Aged AQUARIUS

Article originally published as AQUARIUS Review on Seat42F.

NBC’s new drama, AQUARIUS, premieres tonight. Set in the 1960s, it is inspired by the real-life story of cult leader Charles Manson, who manipulated women into sex and murder in Los Angeles. Because this is modern American broadcast network television, the show also stars the officers of the law who are tasked with taking Manson down. As if we need another cop show, even one that is, admittedly, a little different than most.

The first thing that strikes me about AQUARIUS is that, in structure, it is virtually identical to FOX’s The Following. Both series feature a cop with a younger sidekick who share the screen with a dangerous man who is seducing and influencing weak-willed followers into doing his dirty work for him. There are differences between the two programs, but they are almost all superficial, boiling down to the same base.

The problem with drawing this comparison is, AQUARIUS is inferior in virtually every way.

Mistake number one is the setting. It is extremely easy to fall into cliché when depicting the 1960s, and AQUARIUS does this a lot. The costumes and dialogue reflect cheesiness, much more so than is believable. When our leading man, Sam Hodiak (David Duchovny, Californication, The X-Files), is schooled by his partner, Brian Shafe (Grey Damon, Friday Night Lights), on the new Miranda rights, it feels like a heavy-handed attempt to remind us of where we are, and all the hippie clothing and pot smoke is nothing better than cartoonish.

But AQUARIUS doesn’t even commit to a full-fledged 60s stereotype, instead overlaying it with a very dark noir, the messed up detectives getting seedy in order to catch the crooks. This is especially evident with officer Tully (Claire Holt, The Vampire Diaries), her role being the epitome of a put-upon woman, and her actions reflecting that she sees herself as the second-class citizen that the men do.

I’m not complaining that AQUARIUS takes place in the 1960s; that would be foolish given that it is based on true events, and it would be worse to rewrite the tale with a modern take. What I’m complaining about is the design and approach the production takes towards this era. The setting is more than a time and a place, and the way this show tackles it is bad.

Overall, the cast is solid. Duchovny, in particular, is immensely watchable, no matter how poorly constructed his part is. Damon, Holt, Emma Dumont (Bunheads) as the main girl, Emma, that we see fall into Manson’s trap, and Brian F. O’Byrne (Flashforward) as her father, are all serviceable. A step below them is Michaela McManus (Law & Order: SVU) as Emma’s mother and Beau Mirchoff (Awkward.) as Emma’s boyfriend at the start, but they still do a decent job, too. I’ve seen them all in other projects, though, and they’re usually much more compelling than they are here, which I’m assuming is because of the material.

Manson himself is played by Game of Thrones’ Gethin Anthony, and again, while I like the actor, I’m not sold on the part. I can see how this Manson lures the girls in, but am less convinced of the threat he poses. Anthony doesn’t play Manson as scary, and I feel like AQUARIUS needs that element of horror in order to drive story tension. Without it, the plot sort of plods along with little urgency or direction.

I think NBC knows this one isn’t destined to be a hit. They’re dumping the entire thirteen-episode run on their website after tonight’s premiere, available for all to binge watch at their leisure (or at least for the next four weeks). That may be a gamble to drive word of mouth, but more likely, they don’t expect anything out of AQUARIUS and it’s an easy way to get rid of the product in short order, whether they end up airing the whole thing or not.

AQUARIUS airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, and is available at NBC.com.

Awake premieres tonight

NBC's new drama Awake premieres tonight, though the "Pilot" has been widely available online, so many have seen it already. The main character in Awake is Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs, Case Histories, the Harry Potter films), who is involved in a car accident with his family. He now lives in two separate realities. In one, he is a widower father to son Rex (Dylan Minnette, Saving Grace, Men of a Certain Age). In the other, Rex is dead, but Michael's wife, Hannah (Laura Allen, Terriers, Dirt), lives on. As two therapists try to help Michael navigate which world is real, his lives in both diverge further.

It is a shame that Awake does not begin with Michael first realizing the dual reality. The car wreck is shown, yes, but the real story of the episode begins sometime later, with Michael returning to work. By now, Michael is already set in the way he handles both versions of his life, using a colored rubber band on his wrist to tell them apart. Viewers miss that initial shock where Michael tries to figure out what is happening, and instead, pick up with him already settled with his lot. A wasted chance for great drama, to be sure.

Michael has no desire to know which world is real. Why would he? Accepting that one is a dream would cost him either his son or his wife, both of whom he loves dearly. As such, Michael decides to keep going on as is, with no motivation to be "cured" of whatever it is that is affecting him in this manner.

This is not good news to his therapists. Dr. Lee (BD Wong, Law & Order: SVU, Oz) is argumentative, trying to convince Michael that his reality is the real one. The other, Dr. Evans (Cherry Jones, 24, Signs), has a much gentler touch, but acts like she can disprove the alternate version, too. All this does is confuse Michael, and upset him, as he fears losing one of his worlds.

Despite the very well constructed "Pilot," it's hard to see where Awake will go from here. Will Michael become unhinged, as he seems to be doing in a disturbing scene with a knife? Will Drs. Evans and Lee do their best every week to convince Michael that they are in the real world, and Michael will keep resisting? With the therapists listed as main characters, there must be some movement in this story. However, if either one gets a serious edge, it risks unraveling the entire premise, and a permanent deadlock will be very difficult to keep interesting.

More likely, Awake is a standard crime procedural that tries to disguise itself as something more with a unique idea. In both versions of his life, Michael is a detective. In the "Pilot," he works on two different cases, one in each reality, with two different partners. But the clues from each case inform on the other, and so, somehow, he manages to figure both out much quicker than his colleagues. This interconnection is done in such a way that viewers will find it impossible to tell which one is just the dream, keeping folks guessing where the originate from.

There is also a possible romantic plot in the world where Rex lives, with tennis coach Tara (Michaela McManus, The Vampire Diaries, Law & Order: SVU) clearly interested in Michael. Of course, this is a non-starter, because Michael believes he is still married. A devoted husband, there is just no way that he will go for two relationships at once. More likely, this plot is simply a device that will force Michael to tell Rex about the other life. Hopefully Rex will handle the information a little better than Hannah does, which again, is told instead of shown, since it happens before the action of the "Pilot" begins.

The acting in Awake is fantastic, of course. With a slate of veterans, led by the terrific Isaacs, it has to be. Aside from those mentioned above, The Practice's Steve Harris plays Michael's long-time partner, while in the second universe, Michael works with rookie Efrem Vega (Wilmer Valderrama, That '70s Show, Handy Manny). Both fit nicely, the latter, surprisingly so. But will these great performers want to stick around when the material grows stale, which seems a likely prospect, sooner rather than later?

Great "Pilot," Awake. Now prove you can do something with it, because the early signs are not good. Awake airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

MORE: If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Article first published as TV Review: Awake - "Pilot" on Blogcritics.