Hello, CLARICE

 Article first published as CLARICE TV Review on Seat42F.

CBS’s newest drama is CLARICE. As you might guess, it is related to The Silence of the Lambs and its protagonist, Clarice Starling. In fact, the story is set in 1993, a mere year after the events of the film and book. Clarice isn’t doing all that well, mentally speaking, suffering some severe post-traumatic stress from her ordeal. While being evaluated to see if she’s even fit to do her job, a status very much in doubt, Clarice is called up by the Attorney General of the United States (who also happens to be the mother of a girl Clarice rescued) to hunt a new possible serial killer.

A lot of CLARICE’s pilot is very interesting. Rebecca Breeds (The Originals) does a fine job portraying the damaged agent, and all the pain and suffering she is going through. Clarice is not OK, and yet she often manages to function in public and in her job. Breeds strikes just the right balance of sanity and trauma in crafting the role to make her believable. Clarice is easy to get annoyed at, as she makes many bad decisions or acts rashly, but Breeds keeps her sympathetic, as well, even when the character is making her own life harder.

Similarly, the production may call to mind NBC’s ill-fated Hannibal, evoking some artistic images. Although, CLARICE often goes for the gruesome over the pretty, so it’s not quite the same thing. The pacing moves a lot faster and the characters, other than the titular one, don’t seem as well-developed, either. So while those fond of Hannibal (for very good reason) may be pleased to see some similarities, CLARICE doesn’t live up to that previous effort.

There is a lot of imagery from the events of the film, reshot, of course, with new actors and sets to that everything matches. This is a good element, immediately calling to mind the horror Clarice bore witness to and helping audiences understand where she is. It’s a finely crafted premise executed pretty well in that regard.

Where CLARICE shows its weaknesses are among the supporting players. It’s not because the actors aren’t good; CLARICE has the likes of Kal Penn (Designated Survivor, House), Michael Cudlitz (The Walking Dead), and Jayne Atkinson (House of Cards) in its lineup. But the roles these actors play aren’t great. Jayne’s Ruth, the aforementioned attorney general, is too single-minded and harsh. Penn’s Shaan gets almost nothing to do in the pilot. Cudlitz’s Krendler is the most well-rounded of the three, playing Clarice’s boss, but even the parts where softness gets through his tough exterior feel cliché and tired. I don’t blame the performers, but these are stock characters in a procedural, not the deep ones that make up a high-quality drama.

Which makes sense, because CLARICE is a procedural. The pilot hints at a larger story arc, and I’m sure it’ll be followed up upon. But the whole season isn’t spent on a case, like the prestige shows. This is CBS, so most bad guys are caught in an hour and not much changes. With this unfortunate core, the high-quality aspects seem like set dressing, not the point of the series, and the program suffers for it.

The world doesn’t exactly need a better version of CLARICE; there are enough other series in this genre that foot that bill. But any chance this one has of standing among them is squandered by the network television mantra to have things static and easily consumable. This is fine for their audience now, but doesn’t necessarily build a devoted fanbase that will keep it living and talked about on streaming services from years to come.

CLARICE airs Thursdays at 10/9c on CBS.

A carefully constructed House of Cards

Article first published as HOUSE OF CARDS Review at Seat42F.

Grade: 96%

Netflix recently launched an original series entitled HOUSE OF CARDS. Based on the book and British series, HOUSE OF CARDS dives into the world of intrigue and betrayal in politics. The first thirteen episodes all went live on February 1st, and another thirteen have been ordered.

HOUSE OF CARDS centers around a man named Francis Underwood, who is known by all as Frank. Frank, representing South Carolina, is a powerful force in Congress, serving as the Majority Whip in the House of Representatives, and is expecting to be named Secretary of State by the president that he helped elect, Garrett Walker (Michael Gill, Guiding Light). But Walker sends his Chief of Staff, Linda Vazquez (Sakina Jaffrey, Definitely, Maybe), to dash Frank’s dreams. Frank pretends to play nice, but secretly vows revenge.

The first thing HOUSE OF CARDS did right was cast Kevin Spacey (American Beauty, Horrible Bosses) as Frank. Spacey brings a level of gravitas to the screen that immediately raises the bar. He plays the part with nuance, and despite being a relatively despicable guy, there is also something intriguing about Frank that makes you want to keep watching.

Frank’s anger is justifiable, so it’s easy to root for him to come out on top, even when his actions cross a line. He may not be a hero, as he is as deep in the muck and the crooked games as his foes, but he doesn’t deserve to be treated this way, and he won’t stand for it.

It’s the duality of someone who is both righteous and a pig that makes Frank such a challenging role. It’s hard to imagine few besides Spacey that would do the part justice.

Frank is aided in his mission by this loyal, and just as ruthless, wife, Claire (Robin Wright, Moneyball). Again, this is another character who has layers, and who must be someone the audience can get behind, even when she’s doing wrong. Once more, casting should be lauded, as Wright handles the part deftly.

Frank and Claire have an interesting marriage, and right away, I find myself wondering if they have ever gone up against each other. If they have, or if something might cause them to be at odds in the future, I have no idea who would win. They are definitely cut from the same cloth, which makes their marriage seem a little cold. But it’s clearly working for them, and they seem to care about one another, so who I am to judge?

Claire is also someone that Frank seems to use as a partner, rather than a pawn. That looks to a rare position in Frank’s life, as the others around him are milked for how they will best serve Frank. This is made extremely clear early on when Frank manipulates the man behind the education bill Frank is supposed to be guiding, offers a couple of positions to possible allies, including his choice for Secretary of State since it can’t be him, Senator Catherine Durant (24′s Jayne Atkinson), and toys with Vazquez.

The other side of HOUSE OF CARDS is about the reporters who cover the political beat in our nation’s capital. There is a smart young woman named Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara, American Horror Story, 127 Hours), who yearns to see her name in print, or at least in a featured blog on the paper’s website. Her bosses shoot her down, until she manages to wrangle a deal with Frank, setting up a mutually beneficial arrangement.

I really dig the paper angle. Obviously, Zoe is the true do-gooder in HOUSE OF CARDS, the one still mostly unspoiled by the election game, and who clings to morals and ideals. She may dance on the line when trying to land Frank, but her work is put forth with a noble purpose. At least in the first episode. It’s likely, as time goes on, this will shift. If you splash in the mud, you do get dirty, and her ambition is definitely pushing her in that direction.

A senior report, Janine Skorsky (Constance Zimmer, Entourage, Grey’s Anatomy), is saddled with assisting Zoe. Zoe asks for help nicely at first, and Janine turns her down. Now, Janine is stuck with the upstart, owing to the rich vein of scoop that Zoe has tapped into. I am anxious to see how their relationship will play out, if Janine can play nice and benefit from being a mentor, or if she will be the bitter, shoved aside veteran.

Between Frank and Zoe, we have two colliding plots that are excellent. They are surrounded by a sweeping cast and a beautiful, engaging setting. Considering the next twelve episodes are already posted, I think I’ll stop here so that I can get back to watching. I can think of no higher recommendation of the series than by saying how much I am itching to see more.

Want to read some of my fiction? It's on my website, JeromeWetzel.com! Also, for the latest updates and article links, as well as commentary on episodes I don't fully review, please follow me on Twitter

24 delivers best hour of season

    This has been a big week for Fox's 24.  Besides airing the best episode of the season, nay, one of the best of the series, last week, it also became known that the show is officially canceled, and will not be picked up by NBC, as previously rumored.  That's not to say that there are only eleven hours left in Jack Bauer's (Kiefer Sutherland) story.  In fact, the series finale is designed to set up Jack for a feature film, which is already in the works.  The head honchos always wanted a definitive end for Jack, and it looks like he will get one.  By their statements, it appears there will be only 24 movie, but perhaps that's a good thing.  Go out while it still works.  Speaking of working, last week...

      I always look forward to that awesome Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) episode.  It comes after Chloe has been beaten down, not listened to, and generally, dumped on.  Then she wows us all and makes her bosses listen to her.  This week was that shining moment, as Chloe pulled a gun on the jerky NSA agents and fixed CTU's EMP-blasted computer system all by herself.  Chloe, you rock my world!

     The CTU mole was revealed.  Of course there was a CTU mole.  There always is.  However, even before the mole was exposed, I stopped rooting for the character.  Dana Walsh (Katee Sackhoff) has been one annoyance after another, and as she strangled the poor parole officer (Stephen Root), I stopped wanting her to get away with anything.  When, moments later, she was shown on the phone with the terrorist, it all fell into place.  The writers can be forgiven for making us hate Dana so much, because we needed to hate her eventually anyway.  And the twist gives hopes that Sackhoff's talents will not be wasted on the role.

     A side character died.  24 has not killed off anyone important yet this year, and so I have begun to get tense, knowing that it's just a matter of time.  True, Agent Owen (Julian Morris) with his six episode stint was not vital, but I still felt emotion as Jack lied to him, lying dying on the pavement.  His death is surely a harbinger of the bloodbath that will ensure.  There aren't many majorly important characters left in the series to kill off, but as long as it's not Chloe, I'm cool with it.

     Speaking of important characters, I still need to see the return of three of them.  Chloe's husband, Morris, (Carlo Rota) should make an appearance, as should secret service hero Aaron (Glenn Morshower).  I am really disappointed to have not seen Karen Hayes (Jayne Atkinson) since 2007, especially after her husband's heroic sacrifice last year.  And Jack's love story with Renee (Annie Wersching) cannot ever play out to satisfaction without bringing back Audrey Raines (Kim Raver).  I don't care if I have to wait for the big screen to see any of the four, but for me to be happy about the end of the story, I need to see what happened to the four of them.  And if they want to toss me a little Martha Logan (Jean Smart), I'll gladly take it.

     24 continues it's final season Monday nights, including tonight, at 9pm on Fox.