FOX's SECOND CHANCE

Article originally published as SECOND CHANCE Review on Seat42F.

FOX’s first mid-season drama out of the gate this January is called SECOND CHANCE. While it has gone through quite a few title changes (it used to be known as Lookinglass, and before that, The Frankenstein Code), the premise seems to have stayed relatively consistent. A brilliant, but antisocial, man develops a way to save his dying sister, reversing what death means. Testing it on an old sheriff who was murdered, it’s about someone getting a second chance to live.

It’s probably wise they didn’t keep Frankenstein in the name of the show. Frankenstein was about creating new life, and this series is about getting a do-over on a life misspent. Dr. Frankenstein obsessively sought to create a creature for his own selfish purposes, while the brain in this, Otto (Adhir Kalyan, Rules of Engagement), is trying to save his sister, Mary (Dilshad Vadsaria, Greek). And if you’ve ever read the novel by Mary Shelley (which I do recommend), I doubt you’ll see very little of that echoed in this particular story.

The revived is Jimmy Pritchard (The Loop’s Philip Baker Hall at the start, then EastEnders and True Blood’s Robert Kazinsky, likely for the rest of the series). While Jimmy’s death is just a case of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time, is life is made up of bad choices, being a bad father to FBI agent Duval Pritchard (Tim DeKay, White Collar) and drunk Helen (Amanda Detmer, What About Brian), and having to resign from office in disgrace. At least Duval’s daughter, Gracie (Ciara Bravo, Red Band Society), still likes Grandpa.

Obviously, Jimmy is probably not the ideal man for Mary and Otto in terms of personality, but his genetic markers make him ideal for their science experiment. Hence how an uneasy partnership is formed.

I like the SECOND CHANCE pilot, and think it could be a very interesting drama. If it is about Jimmy trying to be a better person, and if it remains about his family (Duval and Gracie are main characters, and there’s a very cool twist after Duval meets new Jimmy), I would very much enjoy this show. The first episode is certainly focused on those things, and that’s a good sign. I am also very interested in the Mary / Otto relationship, and what goes on within their company and with their assistants, Alexa (Vanessa Lengies, Glee) and Arthur (Scott Menville, Teen Titans).

What I worry it will devolve into is a case-of-the-week procedural. It could take a little bending, but if Jimmy teams up with Duval and works to solve cases so he can be the lawman he never was, I’ll be super disappointed. FOX hurt its failed, almost brilliant sci-fi series Almost Human by trying to force it into a procedural box. That show managed to still be good, but it could have been so much better without the shackles. I could easily see this one taking the same path since so much of the broadcast networks’ fare does.

Which is a shame. With FOX in a total ratings free fall this year, and the Big Four dying out overall, it seems a good time to take a chance on something new, something exciting, something that can build a loyal fan base who excitedly engage and may even bring back a canceled show for a second chance if it doesn’t live long enough. SECOND CHANCE could be FOX’s second chance to get things right, which would be nicely poetic. It just seems unlikely that it will be.

SECOND CHANCE premieres Wednesday at 9 p.m. on FOX.

RED BAND SOCIETY Trying to Heal Network Television

Article first published as RED BAND SOCIETY Review on Seat42F.

Red Band Society Cast : Octavia Spencer, Nolan Sotillo, Griffin Gluck, Zoe Levin, Charlie Rowe, Ciara Bravo, Brian Bradley, Dave Annable

It’s not often a broadcast network makes a show that feels totally different than just about everything else on television. FOX has done that with RED BAND SOCIETY. The dark dramedy about a group of sick teenagers who live in a hospital has shades of Degrassi, but the unique setting and challenges they face puts a different spin on the coming-of-age genre. Considering that films with similar themes have popped up recently (see: The Fault in Our Stars), it makes sense to explore these issues in a longer-run format.

A show such as RED BAND SOCIETY needs a good group of young actors, and six mostly-unknowns fit the Breakfast Club-esque bill well. Jordi (Nolan Sotillo, Prom) is the new kid on the block, forced to room with bad boy Leo (Charlie Rowe, Pirate Radio). Leo’s best friend is horny Dash (The X Factor contestant Astro). We’ve got the bitchy cheerleader, Kara (Zoe Levin, The Way Way Back), and the mousy girl with an eating disorder, Emma (Ciara Bravo, Big Time Rush). Charlie (Griffin Gluck, Private Practice) narrates the story from his coma bed, secretly visited by the father (Thomas Ian Nicholas, American Pie) who isn’t allowed to see him.

The mix of personalities is pretty good. A lot of boxes are checked, but the performers are all decent enough to sell the product, other than Astro, that is, who is nearly as unlikeable here as he was in the reality show in which he competed. But overall, while somewhat predictable, the relationships are compelling enough to keep the story going, as the kids individually pull the viewer’s heartstrings.

Of course, there are sappy scenes, even in hour one. A particular heart-to-heart between Jordi and Leo is obviously coming, and RED BAND SOCIETY delivers on that promise, asking for some pathos at the conclusion of a bit of fun. In this, it’s emotionally manipulative, but seemingly not in a malevolent way.

There is a staff watching over them, of course. Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer (The Help, Mom) plays the perfect “scary bitch” with a heart of gold, Nurse Jackson. She is offset by Rebecca Rittenhouse as bumbling, naïve Brittany. Surely the two of them will grow over time with one another’s help, much as the kids do. Rounding out the adult contingent is Dr. Jack McAndrew (Dave Annable, Brothers & Sisters), rocking the grey hair as he performers his duty with intelligence and compassion.

Maybe it’s a little simplistic to have such heroic healthcare providers, but RED BAND SOCIETY is a feel-good drama, and thus, needs characters to root for. The teens suffer enough from the viruses ravaging their bodies; they don’t require antagonistic grown-ups bringing them down, too. Instead, we get as cheery a picture as possible under the circumstances, which, while perhaps a tad realistic, makes the show quite watchable.

The wild card for me in this pilot is Ruben Garcia (Griffin Dunne, House of Lies, Dallas Buyers Club). Although not a main character, Ruben is the one adult shown as a patient. One of the kids mentions he’s a rich hypochondriac who will leave his fortune to the hospital, and we see him helping out the youngsters with their schemes. Clearly, the writers must put him here for a reason, so what is it? Will he help someone get through their emotional struggles, or provide an answer to a problem later on?

I’m sure RED BAND SOCIETY won’t be the best new series of the fall, but it is far from the worst, and at least it’s not just copying other series the way so many do. The message portrayed is one many viewers will connect to, or at least feel for, and since there’s no other optimistic drama like this running on the Big Four right now, it may find its niche. I certainly hope it does.

RED BAND SOCIETY airs Wednesdays beginning September 17th on FOX.