Article first published as ZERO HOUR Series Premiere on Seat42F.
Grade: 71%
Grade: 71%
This week, ABC will present broadcast
television’s latest attempt at a cool genre show in ZERO HOUR. The team
who run Modern Skeptic Magazine are thrown into disarray when the
editor’s wife is kidnapped. As they search for her, they realize that
the plot is much bigger than expected, and that the end of the world is
nigh.
ZERO HOUR is a little like The DaVinci
Code, but less complex. It begins with a mystery couched in Germany
decades ago, which extends into the present day. There is a secret
society willing to murder to protect a secret, and whom surely have an
agenda to influence world events. The heroes are hopelessly noble and in
over their heads, but will surely find a way to triumph in the end,
against all odds.
That all sounds like it could work, but I
am not super impressed by the first hour. I think the main problem is
the lack of a protagonist to get behind. Hank (Anthony Edwards, ER), the
editor, is sort of interesting, but he doesn’t immediately draw you in
as someone to get behind. I don’t know if it’s because he’s not really
relatable, or because he’s a mellow dude without the simmering
complexity below the surface of the now-common TV anti-hero, but he just
doesn’t provide that hook viewers look for.
Hank is supported by a pair of copy
editors, Rachel Lewis (Addison Timlin, Californication) and Arron Martin
(Scott Michael Foster, Greek, The River), both personally and
professionally. These two lack any distinguishing personality traits in
the premiere. They are loyal, sure, but also break the rules, disobeying
Hank when they think they can help him another way. But that is exactly
the same as every supporting character in a similar capacity in any
story like this. So there isn’t anything that stands out about them.
Hank’s wife, Laila (Jacinda Barrett,
Suits, Poseidon), meanwhile, is only glimpsed. She’s a beautiful,
intelligent woman with an interest in fixing antique clocks and a doting
husband. That’s all we know about her, and it makes it a little hard to
care too much when she is taken.
The federal agent assigned to Laila’s
disappearance is Rebecca Riley (Carmen Ejogo, Chaos, Kidnapped). She
knows more than she lets on, having been involved in the investigation
of the shady, sinister group for quite some time. But she reveals none
of herself to Hank or the viewer in this pilot. She also deeply
underestimates the enemy, but I guess if she were good enough to catch
the bad guys, she would have done it already during her previous years
working the case. so my guess is ZERO HOUR will find Hank being the
primary investigator, with Rebecca serving as backup.
Rounding out the cast is White Vincent
(Michael Nyqvist, the Swedish version of The Girl With the Dragon
Tattoo’s Mikael Blomkvist). White Vincent is the mysterious face of the
group who is causing the trouble, but again, there isn’t much there to
help flesh out his role in the series. We see that he is able to get
around Rebecca and Hank’s efforts fairly easily, but there isn’t
anything shown that tells us what kind of guy he is.
Basically, my problem with ZERO HOUR is
that it is way too bland. None of the characters come fully developed
and shaped, and nothing major happens. Sure, there’s a death or two in
the first episode, but these are people we’ve just met, and don’t know
anything about, so they don’t mean anything. Running around and not
accomplishing anything is only enticing if we get to see the pathos the
people involved are going through, and get to understand them. In ZERO
HOUR, that second layer is absent, which makes the action feel hollow.
I admit the opening is pretty cool,
where the priests pull something hidden from the water, and then are
slaughtered. But a historic-set beginning that doesn’t translate in an
obvious way to the main modern day story is kind of useless. There isn’t
a big connecting thread yet.
At the end of the pilot, Hank and
Rebecca find a Nazi submarine trapped in the ice. We don’t know how it
got there, or what it means, but it’s supposed to be a big question that
will drive the story and entice viewers to tune in for a second week.
I’m sorry, but it’s too little, too late, and isn’t handled with enough
mystique for me to care.
What ZERO HOUR should have done is
spread the presented pilot into a two hour drama. That way, it could
have taken the time to introduce us to Hank and the others, show us what
makes them tick, and begin to build a bond between the viewer and the
characters. Lacking this investment, I don’t see large numbers returning
on a weekly basis.
The other thing that bothers me is how
the Modern Skeptic Magazine is presented. With a title like that, one
would assume it is being run by conspiracy nuts. And we get just a small
taste of that sort of personality from Arron. But Hank is a
level-headed, reasonable guy. How can he get behind a publication like
this, and deliver what likely subscribers would want? He doesn’t seem
the type.
ZERO HOUR premieres Thursday, February
14th at 8 p.m. I doubt it will run more than thirteen episodes (at the
most), not being nearly as clever as ABC’s flop last spring, The River,
so if you want to check it out, do it quickly.
Want to read some of my fiction? It's on my website, JeromeWetzel.com! Also, for the latest updates and article links, as well as commentary on episodes I don't fully review, please follow me on Twitter.
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