BLINDSPOT in Production

Article originally published as BLINDSPOT Review on Seat42F.

NBC’s BLINDSPOT has an intriguing opening. A naked woman, covered in tattoos, is found in a bag in Times Square. She has no memory of who she is, what happened to her, or how she got all the tattoos, which were done recently. But some of the ink on her body holds clues, both to her past, and to future crimes.

Unfortunately, BLINDSPOT is not nearly as cool as its premise. The muck ups start early in the pilot when agent Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton, Strike Back) is called on the scene. His name is on the girl’s back, and yet he is placed in charge of the case. I understand why Mayfair (Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Without a Trace), the boss, would want him involved, given his connection, even if no one can explain why his name is there yet. But surely it presents a conflict of interest to have him running the investigation?

Then, Kurt brings the woman (Jaimie Alexander, Thor, Kyle XY), whom he suddenly begins calling Jane (as in Jane Doe) mid-episode, with him into the field. Not only that, she gets to go into dangerous buildings and be near bombs. That she ends up being capable of handling herself and lending the team support is of no consequence. She is an unknown quantity and not an agent, so should not be allowed out.

I admit, the central mystery is intriguing. There are lots of tidbits sprinkled into the episode to hint at Jane’s story without giving too much away. A flashback or two is quite illuminating, and I am left wanting to know more about her and what is going on.

However, the approach BLINDSPOT makes feels forced and false. It is trying too hard to craft a puzzle, merely tossing up the façade of a deep, serial drama. It resembles high quality programming, but fails to live up to the high bar itself. A showdown in a familiar setting seems completely artificial, favoring style above substance.

There are many good things going on with BLINDSPOT. Alexander is terrific, and while it takes a bit of time to warm up to Stapleton, I get what he’s doing and appreciate it. The supporting cast, which includes the delightful Ashley Johnson (The Killing) and Rob Brown (Treme), is enjoyable. The production builds suspense appropriately, and manages to toss in a few unexpected surprised.

But at the end of the day, BLINDSPOT has plot holes and some weak elements, as mentioned above, that bring it down. It also seems very likely to be a procedural, with the core mystery only being brought out in little bits, most of the hours being devoted to tracking down individual criminals who will see justice before the ending credits roll.

What’s more, because of the obvious weaknesses in setting up the main plot, I have little confidence that things will be concluded in a satisfactory manner. The first tattoo on Jane leads to an immediate danger, but how can the others possibly be laid out to take her from one event to the next? That would require a TON of knowledge of the future, and this show lacks the supernatural bend necessary to make that work. So I’m left assuming that the writers don’t have a clear idea of where they are going, or even if they do, they’ll take short cuts that don’t make sense, as they did in getting Jane and Kurt out into the field together so quickly.

If the total sum of programming in the world were still confined to the broadcast networks, there is no question that I would consider BLINDSPOT one of this fall’s series to look forward to; even with its flaws, it is far more creative and interesting than most of the fare on the Big Four. But living in the age of a multitude of choices on cable and streaming outlets, this one fails to make the cut, outshined by many, many higher quality choices.

BLINDSPOT premieres next Monday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. "Really Are"

Article originally written for Seat42F.

On this week’s MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC, Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) arrives sans memory. As the team tries to help her figure out her mission, it quickly becomes clear that her path is not that different than their own. The secrets kept by some of the team members start to come out, one in a big way, and relationships are threatened. For our heroes, it will all come down to “Who You Really Are.”

I like very much that Lady Sif’s mission, tracking a Kree named Vin-Tak (Eddie McClintock, Warehouse 13), directly intersects with Skye’s (Chloe Bennet) story. It isn’t forced, with it making logical sense that what happens to Skye will summon Vin-Tak, and by extension, Sif, to Earth. It also keeps things focused on what’s important, rather than distracting viewers with unnecessary, formulaic cases-of-the-weeks, as most broadcast network shows are wont to do.

At the end of last week’s episode, one wonders how long Skye can keep her secret after Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) takes pains to hide it for her. I’m pleased that “Who You Really Are” answers that question with ‘not long.’ After all, while it is interesting for large arcs to play out in bits and pieces, this story is very essential both to Skye and to MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., and it is driving the show right now. It needs to be front and center, not pushed in the back.

Skye is lucky that her lie comes out so quickly. Coulson (Clark Gregg) and May (Ming-Na Wen) don’t feel severe betrayal, as they would had she continued to hide the truth from them for an extended period. Instead, they understand her fear, with everyone still going through the trauma of what happened, and they move to protect her. She is one of their own, and they will not abandon her when something happens to her outside of her control. S.H.I.E.L.D. truly is a team, even if it’s a team that has been manipulated from the beginning, a conspiracy theory expressed in this episode.

But is the team still solid? Some of the other agents are less welcoming to Skye. Mac (Henry Simmons) says they need protected from Skye, and others agree. Sadly, Skye overhears this, but thankfully she has some friends left.

Skye’s secret breaks down the fragile, rebuilt trust between Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) and Fitz. They are still on shaky ground in “Who You Really Are,” and that ground crumples away when Simmons realizes Fitz is keeping Skye’s secret. He has good reasons for doing so, reminding Simmons of her prejudiced rant last week, and while she claims Skye is her friend and she wouldn’t treat Skye the same as others with powers and I believe her, I still think the schism is more her fault. Fitz and Simmons’ continued uneasiness continues to stem back from her abandoning him after his injuries, and until that is dealt with, they’ll never get back to being FitzSimmons.

A relationship doing better, at least at first, is that of Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) and Hunter (Nick Blood), with Hunter confident in their chance of success since he is now involved in S.H.I.E.L.D., which came between them before. But Bobbi has a new secret, shared with Mac, and she has to drive Hunter away to keep it. Apparently this is for his own good, but of course he wouldn’t understand why she can’t just tell him. So that signals the end of the couple for now, if not forever.

Hunter has trouble letting go, and questions Mac directly. Mac knocks Hunter out, a sure betrayal of a team member, but at least Mac doesn’t hurt him. Mac and Bobbi aren’t bad guys, after all. “Who You Really Are” confirms they aren’t working for Hydra, though stops short of revealing who their boss is. I have the feeling it doesn’t matter, though, because even if they’re on the side of good, they are working behind their fellow agents’ backs and that is going to cause a rift that cannot be quickly healed.

There’s a lot going on in this week’s MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. We learn about the Kree’s project on Earth, which Skye is a result of. We learn there are more obelisks that are likely awakening more humans with powers. This is a huge threat, and certainly what the rest of season two will be about. Since the Inhumans movie (the finale of Marvel’s film franchise Phase Three) isn’t scheduled for another four years, this could actually be the driving plot of the entire series, assuming the show isn’t cancelled in the meantime. If it is, we might be waiting until then to see Skye and company again, but at least they should show up for that.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

Perception hears the message

This week, TNT's Perception deals with the controversial topic of religion in "The Messenger." A dead body leads Daniel (Eric McCormack) and Kate (Rachel Leigh Cook) to the house of a deeply religious boy named Kyle, who thinks he talks to God. Daniel assumes the whole thing is a cult, as others show up and give all their money to Kyle. And, as the detectives learn, there is a scam going on here, but its not perpetuated by Kyle.

No, good old fashioned greed isn't tainting the actual faithful. Instead, an IRS agent (Roger Bart, Political Animals, The Producers) has teamed up with a gal on the inside (Jaimie Alexander, Thor, Kyle XY), and they are funneling money into a false charity, which they intend to run away with. Of course, with Daniel and Kate investigating, the two are caught, and those plans are scrapped.

"The Messenger" is interesting because, despite yet another pair of fantastic guest stars for the freshman series, the episode still doesn't flow quite right. The main problem is the way religion is handled. Daniel scoffs immediately when the subject is brought up, and Kate claims to be religious. Yet, she barely is involved in the spiritual parts of the episode, and offers no defense. And skeptic Daniel doesn't try to convince anyone that he's right, instead telling Kyle that he believes in him, and donating $50,000 to the cause.

Do the Perception writers hate religion or love it? The hate is there at the beginning, when Daniel says the idea is ridiculous. It's also present in the reveal that Kyle isn't really speaking to God, but actually has a brain tumor, a twist that does not really further the main plot. But there's the love when Daniel realizes Kyle is a good person, and Kyle keeps his faith after the surgery, still devoting his life to God's work. So the staff is made up of atheists and believers, and neither was able to take control here?

The complaint isn't that the are two sides to the religious issue in "The Messenger;" it's that both sides of the debate are down half-heartedly. Neither is committed to in any real way, making several characters, especially Daniel and Kate, appear silly. Daniel could be forgiven for coming around, challenging his own beliefs, if it had been done better. Kate should have stuck up for Kyle, and had more focus in this episode. The religious theme is very central to "The Messenger," but isn't developed enough in any specific element.

Daniel's hallucination this week is Joan of Arc (Melissa Farman, Lost, Game Change). Joan is just as flimsy as the rest of the religious stuff, never really settling into her character, seemingly not having the very strong faith she is known for. She is a figment of Daniel's imagination, though, so I guess if he's going to be so obtuse and contradictory on the subject, it makes sense for her to be, too, so at least that's consistent.

Other than that, Perception remains an enjoyable series. "The Messenger" is a comparably weak entry, but the actors make it watchable, despite the plot holes. The series is, overall, a little too much of a procedural for my taste. But the performers are great, and the stories usually make you think. It's fun to question what is reality and what isn't in each episode. Sometimes it is obvious, but other times, it is not, and there's almost always a doubt lingering. The show could be a bit better, but it's more entertaining than most, and worth the hour a week it asks for.

Watch Perception Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on TNT. First posted at TheTVKing