Life in the BRIARPATCH

Article first published as TV Review: BRIARPATCH on Seat42F.

USA has a new stylized mystery drama entitled BRIARPATCH. A police officer and landlord is blown up in her patrol car in her own hometown. When the officer’s sister, Allegra Dill, returns and begins asking questions, it soon becomes clear that there is no shortage of criminal activity and quite a few secrets in what otherwise appears to be a sleepy town, and it’s going to take awhile to find the truth. Allegra is determined to stay as long as it takes, though others would like to claim her time.

Rosario Dawson (Luke Cage, Rent) stars as Allegra, and it is well past time Dawson had her own starring role. She is a fine actress, and excels at adding subtle complexity into any part, be it comedy or drama-based. She has a way of seemingly tough and vulnerable simultaneously, which makes Allegra so much more interesting than the hero archetype. She is magnetic on screen.

The rest of the cast in the pilot is lesser-known, other than Jay R. Ferguson (Mad Men) as Jake Spivey. But USA’s website reveals Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) and Kim Dickens (Fear the Walking Dead) are involved, and those already present from the beginning seem solid. Edi Gathegi (The Blacklist) stands out as Singe, whose allegiance is murky, but he seems relatively reliable, as far as any local is.

Apart from Dawson, the best thing BRIARPATCH has going for it is the tone. It feels a bit noir, though firmly set in the present. It’s definitely slow-burn, but not so slow as, say, The Killing. The atmosphere is of a specific time and place, and although it’s a little hyper-realistic, it’s also grounded. There’s an underlying bizarreness, best exemplified by the escaped zoo animals seen around town, that doesn’t go as far as Twin Peaks, but still makes it seem like this won’t be a typical detective show, either. (True, Allegra isn’t technically a detective, but it’s pretty obvious that she’s a detective.) Surprise twists seem like they’ll be a regular thing.

The questions pile up immediately and get deep pretty fast, starting with how Allegra’s sister afforded the building she owned on her police salary. The town itself is full of shady characters, with each person we meet hiding something. They likely aren’t all sinister, but it’s impossible to know who should be trusted from the start. Below the surface level of the central case, there is a lot going on with Allegra herself, from her past with rich guy Jay, to her current fling with a married Senator (Enrique Murciano, Bloodline). Neither of these things are explained explicitly, but seem to be connected, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they tied into the murder of Allegra’s sister.

The biggest weakness of BRIARPATCH is just how connected everything is. I mean, why is Allegra’s outside life and career following her back to her hometown? Sure, there could be a reasonable explanation for it, but it seems a stretch. And if all the various moving pieces right now end up related, as feels likely based on the connections drawn from the pilot, that could end up hurting the realism of the piece.

That being said, I found BRIARPATCH very enjoyable. If I still had cable, it would definitely be on my recording list, and if I find it convenient on streaming, I’ll probably binge it. Dawson alone makes it worth it, and I like the writing and style of the piece. With hardly a smile to be seen, it somehow still manages to be fun. And it certainly looks like it’ll be put together cohesively, a very important feature in the current era.

BRIARPATCH airs Mondays at 11/10c on USA.

PROOF a Bit Flimsy

Article originally published as PROOF Review on Seat42F.

TNT’s newest drama is PROOF. Dr. Carolyn Tyler (Jennifer Beals, The L Word) is a respected surgeon who has had a near-death experience and lost her teenage son. She’s found a way to go on, putting thoughts of an afterlife out of her head, until she is approached to study what comes after living from a scientific perspective. She’s fundamentally opposed to what she considers a waste of time, but for the right reasons, can be persuaded to try to find PROOF of what happens to us.

The thing that gets a grounded person like Carolyn to look into this is a little girl. Well, that and her own experiences. When billionaire Ivan Turing (Matthew Modine, Weeds, Full Metal Jacket) proposes the idea, Carolyn is quick to shoot it down. But appearances aside, she’s not a heartless person, and she softens when confronted with a kid who has recently visited the “other place.” It’s a bit too cheesy and done-before an event, and it doesn’t exactly start the show off on the right foot.

Carolyn is not alone in her quest, of course. She has an assistant, young intern Dr. Zed (Edi Gathegi, House M.D.), who brings a more open mind, and Janel Ramey (Caroline Rose Kaplan), who works for Turing and so is probably a spy in her midst. That’s it for now, Carolyn embarrassed for anyone to know what she’s doing, but swayed by the extraordinary amount of money Turing is offering (which of course will be used for charity because television archetype heroes cannot be the least bit selfish).

But she has other things pulling her attention, too. Her boss, Dr. Oliver Stanton (Joe Morton, Scandal, Eureka), doesn’t know about her extra-curricular activity, nor does Carolyn want him to, though I doubt she’ll be able to hide it since she’s doing her research at the hospital. At home, she has a daughter, Sophie (Annie Thurman, Dark Skies), and spanning the two worlds, an ex-husband, Dr. Len Barliss (David Sutcliffe, Gilmore Girls). There’s also a man who claims to be in touch with the other side, Peter Van Owen (Callum Blue, Dead Like Me, Smallville), whom Carolyn (no surprise!) distrusts.

PROOF is an odd bird. It starts off with a very serial concept, the main character being tasked to find proof of life after death. The characters are decently well developed with some driving forces that would lend themselves well to an ongoing story. Yet, the way the first hour deals with a single patient indicates that it will be a repetitive procedural, Carolyn finding one person each week through which to continue her research, and the whole set up is rote. Doing this makes the program far less compelling.

If Carolyn ever solves the essential question at the heart of the series, it would be over. But I don’t think she will, which is disappointing, PROOF setting itself up for failure right from the beginning. No one knows what comes after death, and it’s unlikely that anyone ever will. Those who are spiritual enough to believe there is something don’t have a way to test that theory and report back on it, and anyone who thinks they do is considered to be on the fringe, possessing no concrete evidence. Yet, the pilot of PROOF, from the start, tells us there is more than life. So how can Carolyn’s project possibly end?

The idea at the heart of PROOF is an intriguing one and I like the pilot OK, I just have little confidence in this series going forward. The central premise is too flimsy and closed-ended, the procedural element is heavy, and the cast is just a bit too much structured like practically every other show in the genre, with no real surprises in the makeup. As such, I just don’t see this as a series to get excited about

PROOF premieres Tuesday, June 16^th at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.

Punch in the Family Tools

Article first published as Punch in the Family Tools on TheTVKing.

I absolutely love Kyle Bornheimer and hope that some day he is a big sitcom star. But I've become pessimistic about the chances of that happening. His first big series, Worst Week, was funny, but didn't last. His second chance, Perfect Couples, was near perfect, especially given his chemistry opposite Christine Woods (Go On), but again, died before its time. Now, we get Family Tools on ABC which is, going by last night's series premiere, by far the least of the efforts.

Bornheimer stars as Jack, the son of fix-it man Tony (J.K. Simmons, Spider-Man, The Closer), who returns home to take over the family business when Tony suffers a heart attack. The business comes with a slacker assistant, Darren (Edi Gathegi, House, X-Men: First Class), and a van. Jack's digs are in the basement of his Aunt Terry's (Leah Remini, King of Queens) house, which he is forced to share with his weird younger cousin, Mason (Johnny Pemberton, 21 Jump Street). Needless to say, it is not a smooth transition.

The biggest issue is that the cast is not used well. Bornheimer is best at playing an earnest, loving man who devotes himself to pleasing others, which is what Jack is and works his hardest to earn their approval. However, Jack is also a directionless loser who was washed out of lots of careers. This takes what Bornheimer does to the goofy, unrealistic extreme, stripping away the layers that make him sympathetic.

Darren is little more than a stereotype, and one wonders how he possibly has worked well with Tony all these years. Tony is just as poorly written and developed, constantly ignoring orders to rest as he spies on Jack, with no consequences. And Mason is just completely unfunny.

The exception to this mess is the relationship between Tony and Jack, which actually does come across as authentic. Not every father can talk to his son, and I really liked the scene in the ambulance where Tony admits he doesn't know why he's harder on Jack than Darren. There could be something here, but the rest of the half hour squanders it.

I wish Family Tools was a solid comedy series. The cast is good, and deserves a win, but the writing doesn't gel. The heart that should sneak into emotional scenes is ruined when, for instance, Terry won't let the paramedics in to help Tony during his heart attack until he promises to take it easy. What kind of sister is that cruel? Are we really supposed to like her after that? And how do we root for Jack when we see just how big a screw-up he is? Or believe that Stitch (Danielle Nicolet, The Starter Wife), who seems like she has her life together, could be interested in him?

I found few entry points to access this material at all. I really want Bornheimer to get a great vehicle a lot of people watch. I firmly believe this is not the ticket.

Family Tools airs Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.