Seeking SALVATION

Article first published as TV Review: SALVATION on Seat42F.

CBS has a new summer drama premiering tonight, SALVATION. Humanity is only six months away from being wiped out by an asteroid impact, but almost nobody knows it. When MIT grad student Liam Cole brings the event to the attention of billionaire inventor Darius Tanz, Tanz rushes to the Pentagon to assist in a plan to stop it. Deputy Secretary of Defense, Harris Edwards, assures them that it’s already under control, but he’s definitely lying, even to his inappropriate sweetheart, an employee under him, Pentagon Press Secretary Grace Barrows. Can Tanz and Cole save mankind without the government’s help?

CBS likes to do light science fiction fare in the summer, and SALVATION is no different. Like The Dome or Zoo, it involves a disaster, though this one is a bit less mysterious, and a couple of heroes that must save everyone because, apparently, they are the only ones capable of doing so. It’s like a popcorn action movie spread out over ten to thirteen episodes, with only superficial or generic characters development amid the emergency that the focus is on. It would not be a bad concept to do in the 1990s. In the middle of Peak TV, shows like this are likely to be ignored, not enough quality present to compete with year-round great series.

The biggest thing the show has going for it at the outset is casting Jennifer Finnigan (Tyrant, Close to Home) as Grace. Finnigan is a fun actress who I have enjoyed in many projects previously, and was the biggest reason I had hope for this show. Her primary story is a predictable, though. She’s at the verge of changing careers so she can be with Edwards (Ian Anthony Dale, Hawaii Five-0), but then learns he is keeping secrets from her, casting her decisions in doubt. Another subplot involving her daughter works for the emotional heft needed in episode one, but doesn’t seem to have legs. I hope she is better used going forward, but there’s just not enough meat for Finnigan in the pilot.

The male leads, Santiago Cabrera (Heroes, The Musketeers) as Tanz and Charlie Rowe (Red Band Society) as Liam, aren’t bad, but neither are they magnetic. Instead, they seem to be relatively stock characters themselves, with their complexity coming straight out of a dozen other stories featuring leads that are strikingly similar.

Somewhat interestingly, Liam begins a romance with an aspiring science fiction author, Jillian (Jacqueline Byers, Roadies), just before things get started. If the relationship weren’t so rushed and stereotypical, I might be more interested in how fiction will clash with reality, which is an avenue worth exploring. Provided, of course, SALVATION doesn’t go the Castle route and just make it ridiculously unrealistic, ignoring the actual possibilities of such a plot. (I maintain Castle worked because of Nathan Fillion; anyone else would have struggled to make it watchable.)

I don’t dislike Salvation. As someone that enjoys the genre, I am tempted to watch. The problem is, there needs to be some hook besides the general premise. For instance, last year’s BrainDead was quirky and charming, with great musical recaps at the beginning of each episode, plenty to keep me hooked through the whole single-season run. SALVATION seems to lack that.

In short, there’s a compelling storyline in here somewhere, and there are even some intriguing elements to SALVATION that could make it must-see for sci-fi fans. However, it seems underdeveloped, its characters superficial, which is disappointingly as-predicted for broadcast network summer fare. If CBS would just take the season a little more seriously, get some heft behind a project like this, they would be back in competition with the superior cable networks. But it’s clear already that SALVATION is not going to be the vehicle to do that.

SALVATION premieres tonight at 9/8c.

MURDER IN THE FIRST Running Last in My Book

Article first published as TV Review: 'Murder in the First' - 'Pilot' on Blogcritics.

Murder in the First is a new crime drama that premiered on TNT this week. It follows Detectives Terry English (Taye Diggs, Private Practice) and Hildy Mulligan (Kathleen Robertson, Boss) as they investigate a couple of murders that seem to both be connected to young, rich tech genius, Erich Blunt (Tom Felton, the Harry Potter films). Can they find the truth and bring the murder or murderers to justice?

I have to give TNT credit for trying to tackle a higher-concept series. On a channel that has plenty of case-of-the-week procedurals, including Rizzoli & Isles, Franklin & Bash, Perception, and Major Crimes, it’s refreshing to see a series that is actually going to have the story running for multiple weeks, not a quickly tie up at the end of the hour. Admittedly, TNT has done serials before, such as Falling Skies and Dallas, but this is the first time I can think of them doing a show like this in the crime genre. Are they finally ready to enter the fray of high-concept investigation programs, competing against True Detective and its ilk?

Murder in the First reminds me of The Killing, in that it sets up a complicated case with many different players and moving parts. There’s definitely an effort made to build something complex and engaging, with a number of different personalities in different roles participating, including lawyers and a judge, as well as the cops and those connected with the central tycoon. The case will be carried out over the course of a season, at least, to allow greater depth in the story. We will get snippets of the larger picture, which will only culminate after much time is spent following the clues.

The problem is, Murder in the First immediately establishes itself as far less interesting than those shows it directly competes with. The characters are mostly from stock, with children and a dying wife thrust upon the lead detectives, scenarios that are designed purely to create more drama, not because it furthers the story or enriches the roles, at least, that’s how it comes across in the “Pilot,” given the predictable way in which they’re handled. While there may be ‘twists’ coming up, there is no shades of grey in the way Blunt is introduced, very clearly telegraphing himself as a person of interest. And the pacing is far more concerned with action and developments than allowing the actors to dwell on their emotions.

This is a shame because Murder in the First has lined up an excellent roster. Besides Diggs, Robertson, and Felton, the cast is loaded with James Cromwell (American Horror Story: Asylum), Steven Weber (Wings), Richard Schiff (The West Wing), Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon a Time), Ian Anthony Dale (Hawaii Five-O), Nicole Ari Parker (Revolution), Currie Graham (Raising the Bar), and others. This is great ensemble and they could handle much more advanced material than they are being given. It seems downright cruel to tease them with a show that should be good, and then deliver another mediocre installment.

Can Murder in the First rise above these weak roots and grow into a strong tree, an oak anchoring the network? Probably not. In a world where AMC, HBO, FX, Netflix, and so many other strong competitors are breaking fresh ground, really stretching the art of storytelling and exploring new corners of familiar worlds, Murder in the First is too little, too late, a pale copy of other series. I suggest if TNT wants to play with the big boys it return to the drawing board and come up with something totally original, rather than copying other works. It shouldn’t compete in a formula that it cannot possibly win, hurting itself in the inevitable comparisons.

Murder in the First airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.

The Event Fall 2010

     NBC's The Event delivered an exciting pilot, though initially it seemed like the first half of what was intended to be a two hour episode. Having now viewed all 10 episodes from the fall run that no longer seems to be the case. Though the first episode was light on explanation, episode two, when combined with the first, doesn't make the story seem any more complete. Instead, it they are the beginning of several much larger arcs, some of which wrapped up in a few weeks, and some of which are still open. The biggest question still is: what is the Event that the title refers to? If network promos can be believed, it hasn't happened yet.

     Overall, this is a pretty cool show. It has elements of Lost, 24, and a little bit of V. Large parts of several episodes have been done in flashback, revealing different things in the main characters' pasts. It's a storytelling method that has not been implemented in every episode, and it has not been overused. Sometimes the backstories are there to inform us about present events, and sometimes they're just about revealing traits of the characters. Very few of those flashbacks are superfluous, the rest of the story has needed them to better illustrate some points. The one that does seem unnecessary, as far as the rest of the episode is concerned, is when Sean (Jason Ritter) met Leila (Sarah Roemer) for the first time. But it was incredibly sweet and completely welcome.

     The cast is excellent, and almost every character is layered nicely. This is best demonstrated by the three Washington D.C.-based main characters. First there is President Martinez (Blair Underwood), who seems so idealistic but has participated in covering up some of the recent events, opening himself up to being blackmailed by his slimy Vice President, Jarvis (Bill Smitrovich). Jarvis fancies himself a patriot despite his having been complicit in the attempted Presidential assassination.  Despite showing a political convention, the show dances around which party each character belongs to, but I think it's pretty clear that Jarvis is GOP and Martinez is Democrat. That does paint the series with a liberal lean, even though a lot of the action and anti-terrorism stuff traditionally appeals to a more conservative audience. An interesting choice.

     Director Sterling (the always perfect Zeljko Ivanek) at first seemed duplicitous, and he sometimes is. But he is the true patriot, willing to do anything reasonable for his country, and not willing to endanger its citizens. He may have disagreed with Martinez's decision in the pilot, but he would never have gone to evil lengths to stop it.

     However, finding out that Jarvis was the mole within the President's circle doesn't make sense. Jarvis all but accused Sterling of being the guilty party early in the season, in private. If he had wanted to remove suspicion from himself, surely that confrontation would have gone down in front of at least the President and some aides. In retrospect, it was only meant to fool the viewers, and doesn't make much sense for it to have happened. There have been a few other moments like that, but this is the most glaring example.

     Obviously, the main story is about the aliens who came to earth in 1944, lead by Sophia (Laura Innes).  Many of them have been in a prison in Alaska for the last 66 years. Their motivations, or even how they ended up here, is still unknown. What has been shown is that there are factions within the group, as there very likely would be in the real world, who don't agree with their leader. The biggest faction is lead by Sophia's son, Thomas (Clifton Collins Jr.), who ended the season deploying a communications satellite to send a message home. This is a twist I didn't see coming, and have no idea what he's really up to.

     Thomas has been the least consistently written character.  He spent a whole episode being berated by his mother for not being a capable enough leader, even though in the rest of the stories, he has shown independence and the ability to command others enough to be a serious threat. However, as he is also my least favorite actor of the group, and he is involved in some of the biggest, action-packed plots, I am focused enough on other things to not notice this issue most of the time. I think his character was certainly not really fleshed out when the series began, and we're seeing on screen the different writers' different approaches to figuring him out.

     One major problem with the show is that there are a lot more aliens in the meeting hall with Sophia than previously shown escaping their crash site in 1944, even taking into account limited camera angles. What's up with that? Do their children age quickly, and then stop? Is that how the population grew? I didn't see any kids among them. What about half-breeds? Surely, marrying and having kids would have raised suspicion, since they don't age, and would have had to leave their families at some point or risk exposure (that was dealt with to some extent, though not fully, when trying to explain the drastically different numbers of aliens).

     One of my favorite characters is Simon Lee (Ian Anthony Dale). One of Sophia's group who escaped imprisonment, Simon currently works for Sterling. A few episodes into the series, it seemed certain his cover was blown, but some pretty clever writing kept his job intact. Simon is loyal to Sophia, but also to the men with whom he serves. He seems to have the ideals of morality and the sacredness of human and alien life in hand more than any other character. While playing both sides, he wants the greatest good for both and is not motivated by selfishness. The episode where we saw him in love with a woman in the 1950s, and his later encounter with her in her old age, demonstrated as much. He is a truly good man (being?).

     While Simon is an example of great character development on the show, sadly, not every character is used to their full extent. However, given the changing amount of screen time Sean, Sophia, Martinez, and the others get, and depending on who is involved with the major plots moving the story forward, I would bet that won't stay true for long. I can't imagine right now how Christina (Lisa Vidal) could really be worked in more, but maybe with Vicky's (Taylor Cole) greatly reduced role in the last few episodes of the fall run it could be in the works. And why Martinez didn't do much important in the last few episodes, even though he was still a presence, is something I definitely wonder about.

     Most cheated at this point is Leila's father, Mike (Scott Patterson). As the pilot who almost flew a plane into Martinez and Sophia, as well as the father of another main character, Mike has spent most of this run locked up by the government and his screen time has been scarce. As a Gilmore Girls fan, I want more for Patterson, and the finale left me with hope that will be coming down the line. With a twist I saw coming from about hour three, I was nevertheless excited when Sean and Leila realized that Mike is an alien. I wonder if Sterling and Martinez know yet. They should with all the medical work done on Mike at the CDC and if not, there will be another huge plot hole for the writers to plug.

     The action during the run has been intense, and the story has kept me guessing--there are so many threads unraveling at once, it's impossible to be bored. But, the stories aren't so numerous as to be very confusing either. While it does not (yet) live up to Lost or 24's legendary status, there is enough here that, if handled right, it could be a great show with at least four or five seasons worth of interesting tales. The current stories will probably only take us though one or two as the series has chosen to keep the revelations coming fast, rather than dole them out slowly. I think that is the right decision in this case, and I, for one, am interested in finding out what happens next. So far though it's pretty good. We'll see what comes next, and whether that will push the series to greatness, or condemn it to mediocrity... if it doesn't get canceled first.

     The Event will return to NBC on Monday, February 28th. A little too long between episodes for my taste, and after Sweeps--which isn't a great sign--but here's hoping that it does well.



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Article first published as TV Review: The Event - Fall 2010 on Blogcritics.

The Event will be one to watch

    NBC has a new show this year that wants to become event television: The Event, which premiered last night. I don't really know what's going on, of course. This isn't the type of show where viewers are meant to, at least not at first. But peppered with a slew of likable and talented actors, and with some intriguing plot already laid out, The Event is certainly better than last year's similar offering, Flash Forward.

     As near as I can tell, there will be five main players in this series. President Elias Martinez (Blair Underwood, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Dirty Sexy Money, L.A. Law) found out about some event and secret group at an Alaskan hideaway about a year and a half before the series began. Sophia Maguire (Laura Innes, ER) has been locked away there, but has now arrived in Washington to announce something with the president. Sean Walker (Jason Ritter, Parenthood, Joan of Arcadia) is the everyman hero, whose girlfriend, Leila (played by Sarah Roemer), has been kidnapped by unknown people for unknown reasons. Michael Buchanan (Scott Patterson, Gilmore Girls) is Sean's girlfriend's father, and is clearly being blackmailed into doing bad things. And I'm not sure exactly who Simon Lee (Ian Anthony Dale, Day Break, Surface) is, but he's important enough to get close to the president, and smart enough to know that Michael is up to, and to try to stop him. Or maybe he was tracking Sean. That's unclear.

     If you haven't watched last night's premiere yet, stop reading here until you do.

     All five of these people have very interconnected stories, with Simon being the bridge between the two duos listed above. I don't particularly care about Simon, but the I already do about Martinez, Sean, and Michael. Martinez is shown to be a very principled president in the scenes before the action starts, in the vein of other great television presidents such as David Palmer and Jed Bartlet. The pilot was smart enough to give us plenty of Sean's background, and what his relationship with Michael is. There's a bond there appropriate for a soon-to-be-related couple of men, and it's touching. The fact that the woman they both love, in different ways of course, is in danger excuses their extreme behavior.

     The question is, why are Sean and Michael acting like they do in the framing story? My only complaint is that this should have been a two hour premiere. So much of the first hour had to take us back a week, or a year and a half, to set up the characters, that the framing story with all of the big stuff was not given time to be fleshed out. I presume we'll find out how Michael and Sean got to be on that airplane next week.

     The series is also clearly going to go into impossible territory. The plane disappearing into some energy-infused hole in the middle of the air seemed more appropriate for Fringe than The Event, which tells me that this isn't a cookie cutter series, and I might be interested in watching it. I assume Sophia will soon get the chance to explain to Martinez (and the viewer) what's happening.

     The other thing going for The Event is the supporting cast, which boasts such small screen heavyweights as Zeljko Ivanek (Heroes, Damages, True Blood, Big Love, 24, Oz) and Bill Smitrovich (The Practice, Life Goes On, Without a Trace). While neither did much more than stand around in this week's episode, I'm sure they will get to more than flex their acting muscles as the season unfolds.

     Only time will tell is this is the next Lost or a fizzling dud. But the signs in the premiere look promising. The Event airs Mondays nights at 9pm on NBC. 

Article first published as TV Review: The Event will be one to watch on Blogcritics.