Viewers Are HOSTAGES To Popcorn Political Thriller

Article first published as HOSTAGES Review on Seat42F.

HOSTAGES is CBS’s attempt at a drama that is a departure from the procedural, a much appreciated move. It concerns the assassination of the President of the United States, a political thriller with many moving parts and a slew of characters with dark secrets and selfish motivations. Unfortunately, built like an action movie, it falls short of its goal.

The first mistake HOSTAGES makes is starting with a tense scene, then jumping back twelve hours. As I have stated in other reviews, which is evidence that this happens far too often, this storytelling technique is done to death and should be used sparingly. It may be a quick hook, but it’s an unnecessary and unwelcome one.

Another glaring issue I have with that first scene, besides the fact it exists, is that one of the show’s leads, Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story), is incredibly obvious behind a ski mask that sports way-too-big holes. I don’t care what developments happen later in the hour to “explain” why this is OK; what it obvious from the get-go is that this show will choreograph its moves well ahead of itself, and seeing the stars’ faces is more important than logic.

These are two major complaints before the story even begins. Not a good sign, and this trend continues throughout the first installment. We learn “hidden” bits about each of the central family, but they are all easy to see coming before they are officially revealed. Music takes scenes from dramatic to overly so. The action cuts in a certain false way. A main character makes a face on television that she really shouldn’t, and should be noticed by far more people than it is intended to be.

I assume that HOSTAGES wants to be the next House of Cards or Homeland, but despite some terrific actors, it lacks the script, director, and editor to reach those heights. By playing out exactly to formula for a film in this genre, it distracts us from the good moments tucked within the larger cheese.

Things progress in a standard way. We are introduced to Dr. Ellen Sanders (Toni Collette, United States of Tara), who will soon perform surgery on the President (James Naughton, Gossip Girl). Her husband, Brian (Tate Donovan, Damages), is pretty much a caricature of a certain type of spouse, weak-willed and trying to posture to make up for it. Her kids, Morgan (Quinn Shephard, Unaccompanied Minors) and Jake (Mateus Ward, Sports Show with Norm Macdonald), seem like they are pretty well behaved, overall, as far as teenagers go, but also have a shady side.

In the real world, Brian, Morgan, and Jake probably wouldn’t have these vulnerabilities, but they need them here so that they can be manipulated. By extension, so is the viewer. If Ellen’s family were perfect, those who want to pull her strings wouldn’t have the leverage they need. Because the characters are artificially layered in terrible ways, Ellen can be controlled.

Now, HOSTAGES does seek to show Ellen can stand up for herself and will not go along with what she is supposed to do. This should anger the hostage takers who hold Ellen and her clan captive. After which, the bad guys should do horrible things to Ellen’s family. Except, that doesn’t seem to be what this show is about.

The main gang that takes Ellen is led by Agent Duncan Carlisle (McDermott). After the opening, the first time we see Carlisle, he is doing his job brilliantly, catching something everyone else misses. Since he is such a fine, upstanding FBI guy, we know he can’t possibly seem as bad as he first appears to be. The “Pilot” doesn’t get into why Carlisle does what he does to Ellen, but there is obviously more we’re meant to wonder about him, and we certainly won’t believe that he’s evil. Is he being forced to play a part, too? This is the thing that might save Ellen’s family.

Carlisle is joined by Archer Petit (Billy Brown, Dexter), Maria Gonzales (Sandrine Holt, House of Cards), and Kramer Daly (Rhys Coiro, Entourage). The latter makes the mistake of being nice to one of their hostages, which Carlisle dresses him down for, but not in a cruel way. So these are good guys?

By involving the FBI and people that don’t harm innocents, HOSTAGES wants to make viewers wonder at the real motivations behind the plot. Maybe the FBI must take out this president, as some think they did with prior ones, in the name of protecting the country. Maybe their loved ones are in danger, too. Whatever the reason, though, there’s supposed to actually be a sympathetic cause behind their actions.

I’m not saying HOSTAGES shouldn’t go for the onion-format, constantly peeling new layers. It’s just that what unfolds on screen isn’t of the quality one would expect it to be given the premise. Going just by the production, one would think Carlisle and crew were run-of-the-mill villains, which is why it doesn’t seem right that they aren’t. It’s this disjointedness that ruins this show for me.

HOSTAGES airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.

The ashes of Weeds

Weeds is done. Last night, Showtime aired the final hour of the popular series, entitled "It's Time." Rather than an action-packed, dangerous climax, leaving the characters in disarray, as most of the show's season finale have done, instead what is presented is a calmer, more introspective examination of the characters. No earth-shattering events happen, but fans check in with the Botwins years later and see how they end up, as well as the legacy they are leaving behind.

"It's Time" takes place the week of Stevie's (Mateus Ward) Bar Mitzvah. Friends and family have gathered at Nancy's (Mary-Louise Parker) mansion to celebrate. While there are many familiar faces we haven't seen in awhile, such as Dean (Andy Milder), Guillermo (Guillermo Diaz), Sanjay (Maulik Pancholy), Clinique (Julanne Chidi Hill), and Marvin (Fatso-Fasano), it isn't a who's who gallery, but rather a random sampling of guest stars who mostly did not appear earlier in the final season, who just happen to be available for the party, making for a natural feel, rather than a forced look back.

A main theme is the legacy one leaves behind, especially as it pertains to sons. Guillermo talks to Stevie about his birth father, revealing some truths that Stevie did not know. This sparks a self-examination in the boy, who doesn't look very Mexican, nor speak Spanish, even though his father was mayor of Tijuana and a gangster.

Stevie blows off the Bar Mitzvah portion of the event as a reaction against this new information, not sure who he is now, given his different daddy influences. But then a strange thing happens. He talks about how proud he is of his mom, and how supportive she has been. It is a very different parent-child bond then we're used to seeing with Nancy, who screwed up with Shane (Alexander Gould) and Silas (Hunter Parrish) royally, repeatedly.

So Nancy has finally done it! She has settled down enough to act like a real mother. She has raised a son right, who loves and respects her, rather than resents or worships her in inappropriate ways. It's an unexpected, and very sweet ending. Viewers have seen Nancy try to grow in this final season, after being in prison and getting shot. It's very rewarding to see it pay off in the end, even if Nancy herself isn't sure it has.

Nancy hasn't completely changed. She runs a pot empire. But in this future, that's a legal career, and her company is about to be bought by Starbucks, setting up her and her loved ones for life. This is the peace and stability she has longed for. And she can't believe she has it, as insecure as ever, and worried about the men that once loved her who no longer hang around. When Stevie leaves for boarding school soon, she will be all alone.

Yet, Nancy is not alone. What she fails to see is, no matter how many mistakes she makes, those men still love her. Stevie proclaims it publicly, and the others do it more subtlety. Silas has a good life, and even though his wife, Megan (Shoshannah Stern), hates Nancy for everything she did to Silas, he doesn't hold a grudge. Shane is on the wrong track, but when his mother intervenes, he agrees to go to rehab. The final scene, where Shane, Silas, Doug (Kevin Nealon), and Andy (Justin Kirk) gather around Nancy on the porch makes it clear. She did good, and not just for Stevie.

Ah, Andy. He finally grew a pair and left Nancy. When he did, he found his joy, raising a daughter in Renmar. It's interesting that, in the end, Nancy is the one trying to win Andy, and he resists. Does Nancy really want him, or is she just trying to hang on to someone, feeling like her world is slipping away? It doesn't matter, because this is what Nancy has always done, so her emotions are real, whether she's stick with him romantically for life or not. It's too bad that Andy is the only one that realizes that love isn't enough, and that they are better off apart than together.

Doug, the lone main character who isn't a Botwin who stays for the length of the series, has his own legacy to worry about in "It's Time." He is happily succeeding in his latest scam, a cult-like religion that he runs. It will fall apart eventually, as it always does, but at least this time Doug has a family. He makes up with his son, Josh (Justin Chatwin, not seen since the Weeds "Pilot"). Doug has his biological family and his adopted one, the Botwins, meaning that no matter what happens, he will be fine.

Weeds can be crazy, and a couple of those outrageous elements are present in "It's Time" in Stevie's speech and the cool new cell phones. But it chooses to focus on the heart in the end, and while that's not been the obvious tone of the show up til now, it's always been an underlying theme. At the end of the day, it's not drug kingpins and burning suburbs that will define Weeds, but rather the rich characters it follows. These people were a bunch of weeds, but they're finally blossoming into something better, especially Andy and Silas. Nancy helped them get to that point, and they're grateful. So Weeds goes out on a very touching moment, not with the world perfect, as no world is, but with it realistically working out.Awesome.

If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Check out my website, JeromeWetzel.com! First posted on TheTVKing