Golden Boy tarnished by network's reputation

Article first published as GOLDEN BOY Review at Seat42F.

Grade: 85%

At first glance, CBS’s GOLDEN BOY, premiering this week, may seem like more than your typical cop drama. After an intense opening, the story moves seven years into the future, where we see Walter William Clark Jr. (Theo James, Bedlam) being interviewed by a reporter (Richard Kind, Luck, Spin City) about how he has become the youngest police commissioner of New York City, ever.

This is a great draw. We know that the older Walter looks quite a bit aged, pointing to a hard journey. There is regret in his tone as he talks about the price he paid to rise so quickly, so we know there will be tragedy. The fact that he is now police commissioner means that the series may move away from solving murders on the street, eventually, as we do have seven years of story to get through first.

Clark is terrific, really letting the pathos play on his face, and his American accent is pretty good. His character is an egomaniacal, overconfident jerk, so we need these future scenes to show us that he has grown, and eventually gotten beyond the arrogance of his youth. Probably. And knowing there will be movement built in is nice.

But then we get to the meat of the plot, beginning when Walter, after heroic actions, chooses to be on the homicide squad. He isn’t accepted at first because he’s young and hasn’t earned his bones. But because he really is as good as he thinks he is, he proves himself in a single hour to his co-workers.

I keep expecting Walter to screw up in the “Pilot,” as we so often see in such main characters, the drama being that they really aren’t as ready as they think they are. Walter is special, though, so GOLDEN BOY chooses the alternate tack, building him up, rather than tearing him down. Because we’ve seen where he is in seven years, we know fall will never seriously come, at least not professionally, though perhaps personally.

The problem is, if he never screws up, how will he learn? Walter’s assigned partner, Detective Don Owen (Chi McBride, Pushing Daisies, Boston Public), two years away from his retirement, is the only one who sees this, and while Don is a patient man, one wonders how long his patience with the upstart might last.

Don is set up to be a finite character. With only a couple of years left on the force, this means we are told that Don may not stick around for the long haul, even though we see his picture on future Walter’s desk.

However, because this is CBS, I strongly suspect that these hints of a great, sweeping story of a genius who does great things will be reduced to a formula. Until that day, seven years in the future, when Walter takes the big office, he will be solving a case every week. They could even stretch it longer than seven years, should the show prove popular, or make Walter the first commissioner to be out catching the bad guys himself. Don could put off retirement, sticking around for the duration, which is what I expect to see, given CBS’s track record.

Is it fair to pigeon hole what, on the face, appears to be a somewhat compelling series just because of the network it is on? I think so. Blue Bloods and Hawaii Five-0 looked like they could break the mold, but have been reduced back to the typical CBS fare. I have little confidence that GOLDEN BOY will be any different.

Part of my worry stems from the fact that the rest of the cast is pretty much what one would expect from such a series. There’s the hotshot jerk, Christian Arroyo (Kevin Alejandro, True Blood, Southland), the popular guy who Walter wants to be, even though viewers know he’ll be better off listening to Don. Christian has a softer partner in Deborah McKenzie (Bonnie Somerville, Cashmere Mafia), a pretty woman we are told is tough, but who is nice to Walter, and could even be a love interest. Another detective, Joe Diaco (Holt McCallany, Lights Out), is the likeable rogue, who will probably get in trouble because of all the rules he breaks in skimming connections. And finally, the obligatory troubled family member, Walter’s drug-addicted sister Agnes (Stella Maeve, The Runaways), who is supposed to show the human side of Walter, and provide a distraction form the casework.

If the supporting cast weren’t such a predictable lineup of personalities, I might hold out hope for GOLDEN BOY. As it is, I appreciate the “Pilot,” but will probably not become a regular watcher. The audience that will love it is those that eat up CBS’s cop shows, as this one will probably be more of the same. This is regrettable, because the cast is full of amazing actors who deserve better, but won’t get it while locked into a long-term contract.

 GOLDEN BOY premieres Tuesday, February 26th at 10 p.m. ET.

Suits gets in a "Dog Fight"

     USA's Suits marks the end of their freshman run with "Dog Fight." In "Dog Fight," Harvey (Gabriel Macht) attempts to free a man he wrongly put away after Harvey's old mentor (Gary Cole, Family Guy, The Good Wife) buried evidence. Unfortunately, the district attorney (Chi McBride, Pushing Daisies, Human Target) doesn't make it easy. Mike (Patrick J. Adams) does what he can to help, but getting Rachel (Meghan Markle) involved is complicated, because of Mike and Rachel's falling out after their kiss. They eventually come though and Harvey wins the case, but only after resorting to Mississippi Burning tactics. 
 

     One has to respect any series that uses Mississippi Burning as a reference point throughout an entire episode, rather than the more pop culture-friendly films. Suits has its share of fluff, but the main characters are also very intelligent, and they are allowed to show it. A movie as high quality as Mississippi Burning deserves to be used more in television.

     The contest between Harvey and the DA (or assistant DA, I'm not sure) is an interesting one. The DA won't go out of his way to help Harvey. In fact, he continually makes things more difficult, rather than "doing the right thing," as Harvey asserts. Yet, he is just doing his job as a member of the legal system. And while he does call Harvey on his illicit activities, knowing what Harvey must do to win the case, he doesn't report or go after Harvey, either. This leads Harvey to declare he likes the guy at the end of "Dog Fight." It's a brutal battle, but both men respect each other, and neither is upset when justice is served, no matter how they get to that point.

     Equally neat is the relationship between Harvey and his assistant, Donna (Sarah Rafferty). Harvey is furious at Donna for turning on Harvey's mentor in the previous episode. But Donna does so to save Harvey, a noble cause. Harvey would go down with Donna's actions. It takes Jessica (Gina Torres) to make Harvey see just how lost he would be without Donna, which leads to him forgiving his assistant, and even apologizing. As he right should.

     Donna and Rachel get a little drunk and start talking about men in their lives. Donna reveals that she has never once hooked up with Harvey, but the conversation gets her thinking, especially after Rachel asks, "Why not?" Sure, it could threaten the perfect work relationship they have after many years. But it could also enhance that relationship, strengthening it. They already know each other very well. Why not consider taking things to the next level?

     Mike is torn between Rachel and Jenny (Vanessa Ray). Who can blame him? But Rachel rejects him so many times that he chooses Jenny, and only then does Rachel realize what she's missing. Whom will Mike ultimately choose?  Obviously, Jenny, for now. But Rachel is a main character and Jenny isn't. However, Jenny knows a different side of Mike, which keeps his character more interesting. It's a real conundrum. It's likely Mike will go back and forth, at least for awhile, or until the writers write Ray out of the series.

     Finally, there is a whale of a cliffhanger when Trevor (Tom Lipinski), Mike's oldest friend and Jenny's ex, finds out about the two of them. Trevor, who knows Mike's secret, that he's not actually a lawyer, goes to Jessica. But is Trevor cruel enough to destroy everything for Mike? What will he tell Jessica? This is not revealed. My money is on Trevor reporting that Mike and Rachel kiss, a frowned upon practice in the workplace, rather than screwing up Mike's whole story. After all, what would the series be if that Trevor exposes Mike so early on?

     Suits also stars the wonderful Rick Hoffman.

     Suits will return next summer to USA.

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Psych best USA has to offer

    In a network filled with the best procedurals on television, most of the few worth watching, Psych stands out as the current best. Seven episodes (out of nine airing this summer) into it's fifth season, it's also the longest running, with the departure of Monk after eight years last fall. The reason it works so well is it's just so fun! The show stars James Roday and Dulé Hill (The West Wing) as Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster, better known as Gus, but often introduced by Shawn with a variety of odd nicknames. The two make up the Psych detective agency, which works freelance for the Santa Barbara Police Department, helping them solve crimes, frequently involving murder. Shawn pretends to be a psychic, but is just highly observant. Gus, his best friend since childhood, supposedly holds a regular job, which he hasn't been shown at in some time, and is persuaded by Shawn to help out.

     This season, things have changed slightly, now that Shawn's father, retired cop Henry Spencer (Corbin Bernsen, L.A. Law, Major League) has been brought in by the police to coordinate all consultant hires. Although Henry is in on their scheme, he is often helped them in the past, and still does, although sometimes making them work a little harder to earn their keep. Their boss is Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson), who often has little, if any, plot. The cast is rounded out by police detectives Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson, Judging Amy), who hates them, and Juliet O'Hara (Maggie Lawson), who tolerates them much better.

      This year started out with a couples of sub-par episodes, but the last couple have been back to the usual standard. In last night's offering, Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies) played a prison guard who lost some inmates, and Shawn and Gus helped him track the cons down. Recent episodes have also been bolstered by an extra long version of the theme song, arguably the best part of the series in the extended form. The shorter cut isn't very good.

     Next week, Psych will guest star Nestor Carbonell (Lost).  Psych has only two episodes left this summer, but will return in November for seven more, including the show's third Christmas special, which this year will have It's a Wonderful Life as it's theme. Considering how good special episodes of Psych usually are, I am certainly looking forward to it.

     Psych airs Wednesday nights at 10pm on USA.

Paint a target on Human Target

     Tonight on Fox, before 24 kicked off it's two night, four hour premiere, they decided to show a new action-packed show with spies, shootouts, and questionable ethics.  It's called Human Target, based on the comic book adventures by DC.  It was already turned into a failed summer television show in 1992, starring Rick Springfield, and lasting a mere seven episodes.  While I have not seen that version, it seems safe to say that this one is better, although by how much is debatable.  This time, the target himself, Christopher Chance, is played by Boston Legal's Mark Valley.  Though it has been met with favorable reaction by critics thus far, it certainly is far from original.  Exciting, yes.  Plenty of thrilling events, of course.  But staying power, I find it unlikely.

     Mark Valley does fine as the guy who makes himself a part of his client's lives to serve as part detective, part body guard.  He is appropriately tough, resourceful, suave, and smart.  He is supported by his business manager, Winston, played by Chi McBride (Boston Public), who is basically playing the same role he played on the recently canceled Pushing Daisies.  Joining the time this week, and as a series regular, is Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley, Watchmen), who used to be more bad than good, and seems very good at getting information.  Each are welcome character actors who fill the supporting roles admirably.

     In the first episode, Chance acts as an interpreter for guest star Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica), and even after he stops the wood be assassin, they are still rocketing away on a train going two hundred miles per hour.  Then Chance and the girl save the passengers, but they are still stuck on a speeding engine.  This all went down after a bank standoff opening, totally unconnected to the rest of the episode.  There was also an unconnected scene at the end featuring Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon).  I was on the edge of my seat, and while it seems like it will likely be a procedural, it will probably be one of the better ones, if it survives.

     The problem for me is, like any procedural, character development will likely be low, if any.  Now how exciting Chance's adventures can be, keeping the adrenaline high week after week is hard to do, and it will likely produce its share of dud episodes along the way.  The show is built on a few quirky characters, and while that works for a handful of shows (Psych springs to mind), it is not a formula for a new classic.  It could easily become a show that sticks for awhile, but does not yet appear to be headed towards must-watch status.

     The show will run on Wednesday nights at 9pm on Fox.