Article first published as HOSTAGES Review on Seat42F.
HOSTAGES is CBS’s attempt at a drama
that is a departure from the procedural, a much appreciated move. It
concerns the assassination of the President of the United States, a
political thriller with many moving parts and a slew of characters with
dark secrets and selfish motivations. Unfortunately, built like an
action movie, it falls short of its goal.
The first mistake HOSTAGES makes is
starting with a tense scene, then jumping back twelve hours. As I have
stated in other reviews, which is evidence that this happens far too
often, this storytelling technique is done to death and should be used
sparingly. It may be a quick hook, but it’s an unnecessary and unwelcome
one.
Another glaring issue I have with that
first scene, besides the fact it exists, is that one of the show’s
leads, Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story), is incredibly obvious
behind a ski mask that sports way-too-big holes. I don’t care what
developments happen later in the hour to “explain” why this is OK; what
it obvious from the get-go is that this show will choreograph its moves
well ahead of itself, and seeing the stars’ faces is more important than
logic.
These are two major complaints before
the story even begins. Not a good sign, and this trend continues
throughout the first installment. We learn “hidden” bits about each of
the central family, but they are all easy to see coming before they are
officially revealed. Music takes scenes from dramatic to overly so. The
action cuts in a certain false way. A main character makes a face on
television that she really shouldn’t, and should be noticed by far more
people than it is intended to be.
I assume that HOSTAGES wants to be the
next House of Cards or Homeland, but despite some terrific actors, it
lacks the script, director, and editor to reach those heights. By
playing out exactly to formula for a film in this genre, it distracts us
from the good moments tucked within the larger cheese.
Things progress in a standard way. We
are introduced to Dr. Ellen Sanders (Toni Collette, United States of
Tara), who will soon perform surgery on the President (James Naughton,
Gossip Girl). Her husband, Brian (Tate Donovan, Damages), is pretty much
a caricature of a certain type of spouse, weak-willed and trying to
posture to make up for it. Her kids, Morgan (Quinn Shephard,
Unaccompanied Minors) and Jake (Mateus Ward, Sports Show with Norm
Macdonald), seem like they are pretty well behaved, overall, as far as
teenagers go, but also have a shady side.
In the real world, Brian, Morgan, and
Jake probably wouldn’t have these vulnerabilities, but they need them
here so that they can be manipulated. By extension, so is the viewer. If
Ellen’s family were perfect, those who want to pull her strings
wouldn’t have the leverage they need. Because the characters are
artificially layered in terrible ways, Ellen can be controlled.
Now, HOSTAGES does seek to show Ellen
can stand up for herself and will not go along with what she is supposed
to do. This should anger the hostage takers who hold Ellen and her clan
captive. After which, the bad guys should do horrible things to Ellen’s
family. Except, that doesn’t seem to be what this show is about.
The main gang that takes Ellen is led by
Agent Duncan Carlisle (McDermott). After the opening, the first time we
see Carlisle, he is doing his job brilliantly, catching something
everyone else misses. Since he is such a fine, upstanding FBI guy, we
know he can’t possibly seem as bad as he first appears to be. The
“Pilot” doesn’t get into why Carlisle does what he does to Ellen, but
there is obviously more we’re meant to wonder about him, and we
certainly won’t believe that he’s evil. Is he being forced to play a
part, too? This is the thing that might save Ellen’s family.
Carlisle is joined by Archer Petit
(Billy Brown, Dexter), Maria Gonzales (Sandrine Holt, House of Cards),
and Kramer Daly (Rhys Coiro, Entourage). The latter makes the mistake of
being nice to one of their hostages, which Carlisle dresses him down
for, but not in a cruel way. So these are good guys?
By involving the FBI and people that
don’t harm innocents, HOSTAGES wants to make viewers wonder at the real
motivations behind the plot. Maybe the FBI must take out this president,
as some think they did with prior ones, in the name of protecting the
country. Maybe their loved ones are in danger, too. Whatever the reason,
though, there’s supposed to actually be a sympathetic cause behind
their actions.
I’m not saying HOSTAGES shouldn’t go for
the onion-format, constantly peeling new layers. It’s just that what
unfolds on screen isn’t of the quality one would expect it to be given
the premise. Going just by the production, one would think Carlisle and
crew were run-of-the-mill villains, which is why it doesn’t seem right
that they aren’t. It’s this disjointedness that ruins this show for me.
HOSTAGES airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
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