INTELLIGENCE Questioned

Article first published as TV Review: INTELLIGENCE on Seat42F.

Today, NBC’s new streaming service, Peacock, premiered (among other things) a British comedy series called INTELLIGENCE. First airing on Sky and posted on streaming Now TV in the UK, the six-episode series (first installment free to non-subscribers) follows an intelligence agency investigating cyber crimes who has just received an obnoxious NSA agent as liaison.

The first thing that strikes me is that INTELLIGENCE feels tonally similar to Netflix’s Space Force. There are very amusing bits and a great cast that is totally committing, but the show isn’t all that funny on its face. Which doesn’t mean it couldn’t be hilarious; all the key ingredients are there. It just isn’t yet, going through some weird, awkward humor that doesn’t quite land.

The Steve Carell of INTELLIGENCE is NSA agent Jerry Bernstein (David Schwimmer, Friends). Jerry clearly was not appreciated nor accomplished in the United States, despite what he says. But he’s exotic enough to the English that many seem to hold him up quite high, and he leans into that, pretending to be the hero. Unlike Carell’s Space Force commander, Jerry isn’t actually in charge. He also lacks the heart, caring about boosting his own profile, rather than helping others succeed, determined to be looked up to in this new environment where no one actually knows him.

The true boss of the office is Chris Clark (Sylvestra Le Touzel, The Crown), a no-nonsense leader whose underlings rarely meet her expectations. It feels quite strange that someone as put together as Chris has allowed this team of misfits to flourish while bucking her authority and seeming inept at almost all times. One has to wonder if she has no control over office staffing. Or perhaps this team is very effective and the audience just hasn’t seen it yet. Either way, Jerry clashes with Chris, even though Chris is bending over backwards to be accommodatingy, while stopping short of letting him run all over her.

The rest of the department (besides extras) is made up of fanboy Joseph Harries (Nick Mohammed, The Martian), cool hacker Tuva Olsen (Gana Bayarsaikhan, Wonder Woman), airhead secretary Evelyn (Eliot Salt, Normal People), and clueless mess Mary (Jane Stanness, Sally4Ever). All four seem to be some sort of stereotype. Mary looks like she could be Professor Trelawney’s sister. Only Tuva acts like she can accomplish things, but her role in the pilot is mainly to be hit on by Jerry. Hopefully, she won’t sleep with him. But given the type of show INTELLIGENCE is, it seems likely she will.

The office itself is much more The Office than Alias or any other spy show. It would be at home in a business park, mostly anyway. While there is great-looking technology, there’s also stained, threadbare carpet and dull walls. The HR department takes a week to even issue a pass, and the lobby is less than impressive. There’s a bureaucratic drabness that works well and takes away from the high tech setting one might expect in a delightful way.

Now, I’ve only seen the first of six episodes as I write this, but if the other five are anything like the pilot, we’re in for a season that has a few authentic, earned laughs each installment, but never really takes off. Which is a shame, because all the actors are really giving it their all, and there isn’t a weak link among them. All deserve to be on a solid series, so hopefully this will get there in its already-ordered second outing. Or maybe even its first, past episode one.

INTELLIGENCE is streaming now on Peacock, which you can watch via phone, browser, and only a few other devices, not including popular options like Roku and Amazon Fire.

Not-So BRAVE NEW WORLD?

Article first published as TV Review: BRAVE NEW WORLD on Seat42F.

Peacock, the new NBC streaming service that launched today, wants to take you to a BRAVE NEW WORLD. The book by Aldous Huxley gets a nine-episode television adaptation, with two episodes free to everyone and the other seven for subscribers only. For this review, I watched only the first two.

BRAVE NEW WORLD is one of my favorite books, though it’s been a little while since I read it. Many of the familiar elements are present in this version, such as the extreme caste society. On the higher end, everyone is connected at all times by a network, and are barred from any privacy, monogamy, or pregnancy. Children are genetically engineered from birth and raised in groups, rather than by parents. Out in the desert live the ‘savages,’ or people closer to what we have today, who still marry. But they’re violent and miserable, while the ones in the New World are happy. If they’re not happy, there are plenty of drugs readily available to make them so.

Most of the main characters are there, too. Bernard Marx (Harry Lloyd, Game of Thrones) is near the top of the food chain as an Alpha Plus. But he’s a little off. He soon becomes taken with B+ Lenina Crowne (Jessica Brown Findlay, Downton Abbey), who experimented with a single partner for a while. Together, they journey to the Savage Land and meet John (Alden Ehrenreich, Solo: A Star Wars Story), who is being raised by single mom Linda (Demi Moore, Empire). But revolution breaks out while they’re there. While back at home, the Director (Ed Stoppard, Knightfall) and Mustafa Mond (Nina Sosanya, Good Omens) try to figure out why CJack60 (Joseph Morgan, The Originals) is acting funny after the death of his friend.

But there are quite a few differences, too. The character of Helm (Hannah John-Kamen, Killjoys) is quite a bit different from her literary counterpart. And the Savage Land is a lot more developed and fleshed out, with more action going down there. I’m not sure if these additions are designed to build a world that can keep going past the initial adaptation of the novel, inevitably a one-season project, or if they’re just meant to enhance aspects of the story that aren’t explored all that much on the page.

Neither the Enlightened nor the Savages have it all that good. There are pluses and minuses to both worlds. Sure, the Savages have more freedom, but they also have less overall, and are treated like dirt, made to play for the amusement of the advanced society. Either one of these two worlds could make up a post-apocalyptic landscape, and combining them is both interesting and a bit confusing because it’s hard to know which side to root for. Don’t we want things to get better? But at what cost? With more focus on the Savage place, this springs fully to light.

What might be remarkable is that the main ideas presented in BRAVE NEW WORLD no longer feel new. There have been so many dystopian series, especially as of late, that have borrowed elements from the source material that this one almost feels like a repeat of what’s come after the book. I’m not sure if that’s a testament to how far Huxley could see into the future, or just proof that good ideas are often stolen and done to death. With Westworld, Altered Carbon, Black Mirror, and so many others, does BRAVE NEW WORLD stand a chance of breaking through?

I guess, maybe. There’s some fine acting, though it stops short of breathtaking (which I’m not sure is fully the actors’ fault). The obligatory sex and danger is present in this iteration of BRAVE NEW WORLD, and that keeps the pacing moving. I’m not sure these particular ideas are begging to be explored again on screen, but they are always relevant. I liked it, but didn’t fall in love the way I expected to. Still, I want to finish watching.

The biggest obstacle BRAVE NEW WORLD faces is the platform it is on. Peacock rudely launched without much access for those who don’t enjoy watching TV on a phone or browser. Certain Smart TVs can access it, and it works with Chromecast. But it lacks an app on Amazon Fire, Roku, TiVo, or other streaming devices. Personally, I was very annoyed at the hoops I had to jump through to watch, and hope Peacock gets its act together if it wants to succeed. Then again, at a too-high price tag ($9.99/month for the ad-free version without nearly the catalogue that Netflix or Hulu boasts), do we even need another streaming service? Maybe it would be easier for another streamer to absorb the content.

BRAVE NEW WORLD is available now exclusively on Peacock.

Visiting MIDNIGHT, TEXAS

Article first published as MIDNIGHT, TEXAS Season 2 Set Visit on Seat42F. (many more photos available at this link)

NBC’s MIDNIGHT, TEXAS returns for a second season this Friday. If you missed season one last summer, there’s still time to catch up on all ten episodes through Hulu. Or you can just jump in when it returns. But assuming you caught the show, based on the books by Charlaine Harris (True Blood), here’s a bit of a preview for season two, cobbled together from interviews during a recent set visit.

And yes, there will be spoilers. This is a preview, after all.

Season two picks up basically where the first year left off. A hotel has opened in sleepy Midnight, founded by new characters Patience (Jaime Ray Newman, The Punisher) and Kai Lucero (Nestor Carbonell, Bates Motel). They are gypsies who have been going from town to town healing people. They’ve faced some skeptics, and they found some believers. Now they’re ready to settle down and open up a more permanent shop. And they’ve chosen Midnight as the location, an invading presence in a town still trying to settle down from the last big event.

Carbonell, whom you may recognize from Lost, and who was sought after because the new show-runners worked with him on Ringer, looked to Reiki as a way to ground the character. He says the cast is made up of the nicest people, all so welcoming and willing to take big swings, and open to trying things in new ways. He’s very happy to have joined the ensemble. Carbonell learned to trust the moment and the director on Lost, especially during his 13-day shoot (a normal episode takes about eight days) on his character’s backstory episode, which was far different than he had imagined. Now, he brings those skills and experience to MIDNIGHT, TEXAS.

The hotel itself is a sprawling, impressive, versatile set, featuring a pool in the lobby that will definitely get some use. It’s a big of a departure for sleepy, lived-in Midnight. The building is also apparently “so much worse than just being haunted; you’ll wish that was the only problem.”

The hotel isn’t the only thing new that has come to MIDNIGHT, TEXAS. With showrunner Monica Owusu-Breen having left to oversee the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot (which the cast universally insists she will ‘slay’), writer duo Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder (Supernatural), who worked on season one, have stepped into her shoes.

Nicole and Eric said their instructions for season two were clear: make it soapier, sexier, and scarier – essentially, like True Blood, but for network television. (Though not with the obvious move, bringing in Quinn, the weretiger character who appears in both book series. He’s still MIA this year.) With much of the material of the trilogy of books having been covered in the first two seasons, they also had a goal to set up the world for a much longer, larger, more dynamic story.

Everyone involved in the production seems to agree that they have succeeded in this. The action is more sprawling, no longer confined to Midnight, and more serialized. The cast claims the two-hour finale, which they were shooting during the set visit, and which involved a lot of night shooting, will blow your mind. Nothing has been spared.

Oh, and the great Jaime Murray (Defiance, Warehouse 13) has also come on board in an ‘integral’ role, though details about her part were not revealed.

Of course, not everything is about the new cast and sets. Fan favorite characters are well-served, too, with blossoming relationships explored and a threat coming from within, leaving you to wonder who is friend and who is foe.

Manfred (Francois Arnaud) still has to deal with the black ooze coming out of his ear at the end of season one. Plagued by “demon cancer,” he’s not quite himself as the story gets back underway. And he is beset by nightmares that aren’t just nightmares. Can he vanquish demons not just from the outside world, but from within himself, too?

At least it’ll be easy to hide the illness from his squeeze, Creek (Sarah Ramos), who is away at school, and so not around to catch him behaving badly. (Although Ramos is no longer a series lead, she will appear in season two of MIDNIGHT, TEXAS.)

Bobo (Dylan Bruce) has a few different things to contend with. For one, he’s bought the Cartoon Saloon, giving the place a Merlot’s-like feel. Second, he is enjoying his new relationship with Fiji (Parisa Fitz-Henley), his best friend.

Though, things will not necessarily go swimmingly for them. Haunted by past mistakes, Fiji has a lot about herself to figure out. Not to mention, being with her is going to endanger Bobo with a Final Destination-esque plot. So let’s hope the couple can get through that and come out the other side alive.

Perhaps a bit less dramatic is the wedded bliss of Olivia (Arielle Kebbel) and Lem (Peter Mensah). The couple has a few things to work on, such as re-decorating their shared living space into something suitable for them both, and the psychic connection they now have after Lem drank Olivia’s blood. But those aren’t deadly issues. Just fun.

Olivia has had a lot of emotional pain in her life, and this season will provide some healing. Not that she’s stopped being a badass assassin; quite the opposite. But she needs to learn how to embrace the wonderful parts of life, too, and to figure out how to be strong enough to be vulnerable.

Kebbel also promises satisfying, big resolution between Olivia and Madonna (Kellee Stewart), who was revealed to be working for Olivia’s father at the end of last season.

Then there’s Joe (Jason Lewis), whom after a millennia of hiding, is trying to figure out what his life is now. This will lead to some fresh temptations for the angel, and Joe will be forced to confront the person he was.

Which is not to say that season two of MIDNIGHT, TEXAS is backwards-looking. While the past does play into character development, it’s used to inform how the characters grow moving forward, not driving the plot as it sometimes did in season one.

It’s been said that Friday nights are a great night for genre television on the broadcast networks, and with MIDNIGHT, TEXAS moving into the regular season – albeit for a nine-episode run this fall, rather than trying to complete a full twenty-some episodes – let’s hope that stays true. The new and expanded sets look great, the story teased is intriguing, and the cast and crew seem to be having a lot of fun. I look forward to going along for the ride with them.

MIDNIGHT, TEXAS begins its second season this Friday on NBC.

THE Just-As-GOOD PLACE

Article first published as THE GOOD PLACE Season 2 Premiere Review on Seat42F.

NBC’s most innovative current sitcom, THE GOOD PLACE, is back for a second season this week. The story picks up right where last year ended, with Michael resetting his world of psychological torture and starting over with his quartet of victims, who discovered they were actually in The Bad Place. Things in the premiere begin slowly, following the lead humans one by one as they re-enter Michael’s new version of hell, with only Eleanor’s confusing clue, hastily stuffed in Janet’s mouth, to guide them back to the truth. But true to form, THE GOOD PLACE doesn’t stop there, barely a pause before it jets off to something else.

What I love best about THE GOOD PLACE, besides the excellent cast, beautiful production design, imaginative spirit, direction, plot twists… OK, so I love a lot about this show. But one of the things that really stands out in the freshman year is that every time viewers think they know what’s going on, the premise takes a sharp turn in another direction, constantly keeping you on your toes. The plot doesn’t move in a straight line, zig zagging all over the place, rarely predictable.

Having watched the first four half-hours of season two, I can happily confirm this trend very much continues. Beginning the experience over again is merely a starting point, not a roadmap for the entire season. There are some very unexpected occurrences, culminating in what the ‘new normal’ becomes in episode four, which looks like it could hold steady for a bit. But the only thing I’m certain of is, that framework probably won’t last very long, either.

That doesn’t mean things are completely unfamiliar in season two. Besides the well-established personalities of Eleanor (Kristen Bell), Chidi (William Jackson Harper), Tahani (Jameela Jamil), and Jason (Manny Jacinto), we now know a lot of rules and elements that make up this world. For instance, Michael (Ted Danson) is the architect, but he answers to mean boss Shawn (Marc Evan Jackson, Thrilling Adventure Hour), who doesn’t approve of Michael’s experiment. Janet (D’Arcy Carden) is the artificial intelligence assistant to everyone, and is reset every time the participants are. Mindy St. Claire (Maribeth Monroe) exists in a space between the Good and Bad places. I don’t mention all of these just for fun; they all are part of the series’ fabric, and thus are things that can be used again without needing to slow down and explain them. Meaning the pacing picks up in this second batch, rejuggling familiar elements, while tossing in new ones.

One of the prime new things worth talking about is that the demon denizens of The Good Place are starting to develop personalities. Or, they probably always had them, but we finally get to see them. While we still don’t know ‘Real Eleanor’s (Toya Sircar) name, she is definitely more active in the proceedings than she was. Through her and others, we get more information about how Michael is viewed by his peers and underlings, and it is enlightening. I’m hopeful other recurring players will get more material in the coming weeks, too.

All of these things make for a very enjoyable experience, comfortable, yet still fresh. I don’t know for sure that the writers, led by Michael Schur, know where they’re going. But there are enough elements introduced previously paying off now that I feel there’s at least a pretty good handle on the world and its rules. As to how long this chaos can be kept up, that’s anyone’s guess. But I’m quite happy to have the show back, and bingeing four episodes back-to-back did nothing to lessen my anticipation of the next installment.

THE GOOD PLACE returns with an hour-long premiere Wednesday at 10 ET on NBC.

Not TAKEN With This One

Article first published as TAKEN Review on Seat42F.

Tired of the trend of movies turned into television shows yet? Me, too, but that doesn’t mean the networks are going to stop trying any time soon. Tonight, NBC jumps in with TAKEN, a prequel to the movies bearing the same title. Well, sort of a prequel because the technology used by the characters is from our present day, not set in the past. But character-wise, this is the back story for the lead guy.

TAKEN the series begins with Bryan Mills (Vikings’ Clive Standen taking over for Liam Neeson) out of the special forces, but not yet working for the CIA. He has done things that have made some people mad, terrorists mostly, and they want revenge. So the people that Bryan cares about are put in danger as his past catches up with him in violent ways. Yep, consistent with the big screen Mills.

This violence is the core of TAKEN, as far as I can tell. In the first hour alone, I’d estimate almost half of it involves sneaking around, fighting, and shooting. From the adrenaline-pumping, tragic opening, to the climactic showdown, this is, by and large, a popcorn adventure, with much more focus on action than on character development.

In fact, while there are some character moments in this pilot, I would argue that there really isn’t any notable character development in the first episode, nor will I expect to see any in future episodes. Bryan seems more or less the same person at the beginning as he is at the end, and will remain roughly the same individual in the films. There is a very stagnant consistency that is disappointing. It would be far more interesting to see Bryan grow into a badass than to have him ready-made this way. Though, given his established background, I guess TAKEN would have to start much earlier in his story to do that kind of arc.

While everything is happening to Bryan and he’s running around, the perspective does frequently switch back to Christina Hart (Jennifer Beals, The L Word, Flashdance) and her CIA team. They are watching Bryan, trying to decide when and if they should recruit him. Given that Beals and several of the others are listed as main players, it should be no surprise that they make a decision in the affirmative pretty quickly; Bryan has to join them before things can really start. But the inclusion of the various team members that make up the core ensemble indicate that TAKEN will be a series of procedural missions, the obvious way to go with this series, and a format TV definitely does not need any more of.

I will say, given that TAKEN is on NBC, rather than CBS or FOX, it does feel a little less formulaic than it otherwise might. NBC doesn’t typically box in their series so stringently, and that does come across in episode one. There are also some shades of the network’s Hannibal (a beautiful, brilliant show that is the exception to the bad adaptation rule) in the tone and style, though that comparison only hurts TAKEN, as it doesn’t live up to that other work by any measure. But what I’m saying is, while TAKEN isn’t good, it could be worse if airing elsewhere.

The best thing that could happen to TAKEN is a quick death. It doesn’t appear it’ll be one of the greats, and the last thing we need is another mediocre series. A fair number of people like the movies (not myself, but I know a few), so why not let those stand on their own for what they are instead of tainting them with a lackluster pseudo-prequel? It would be a mercy to the fans and viewers in general for this to get yanked quickly.

TAKEN premieres tonight at 10/9c on NBC.

Not Your Grandma's EMERALD CITY

Article first published as EMERALD CITY Review on Seat42F.

I’m a big fan of The Wizard of Oz. Not just the MGM movie, though that is great, but the world of Oz in general. As a child, I devoured all fourteen of L. Frank Baum’s books over and over again. And while no faithful adaptation has yet been made (at least not that I’m aware of), a fact that is very disappointing to me, I have enjoyed some of the more interesting modern versions, such as SyFy’s Tin Man and the Broadway musical Wicked, as well as Gregory Maguire’s series of Wicked books. So it was with great anticipation that I sat down to sample NBC’s new drama, EMERALD CITY.

What EMERALD CITY does right is use more of the Oz mythology than most works. The Judy Garland film is actually quite a bit departed from the written work, but even then, only makes use of the first in the series. There are a rich tapestry of characters and corners of the land that are not explored in that initial offering, and while Disney’s horrible movie Return to Oz combined books two and three (since the second is the only one Dorothy isn’t in), most projects that tackle Oz ignore the other thirteen volumes. I feel this is a mistake that EMERALD CITY at least partially corrects.

Dorothy (Adria Arjona, True Detective) is the star, which is likely the right move, given that she is the character most people are familiar with. But the other central player in the books, which the second one centered around, is Tip (Jordan Loughran, Evermoor). Those who have read them will assume where EMERALD CITY is going with the boy, long held prisoner by a lesser witch, and who is extremely important to the land as a whole. I feel like this television series will likely pay that off based on what I’ve seen so far, though I’m not convinced Tip’s importance will be as high as it is on the page.

Other main players include familiar characters like The Wizard (Vincent D’Onofrio, Daredevil, Law & Order: Criminal Intent), Glinda (Joely Richardson, Nip/Tuck, the Patriot), West (Ana Ularu, Inferno), as in The Wicked Witch of the, Tip’s pal, Jack (Gerran Howell, Young Dracula), and Lucas (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, NBC’s Dracula).

Now, while Lucas is lacking straw, he’s clearly some version of The Scarecrow, and Jack has got to be Jack Pumpkinhead, though he appears to be perfectly human. This is something EMERALDN CITY does wrong, in my opinion. Although magic is part of this Oz, there are no magical creatures, which is essential element of any Oz tale. It doesn’t quite feel right if everyone is human, as is the case here, and that certainly takes away from the overall mythology.

Besides the witches, there are supernatural elements, including prophecy and giants, but these start to build a world that isn’t Oz. These are something else. Which makes me wonder if perhaps the show shouldn’t have ditched the Oz tie-ins completely and just done something completely different. It feels like sometimes too much effort is made to use a familiar property when originality would be the better way to go. Renaming the realm, the witches, and the protagonist could depart it enough to give EMERALD CITY more freedom without needing to give up the things they kept in common.

It also seems that EMERALD CITY may ditch the inaccessibility of Oz, including the nearby land of Ev, another element from the books, in the show as well, but presumably making it easier to come and go from Oz, with no sign of the deadly desert completely surrounding it. Like using the name Ojo (Olafur Darri Olafsson, The Missing) but failing to make this Ojo anything like the one Baum wrote, some of the choices seem like they were made purely to name drop something without actually using the source material. This seems odd.

None of this matters as much as the overall feel of the show, though, which is that of a lower quality program (except for the special effects). The action isn’t gripping, and none of the performances engage the viewer as much as one would wish. Despite having a couple of decently-known performers, EMERALD CITY feels more like it belongs on SyFy than network television, not quite at the level of a mainstream program. Parts of it are boring or confusing, and I am not sold on the core plot thread. The witches don’t feel powerful, I don’t buy Oz himself being in charge for this much time, and tying Dorothy’s past into the land is unnecessary and weird.

Also, where are the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion? I mean, come on! And Toto is a German Shepherd? Seriously? OK, now I’m just being breed-ist, but that one does hurt a bit, more than any other casting decision.

I don’t hate EMERALD CITY as much as many critics do; I actually continued right to the third hour after the double-length pilot. But there is nothing in those initial installments that makes me think I’ll rank it up there with the films and novels listed in the opening paragraph. I wonder how much of my continued viewing will be based in my high regard for the central property, rather than the merits of the series itself, which seem a bit lacking, though there are some intriguing bits throughout.

EMERALD CITY premieres this Friday at 9/8c on NBC.

Not a TIMELESS Classic

Article first published as TIMELESS Review on Seat42F.

NBC, which does sometimes do some light sci-fi drama, has a new genre series this fall called TIMELESS. A gang of armed men break into a laboratory and steal a fully functioning time machine, intent to travel into our past and screw things up. Luckily, the facility still has their more basic prototype and assembles a small team to go after them and save history. Will they succeed, or is everything we know about to be changed?

Abigail Spencer (Rectify) stars as Lucy Preston, a history professor caring for an ailing mother who has just been denied tenure. She, along with an elite soldier, Wyatt Logan (Matt Lanter, 90210), are recruited by Agent Denise Christopher (Sakina Jaffrey, House of Cards) to chase the villain, Garcia Flynn (Goran Visnjic, ER), across the ages. Scientist Rufus Carlin (Malcolm Barrett, Better Off Ted) is sent along with them because he knows how to use the equipment, even though there are some justifiable concerns that his darker skin color may be a hindrance before civil rights kicked in.

I really want to like TIMELESS. It’s not like any other show currently airing, especially not on a broadcast network. (It is admittedly sort of like DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, but since that is about superheroes, I think they’re different enough.) It has a cool concept and a decent cast. It definitely has mythology, backstory, and a serial arc, meaning it won’t just be a case-of-the-week series. For these reasons, it deserves a little consideration.

The make-up of the group makes sense, the scientist, the historian, and the soldier. The motivation of the bad guy is still hazy, but what has been said about it is interesting and begs further exploration. The rules for time travel as followed in TIMELESS also seem to be well thought out. I didn’t find any huge, obvious plot holes.

But there’s a general sense of shallowness to the whole program. The characters do have families and personal lives that play into their actions, but in a very superficial way. We’re told something about that character, and that immediately influences the plot in a very straight-forward way. There isn’t a lot of wondering who we can trust, or if there’s something someone isn’t talking about that might get in the way down the road. It’s kind of what you see is what you get.

There is also definitely the impression that while there be an ongoing story, a large portion of each hour will be devoted to action adventure and fist fights. Not bloody stuff, mind you; this series seems to take a family-friendly, tame approach. For example, when one character briefly wields a knife, I didn’t feel for a second she’d be able to swipe and draw blood with it, and indeed, she does not. So there’s a sanitized type of violence that feels more at home on television in the previous century than today.

Even the twists later in the hour, while interesting, seem easy to screw up. There is one very obvious one and one less so, but given the lack of depth present at the start, and the direct way the story unfolds, I don’t have confidence that these things are going to pan out in a cool way. I know I’m being vague, and part of that is to protect readers from plot spoilers, but part of it is because this complaint is more about an overall feeling I get while watching, rather than details I can point to to back up my judgement.

Overall, I like TIMELESS, but I don’t love it. My sense is that it will be like Revolution, with a cool premise that doesn’t live up to what viewers want from it.

TIMELESS premieres Monday, October 3^rd at 10/9c on NBC.

THE Very GOOD PLACE

Article first published as THE GOOD PLACE Review on Seat42F.

THE GOOD PLACE will be on NBC Thursdays at 8:30PM. No, I’m not saying whatever show fills that time slot is good, though in the case of THE GOOD PLACE, it’s very good. It’s the title of a new sitcom about a woman who mistakenly goes to the wrong afterlife and her attempts to stay there. No, it’s not too sacrilegious, not attacking any faith in particular nor bashing religion much. Yes, it is clever, fresh, and funny.

Kristen Bell (House of Lies, Bad Moms, Veronica Mars) stars as Eleanor Shellstrop, a former pharmaceutical salesperson who cheated old people out of their money for ineffective drugs, and who died in a very embarrassing manner. Mistaken for an altruistic woman of the same name, Eleanor finds herself in what we might call heaven, a small city with lots of frozen yogurt, no cursing, and (mostly) very large houses.

Who would build such a place? Well, that’s the work of Michael (Ted Danson, Fargo, Cheers), a brand-new architect who has just created this town as his first solo project. As such, I guess there are bound to be a few mistakes as he figures his way through.

Eleanor doesn’t want Michael to find out about this particular mistake, though, because that would mean she has to go someplace worse. So what we’ve got is a bad person taking advantage of a bunch of good people. I mean, the other tact to take would be to become a good person herself, and I won’t say that Eleanor won’t try to do that, but it seems much more likely she’ll take the easy path as much as possible, given what we know about her.

One of the first things Eleanor does is drag in an accomplice, Chidi (William Jackson Harper, True Story, The Electric Company), the other Eleanor’s soulmate. Right away, that tells us something about her and how she’ll handle the situation, which makes absolute sense as we learn the type of person she was.

I feel like there might be something going on in THE GOOD PLACE that isn’t immediately obvious. Is the whole thing a test for Eleanor? Is this her purgatory? Is this place not as ideal as it seems? Do the architects make mistakes so often? Is Chidi really this Eleanor’s soul-mate, both forced to grow through interacting with one another?

Or is this a story about two screw ups, Eleanor and Michael, who are in a bit over their heads and have to find their way? That could certainly be equally compelling, and is the more straight-forward way to take the premise.

For either of those two theories to be fully realized, THE GOOD PLACE must get multiple seasons on the air. I adore Bell and Danson, and these two characters are terrific for them, allowing them each a showcase to shine. I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode, both in terms of premise and cast, the latter of which also includes Jameela Jamil (the DJ and writer), Manny Jacinto (The Romeo Section), and D’Arcy Carden (Broad City). I am very excited to watch more of it.

But I do worry it’ll be too high-concept for broadcast network audiences. It reminds me a little of The Neighbors in that we’re seeing a bit of hyper-reality and characters we can’t necessarily relate to. This doesn’t make the series any less entertaining, and in fact, is a good sign in my book. But viewers can be fickle, and I worry THE GOOD PLACE won’t catch on the way that it should. I’m hoping the two very recognizable leads (who are also very talented, but that’s less important in the context of this point) will draw people in to at least give it a try. As long as its potential audience is aware of it, I think it’ll succeed.

THE GOOD PLACE premieres Monday, September 19^th at 10/9c, before settling in its normal timeslot Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c.

THIS IS US And We're Lovely

Article first published as THIS IS US Review on Seat42F.

Are you missing Parenthood? NBC must understand because, while the Bravermans are not slated to return any time soon, a new drama looking to fill that place in your heart is on its way. Called THIS IS US, it’s far from a clone of that wonderful, much-missed series, but it does tug at many of the same emotional heart strings as a number of stories play out.

At the onset, we are introduced to four individuals who share a birthday, all turning thirty-six. There’s: Kevin (Justin Hartley, Smallville, The Young and the Restless), an actor frustrated with a sitcom that has made him a star, but that he considers beneath him; Kate (Chrissy Metz, American Horror Story: Freak Show), an extremely overweight woman who is desperately trying to lose the pounds; Randall (Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story), an adopted man seeking the druggie father who abandoned him (Ron Cephas Jones, Mr. Robot); and an expectant father, Jack (Milo Ventimiglia, Heroes, Gilmore Girls), whose wife, Rebecca (Mandy Moore, Tangled), is going into labor with triplets.

The above plot threads may seem carefully calculated to tug at the heart strings, and they probably are. After all, drama writers have to know how to write drama that will land with viewers. Yet, it doesn’t feel forced, the performances of all lending themselves to a very authentic-seeming story with a bunch of people you will quickly come to care about. Like the best of the primetime stuff, it can be a bit more than the normal person goes through, but it avoids the soapy ridiculousness of the more comedy-leaning programs.

There are supporting characters, too, as there must be to keep the stories going. In the core cast is Randall’s wife, Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson, Louie), and a love interest for Kate, fellow fat support group member Toby (Chris Sullivan, The Knick). The latter gets more development initially, and he has some rough edges, but I think both will be fine players in future installments, which will surely use them as more than just small, side parts.

Clearly present are strong themes of family and acceptance, the two main viewpoints expressed, and ones worth hanging a show on. There are bonds here that we will (hopefully) almost all relate to, and characters that are immediately sympathetic. It’s good stuff.

The closest THIS IS US comes to breaking new ground is probably in Kate’s story. We’re not used to seeing people quite so heavy on television, and especially not in a leading role like this. Yes, Mike and Molly existed, but it was by and large (no pun intended) a comedy that played with stereotypes, and its subversion of the norm was less blatant. THIS IS US goes head-on tackling the issues, motivations, and sorrows for someone who is struggling with body size, and it may do for the overweight what series like Will & Grace and Modern Family did for gays. Specifically, teach viewers to have more compassion for their fellow human beings, promoting understanding of the problems real people struggle with. I dig it.

Given the type of series this is and the way the first hour unfolds, if you’ve watched much of this type of television at all, you’ll begin to wonder where the connections between the characters are. Aside from the show Touch, one expects everyone to connect pretty solidly in an ensemble cast like this. And while I refuse to spoil anything, I will say that I called the ending “twist” by midway through the episode. However, I wasn’t completely sure I was right until it actually played out because it’s a bit of a tricky one, and it does something I didn’t expect a show like this to do. Kudos for some interesting writing.

THIS IS US premieres Tuesday, September 20th at 10/9c on NBC.

Keep Quiet About GAME OF SILENCE

Article first published as GAME OF SILENCE Review on Seat42F.

NBC’s latest drama, GAME OF SILENCE, is based on a Turkish show. Four best friends went through a traumatic experience in their childhood that changed everything for them. Now, as adults, they remain scarred by their experience, and at least one of them would like to do something about it. Are they getting in over their heads?

Honestly, I don’t like GAME OF SILENCE very much. The story is somewhat interesting and seems constructed well enough. They cast is fine. Events are over the top to the point where they don’t seem believable, but one could say the same about most television shows. Superficially, it seems like a good premise. So what is it that doesn’t sit right with me?

Well, for one, the characters are a little flat. The central protagonist is Jackson Brooks (David Lyons, Revolution), who has left the old neighborhood behind to become a lawyer. Everything is going right in his life before the others come back, engaged to an intelligent, beautiful woman (Claire van der Boom, Hawaii Five-O) and about to make partner, a very tired set up. Yet, while Jackson resists giving that up when his buddies ask for his help, he doesn’t exactly stay out of things. Why did he try so hard to leave in the first place if he wasn’t going to stay out?

There is a girl the group looked out for, Jessie (Bre Blair, Last Vegas), whom Jackson used to have a thing for. Now, Jessie is with someone else, but that feels false, too. It seems like TV programs always have to force a love triangle, and this one feels particularly strained, given who her current partner is. How many folks in real life break up with one person and then start dating their friend? It doesn’t seem such a common occurrence, and I struggle to comprehend why the characters in GAME OF SILENCE felt this would be OK. The formula is sometimes acceptable when the story justifies it enough or there are fitting distractions from it, but that is not the case this time.

The other players are even more underdeveloped, at least at the start. Jackson’s gang, which includes Gil (Michael Raymond-James, True Blood), Boots (Derek Phillips, Friday Night Lights), and Shawn (Larenz Tate, House of Lies), all appear to be one-note, despite the fact that they are all played by recognizable faces from quality shows. Viewers are shown what the guys want, but not why exactly, and while to some degree that is being saved for frequent flashbacks, more could easily be done to differentiate their personalities and motivations than is present.

GAME OF SILENCE feels a lot like a number of films and miniseries from the past few decades. Some kids got into trouble, and then it comes back to bite them. From It to Mystic River, the main premise has been done before at a higher quality level. Why make something that so obviously invites comparisons if it’s not going to stand up to the level of what’s come before it?

That’s probably my biggest problem with GAME OF SILENCE. It just doesn’t feel fresh and exciting. It’s almost like I’ve already seen it before, even though I know I haven’t. It relies far too much on the familiar and the cliché, rather than building a world that viewers can get lost in. With the steep competition on the airwaves today, it’s got to do better than this to stand out. I applaud NBC for making something that’s not just another crime drama, but am disappointed by the lack of creativity that went into something like this.

GAME OF SILENCE premieres Tuesday, April 12 at 10/9c on NBC.

SHADES OF BLUE Make Me Blue

Article first published as SHADES OF BLUE Review on Seat42F.

With broadcast networks dying rapidly, NBC (like FOX, ABC, and CBS) doubles down on crime shows, the latest being SHADES OF BLUE, premiering this week. Set in a close-knit unit in Brooklyn, the series finds Harlee Santos (Jennifer Lopez, American Idol) entrapped by the FBI and forced to rat on the people she loves so that she can continue to be present as the sole parent for her daughter (Sarah Jeffery, Rogue).

The cast is quite a good ensemble. Lopez is joined by Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) as boss Matt “Woz” Wozniak, Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos) as fellow detective Tess Nazario, Warren Kole (The Following) as FBI handler Robert Stahl, and others.

They are not as well used as they should be, though. True, the characters end up being pretty believable, for the most part, and there are few glaring missteps that pull viewers out of the moment. But neither is there any chance for a single one of them to shine all that much. Lopez gets the meatiest stuff, but either she isn’t up to showing the necessary layers, or has purposely made the choice to not allow Harlee to express as much as one expects from this type of role. This is usually the type of Emmy bait a performer loves, but Lopez pulls back. Liotta does better when he gets the opportunity, but that doesn’t come until quite late, and I have doubts about how much he’ll be allowed similar moments in the future.

My doubts mainly stem from my opinion that the writing is mediocre. The pilot starts off with some very cheesy dialogue and ridiculous exchanges, which admittedly get better as the hour progresses, but never rises to any level that impresses. There is a compelling narrative within, the cop forced to become a double agent, which starts to come out as the installment goes on. But it’s not examined enough, nor are the implications really dwelt on. I know this is a single episode I’m judging the show on, but the pacing seems to want to rocket ahead instead of linger on the juicy bits.

SHADES OF BLUE is not a typical procedural. At least from the pilot, it doesn’t appear that it will be a case-of-the-week, paint-by-numbers series. Instead, it follows the path of the network’s Chicago Fire and its spin-offs by making it more about personal drama than a crime that needs solved. This switch has worked pretty well for USA, which used to specialize in the procedural format, but has since deepened to more complex dramas.

However, is that a path that will work for parent company NBC, or is this just hastening the decline of the company? I tend to think it’s the latter. Shows that have staying power tend to be those that offer something new to the landscape. SHADES OF BLUE, despite being a step up from the trite, repetitive junk that has been bogging down the non-cable networks of late, is staying too close to those same boundaries to make much of an impact on a broad audience.

SHADES OF BLUE is about par for the network, if not a little bit on the higher end, but at a far lower quality than the same premise would be treated to on FX, AMC, or HBO, the gold standards of networks today, or Netfix or Amazon, the streaming rulers. This means it’s probably a mistake for NBC. It may not be bad; it may even be some of the network’s best fare. But it is not the step in a new direction that the network needs to save itself.

SHADES OF BLUE premieres Thursday, January 7^th on NBC.

GRIMM Review "Clear and Wesen Danger"

Article originally written for Seat42F.

On NBC’s GRIMM this week, “Clear and Wesen Danger,” Hank (Russell Hornsby) and Wu (Reggie Lee) struggle to effectively do their jobs when Nick (David Giuntoli) takes a leave of absence. Meanwhile, Nick considers what kind of home he can have with Adalind (Claire Coffee), and she does her part to make the situation easier for Nick.

It seems a little soon for Nick to accept Adalind into his home so easily. Juliette died just days ago, and Nick has not had time to get over her. I get that Nick wants to be there for his infant son, and that’s noble. But he has just a bit less hostility than he should towards the former Hexenbiest that has caused him so much trouble. Instead, they’re practically a happy family already.

That being said, I like the idea of Nick and Adalind as a couple. I know they’re not romantically involved yet, but the tension and possibility of a future pairing is certainly there. Adalind has evolved as a character over the years, even if it happens in fits and starts caused by uneven storytelling, and Nick has a dark side, too, so they can meet in the middle. Adalind telling Rosalee (Bree Turner) that she doesn’t want to be a Hexenbiest again is a good show of Adalind’s commitment to joining the right side. I think they could work out long-term, eventually. I just hope GRIMM doesn’t force it on them too quickly.

Monroe’s (Silas Weir Mitchell) suggestion that Nick sell the house seems silly. Yes, bad things have happened in that dwelling, including Juliette trying to kill Nick and Juliette’s recent death. Yet, that kind of goes with the life of a Grimm. Were Nick a normal person who went through a trauma, looking for new surroundings makes sense. Given that any new place he lives is sure to soon be the place of bad memories, too, well, that just makes it gratuitous, like GRIMM is just itching for a new set piece, regardless of what is best for the characters.

Though, admittedly, a new house might go well with a new start for Nick and Adalind. But they aren’t at the point yet where that is needed.

Sadly, “Clear and Wesen Danger” makes the mistake GRIMM so often does of thinking it needs a Wesen of the week to fight. Thankfully, this installment makes better use of the stand-alone story by making it quite a bit about the new chemistry in the police squad trying to solve the case.

See, Renard (Sasha Roiz) decides Hank needs a new partner while Nick is out, which makes sense from a departmental management perspective. But rather than promote, even temporarily, Wu, Renard gives Hank Detective Pogue (Joseph Bertot, Snowpierce), who is completely in the dark about Wesens and Grimms and such, making him more of liability than a hindrance. An overabundance of caution in keeping that world a secret leads to dead law enforcement, and it’s clear this arrangement won’t work.

I like this sequence purely because of the fun interactions between Wu, Hank, and Pogue. It isn’t well thought out, as Renard should be smarter than to tie Hank’s hands behind his back in dealing with a Wesen. It also invokes the inconsistency that somehow this department was solving cases before Nick learns he is a Grimm, and not every murder should involve a Wesen. But because the scenes are entertaining, I can partially overlook this.

“Clear and Wesen Danger” is better than most of the GRIMM episodes of the past year or two. It isn’t a very solid hour of television, and falls far short of what it should be, but given the depths GRIMM has shown itself to sink to, I’ll take what I can get.

GRIMM airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on NBC.

GRIMM Outlook

Article originally published as GRIMM Review "The Grimm Identity" on Seat42F.

NBC’s GRIMM begins its fifth season this week with “The Grimm Identity.” In it, Nick (David Giuntoli), reeling from the immediate events of last year’s finale, decides to go after Agent Chavez (Elizabeth Rodriguez). With no evidence of Juliette’s (Bitsie Tulloch) death to go by, though, nor anything else Nick accuses Chavez of, Nick’s friends become concerned about his erratic behavior and intention to assault a federal agent. Is Nick going crazy, or is Chavez part of a secret organization with the resources to cover such things up?

“The Grimm Identity” begins with a lot of glimpses of scenes, Nick attending Juliette’s funeral and such. I very much do not understand what is accomplished by this. Obviously, within just a few minutes, it becomes clear that these things aren’t real. Nick is hallucinating and this is what he sees? I know the brain is funny and works in mysterious ways, but I just don’t understand why these particular scenes are chosen.

After that, the hour gets a little better, but only a little. It’s not a case-of-the-week, thank goodness, but a story about Nick’s possible mental stability. Conspiracies and missing bodies and claiming unlikely things are meant to keep viewers guessing whether Nick is truly right or not. Since he sees things in the opening that aren’t real, those glimpses mentioned above, maybe he isn’t right about Juliette and Chavez, either?

Except, I think GRIMM makes it pretty clear early on whether Nick is losing his mind or not. The glimpses aren’t done in the same style as the actual events of “The Grimm Identity,” so it’s pretty easy to draw a conclusion about this and be confident about it. Not that viewers need to mistrust Nick to enjoy the episode; he’s the hero of the piece, so of course we rally behind him. The show could have made us doubt his account, but it doesn’t, and that’s a valid choice to make.

Why, though, do the other characters not believe Nick? I get that he’s behaving a bit unlike himself, but they’ve all known Nick long enough to trust his word, body or no. The fact that others in his group aren’t sure they believe what he’s saying, including thinking Chavez might not be a Wesen, is strange. Presenting “The Grimm Identity” as a mystery is a mistake precisely because there is no mystery, nor should any character believe that there is.

The plot involving Chavez, who kidnaps Trubel (Jacqueline Toboni) and steals Juliette’s body (is she really dead?), is far more interesting. A shady government agency is often used in shows of this genre, but that’s because it’s a good idea, not a bad one, at least when done correctly (I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but The Initiative was a misstep). To bring another faction in now feels a little late, but as long as we learn Chavez and her people have been watching Nick longer than Nick knows, that would be fine.

I just don’t know if this is a sign GRIMM will turn things around, though. Last year is dreadful, with the series constantly artificially pushing their arcs into small moments of each installment, and instead concentrating on whatever beast Nick had to fight that week. That’s not what the program does when it’s at its best. There are some intriguing strands of “The Grimm Initiative” that are better storytelling than this, but the way so much of the hour doesn’t make sense, as mentioned above, makes me worry GRIMM won’t find a strong path forward, or was only even going back to a serial narrative half-heartedly. I guess we’ll find out soon enough if the show will fix itself or continue to devolve.

GRIMM airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on NBC.

Hate the Game, Not THE PLAYER (But You Can Hate The Player, Too)

Article first published as THE PLAYER Review on Seat42F.

ENDGAME -- "Pilot" -- Pictured: (l-r) Philip Winchester as Alex King, Wesley Snipes as Johnson -- (Photo by: Gregory Peters/NBC)

NBC’s THE PLAYER is about a man caught in a gambling ring. A secretive group has developed a technology to predict crimes, and the rich and powerful bid on whether the crime can be stopped or not. Our hero is recruited to play the good guy in the game, and if they can justify to him morally why he should participate, he may just have a new career. In this case, twisting convention, viewers will be likely to hate the game, not the player.

Based on that description, THE PLAYER isn’t quite like any other series on television, but it has a lot of similarities to other programs. Like Person of Interest or Minority Report, it deals with future crime. And like a whole lot of other series, it is a crime procedural, with a different case being presented each week for the cast to work to stop. So while it does have a couple of things to set it apart, at its core, THE PLAYER isn’t much different from other fare.

The cast is led by Philip Winchester (Strike Back), whose Alex Kane is the archetype of a hero. He is intelligent, strong, fearless, and dedicated to saving lives. Why would somebody like that participate in a game like this? A tragedy early in the pilot rocks Alex, and while it takes the full first hour to get there, he comes to see he can do good, even if he doesn’t quite agree with what is happening. Thankfully, he has his friend, Detective Cal Brown (Damon Gupton, Empire) to try to keep him grounded.

Make no mistake, the game in THE PLAYER is sick. If a person can figure out when crimes are going to occur, they could mobilize authorities to stop them. Instead, the game master, Mr. Johnson (Wesley Snipes, Blade, The Expendables 3), makes it into entertainment and serves the wealthy, not the victims. Mr. Johnson is profiting off of the misery of others, whether the crime is stopped or not. There is little noble about him.

While I root for Alex and jeer Mr. Johnson, there is another main character in the middle that I can’t decide if I should like or not. Cassandra King (Charity Wakefield, Wolf Hall) works for Mr. Johnson, but serves in a capacity to assist Alex. She certainly seems like a nice lady with a good heart, but looking at her career choice, it’s hard to reconcile that with what she does.

That epitomizes the biggest problem that THE PLAYER has going for it. The premise requires a few contortions to try to make sense of it. Character motivation is dubious. Shows that live in the gray areas of morality are often complex and prompt one to think; this one does not, merely asking you to accept the duality of the situation, and then enjoy the fast-paced, violent style. It’s basically an action movie as a weekly series, with the same limitations that genre usually provides.

THE PLAYER isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. While certainly not high-quality, it is entertaining. However, it will get old real quick, and without completely believable characters, it will become more and more difficult to sustain that entertainment over any significant period of time. I feel like this works best as a flash-in-the-pan. For six episodes, I could really get into THE PLAYER. As a twenty-two installments-per-year series, it has very little chance of succeeding, and doesn’t seem worth the effort to stick around and find out if it does, the prize being too minor to cherish.

It has little hope of capturing the viewers used to seeing Parenthood in this time slot, appealing to a completely different group, but since Parenthood wasn’t that high-rated, that’s probably on purpose.

THE PLAYER premieres Thursday, September 24^th at 10 p.m. on NBC.

BLINDSPOT in Production

Article originally published as BLINDSPOT Review on Seat42F.

NBC’s BLINDSPOT has an intriguing opening. A naked woman, covered in tattoos, is found in a bag in Times Square. She has no memory of who she is, what happened to her, or how she got all the tattoos, which were done recently. But some of the ink on her body holds clues, both to her past, and to future crimes.

Unfortunately, BLINDSPOT is not nearly as cool as its premise. The muck ups start early in the pilot when agent Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton, Strike Back) is called on the scene. His name is on the girl’s back, and yet he is placed in charge of the case. I understand why Mayfair (Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Without a Trace), the boss, would want him involved, given his connection, even if no one can explain why his name is there yet. But surely it presents a conflict of interest to have him running the investigation?

Then, Kurt brings the woman (Jaimie Alexander, Thor, Kyle XY), whom he suddenly begins calling Jane (as in Jane Doe) mid-episode, with him into the field. Not only that, she gets to go into dangerous buildings and be near bombs. That she ends up being capable of handling herself and lending the team support is of no consequence. She is an unknown quantity and not an agent, so should not be allowed out.

I admit, the central mystery is intriguing. There are lots of tidbits sprinkled into the episode to hint at Jane’s story without giving too much away. A flashback or two is quite illuminating, and I am left wanting to know more about her and what is going on.

However, the approach BLINDSPOT makes feels forced and false. It is trying too hard to craft a puzzle, merely tossing up the façade of a deep, serial drama. It resembles high quality programming, but fails to live up to the high bar itself. A showdown in a familiar setting seems completely artificial, favoring style above substance.

There are many good things going on with BLINDSPOT. Alexander is terrific, and while it takes a bit of time to warm up to Stapleton, I get what he’s doing and appreciate it. The supporting cast, which includes the delightful Ashley Johnson (The Killing) and Rob Brown (Treme), is enjoyable. The production builds suspense appropriately, and manages to toss in a few unexpected surprised.

But at the end of the day, BLINDSPOT has plot holes and some weak elements, as mentioned above, that bring it down. It also seems very likely to be a procedural, with the core mystery only being brought out in little bits, most of the hours being devoted to tracking down individual criminals who will see justice before the ending credits roll.

What’s more, because of the obvious weaknesses in setting up the main plot, I have little confidence that things will be concluded in a satisfactory manner. The first tattoo on Jane leads to an immediate danger, but how can the others possibly be laid out to take her from one event to the next? That would require a TON of knowledge of the future, and this show lacks the supernatural bend necessary to make that work. So I’m left assuming that the writers don’t have a clear idea of where they are going, or even if they do, they’ll take short cuts that don’t make sense, as they did in getting Jane and Kurt out into the field together so quickly.

If the total sum of programming in the world were still confined to the broadcast networks, there is no question that I would consider BLINDSPOT one of this fall’s series to look forward to; even with its flaws, it is far more creative and interesting than most of the fare on the Big Four. But living in the age of a multitude of choices on cable and streaming outlets, this one fails to make the cut, outshined by many, many higher quality choices.

BLINDSPOT premieres next Monday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

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.