Back UNDERGROUND

Article first published UNDERGROUND Season 2 Premiere Review on Seat42F.

WGN America’s UNDERGROUND begins its second season this week. Starting about five months after the freshman run’s finale, we quickly pick up the stories of most of our characters, more or less where we left them. Time has passed, but it’s been relatively uneventful. Something tells me, after watching the first episode, that that won’t be the case for very much longer.

UNDERGROUND is interesting to me because it’s not obvious at first who the leads are in the first year. There is a large ensemble full of talented performers, and while many of them are removed as the story progresses, there are still more important roles than the five who are listed as the primary cast, which includes only Rosalee (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Noah (Aldis Hodge), Elizabeth (Jessica De Gouw), Cato (Alano Miller), and August (Christopher Meloni).

Thankfully, the show has been successful enough to expand that ensemble in season two. The most important of the four new leads is Ernestine (Amirah Vann), Rosalee’s mother, who always had her own plot arc, but now is officially among the principal players. UNDERGROUND season two has also added characters named Georgia (Jasika Nicole, Fringe), Clara (DeWanda Wise, Shots Fired), and Harriet (Aisha Hinds, Under the Dome, If I Stay).

Harriet, as in Harriet Tubman. Clearly a recast from the brief shot of the legendary figure from last year’s finale, it’s kind of cool that she is now part of the group. Previously, I’d worried that adding someone with such name recognition might distract from the core narrative. However, after checking out the start of season two, I don’t think that will be the case.

UNDERGROUND remains focused on the stories of the characters from year one. While Rosalee, Noah, and Elizabeth were just dipping their toe into the secret movement to free the slaves, they’re now larger players in the game, so it makes sense they’d come across Harriet. Harriet doesn’t get any more precedence than the others, less than the returning main players, so she’s an interesting element that signals our players have gotten deeper into the action, rather than a shift to a new direction.

We’ve also got some new locations. Most notably, Ernestine has left Macon Plantation and is (sort of) settling into a very different type of community. Between that and the scenes in Ohio and Canada, we begin to get a fuller picture of different parts of the United States, all of which were affected by the slave industry and those who opposed it.

There are some terrific surprises, too. As with the first year, audiences may think they know where things are heading, only to have the rug yanked out from under them by the unexpected. This is a sign of good storytelling, and an example of how UNDERGROUND roots itself in reality. While there are some fantastical coincidences and run-ins, for the most part the series keeps viewers on their toes in an authentic manner, and there’s at least one big twist in the initial return that leaves me wanting to jump right into the next episode.

Not everyone you expect to see is in the second year’s premiere. There is a lot going on in UNDERGROUND, so it doesn’t feel empty that some faces may have to wait a week for us to catch up with them. Instead, it’s a busy, satisfying hour, and I’d rather a few people take this installment off than force hokey subplots to include them.

In all, I’d rate the premiere pretty high, accomplishing what it needs to accomplish, building the established world larger, and still maintain the things that makes this show compelling. UNDERGROUND returns Wednesday at 10/9c on WGN America.

Going UNDERGROUND

Article first published as UNDERGROUND Review on Seat42F.

WGN America’s newest series is UNDERGROUND. Set in the pre-Civil War Days, it follows a swath of representative Americans, both black and white, slaves and free, at a pivotal, conflict-ridden time for our country, just before full-scale war erupts. It’s a period we’ve seen before, most notably in Roots, but never in a successful, ongoing weekly series, which should allow the writers and performers to get much deeper into the personalities and complexities of the era than has been done before.

UNDERGROUND stars Aldis Hodge (Straight Outta Compton, Leverage) as Noah, a smart man who is tired of being forced to serve a master, but who knows it wouldn’t be productive to openly rebel. Instead, he plays the game, pretending to be obedient, even while making secret plans to flee the plantation and head north, using the Underground Railroad referred to in the show’s title.

Noah is not going to go alone, which might be a good or bad idea, depending on how it plays out. Among his possible traveling companions are: Rosalee (Jurnee Smollett-Bell, True Blood, Friday Night Lights), a timid house slave and protective older sister; Moses (Mykelti Williamson, Justified, 24), who allows the others to believe he can read, even though it’s his wife, Pearly Mae (Adina Porter, True Blood, The Newsroom) who has been educated; and Cato (Alano Miller, Jane the Virgin), the collaborator who wants to go so he isn’t punished in their place after the others are gone, if he doesn’t turn them in first.

To represent the dominant race of the time, UNDERGROUND has August Pullman (Christopher Meloni, Law & Order: SVU, Wet Hot American Summer), John Hawkes (Marc Blucas, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Elizabeth Hawkes (Jessica De Gouw, Dracula). John is a lawyer and an abolitionist, who is offered the job of campaign manager by his brother (Dollhouse’s Reed Diamond), a Northerner who has moved South and now owns the people John is fighting to free. John’s wife, Elizabeth, seems mentally unstable, though, putting additional pressure on John. And August is… well, I’m not sure if he’s a help to runaways or a slave catcher yet, but I’m sure we’ll soon figure that out.

As you can see, there are a number of different parties represented, and that gives UNDERGROUND a full feel, in a good way. The focus is on the African-Americans, as it should be. However, no one portrayed are just stereotypes, with complex realities warring with individual morality and circumstance. Each individual, including a number of those not listed above, stand out and are quickly memorable.

The production is equally well done. Filmed in the American south, one can feel the sweat dripping when characters are out in the fields, and the landscapes are beautiful. There’s a gritty realness to it, and the costumes and sets are clearly well thought-out.

The music in UNDERGROUND is probably the oddest part of the show. At times, it is appropriate for the year, including in singing some of the more spiritual songs. But at other times, modern numbers are mixed in that really kind of pull one out of the moment. The lyrics of these fit the story, so it’s not like they’re just pop songs to punch things up, but at the same time, they clash in such a way that doesn’t quite feel right to me.

The music is the only complaint I have, though. Overall, I found UNDERGROUND to be a compelling narrative with plenty of quality in the cast, the story, and the style. The drawback is minor enough to overlook, and it’s debatable whether it really is a negative, even if I don’t understand why it’s present, at least not yet. I do recommend this one, and will probably watch more of it soon.

UNDERGROUND airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on WGN America.

After THE AFTER

Article first published as After THE AFTER on TheTVKing.

Nearly a year after releasing its first batch of comedy pilots, Amazon.com finally posted two dramas free to stream on their website. One of these pilots is The After, which is from Chris Carter (The X-Files), a suspenseful series send after a post-apocalyptic event. Eight strangers, bound by fate, not coincidence, must come together to survive, fleeing from the rest of the world.

The X-Files was a seminal show for science fiction television, and some of the creepy mystery that seeped through that program is repeated here. There is a creature (Sam Littlefield) with weird tattoos in the woods, and no one can explain to our protagonists what is happening. Even after viewing the entire "Pilot," the long-term plot still seems murky.

But the mistake comes by making The After about a "random" group of strangers thrust together by circumstance. This concept has been done to death, and with much better ensembles. Those that make up the cast are mostly familiar faces, and none of them are bad actors. But neither is this the next Lost, and the layers that begin to peel away in the "Pilot" are predictable and formulaic.

Our central heroine is Gigi Generau (Louise Monot, The Avignon Prophecy), an aspiring actress with a thick French accent, currently stuck far away from her beloved (Jason Lewis, Sex and the City) and their child. She is joined by an 'innocent' ex-con (Aldis Hodge, Leverage), an asshole lawyer (Adrian Pasdar, Heroes), a likely prostitute (Arielle Kebbel, The Vampire Diaries), a gay clown (Jamie Kennedy, Ghost Whisperer), a senile millionaire (Sharon Lawrence, NYPD Blue), a foul-mouthed drunk (Andrew Howard, Hatfields & McCoys), and a cop (Jaina Lee Ortiz, The Shop).

This grouping is a lot like that assembled by broadcast network series with a similar format, such as The Nine and Lucky Seven. There isn't any single actor who stands out as amazing, and though they play their parts well enough, we're taught not to take the characters at face value, which makes it hard to trust any of the players. None of these other shows lasted, so why should The After?

What will set it apart from that category is the gratuitous nudity and frequent dropping of the F-bomb. But don't mistake The After as being HBO or Showtime level quality, as the writing is far less smart. There are some intriguing elements, to be sure, but it's not looking like the next must-see serial drama.

This is evidenced by the other people we see. While the cast is escaping from a parking garage to a mansion to the forest, the general public riots, tries to flip their vehicle, offers no assistance, even from law-enforcement, and tries to rob Lawrence's character's home with guns. The rest of the world's population is shown as a two-dimensional menace, with only the main players getting any development at all. This doesn't bode well for sustainability.

While I do have very mixed feelings on The After, enjoying it but not really respecting it, I probably will watch if it goes to series. After all, at least it's not another police procedural, and it's trying a few new things. Plus Carter's involvement gives me hope there are some bigger, well-thought out arcs that could be brought into the fold down the road. But as a "Pilot," it lacked authenticity and any real, lasting draw. Very disappointing, considering Amazon has only ordered two drama offerings versus eleven comedies so far.

The After is available now on Amazon.com.

THE WALKING DEAD "After" My Heart

Article first written for Seat42F.

THE WALKING DEAD’s mid-season premiere picks up right “After” the epic battle with The Governor (David Morrissey). The prison has fallen and the survivors have scattered. Rather than bouncing around from person to person, something THE WALKING DEAD has never done much of, this latest installment is a personal story for two characters, and presumably we’ll catch up with the others at a later date.

Michonne (Danai Gurira) is introduced as a loner when first appearing on the AMC series. Traveling with a pair of walkers for company, she has survived without a group, and is slow to open herself up once she decides she’d like to stay at the prison. We have seen her soften over time, in particular with Carl (Chandler Riggs). But believing her friends dead, Michonne returns to her smoldering home just long enough to grab a couple of new “pets” and put Hershel’s (Scott Wilson) sad walker head out of its misery, then continues her loner trek once more.

We see a Michonne in “After” more broken than before, if that’s possible. A flashback-y dream sequence shows us the loved ones she lost the first time (Leverage’s Aldis Hodge and Getting On’s Brandon Fobbs), and with her new group ripped from her by The Governor, who is shown to definitely be very much dead, in case there are any doubters left, she can’t take the pain any more. When she sees footprints leading away from the prison, she goes in a different direction.

THE WALKING DEAD loves to explore the pathos and depths of its characters. “After” reveals something really dark we haven’t seen since Morgan’s (Lennie James) second appearance: someone who would choose to be alone because she just can’t take the pain of losing anyone else. It’s terrible PTSD, and Michonne is basically a walking shell of a person. This is most evidenced as she travels among a walker herd, blending in unmolested, and even sees a walker that looks like herself.

The thing is, faced with the mirror of the non-life she’s choosing, Michonne realizes she isn’t done yet. She slaughters the small herd, pets included, and sets off to follow the footprints. She has been through a lot and it’s so easy to give up on caring, but that’s not any way to live, even in the post-apocalyptic world. Michonne is far gone, but not too far gone to realize what she needs.

This may very well be a turning point for Michonne. The prison group has made her feel accepted enough that she considers herself part of them. No longer the outsider, Michonne wants to be a part of something, which is good news for viewers, since she may be the most popular character on the series and we’d like her to stick around. With this attitude, she will.

I do wish we’d gotten a true flashback for Michonne. There are some things explained, such as that her love just couldn’t hack it in their new reality, while Michonne found abilities within herself she didn’t know she had, something that made him insanely jealous. It also appears that he might be to blame for costing Michonne her original family. However, these are only things hinted out, not inarguably revealed, so as much as I like this sequence, I am definitely left wanting more.

The foot prints, as we see very early in “After,” belong to Carl and Rick (Andrew Lincoln). Father and son get away together, and the scenes of the episode that don’t feature Michonne are focused on them. Or, more specifically, the program follows Carl, who thinks he no longer needs Rick. That is, until Carl is faced with losing the only family he has left.

It’s funny, Carl and Rick seem like a typical father-teenage son pairing at the start of “After.” Carl is resentful and mouthy towards Rick, who’d like to set Carl right, but no longer knows how. Things get bad when Carl even throws Shane in Rick’s face, a sore subject to be sure, and tells his father that he hopes he dies. Granted, their problems are a lot more serious than the average familial dynamic, with Carl blaming Rick for many deaths and failing to be the leader he should be. But that chemistry is there and it is familiar, even in very alien circumstances.

Rick doesn’t last long, though. Looking a lot like a walker himself with his beat-up face and shuffle, once they’ve found suitable shelter he slips into a very deep sleep for a couple of days, one in which Carl can’t wake him from. This gives Carl not only a chance to vent, which he does most vehemently, it also leaves Carl to see what it would be like on his own. He handles himself OK, finding supplies and making it back in one piece, despite some very close calls. However, he also finds loneliness, and when confronted with a Rick that appears to have turned walker, Carl tearfully admits he needs his dad, and rather than kill what Rick has become, surrenders himself to be killed.

Thankfully, Rick is not a walker (did anyone, other than Carl, really believe for a second he was?), but “After” will forever change the dynamic between Rick and Carl. Carl is a capable man now, physically, and Rick sees and tells his son that. On the other hand, emotionally, Carl is not yet mature and needs (or wants) his father, something Carl is able to confess to Rick, which is actually a grown up decision. We see Carl both step up and also act like a child. We seem him humbled, something desperately needed for his continued survival. And we see a family who will cling to each other, having lost so much.

Then, the rarest of things occurs on THE WALKING DEAD: a happy ending. Michonne is reunited with Rick and Carl, tearfully and happily. There will be more challenges to face, sure, and undoubtedly more major deaths. But for now, these people have found each other, and that’s enough. Together, they have something to live for.

The characters who populate THE WALKING DEAD are survivors. Not everyone can adapt to this new world, as we see in the bar where Joe Jr. couldn’t bring himself to killer Walker Joe Sr. And maybe Carl couldn’t kill Rick, either, at a critical moment. Overall, though, these are the people who can fend for themselves, but haven’t lost their humanity. They are the ones to root for.

“After” is an excellent examination of two very different characters, Carl and Michonne. They both find turning points, picking an existence that is worth living. They are strong, yet we see their vulnerabilities. More importantly, we find love for them once more, which will keep the viewers watching for a long time to come. It’s so, so, so good to have THE WALKING DEAD back on our screens, at least for eight weeks.

THE WALKING DEAD airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

Leverage returns to finish second season

     TNT's hit drama Leverage returns tonight to air the final six episodes of their second season.  When the show first premiered, I likened it to a small screen version of Ocean's Eleven.  Each week a team of ex-crooks pulls off a con against someone that has done wrong and gives it back to the little guy.  High tech Robin Hoods, if you will.  It is one of the most interesting procedurals on television, but because each episode went pretty much the same, per the definition of 'procedural', I gave up watching it midway through season one.

     Recently, Turner sent me a screen of the summer finale from September and the first two episodes of the six about to air.  As it had been awhile since I watched the show, I popped them into the player.  It was as entertaining as I remembered.  Apparently, the first season was sort of like a stand alone miniseries, with an ending, but the team reformed for season two.  However, by the end of the summer episodes, one member of the team, Sophie (Gina Bellman, Coupling), has left.  She is still part of the main cast, and does appear in the premiere, but she is currently being temporarily replaced by her friend Tara, (Jeri Ryan, Star Trek: Voyager, Shark) who was in the summer finale.  Ryan is fantastic, already finding her groove with the rest of the team.  The one problem facing the series, besides coming up with new con ideas each week, is that Ryan is actually quite a bit better than Bellman, and it will be a disappointment when the former concludes her guest run and the latter returns to the show in her previous capacity.

     The rest of the main cast members are fantastic.  Timothy Hutton leads the group as Nate.  He is brilliant at slipping into different characters, and whoever did the original casting did right by the show by putting Hutton in the head seat.  Equally entertaining is Christian Kane (Angel, Close to Home) as Eliot, the muscle of the group.  Nerdy Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge, Friday Night Lights) and the beautiful, but emotionally stunted Parker (Beth Riesgraf) round out the team.  The end of the season will bring several new escapades, as the group takes on the fashion world, a medium, an Irish loan shark, and in the two part finale, a mayor obsessed with baseball.  Upcoming guest stars, besides Ryan, include Luke Perry and the return of the underrated Mark Sheppard's Sterling, who will help Nate try to get his ex-wife out of a Ukranian prison.

     If you are a fan of procedurals, and haven't discovered the show, it is worth checking out.  Leverage will air the next six Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. on TNT, and a third season, consisting of fifteen episodes, has been ordered.