territory here, but that’s not to say she’s dialling things in either. She does her earnest angry woman thing, and does it well. You can see her in eyes her true feelings throughout the episode. It’s a shame we don’t get to some more from her in this role, but it’s what the character needs to be.

I’ve already said this kind of thing isn’t for me, so hard for me to recommend as obviously there is an audience for this kind of show. I guess you’ll already know if it’s one for you or not.

Availabilty:

Hard to find on DVD, despite earlier, and later season being available. Hate it when they do that. It can be found on various streaming sites though like Apple and Plex so you can watch it that way at least.

Trailer:

Not for the actual episode…

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, not my kind of thing at all. Like CSI: Miami before it, I’ve zero interest in this kind of Police Procedural show. Only one thing would get me to voluntarily watch it, Virginia Madsen.

Thankfully, it’s not as though I’ve never seen this one as it’s one my better halves favourite shows. And, there’s a LOT of it. Law and Order: Special Victims Unit has been around for years, in fact at the time of writing it’s the fourth longest running US show, ever.

Well, I say thankfully – Law and Order SVU deals with the worst of the worst sex based cases it can possibly get away with on TV, I’m sure. I mean, don’t get me wrong – I’m no prude and can fully enjoy and appreciate the worst of the horror films out there. But, something about the subject matter of this TV show doesn’t sit right with me and I’d rather not spend an hour or so a week watching it and calling it ‘entertainment’.
But. Having said that, it does do its storytelling with a great deal of tact and empathy, it deals with some harsh subjects sometimes and like it or not, this is the world we live in. And, if my Wife likes it then it must be doing something right as she’s as tough an audience as it gets.

It’s a long running show, I’m not even going to try and explain the stories and threads that do run though the thing as I’d most likely spend a lot (a LOT) of time talking about the things you don’t care about. And I’d do it badly as I’m not a fan of the show.

So, onto the main event.
Virginia Madsen appears in the 6th Episode of the 17th Season in an episode called “Maternal Instincts”. She plays the role of Beth Anne Rollins, the mother of one of the series regular characters, Amanda Rollins. The role would only be filled once for the screen but receive off screen mentions in later episodes, which is a bit of a rip off if you ask me.

In the episode, we see Beth arrive to throw a baby shower for Amanda – BUT – By sheer coincidence and bad luck, it’s also the time when one of the suspects of the case the team are working on turns out to be Amanda’s sister, Kim who has been MIA for a while from Amanda’s life.

Amanda sees her sister on CCTV footage but hides it from everyone else. She soon realises that it’s awfully funny that her sister and her Mother are back in town, and well… You can do the math from there.

Virginia Madsen’s role here isn’t going to knock anyone off their socks. She’s always impressive but this is a role we’ve seen her play many times before and no doubt she could do it in her sleep. I guess there is only so much you can do with a guest role in a long running established thing like this.
By the 17th Season of the show I guess you should already know if you’re a fan or not. It’s hard for me to recommend this other than “if you like this kind of thing then this is one of the best you can hope for”.

Availability:

The 17th Season is easy to find on DVD and for a relatively cheap price.

Gallery:

Trailer:

Well, not for the actual episode but…

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The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan

This is something different. The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan. I originally saw this when it aired on a random TV channel in the UK, many, many years ago now. I was going through the guide when I saw Virginia Madsen’s name mentioned and hit the record button. I had no idea it was actually available to buy on DVD until a saved eBay search for “virginia madsen” found it for me.

The show is based around Cesar Millan (obviously) who helps Dogs that need, well, help. Normally some kind of behavioural / training thing that their Human doesn’t approve of, or if the dog is scared of something etc etc.

I should point out that I LOVE Dogs, I’m very much a dog person, I’m the one that will almost stop and say hello to a friendly Dog when I’m out walking my own Dog. I’ve all the time in the world for them. Having said that, I know some Dogs are just jerks, my current Dog can be a complete jerk when he wants to be and I’m fully aware of that. (He likes jumping at things so they run away, he doesn’t chase them or mean anything by it, but for whatever reason he likes it).

It’s probably also wise to mention that not everyone approves of Cesar Millan and his methods. Now, I’m not qualified to judge and I’ve not seen enough of the episodes to make an opinion on how he does his thing but Mr Millan isn’t without controversy when other experts in the field weigh in on his methods. One of the most common complaints is that his methods are outdated and lack any real kind of science. In some European countries there is a warning at the start of the show that some of the techniques shown in the episodes might be illegal.

Make of all that what you will.

The Dog Whisperer ran from 2004 to 2012 on the National Geographic Channel and lasted for 9 seasons. Each episode was styled like a Documentary and Cesar would be introduced to a dog with some kind of problem, he’d then work with the dog to try and work through their issues and get them to behave in a way in which the dog could enjoy life more.

Virginia Madsen appeared twice on The Dog Whisperer, once in Season 3 and then again in Season 4.

The Season 3 episode 2, “Buster, Holli and Spike & Belle”.

The episode premiered on 30th October 2006, Virginia Madsen features in the segment “Family Decisions”.

We see Virginia and her son Jack who are wanting to adopt a new puppy after the loss of one of their other dogs, Dixie. She was a Shepherd mix who lived to the grand old age of 14 before getting ill with Pancreatitis, Knowing that her much loved dog was nearing the end she called upon Cesar for advice. The two knew each other already after he’d helped with a problem of Dixie and their other dog, Spike who’d run away at every chance they got. Cesar advises them on what they need and brings a selection of rescue dogs for them to consider, which I very much approve of.

Cesar oversees Virginia and Jack as they pick one of the dogs to be a new member of the family, taking into consideration how the dog behaves with their existing animals and especially with Spike, their existing dog.
Eventually they find a companion for Spike, a little belter called Belle (spoilers don’t apply when they are in the title it seems).

Obviously Virginia isn’t “on” for the camera here, she’s not acting, and so we can’t comment on that – BUT – We can say that it’s nice to see her in a more candid environment, chilling out with her Son and adding to their family unit. It’s nice to see, even if it is only a brief peak inside.
Virginia Madsen is also listed as appearing in the 100th Episode of the show, a “special”. BUT, despite getting hold of a copy on DVD and watching the episode, several times, I couldn’t find her in there.

It’s possiible the DVD had been edited, for some reason, not sure.

Availability:

You can quite easily buy the third and fourth seasons on DVD, but if you live outside of the US then you’re going to pay more in shipping than for the DVD unless you get lucky and find a copy that’s already imported.

Weirdly, there is also a Dog Whisperer Collection DVD available called “Stories of Hope and Inspiration” – If you look at the back cover Virginia Madsen is in one of the screenshots, but that episode does not appear on any of the disc – So there you go don’t be fooled if you see it.

(In all fairness the disc menu does say they’re episodes from Season 3, probably just someone in the design department not checking what they’re doing properly.)

Trailer:

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Category Archives: tv show

Battling Darkness

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Trailer:

Metropolis

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Trailer (for the Manhattan episode):

Holidazed

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Gallery:

Holidazed - Promotional Shoot 1 image

Trailer:

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Justice League Unlimited

The Event

Monk

Monk - Behind the Scenes 3 images

The Practice – Season 6 – Episodes 1 and 2 – “The Candidate”

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Production Stills 7 images

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Behind the Scenes 2 images

The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan

The Season 3 episode 2, “Buster, Holli and Spike & Belle”.