Rescue 9-1-1

Article first published as TV Review: 9-1-1 on Seat42F.

Before watching, one can be forgiven for dismissing the new FOX series, 9-1-1, as a typical procedural. After all, it stars firemen, police women, and EMTs, and the people they help don’t carry over from week to week. But there is a lot more to it than that, even if it’s hard to define exactly what the quality is that it exudes. Let’s try to break it down, shall we?

First, there’re the brains behind 9-1-1: Ryan Murphy, Brad Fulchuk, and Tim Minear. These guys are known for a variety of high-quality cable shows in recent years, most notably American Horror Story, American Crime Story, and Feud. Given those credits, it’s hard to believe they would deliver anything at all close to a run-of-the-mill, case-of-the-week series. And they do not.

The next clue that this will be better than usual are the actors who signed up. Angela Bassett (American Horror Story, Olympus Has Fallen) is Athena Grant, the main police person we see in the cast. Peter Krause (Parenthood) is Bobby Nash, the fire captain. Kenneth Choi (Sons of Anarchy, Last Man on Earth), Aisha Hinds (Underground, Dollhouse), and Oliver Stark (Into the Badlands) all play characters who work for Bobby. Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights, Nashville) is a 9-1-1 operator named Abby Clark serving as go-between for all of these people, making it a rounded series. While it’s true that none of them have spotless resumes, to have so many great performers in one series says something.

The premise itself does feel a bit formulaic when described. In the pilot alone, the characters respond to several calls for help, and deal with the issues. One of the ensemble gets in trouble at work for acting inappropriately, one is a recovering alcoholic, and Athena is dealing with marital issues with husband Michael (Rockmond Dunbar, Prison Break). None of these things sound like they belong to a new, promising show.

However, there is something more to 9-1-1 that transcends the formula. It’s an ineffable element that is hard to define completely. The best way I can describe it is that there is an urgency, a pacing and tone, that belongs on a high-quality cable show, and feels very out of place on a broadcast network. No scene comes across as cheesy, everything is done with sincerity, and when paired with the performing talent, it rises above the sum of its parts.

The primary thing I can say is that numerous bits of the pilot moved me deep in my gut. I welled up, but not in the way This Is Us makes me. I experienced adrenaline rushes, but not as I do when watching 24. I was scared, but not like a bad slasher flick evokes. I really felt the emotions the characters were feeling, and I have to say, that is quite a feat to do in an hour procedural, let alone multiple times. Maybe it was the mood I was in, but having just reviewed a terrible show right before it, I don’t think so.

Some will dismiss this assertion and find it ridiculous. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I’ve already seen some negative reviews of 9-1-1. But I loathe crime procedurals and watch far too much TV to think I haven’t become desensitized. What I can tell you is that this one feels different. This one makes me eager to watch more. It might be the best show FOX has aired in years, and I don’t think that’s making a questionable boast. This is what a procedural should be, the best of its genre.

9-1-1 airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on FOX.

I Pledge ALLEGIANCE (Well, Sort Of)

Article first published as ALLEGIANCE Review on Seat42F.

As NBC’s new ALLEGIANCE begins, it’s easy to draw comparisons to FX’s The Americans. ALLEGIANCE also involves Russian spies living among us whose children the Russian government would like to recruit. However, as the first hour plays out, comparisons fall away because of a different setting, time period, and vastly different story, and by the end of the pilot, I found myself quite engaged.

At the center of ALLEGIANCE is the O’Connor family. Mother Katya (Hope Davis, The Newsroom) once upon a time fell in love with an American, father Mark (Scott Cohen, Necessary Roughness). She was allowed to marry him and move to the United States in exchange for the two of them offering up intel to the KGB. Eventually, their daughter, Natalie (Margarita Levieva, Revenge), became part of the deal.

But as Allegiance begins, it’s been years since the O’Connors heard from Katya’s former home country, and they are not sorry to be done with Katya’s former government. Now, though, the SVR, successor to the KGB, wants their son, Alex (Gavin Stenhouse, Iconicles), a new analyst at the CIA, as an asset. Katya is horrified, happy to be living as an American, and wants nothing to do with this. But she may not have a choice.

The pilot of ALLEGIANCE barely gets started in the cat-and-mouse game that will surely unfold. There are plenty of twists, keeping viewers guessing at how much will be revealed how early to each person (though, of course, secrets will come out). Warring motivations of not just the groups involved, but also the individuals, make the match up complex, rather than predictable. Unexpected connections pop up from time to time, further deepening the web.

The cast also includes, besides the four mentioned above, a younger O’Connor daughter still at home, Sarah (Alexandra Peters, Saige Paints the Sky), a Russian handler, Victor (Morgan Spector, Boardwalk Empire), and Alex’s boss, Sam (Kenneth Choi, Sons of Anarchy). This isn’t a large enough group to keep the story going strong for too long, but it’s a fine starting core, giving us one representative of each organization, as well as the all-important family unit.

ALLEGIANCE isn’t wholly original. Certainly, there are many elements, from the sleeper cell to the parents keeping secrets from their children to spy games, that feel quite familiar. With The Americans still successfully airing, it also feels too soon for another show like it on television. However, it’s several steps better in quality than last year’s The Asset. As long as it sticks to its initial serial nature, rather than being forced into a procedural box, as has happened with NBC’s Grimm, this show could say something worth listening to.

The performances are fine, though a little soapier than I’d like. Tonally, I seem similarities to ABC’s Revenge, though thankfully ALLEGIANCE doesn’t push the bounds of reality nearly as much. I think it’s acceptable to have a little melodrama. I just hope it’s reigned in enough to not distract from the parts of the story that really matter, and that the plot focuses more on political machinations than romantic relationships, which are OK if done right and not just hooking up every male character with every female one over time, but tend to be overused to shows’ detriment.

Overall, I’m pleasantly surprised by ALLEGIANCE. Offerings from the Big Four have been pretty disappointing lately, so I admit to going into this one with considerably lowered expectations. The fact that the pilot intrigues me and makes me wonder what’ll happen next is a good thing, even if the characters aren’t ones easy to instantly connect to. The hour takes its time getting started, but once it does, it’s clear that the writers have a plan in place and the story is going somewhere. I’m not fully committed to watching the rest of the season, but it has at least earned a second and third viewing.

ALLEGIANCE premieres this Thursday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

IRONSIDE Hard to Get Into

Article first published as IRONSIDE Review on Seat42F.

NBC’s newest drama is yet another remake of an old series. IRONSIDE is based on the 1967-1975 show of the same name, which starred Raymond Burr as a detective confined to a wheelchair after a sniper bullet paralyzes him. In the new show, updated somewhat for modern sensibilities, Blair Underwood (The Event) plays the titular cop, a disgruntled man who doesn’t play by the rules, but gets the job done.

The premise for IRONSIDE is lame. We have a ton of police procedurals on the air, and we surely don’t need another unless it adds something very new to the genre, as some cable networks are currently doing. A remake of a show better suited to another time is a bad idea, even if the new Hawaii Five-0 has done well for CBS, because it does even less to try to craft something original.

The wheelchair seems gimmicky, especially because of the title. Yes, Ironside is also the name of the character, but it implies something different when you see him in the metal wheelchair. The fact that it is copying the original series only slightly makes this less offensive or corny.

There has been some controversy among the disabled community for the casting of Underwood, rather than someone who actually uses a wheelchair in their everyday life. After viewing the “Pilot,” which has quite a few flashback scenes prior to the shooting, the reason for the casting choice seems clear, though, and while there should be more parts for disabled actors on TV, or disability-blind casting, it’s understandable why IRONSIDE goes a different direction.

Early in the “Pilot,” Ironside breaks the rules, psychologically torturing and physically hurting a suspect. The obvious assumption is that Ironside has some anger issues because of the accident that put him in the chair. I applaud the writers for going a different directly, establishing that he was always reckless and insubordinate, so his inability to walk, while surely causing some emotional challenges, did not majorly shift his personality.

The problem is, someone who does their own thing and ignores authority, yet still succeeds, is yet another trope on modern television, especially in procedurals. There are already a ton of characters just like him in other shows, and so another one is not needed or appreciated.

Ironside goes off the rails a couple of times in the first hour alone, and while his boss, Ed Rollins (Kenneth Choi, Sons of Anarchy), grumbles, there are no consequences. Even House had the wisdom to punish its lead now and again, but then, House was a good show. This feels ridiculous and completely unrealistic, leaving discerning viewers wondering how Ironside possibly has a career.

As the “Pilot” makes clear, IRONSIDE will be standard case-of-the-week fare. We see Ironside, along with fellow officers Holly (Spencer Grammer, Greek), Virgil (Pablo Schreiber, Orange Is the New Black), and Teddy (Neal Bledsoe, Smash), go after a man this week that they blame for a girl’s suicide, which may be a homicide instead. It unfolds just as one would expect, with suspicion shifting a couple of times, clues being uncovered, and the guilty party being caught. Yawn.

The one interesting plot in the IRONSIDE “Pilot” is that of Gary Stanton (Brent Sexton, The Killing), Ironside’s former partner. Gary is taking the shooting much harder than Ironside, despite Gary coming out of it physically unharmed. We find out why at the end of the “Pilot,” and there are a couple of scenes that show what Gary has become and what he plans to do about it, or not do. This is an intriguing journey that would make for a cool premise. Unfortunately, it’s a side bit, not the focus of the show.

Now, if you like a procedural, and some do, IRONSIDE seems well made enough. It’s got a wonderful cast, being wasted on this rote work, and the pacing is fast and stays interesting… for a single episode. The problem is, it looks to be a same-thing-every-installment type of series, and there really is no excuse for these anymore in a golden era of amazing visual storytelling. Other than the excuse of ratings and ad dollars, which, unfortunately, is the purpose behind TV networks. If IRONSIDE is an hour NBC has to sacrifice to keep better stuff on, I guess it’s worth it. But it could be so much better.

IRONSIDE premieres Wednesday, October 2^nd on NBC, and the “Pilot” is available now on Hulu.