Law & Order: SVU Episode 15: In Loco Parentis Review

I'm not really going to recap this episode. I am going to assume (dangerous, I know) that you've seen it 😊

THE GOOD

1. While I have issues with some of the material and direction he was given (covered The Bad and The Ugly sections), Philip did an outstanding job in this episode. One thing that always makes for great performances from him is his ability to convey emotion in his body language and facial expressions. From the tilt of his head to the furrow of his brow to the drumming of his fingers on the notebook, it says more than dialogue ever could or makes the dialogue all the more powerful.
2. High five to Finn for defending Peter. Telling Rollins to stop blaming Peter for Barba's action was great and 100% spot on. I have a feeling Rollins is going to be the major thorn in Peter's side for awhile. Which is fine. I don't expect everyone to like him from the get go. But make sure you're not disliking him for the wrong reasons.
3. Benson's faith in Peter's abilities when Carisi questions them. Peter may be new to SVU, but he has plenty of solid and successful prosecution experience behind him.
4. Peter doing what Peter does best... kicking ass in the courtroom. He is great at getting the defendant riled up by pretending to agree and condone their actions. Sympathizing with them and their anger and frustration. And then, the defendant does the rest: insert foot in mouth, salt and pepper to taste. Nothing like getting the defendant to admit his own guilt right up on the stand.

THE BAD

1. This is yet another case, within a few months, in which an SVU detective is personally involved. What is this, the Kobayashi Maru SVU style for him? Sorry for those who don't get the Star Trek reference but these cases are almost no-win scenarios for him. If he loses, he sucks as an ADA. If he wins, he sucks because he put one of their own or someone they care about behind bars. This week is an exception to the last one because winning was good but if he had lost, Carisi would have hated him. It's like the writers are giving every opportunity for the squad and fans to dislike him.
2. The dinner invite and blatant flattery. If having dinner with Benson is strictly a throwback to the history of his eating meals & discussing cases with Anna, I'm good with that. But if it's hinting at anything else, especially with all the uncomfortable flattery and what happens in The Ugly section....
3. When did Peter forget that he's a kick ass prosecutor? Telling Benson he's used to going to trial with more evidence... back in Chicago, he took on weak cases with extreme self-assuredness frequently, much to Mark Jefferies' chagrin.
4. Benson telling him that if he's in this (meaning the prosecution of sex crimes) to win, he's in the wrong place. Really? I think maybe some of the previous ADA would disagree with that. Sure, you want to go to trial, as she points out, so the victim can tell their story and confront their attacker, but you want to win, too. Prosecution and conviction is the ADA's purpose. You want justice for the victim, don't you?

THE UGLY

1. The gratuitous shirtless scene. Okay, from a strictly aesthetic standpoint, those few frames are quite pleasing to the eye. But from a character and necessity standpoint, what the heck?? Peter would have never changed in his office in Chicago. Yet he changes here and doesn't bother to lock the door or even find out who's knocking before telling them to come in. Aren't there bathrooms or a locker room or some place he can change? Or is he living out of this office and that's why he doesn't have all his ties yet? It was pointless. It marginalized and sexualized the character in a way that has never happened before on the show. And again with the forced flattery/charm to Benson with the Mets tickets for her son. Writers: PLEASE stop making Peter try so hard. Let his natural pleasant personality win the SVU folks over. 

Law & Order: SVU airs Wednesday nights on NBC at 9pmET.

Law & Order: SVU's Newest ADA

With the airing of the Law & Order: SVU episode "Undiscovered Country" on February 7th, Philip's Chicago Justice character, Peter Stone, became the newest ADA for the Special Victims Unit in New York.

After just 13 episodes Dick Wolf's Chicago Justice series met with cancellation but within days, Philip found himself with the opportunity to bring the character back to life on the hit SVU series. Although not known to him or the fans at the time, Raul Esparza, who had played the ADA on the show for 6 years, decided to depart the series leaving the need for someone to fill that ADA role. Philip was just the person for the job. His character already had ties to NY as his father, Ben Stone, had been a major player in the legal system for years. It was his father who prompted him to leave NY and now it would be the death of his father that would bring him back.

Originally just slated as a supporting actor for the show, after episode 13 aired and Esparza's departure from the show was known, it was announced Philip would be promoted to series regular. This was great news for Philip fans and Peter Stone fans. As the lone ADA of the show, he would be appearing in almost all of the remaining episodes for season 13. Fans would now have the opportunity to find out more about what makes Peter Stone tick since most of what was seen of the character in Chicago Justice was in the courtroom. Not much was known of him aside from a career ending baseball injury being the reason for going into law and the aforementioned fact he left NY to get away from his father.

Philip's performance on these 2 episodes of SVU has been outstanding. Subtle nuisances in his acting, such as the slight nod and smile when Barba was acquitted and softening of the eyes when learning of the molestation of Reggie Price and Brian Cassidy, show the viewers that Peter Stone may not like what he's doing but he does it because he has to. Because, as he himself said, "it's the law."

It's not going to be smooth sailing for Peter with the SVU folks. He just prosecuted their ADA and then went after Olivia's ex in episode 14 "Chasing Demons" so he wasn't quite winning them over. Peter is still finding his feet with prosecuting special victims crimes, though, so as the season progresses fans are sure to see the dynamics of the unit change and friendships emerge.

Brittany Frederick of OneChicagoCenter had a wonderful interview with Philip about his new role on SVU. Read her two part interview:

Part One
Part Two

You can also read great episode reviews by Kelsey Nolen for the first two episodes Philip was in:

Episode 13 - Undiscovered Country
Episode 14 - Chasing Demons

Be sure to tune in Wednesday nights at 9:00PM on NBC to catch Philip on Law & Order: SVU.

The Player Keeps Getting Better and Better! #RenewThePlayer

We are scratching our heads why the network gave up on The Player.  It keeps getting better and better.

The 'Halloween' episode last Thursday was a sickly fright.  It gave Wesley Snipes even more time to shine and show off the skills that fans love so much...his combat skills.

It also showed a very emotional and tender side to Philip's character Alex.

From @Verpa

This week, Alex's niece runs away and winds up with him.  All the while, a monstrous, serial killer/norse sacrificer is on the loose.  How does Alex and the serial killer meet?  You have to watch.

It is touch and go between the killer and Alex, with his niece, actually his ex-wife's niece, in the middle of it all.

But the scene that made the scene was Wesley's entrance and his introduction to the norseman:

And boy did he tidy up.  Just enough to add to the fright of Halloween.  You don't want to watch this by yourself, alone in the dark (although, the author did.)

We have three more wonderful episodes that we are just watering in the mouth for. 

And read a few reasons why The Player needs to be renewed:

From our favorite critic, @TVBrittanyF  7 Reasons The Player Must Live On
A new favorite, @Mikesfilmtalk The Player Gets Constantine-d by NBC, WTF?

And lastly, a lovely blog letter from a fellow actor Bryan Edwards: Dear NBC, Renew The Player.
It is a wonderful tribute to the inspiration that Philip has shared in his work.


Don't forget to tweet #RenewThePlayer.  Check out our pinned posted at @FansofPhilip on Twitter.  Retweet please!  Even Philip retweeted it:

 .Alright @NBCThePlayer fans...let's get this MOVING across Twitter! And let NBC know how much we LOVE this show! #RenewThePlayer #theplayer

Thursday nights, whether you have access to watch or not, join us on Twitter as we join the cast and crew for the broadcast of The Player.

Until next week or see you all at FB and Twitter.

:) #RenewThePlayer

Sigh,

We didn't blog for two weeks, not because there wasn't anything to write about, but because we were super busy in life.

A lot has happened.

First, the bad news.

Unfortunately, The Player has been cancelled.  The network stopped production on the last episode that was being filmed.  Fans only get 9 episodes.  It wasn't faring well against the top TV show of the season and Thursday night football.

Another sigh...

We're all extremely gutted.  Gutted-the word of the week.

We loved Thursday nights with the cast and crew, all the guest stars and new friends on Twitter.

The show was too good for network TV.

Hope of hopes that another network or online company takes it, but it does not seem to be, so far.  If we hear anything, we'll let you know.

Here are some pictures from the last episode filming:

From Instagram: shawnwrites

Pictures from Charity Wakefield instagram: Shawnwrites, and @PaulLacovera @RosieBMassett ‪

If this show does not get renewed, we hope for the best for all cast and crew.  Thank you for letting us take the ride with you.  It was AWESOME!

With this pending cancellation, this does open new avenues for Philip.

We still think he'd be the best James Bond. They should have the cast and crew create the new James Bond film.  They know action really well.  Who cares about plot when you are on the edge of your seat?!

This also opens the possibility of Philip showing up on Blindspot for a Strike Back reunion with Sullivan Stapleton.

This also opens more of a possibility of the Strike Back film.

And more possibilities for other possibilities that no one has offered yet.

Maybe we should work on our screenplay and see where it will go.  Yeah?

While Philip was promoting The Player, here is one of the the interviews:

http://ktla.com/2015/10/21/philip-winchester-is-not-corrupted-by-hollywood-and-talks-about-working-with-wesley-snipes/

Also, there was just posted a petition to save The Player.  If you believe that your signature and a petition will have an affect, sign and let everyone you know sign!  Let's get this show back!

 https://www.change.org/p/netflix-amazon-hulu-cable-usa-network-save-the-player-05a48d92-97f2-479a-b641-4b4ec7aa3b15

The best thing we can do is to still watch the show for the last four shows and then watch on DVR or apps to show the network that we love the show.  Only numbers can prove that the show is worth saving.

So make sure you watch The Player for the last 4 episodes with your friends, family, and everyone you know!

If you are on Twitter, go to our page @FansofPhilip and retweet our pinned post:

 .Alright @NBCThePlayer fans...let's get this MOVING across Twitter! And let NBC know how much we LOVE this show! #RenewThePlayer #theplayer

Until next week or see you all at FB and Twitter.

Written 10/ 25/15

Countdown to the Finale of Strike Back, The Player Gives High-Flying a New Meaning

Welcome Philip fans!

It is starting to be bittersweet for fans.  The end is near (again) for Strike Back as the last episode for the 4/5 season is broadcasting next week for the fans in the west.  All the while, the two new shows Blindspot and The Player are moving along.

Just as western fans were going to start their mourning, a surprising news flash proved to be a sign of hope, per Entertainment Weekly:

Strike Back could be coming, well, back — and bigger than ever. 
Left Bank Pictures is developing a feature film based on the cult hit Cinemax action series, EW has learned exclusively.
While still very much at an early stage, the London-based production company has a deal to develop the film with European pay TV giant Sky. 
We’re hearing stars Sullivan Stapleton and Philip Winchester would likely reprise their roles if the film is greenlit.  

The amazing thing about this is that fans wanted a movie and the show itself was filmed like a movie.  What wonderful news to hear and even better news-there is a good possibility that Philip and Sully will be available to make this film!

As fans of the show, just take our money already!

Speaking of fans, the guys found out they have one, very special fan:

How cool was that?  Whether you agree with his politics or not, it doesn't matter here.  What matters is that Mr. Bill Clinton has great taste in entertainment.  And even better?  He knows who the actors are, calling them by name.  That's how invested fans are with the shows.

How did Philip react when he saw this?  (asterisks added by us)

@philipwinchestr Sep 29

HOLY S**T! #neversawthatcoming! http://y2u.be/RJ8MymqtPyc  #billclintonsaidournamesully!

Afterwards, Philip tweeted:

‏@philipwinchestr Oct 1

Happy to hear you're enjoying #ThePlayer, @billclinton. We'll be watching with you tonight at 10/9c! 

What a guy!  Not only did he acknowledge his buddy, Sully, in his surprise, he graciously thanked Bill for watching.  

This is one of the many reasons Philip is has the unofficial nickname (by us) of "residential nice guy" in Hollywood.  But he's winning that name with other people, too, as you can see in interviews below. 

The Player has been upping the antics, as expected.  The second episode and a few following episodes, were directed by Michael Bassett, so expectations were high....and they did not fail.

Spoiler alert.  Just this:

No...words....

What is happening?  Well, you will have to watch the show to see what happened to get to this point.  But it was CRAZY AMAZING!!!!  You have to wonder what the stunt guys must of thought when the director and writer came up to them and said, "This is what we are going to do."

Tell all your friends and family to watch The Player, NBC on Thursday nights, or check local listings.  You can follow us on Twitter at @fansofphilip, as we retweet when we find out where the show is playing all over the world.  

You can also watch The Player on Roku, Amazon, the NBC app, and Hulu (it's baaaaaack!).

A couple interviews with Philip were published/posted:

Metro.us: Philip Winchester is ready for action on 'The Player'

DuJour:  Rules of The Game:  The Player‘s Philip Winchester on how he got lucky

An appearance on Access Hollywood (click the link to watch the video).  (Remember the nice guy comment made earlier?)

And lastly, our favorite, FashionablyMale.  Take a look at these from the magazine August Man Malaysia:

The pictures are amazing and the interview is thoughtful as he talks about work and family.

There's more if you click the link, both in pictures and the interview.  Or get the magazine at your favorite international magazine/newspaper stand, if they carry it.  Good Luck!

One last article from one of our favorites, @TVBrittanyF and her article:
Here's why that 'Blindspot' and 'The Player' crossover makes sense.

You have to read to find out why, other than the obvious.

Until next week or see you all at FB and Twitter.

The Player is Here!

A busy week for fans of Philip!

We got Strike Back and the two guys' shows, Blindspot and The Player.  Both premiered this week.

The Player was up against some well known and unexpected competition for its first night.  But anyone who watched had a blast.

This is an action show.  Think 80's action films, Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme, Willis, little conversation, lots of driving, shooting, jumping, fighting, etc, with all the cliche's of Vegas and action.  It is there for a purpose.

If you don't like cliches, it is probably not for you.

If you like a lot of dialog, you will be disappointed.  But too much dialog at that late of the night can cause problems sleeping.  You need something to ease and relax your mind.  

If it is too fast for you to understand, you probably need to watch the other show on the other network, which is very, very, very slow.

If it sounds like the premise of another show, that is because the show was written by the guy who wrote another show. 

This is action, pulp fiction, updated, time of your life, hold on to your seat, kind of a ride, show.  It is really not much different than watching Strike Back, except you only have one of the two main characters, less dialog, and less...er...hot scenes.

There are twists, though...as was seen at the end of the first episode.  It caught everyone off guard.

In a week or two, the director of Strike Back will be premiering his episodes on The Player.  This is exciting!  It is interesting how well it fits into the scope of his directing skills.

If you enjoyed or even loved the show, please tell everyone about it.  DVR it, download the NBC app, watch it on your Roku, etc.  It is a fun show with wonderful talent.

We invited the cast and crew to tweet with the fans on Thursday night.  Unfortunately, they were still filming an episode, but they were able to do some tweeting with the fans.

From @ThePlayer @CharityWakefild @philipwinchestr

Two more Strike Back episodes left for the rest of the world.

Until next week, watch The Player on NBC, Thursday nights 10pm/9pm.

We live tweet Thursday and Friday nights.  Join us or follow at FB and Twitter.

Emmys and The Player This Week!

Hello Philip Fans!

It was a nice a surprise to see Philip and wife, Megan, on the red carpet of the Emmy's last night.  Both looked fantastic!

 

All photos from Zimbio (who we love!).

It's already Monday night and Blindspot has been showing in the west.  Excellent reviews. 
Even Philip got into the promo of his four-season mate, Sullivan Stapleton:

 @philipwinchestr 2h2 hours ago

Everyone check out my boy Sullivan Stapleton on NBC #Blindspot#playsagreatyank #missScottandMikey

Philip is such a grateful and appreciative guy.  


We are waiting for the premiere of The Player!  Be at our FB and Twitter.
We will be connecting with the fans during both nights.
Can't wait!

We have asked on Twitter if Philip, Charity and Wesley will hang out on premiere night for The Player.

 @FansofPhilip

Will you guys @philipwinchestr @charitywakefld @WesleyTSnipes hang out with the fans on Thursday night for the premiere of #ThePlayer?

Just as this was sent, we got a like from Charity.  YAY!  

We forgot a few, so we sent out another tweet:

@FansofPhilip

Also @CampJim44 @DamonGupton & anyone who worked on the show from the 1st ep #ThePlayer, join the fans Thurs night for the premiere.

Hey, you gotta ask if you want something to happen.  

Let's see what happens!  You will only know if you follow us on  Twitter.

Until next week or see you all at  FB and Twitter.