Article first published as TV Review: GHOSTED on Seat42F.
GHOSTED premieres tonight at 8:30 ET on FOX.
Tonight brings the premiere of FOX’s
GHOSTED. A disgraced scientist, now book store clerk, who studied the
theoretical multi-verse and claims his wife has been abducted by aliens,
is kidnapped and partnered with a once-great detective, who blames
himself for his former partner’s death and now serves in mall security,
by a top-secret organization known as the Underground Bureau. Together,
they are tasked to find a top agent who has gone missing. It’s going to
take all their skills and more in this paranormal twist on the buddy cop
genre.
The lead characters in GHOSTED are Max
Jennifer (Adam Scott, Parks & Recreation), the scientist, and Leroy
Wright (Craig Robinson, The Office), the detective. Both are brilliant
men who have fallen from grace, but not lost any of the things that made
them so good in their chosen professions. Max is the believer, and
Leroy is the skeptic. It’s sort of like The X-Files mixed with Lethal
Weapon mixed Men in Black with a large dollop of I don’t even know what.
Casting Scott and Robinson is the best
thing GHOSTED has going for it. Both are vastly funny, almost as if by
second nature, skilled and experienced in the art of sitcom. They have
terrific timing and solid chemistry. All the best moments from the pilot
involve their interactions. They strike the right balance between
acting the story and going for the gag, and I find no flaw in their
performances.
I also really like the supporting cast.
Ally Walker (Profiler, Colony) has a fantastic spirit as the hard-nosed
boss, Captain Ava Lafrey. Amber Stevens West (The Carmichael Show)
balances things as the sweet, technologically gifted Annie. Adeel Akhtar
(The Night Manager) is just plain bizarre as co-worker Barry, a good
energy for a show like this. While the focus will likely stay on the
partners, these three do make things entertaining when the action shifts
back to the workplace, nicely fleshing out the world of GHOSTED.
Where I have to stop heaping praise is
when we get to the writing. The pilot contains numerous plot holes or
unrealistic stretches. GHOSTED decides to get right into the story as
early in the running time as possible, which means the characters don’t
have enough time to bond before they have to start acting like a team.
There’s a lazy attempt to right this with a 48-hour window Leroy and Max
are initially given, but there’s no real effort to stick to that
premise, tossed out as soon as it’s convenient. The investigation itself
proceeds very weirdly, and the time line doesn’t quite make sense if
you stop and think about it. Concepts are introduced and then quickly
moved past without explanation.
I wonder about the decision to do this,
knowing that going the other way is also risky. Sometimes a series takes
too long to set up the premise, or just does it in episode one, which
feels very generic. But I feel there has to be a middle ground. Events
must feel fluid and natural, not just jammed in. The coincidences, such
as a big reveal at the end of the pilot, are even OK in this context. I
just want GHOSTED to catch its breath and make sure everything adds up
before they jump into filming the episode. Hopefully that happens in
subsequent episodes, as there is mega potential here.
I’ll end with another bit of praise, and
that’s that the special effects look great. Technology has bounded
ahead in recent years to the point where even a broadcast network sitcom
can do zany, supernatural and otherworldly stuff and pay for it to look
good. I have nothing bad to say about the production design and SFX.
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