WAYWARD PINES a Murky Place

Article originally published as WAYWARD PINES Review at Seat42F.

Carla Gugino & Matt Dillon Wayward Pines

 

WAYWARD PINES, premiering this week on FOX, is the story of a Secret Service agent who, while looking into the appearance of two fellow agents, becomes trapped in a mystery-laden town. Produced by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense) and based on the book series by Blake Crouch, it’s a dense thriller that poses far more questions than it answers, at least initially.

My first impression is that Wayward Pines is trying too hard. The pilot, “Where Paradise Is Home,” rips off the beginning of Lost; you’ll know immediately what I’m talking about when you see it. Except, instead of being set on an untethered island or trapped under a dome (like CBS’ Under The Dome, which it will compete with this summer), it takes place in the small town of Wayward Pines, Idaho – a place that is completely isolated in a valley, cut off from the rest of the world. So yeah, it’s just like those other two, at least in this one regard.

Our hero is Ethan Burke (Matt Dillon, Sunlight Jr., Wild Things), and “Where Paradise Is Home” revolves around him, telling a disjointed, nonlinear story. He’s married to a woman named Theresa (Shannyn Sossamon, Mistresses), but cheated on her with his former partner, Kate (Carla Gugino, Entourage, Watchmen), who shows up where you might not expect her. Almost immediately, he makes a connection with a bartender named Beverly (Juliette Lewis, Secrets and Lies, Christmas Vacation), so I guess perhaps hero is too strong a word. Let’s just call him the protagonist.

What does any of that have to do with the story? Well, something. There’s a Truman Show-esque twist that ties Ethan’s messy love life into the town, but to what end, I have no idea. Nor do I know why someone says Beverly isn’t really a bartender, nor why Nurse Pam (Melissa Leo, Treme, The Fighter) acts in such a sinister manner, nor why Sheriff Pope (Terrence Howard, Empire, Iron Man) won’t help, nor why Reed Diamond (Franklin & Bash, Moneyball) has been cast as a toymaker. The only thing that makes much sense is Toby Jones (Captain America) playing a psychiatrist, which seems perfectly natural.

I love dense, genre mystery shows. If you give me a solid cast and a well-thought out story, I couldn’t possibly be any happier watching television. I’m much more reticent to jump into WAYWARD PINES than others of its ilk, though. Part of it is that they are selling themselves as a “Twin Peaks-like” drama and stealing so much from other stories along the way. Now, some of that may come from the book; I haven’t read it so I don’t know. But the way the program is presented doesn’t even feel like those involved are trying to do something new.

It also concerns me to see the cast list. They’re almost universally strong performers, so that makes me think perhaps I should give the material a chance. But part of being so strong is that many of them have other jobs on currently running shows. Wayward Pines season one is announced to be only ten episodes, and presumably, subsequent seasons could be equally short to allow scheduling to work out. I just can’t see all of these people agreeing to stretch themselves so thin over any extended period of time, though.

WAYWARD PINES has a lot of good ingredients. The question will be, did the chefs take some liberty with the recipe, tossing in the unique spices that will make it a fresh and delicious dish (like Lost), or did they follow the book exactly, making something bland and derivative (like Under The Dome)? The answer to this will be what makes or breaks this show.

WAYWARD PINES premieres Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.

Modern Family Throws a "Princess Party"

     ABC's Modern Family is nothing if not consistently funny. While other shows have great episodes, almost every week Modern Family has me rolling with laughter. Last night, with the help of a couple of great guest stars, not only did the show deliver, it left me with some unanswered questions, or really, wishes for things I want to see from the series in the future. For example, I am dying for a flashback episode where Jay and DeDe are still married. That's what sets "Princess Party" apart from other fantastic stories.

     For February sweeps, the show is bringing back successful characters from last year. Last week, we saw Phil's (Ty Burrell) alter ego Clive Bixby, as well as Claire's (Julie Bowen) Julianna. Last night featured the return of DeDe (Shelley Long), who is Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Claire's mother, and Fizbo, Cam's (Eric Stonestreet) clown character. Fizbo is over the top ridiculous, and not only did Cam pull him out, at first against Mitchell's wishes, for their daughter's birthday party, but he also tried a court jester variation with a cockney accent. Hilarious!

     Of course, DeDe was the real draw of the story. Claire struggled to keep it together while welcoming her mother into her home. DeDe brought a surprise - Claire's ex-boyfriend Robbie (Matt Dillon) - whom she had not told that Claire was married with three children. Never mind that, because DeDe was the one soon making out with Robbie, and then bringing him as a date to her granddaughter's birthday. Dillon apparently does sitcom well, coolly delivering some interesting back story on Claire and her family, and pulling off the perfect loser who thinks he's smooth.

     DeDe doesn't just stress out Claire. Jay (Ed O'Neill) and his much younger wife Gloria (Sofia Vergara) were not happy to see her, Phil was soon doubting whether he was liked by his mother-in-law, and Mitchell took her stunt as a personal affront, ruining Lily's party. This one woman has the ability to upset everyone in the family at once for completely different reasons, a rare trait, and one always welcome back on the show.

     While great guest stars are a good get for a successful sitcom, how well the show does really depends on the principal cast more than anything else. Modern Family has hands down one of the most talented ensembles on television. Almost every single main character had funny bits and one-liners in this episode, which doesn't always happen. Here's a partial list:

*Phil's kids tell him his hands smell like cheese. He replies, "I didn't want to dirty a knife". Later, after Phil touches Luke's hair, Claire comments that Luke (Nolan Gould) smells like cheese.

*As Phil asks the kids to go easy on Claire during DeDe's visit, Alex (Ariel Winter) enthusiastically offers to practice the cello, eliciting only reluctant agreements from her family.

*Gloria laments possibly skipping Lily's party, wondering if she's starting a trend that will mean missing "Haley's (Sarah Hyland) weddings", plural.

*When Mitchell finds out that DeDe is with Robbie, he reacts "No my god!", which will surely catch on as a wonderful phrase variation.

*Jay makes a not-so-nice comment about his ex-wife DeDe dating a much younger guy while standing right next to his much-younger second wife.

*Twice Mitchell predicts and intones totally casually, almsot bored, "Cue gasp" just as Cam gasps.

*As they finish recording Lily's audio book present, Manny (Rico Rodriguez) wants to re-record, realizing late that his character is a girl. Jay zings, "I think you nailed it." Confused, Manny asks, "What is that supposed to mean?" but Jay just smiles.

*In the ending tag, Cam professes that he can't believe Jay participated in such a great gift, just before the recorded Jay says that Cam will surely return the present anyway.

     Those are eight things just off the top of my head, not from a list I wrote down during the show. And the thing is, I could make a similar, if not longer, list every single week! If you are not watching Modern Family, get on it! You are seriously missing out!

     Modern Family airs Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Article first published as TV Review: Modern Family Throws a "Princess Party" on Blogcritics.

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