SEVEN SECONDS Too Long

Article first published as TV Review: SEVEN SECONDS on Seat42F.

Netflix’s newest drama is SEVEN SECONDS. Created by Veena Sud, it shares a fair amount of DNA with her previous television series, The Killing. SEVEN SECONDS begins with a car accident involving a young boy on a bicycle, and then tells the story of the investigation and familiar reactions to the incident. Unlike The Killing, however, viewers get to see exactly what happened in the opening, so the mystery is more about what will happen next, rather than what has already happened. Plus, the boy survives, at least the first hour.

The cast, as in most modern shows, is excellent. Regina King (American Crime) and Russell Hornsby (Grimm) play Latrice and Isaiah Butler, the grieving parents who don’t know the truth about what happened, and are not thrilled with the legal system in place. Clare-Hope Ashitey (Suspects) is KJ Harper, the alcoholic prosecutor who looks into the boy’s case. She is assisted by cop Joe Rinaldi (Michael Mosley, Sirens). Though this won’t be an easy one to solve, since it’s another cop, Mike Diangelo (David Lyons, Revolution), doing the covering up.

Why would a cop do such a thing? Well, the offender is another on the force, Peter Jablonski (Beau Knapp, Shots Fired), Mike’s friend who is expecting a child soon. Even Peter thinks he should confess, so the whole force isn’t villainized in SEVEN SECONDS. But the societal pressures of previous violent assaults by white cops on black kids, which the victim is, are all the reason Mike needs to think Peter would be in much deeper trouble than he deserves, and prompt him to frame someone else for the crime. Though by the end of hour one, Peter and Mike now both deserve pretty bad.

This makes for a timely, complex tale, which all the best shows are these days. Like a lot of other television programs, this one is about crime and police officers. And like most others, the cast is good. So SEVEN SECONDS is great, right? Well, not exactly.

The biggest problem SEVEN SECONDS has going for it is that it is boring and slow. I like slow when the characters and tone are super compelling and the camera lingers to really delve into emotion. In this case, nothing much happens, but it’s not because the running time is dwelling on the characters. For instance, a portion of the first hour finds KJ and Joe filing some paperwork and visiting the hospital and impound lot. None of this furthers anything, nor are there long, insightful moments between them. They’re just there.

I think it also probably hurts that we know who the guilty party is. I mean, mystery can be overdone or melodramatic, but at least there’s a strong hook as viewers try to figure out what happened and the implications of it. Instead, here it’s pretty safe to assume the truth will come to light, so the only suspense is how. We already know the fallout will be bad, we just don’t know how bad. So there’re not enough stakes, nothing to truly wonder about. There is a fake-out about the victim’s identity early on, but it doesn’t go anywhere.

And, bottom line, none of the characters are compelling enough. I get Peter’s conflict, but it’s hard to root for him when he did something so heinous, even as he considers stepping forward. Of course, it’s easy to sympathize with the parents, but at least in the first hour, we don’t learn all that much about them. The cops are even less interesting.

SEVEN SECONDS seems to prove, as a few other shows have recently, that sometimes a series just isn’t as good as the sum of its parts.

The first season of SEVEN SECONDS is available now on Netflix.

No More LEFTOVERS, It's Fresh!

Article first published as THE LEFTOVERS Review "Axis Mundi" on Seat42F.

HBO’s THE LEFTOVERS began its second season with the episode “Axis Mundi.” The name of the installment refers to a focal point, a connection between Heaven and Earth. Presumably, that’s what the town of Jarden, Texas, the ‘miracle’ city where not a single one of its 9,000-plus residents disappeared in the Sudden Departure, is. This is the new setting for the series, but the location is far from the only thing that’s changed.

“Axis Mundi” begins with a cave woman, presumably Native American, who is separated from her people by a landslide, gives birth in the open, and tries to protect her baby. She dies, and another woman rescues the child. What is the meaning of this extended sequence, done without dialogue, that makes up a huge chunk of the beginning of the episode?

Well, there are parallels we can draw between the cave woman and characters on the show. Perhaps she represents Nora (Carrie Coon), who lost her entire family, then picked up a baby that isn’t hers. If so, does that mean Nora is doomed? Or is the woman meant to represent the fierce spirit of human beings? Or maybe her sequence is commentary on life and death?

While it’s nearly impossible to say for sure what the cave woman means (unless the show’s staff come forward and tell us), this does fit within the framework of THE LEFTOVERS. It is a slow-paced, emotionally-moving series that dwells on depth of feeling, at times so much so that it becomes purposefully uncomfortable. While the cave woman may not be a familiar face, her piece does not feel out of sync with the overall tone of the program, and I like that it makes us think, as other episodes have in that past. The show is often about not having answers, and this opening lets viewers feel what the characters feel in that regard.

After her, we meet the Murphy family, who have joined our principal cast. There’s: John (Kevin Carroll, Being John Malkovich), the fire captain patriarch who seems to want to protect the town, and may or may not be a villain; his wife, Erika (Regina King, American Crime, Southland), an almost-deaf doctore who is complicit in whatever her husband is doing; their spiritual son, Michael (Jovan Adepo, The Youth); and their multi-faceted, adventurous daughter, Evie (Jasmin Savoy Brown, Laggies).

It takes forty minutes for a familiar face from season one to show up, so the Murphys are our protagonists for most of “Axis Mundi.” I didn’t find myself minding, though. It’s not that I don’t like last year’s leads, many of whom will continue to star in the show (though a number of them have been dropped). It’s the fact that getting to know the Murphy family is a great way to introduce us to this place, as they are involved in the community in a myriad of ways, and they are supremely interesting in their own right. Next week, we can go back to the Garveys and their friends, but for now, I am satisfied to be fully immersed in this place before they even arrive.

Jarden, or Miracle, is a very intriguing town. It has a new tourist industry based entirely upon its reputation, and that brings with it its own share of problems. Isaac Rainey (Darius McCrary, Family Matters) is the perfect way to examine this. He’s a fortune teller whom John goes after. Is Isaac for real? What if he is? What if he’s not? Whether he is or not, does John have the right to force him to stop? Does Isaac represent the best or worst in human nature?

Despite numerous changes, from characters to setting, THE LEFTOVERS remains essentially the same show, so its fans should be happy with “Axis Mundi.” Once more, we’re left to ponder questions that don’t have clear answers, while fully immersed in human drama that is compelling and authentic. Excellent start.

THE LEFTOVERS airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

A Bigger BIG BANG

Article first published as A Bigger BIG BANG on TheTVKing.

CBS's The Big Bang Theory began its seventh season with a pair of episodes that certainly felt like a full hour story, not back-to-back separate installments, as other sitcoms have done recently. The episodes did have their own titles: "The Hofstadter Insufficiency" and "The Deception Verification." However, the story flowed seamlessly from one part to the next, making this one of the few truly serial comedies on television.

As "The Hofstadter Insufficiency" begins, Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) are both missing Leonard (Johnny Galecki), though only the latter is willing to admit it. They decide to spend time with one another, sharing dinners and games of chess, soon coming to really appreciate the company. With the main guy in their lives gone, they look to each other to fill the void. I hope more of their bonding can occur in the near future, with or without Leonard.

Watching the two of them together is quite touching. They've had scenes alone before, and they have nearly always been memorable moments, but to get so much of it during a single half hour is very rare and  welcome. Cuoco and Parsons have a wonderful dynamic going on between their characters, and because of the differences between them, every new wall broken down is a triumph for them.

For instance, Penny shares something deeply personal about filming a topless scene in a low-budget horror flick when first arriving in L.A. Sheldon, in return, reveals that he lies about being OK with YouTube's rating system change. As most would, Penny blows off Sheldon's confession as trivial, but when Sheldon confronts her, telling her she has hurt his feelings because this is something he cares about, it's a raw moment of feeling between them, one of the coolest things the show has done to date. She will never look at him the same or be so dismissive again after this.

Leonard comes home early in"The Deception Verification" and tries to hide in Penny's apartment, spending a few days alone with her. Sheldon catches him, and is deeply hurt by both Leonard and Penny. I think this, combined with the incident described in the preceding paragraph, reveals a layer of insecurity not seen in Sheldon in the first few years of the show. He likes to act like he's aloof and above everyone else, but there is still a little boy in him longing for acceptance. It's nice to finally get to see this vulnerability come out.

In fact, though Leonard does make it up to Sheldon, his heart sure doesn't seem into repairing their friendship, doing it more as a way to keep the peace in their group than because he feels guilty. This isn't the first time we've seen Leonard be selfish and a little bit of a bully, but this may be the most obvious, held up against someone acting the opposite for a change. Is the dynamic duo at the center of The Big Bang Theory heading for a dramatic break up this fall? That could make for an extremely interesting arc, as it's been done before, but perhaps not with enough far-reaching damage resulting.

Speaking of twosomes, Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) spend some time alone in "The Hofstadter Insufficiency." They are at a conference and have some gal time without Penny or the boys. I like Penny and I like the relationship the three female characters have with one another, but it's also really refreshing to see the other girls without her. They act a little differently, a little more comfortable with themselves, celebrating their own individuality instead of standing in her shadow, something that naturally happens when she's around, though is surely not intentional on her part.

The fight the two have over boys, defending their relationships and realizing they are attracted to guys buying them drinks that more resemble their friend's man their than own, is awkward, but also interesting. I don't think The Big Bang Theory is heading for a swingers plot, but it's cool to see such fully-fleshed out roles with their own desires and needs, not hung up only on who they are dating. This is especially important because both Amy and Bernadette were added to the cast after the show was established, both after spending time with one of the main boys.

Raj (Kunal Nayyar) can now talk to girls without alcohol, but still isn't so good at doing so. We see him spend some time with Mrs. Davis (Regina King) at a work function, however, he's not ready for a woman as normal as she yet. They may share a moment, but Raj has some growing to do before he can enter into a relationship with a regular, stable girl, if that ever becomes his type, which quite likely will not happen. However, I do think it would be neat if, in a season or two, the show tries and Raj / Davis romance. Or sooner, if she her divorce gets really rough. They have a strange, yet intriguing, vibe.

Lastly, there's Howard (Simon Helberg), who is affected by his mother's estrogen cream, becoming overly emotional and developing swollen, tender breasts. Let's be honest, this isn't the strongest story in the hour, but it's amusing, and with all of the other serious stuff going on, a little comic relief is fine. I just feel bad for Bernadette, who walks in on Raj and Howard squeezing one another's chests, surely an unsettling sight for any wife, especially given who close Howard and Raj are.

These are good episodes for The Big Bang Theory, a sign that it's still managing to age with grace and dignity, maturing the characters and the plots in sync. It is likely much closer to the end of its run than the beginning, which is a little sad, yet, there are signs that it may be near to having played itself out. I'd rather see it go off the air while it is still of excellent quality than after it begins to slide downhill. One to two more years might be perfect, though considering the gigantic ratings it garners, and the network's reputation for long-running sitcoms like How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men, CBS may balk at pulling it so soon.

The Big Bang Theory airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Southland returns on TNT

     Southland was a gritty cop show set in Los Angeles that aired on NBC last spring for seven episodes.  Although it was initially renewed for a thirteen episode second season, the premiere date in the fall was pushed back, and then the show was abruptly canceled, without the final six filmed episodes ever seeing the light of day.  Part of the reason the show was pulled was because of its dark tone.  The direction of the series also changed for the second season, focusing more on Adams, Sherman, and their partners, giving less importance to the rest of the ensemble.  It was also to be more procedural, less serial, than before.

     Beginning tonight at ten p.m., TNT will air all thirteen filmed episodes.  Depending on how the ratings go, perhaps they may even order more.  Though an extension has not yet been announced, TNT owns the rights to do so.  The episodes will air in production order, starting with an extended version (by about six minutes) of the pilot.  As of March 2nd, the show will have exhausted the already aired episodes, and begin showing new ones, for those fans who have already seen the first seven.  TNT has also restored language that was cut due to broadcast content standards that cable is not constrained by.

     The series stars Regina King (24), Benjamin McKenzie (The O.C.), Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do), and Michael Cudlitz (Band of Brothers) as the aforementioned partners.  Also starring are Kevin Alejandro (Shark), Arija Bareikis, Shawn Hatosy, and Michael McGrady (Day Break).  The show is not really my cup of tea, but if you enjoyed it last spring, this is all very good news for you.  It definitely stood apart from other cop dramas currently on television.

     SPOILER ALERT!  Although I have not yet been sent the new episodes, I can reveal that Ben will have to face dealing with John's pain medication addiction, Chickie will be ostracized by the other cops, Lydia will have trouble balancing her personal life and her job, and Sammy will feel left out when he and Nate join a drug task force with Gil, an old friend of Nate's.  Sammy also will be trying to have a baby, and Mercedes will not be very accepting of Nate as her father, which will end up causing something really bad.  Sal's daughter will manipulate him, black mailing him after she finds out about his affair.  These are but a few of the details already released about upcoming episodes.