CONDOR Takes Flight

Article first published as TV Review: CONDOR on Seat42F.

I’m not a big fan of military or spy thrillers. I like some OK, especially if they incorporate comedy or psychological aspects into them, but in general, they’re not really my cup of tea. So when I saw just a bit about CONDOR, a new drama on the Audience Network for AT&T and DirecTV subscribers, I can’t say I was all that enticed by it

As I sat down to watch the show, it started out as a series that backed up my negative impression. There’s a murder in the desert, followed by the introduction of a strong, somewhat silent, lonely, muscular leading man. It begins to look like a bunch of other shows that did fine during their runs, but weren’t all that gripping, in my opinion.

But as the first hour unfolded, slowly CONDOR began to get under my skin. Joe Turner (Max Irons, The White Queen), despite looking like a boring leading man and being frustratingly unforthcoming with a girl he’s interested in, has layers. He struggles with morality and the part he plays in a deadly program based on predictive models, not evidence. He’s at odds with the CIA, who use his work. While parts of him are very formulaic, there’s also a charisma about him that is compelling.

Then the supporting cast took shape. Kristoffer Polaha (Life Unexpected) as Joe’s friend Sam Barber? Yes, please! Kristen Hager (Being Human) as Sam’s feisty wife, Mae? Even better. Brendan Fraser (The Mummy), who hasn’t been seen in a long time, as a bad guy? All right, I’m on board. Bob Balaban (Capote, The Monuments Men) and William Hurt (Humans, Avengers: Infinity War)? Now we’ve got some gravitas going on.

At last, the story begins picking up. I’m not saying it should have jumped into the action sooner; no, CONDOR does a terrific job of slowly unspooling things you need to know before it gets intense. Early parts of the episode are interesting, but much more so as the later scenes unfold. By the time we reach the climax of the pilot, I’m already very into it, and as the closing credits roll, I’m disappointed to find I don’t have a second episode.

What is it about CONDOR that makes it worth watching? Well, it certainly poses some big questions that are worth asking and evade easy answers. If you suspected, without a shred of proof, that someone would hurt lots of people, should you take them out? Are a few mistakes of this nature worth it when balanced against the tens of thousands or more you might save when you get the right person? This is definitely relevant today, as it has been throughout human history, and will be for the foreseeable future. Only now, we actually have to look at such a question in more than a hypothetical manner.

It also just feels authentic. From the beautiful DC setting, to the dynamics of the characters, to the subtlety present in almost every scene, there’s a real, fully-formed element to the production. It’s well acted, well written, and the pacing is perfect. I really didn’t find much to nitpick, other than where it falls into stereotypes, which thankfully it doesn’t do too often.

I don’t want to gush too much. It hasn’t cracked my Top 10 list of must-see shows, and it’s hard to imagine how CONDOR could sustain and repeat the shock value of its pilot. But there are some very strong pieces making up the whole, and it’s an excellent first episode, so I would recommend watching it.

CONDOR airs Wednesday evenings on Audience Network, and the pilot can currently be viewed for free on the network’s website.

A Matter of TRUST.

Article first published as TV Review: TRUST on Seat42F.

FX’s newest anthology series is TRUST. No, it’s not another Ryan Murphy production, though you should be forgiven for thinking so, given the network and similarities. TRUST., created by Simon Beaufoy and directed by Danny Boyle, concerns the Getty family, an infamous clan of oil tycoons, the head of which was once considered one of (if not the) richest man in the world. The first season’s ten-episode run specifically covers the kidnapping of the patriarch’s grandson, J. Paul Getty III, in the mid-1970s. Subsequent seasons are expected to show other periods in the family’s history.

The first hour, which premiered last night, is essentially an introduction to the main guy, J. Paul Getty (Donald Sutherland, M*A*S*H, The Hunger Games), his relationship with his sons, and a brief encounter with one grandson. It does a solid job illustrating the unrest in the family, and how J. Paul Getty sees J.P.G. III (Harris Dickinson, Clique) as the last chance to pass his dynasty on to his heirs. When III disappoints his grandfather in a major way, as the senior’s children have before, the old man is furious. He casts III out, without care for the debt the younger man owes some very bad people. This is the set up for the kidnapping.

The Gettys are a real family, but much license is being taken with their story. Trying to trace various family members and their relationships, it seems the timeline doesn’t quite add up to real life. One family member is even suing the production, say it’s extremely inaccurate. It’s hard to know what TRUST. gets right or wrong, but the credits do admit that some things have been changed and personalities combined, so while it’s entertaining, I wouldn’t necessarily take it as a history lesson.

There are quite a few good actors in TRUST., including Michael Esper (Nurse Jackie), Brendan Fraser (The Mummy) and Hillary Swank (Million Dollar Baby). But in the pilot, it’s a two-man show. Sutherland hasn’t lost a step with age, simmering as the sleazy mogul, showing both the reprehensible parts of the personality and his vulnerabilities. Sadly, there are few redeeming qualities, but as despicable as the man is in this show, Sutherland is still immensely watchable. Dickinson matches him in the less central, but vitally important, role, which is only slightly more likeable.

There seems to be quite an appetite for ‘true stories’ of scandals recently. TRUST. should nicely add to the offerings of that genre. It’s well produced, well directed, and the sets are amazing. It’s a big production for a very personal story, the trappings of wealth not making the characters less vulnerable to reality. If anything, it makes them more so. As separate as they are from everyone else, and as outlandish and hard to relate to as some of the things they do may be, there is definitely a core story that will resonate, true or not, with many viewers.

The disappointing thing about the rumored second season, which TRUST. seems sure to get with material this good that fits perfectly on the network, is that Sutherland won’t be as front-and-center, as supposedly we’ll see J. Paul Getty coming up, some forty years before the first run. One can only hope they tell the story in flashback, with framework sequences involving Sutherland. I don’t normally like this conceit all that much, as it’s overdone and usually unnecessary. But Sutherland is a big part of why I would recommend this show, so I would hate to lose him from the series. And whoever fills his shoes will have to be most impressive indeed.

TRUST. airs Sunday nights on FX.