BLACK LIGHTNING Strikes The CW

Article first published as TV Review: BLACK LIGHTNING on Seat42F.

If you’re a big fan of the CW’s Arrowverse, a collection of television shows based on DC Comics properties that connect with one another, you may have mixed feelings about new series BLACK LIGHTNING. Although it joins the network with like source material, it is tonally quite different than the other series, and for now at least, it isn’t connected into the bigger picture. But if you just like superhero shows, this one is a fine addition to the genre.

BLACK LIGHTNING centers on Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams, Hart of Dixie), a metahuman who used to fight crime as the titular hero. Nine years ago, urged by his now ex-wife, Lynn (Christine Adams, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Jefferson hung up the mantle and focused on making a difference in his troubled community as a high school principal. Now, however, gang violence is on the rise. After his younger daughter, Jennifer (China Anne McCalin, House of Payne), gets pulled into the mess, Jefferson decides to go back to his previous vigilantism. This is much to the delight of Jefferson’s dear friend and helper, tailor Gambi (James Remar, Dexter), who has an upgraded suit ready to go for him.

The central gang are known as the 100, headed by Jefferson’s former arch-nemesis, Tobias Whale (Marvin ‘Krondon’ Jones III, Harry’s Law). Whale is a lead character, which indicates something hinted at in the pilot, “The Resurrection” : BLACK LIGHTNING will not a villain-of-the-week procedural. Instead, it is about the environment of one city, with past playing into present, and the situation is more complex that can be boiled down to a sound bite or trailer.

We see this most prominently in Jefferson’s friend, William Henderson (Damon Gupton, Criminal Minds). William is a detective on the force who thinks law enforcement should handle the situation. But clearly, the cops aren’t doing enough, as the 100 operate relatively openly. Even Jefferson has been complicit in their activities, working out a truce to keep them out of his school. So as BLACK LIGHTNING jumps back into the fray, the balance will be upset, which will likely give both good guys and bad reasons for concern.

This is also very much a family drama. Jefferson wants nothing more than to get back with Lynn. While Lynn pressured Jefferson to give up the crime fighting, when their children are put at risk, she doesn’t raise objection when he does what he has to to bring them home safe. Jennifer is rebellious, but seems to have a good heart. Older daughter, Anissa (Nafessa Williams, Twin Peaks), the more obedient and politically active young adult, will be involved in multiple aspects of her father’s life, revealed in a twist at the end of the hour that comic fans will see coming. So there’s a lot going on here.

There will be inevitable comparisons of BLACK LIGHTNING with Marvel’s Luke Cage on Netflix, especially as this series focuses on the larger neighborhood and the past relationships of the characters, making for a similar premise. BLACK LIGHTNING suffers by comparison, not taking its time as much, nor going as deep. But it is a solid series on a non-cable network, which, because of easy access, has the possibility of reaching a different audience. And the lead characters are separate enough in makeup, having some very significant differences, so there’s certainly room for both on the air at the same time. Thankfully, the CW DC shows all go for something a bit different from one another and their competition.

While I love the world building, I think it is smart not to immediately connect BLACK LIGHTNING to the other Arrowverse properties because it is more grounded, more serious than its fellows However, I do hope someday to see the worlds collide, as it’s a cruel tease to fans to have the crossovers so close to reality and not seem them to fruition. If it happens, though, I do hope care is taken to keep Jefferson true to the soul of his own series, and not sanitize him down just to involve him in the larger group.

BLACK LIGHTNING airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on the CW.

Another Kelley GOLIATH

Article first published as GOLIATH Review on Seat42F.

The prolific David E. Kelley, gone from the broadcast airwaves for a few years, returns to television on Amazon this week with GOLIATH. Like most of his former series, GOLIATH is a legal drama. But with the freedom of streaming services, unbound from the set running times, act breaks, and episode counts of the broadcast networks he called home for so long, it’s a new beast from the old hand. And, let’s be honest, what fan of legal drama doesn’t want another one from this guy?

GOLIATH stars Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo, Friday Night Lights) as Billy McBride, a washed-up alcoholic who is past the peak of his career. Spinning into a personal hole, Billy has a bad relationship with his ex-wife, Michelle (Maria Bello, Touch, Prisoners), and daughter, Denise (Diana Hopper, Hidden Truth). He doesn’t start in a very good place.

Billy’s break comes when a woman brings him a big case that would pit Billy against his former partner, Donald Cooper (William Hurt, Humans, Into the Wild), and the firm Billy was forced out of, which Michelle is still involved in. Now, personal and professional life is intermixed as Billy fights for justice, and possibly for a little revenge from those who wronged him.

It’s an enticing premise. Everyone wants to cheer for the guy who is down, and who we expect to turn it around, especially when his opponent (Donald) seems so clearly in the wrong. It’s a black-and-white dynamic, and while the odds are stacked against Billy, David-and-Goliath-style, we are sure that the misfit crew he puts together, which includes a real estate attorney and a call girl, will win the day.

If I were to compare this to any of Kelley’s other series, I would say, on paper, it is most like Harry’s Law, which featured a noble, flawed character staging a comeback. Except, GOLIATH is a much darker drama and the case will be ongoing over at least the course of the season, whereas Harry’s Law was funny and procedural. So GOLIATH still has some of the classic Kelley elements and similarities to his past work, but isn’t just a retread.

The writer takes to the looser format very well. Watching GOLIATH, I was struck by how much it resembles some of the higher-quality series on the premium cable and streaming networks. It doesn’t have the same memorable juice as Fargo, American Horror Story, Westworld, Breaking Bad, and the others at the top of the heap, but it is a very solid entry that can hang in the same general stratosphere.

Helping this along is the excellent cast assembled. Thornton proved himself to any doubters with his last television role, and he is more than capable of taking the lead here. Yet, so are most of the other actors around him, so he is in good company with Bello, Hurt, Olivia Thirlby (Good Vibes, Juno), Molly Parker (House of Cards), Nina Arianda (Hannibal), Tania Raymonde (Lost), Sarah Wynter (24), Damon Gupton (Bates Motel), and more. There should be no complaints about the company.

The pilot starts off intriguing, but like the excellent Damages, it just seems to be scratching the surface initially. It sets up the scenario and introduces us to most of the players, but there are sure to be a lot of twists and setbacks as things unfold. At approximately eight hours running time, it looks to be a manageable, quick series, with no time for fluff and treading water, so I expect it will move quickly, but going by the pilot, not too quickly. I’m intrigued and plan to watch the full season.

GOLIATH’s entire first season will be available on Amazon Prime beginning today.

Hate the Game, Not THE PLAYER (But You Can Hate The Player, Too)

Article first published as THE PLAYER Review on Seat42F.

ENDGAME -- "Pilot" -- Pictured: (l-r) Philip Winchester as Alex King, Wesley Snipes as Johnson -- (Photo by: Gregory Peters/NBC)

NBC’s THE PLAYER is about a man caught in a gambling ring. A secretive group has developed a technology to predict crimes, and the rich and powerful bid on whether the crime can be stopped or not. Our hero is recruited to play the good guy in the game, and if they can justify to him morally why he should participate, he may just have a new career. In this case, twisting convention, viewers will be likely to hate the game, not the player.

Based on that description, THE PLAYER isn’t quite like any other series on television, but it has a lot of similarities to other programs. Like Person of Interest or Minority Report, it deals with future crime. And like a whole lot of other series, it is a crime procedural, with a different case being presented each week for the cast to work to stop. So while it does have a couple of things to set it apart, at its core, THE PLAYER isn’t much different from other fare.

The cast is led by Philip Winchester (Strike Back), whose Alex Kane is the archetype of a hero. He is intelligent, strong, fearless, and dedicated to saving lives. Why would somebody like that participate in a game like this? A tragedy early in the pilot rocks Alex, and while it takes the full first hour to get there, he comes to see he can do good, even if he doesn’t quite agree with what is happening. Thankfully, he has his friend, Detective Cal Brown (Damon Gupton, Empire) to try to keep him grounded.

Make no mistake, the game in THE PLAYER is sick. If a person can figure out when crimes are going to occur, they could mobilize authorities to stop them. Instead, the game master, Mr. Johnson (Wesley Snipes, Blade, The Expendables 3), makes it into entertainment and serves the wealthy, not the victims. Mr. Johnson is profiting off of the misery of others, whether the crime is stopped or not. There is little noble about him.

While I root for Alex and jeer Mr. Johnson, there is another main character in the middle that I can’t decide if I should like or not. Cassandra King (Charity Wakefield, Wolf Hall) works for Mr. Johnson, but serves in a capacity to assist Alex. She certainly seems like a nice lady with a good heart, but looking at her career choice, it’s hard to reconcile that with what she does.

That epitomizes the biggest problem that THE PLAYER has going for it. The premise requires a few contortions to try to make sense of it. Character motivation is dubious. Shows that live in the gray areas of morality are often complex and prompt one to think; this one does not, merely asking you to accept the duality of the situation, and then enjoy the fast-paced, violent style. It’s basically an action movie as a weekly series, with the same limitations that genre usually provides.

THE PLAYER isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. While certainly not high-quality, it is entertaining. However, it will get old real quick, and without completely believable characters, it will become more and more difficult to sustain that entertainment over any significant period of time. I feel like this works best as a flash-in-the-pan. For six episodes, I could really get into THE PLAYER. As a twenty-two installments-per-year series, it has very little chance of succeeding, and doesn’t seem worth the effort to stick around and find out if it does, the prize being too minor to cherish.

It has little hope of capturing the viewers used to seeing Parenthood in this time slot, appealing to a completely different group, but since Parenthood wasn’t that high-rated, that’s probably on purpose.

THE PLAYER premieres Thursday, September 24^th at 10 p.m. on NBC.