DEPARTURE For Peacock

Article published as TV Review: DEPARTURE on Seat42F.

The British-Canadian drama DEPARTURE is coming to Peacock’s streaming service on September 17th. The six-episode drama, which previously aired in other countries last year, follows the investigation into an airplane that disappeared over the ocean. What took it down and why are just a couple of the questions the team must answer as they try to figure out what happened so that it cannot happen again.

The cast is excellent, led by Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife) and Christopher Plummer (Lord of the Rings, Beginners). They really sell the story of DEPARTURE, and there are many wonderful moments of acting in it.

Panjabi plays Kendra Malley in DEPARTURE, a brilliant investigator who sidelined herself after a car accident claimed the life of her husband. While she has been staying home and trying to help stepson, AJ (Alexandre Bourgeois, Demain Des Hommes), try to cope, it’s clear the two haven’t exactly bonded, quite possibly because of Kendra’s lack of communication. So that could be why she accepts her mentor, Howard Lawson’s (Plummer), offer to take a high-profile case.

Not everyone is happy to see Kendra back at work, least of all Dom (Kris Holden-Ried, The Umbrella Academy), who would be leading things if she stayed home. But the entire team, including Levi Hall (Peter Mensah, Midnight, Texas), Nadia (Tamara Duarte, Wyonna Earp), and MI-5 ‘spy’ Janet Friel (Claire Forlani, Camelot), are happy to help unlock the mystery and find the truth.

They have quite a few leads to go on, most notably involving Madelyn Strong (Rebecca Liddiard, Frankie Drake Mysteries), a passenger on the plane. Her fiancé, Ali (Shazad Latif, Star Trek: Discovery), is an early suspect. Then there’s Pavel Bartok (Sasha Roiz, Grimm), an executive who might have evil intentions. But this is not an easily-explained event, and there are sure to be more than a few twists and turns along the way if the two hours I viewed are any indication.

Despite all of the above being so promising, DEPARTURE isn’t all that great. It spends far too much time in the beginning on the airplane, which is the most spacious and luxurious aircraft I’ve ever seen, with wide aisles and lots of leg room. Besides the ridiculousness of the design in terms of realism to modern flyers, the lack of notable, recognizable performers on the craft make it feel like a slow start of a low-budget production. Immediately, Lost and its less-successful wannabe copycats spring to mind, and DEPARTURE is never going to live up to that comparison, so it’s not exactly a good start.

Much of the rest of the drama backs that up. Great actors are wasted on DEPARTURE’s mediocre story, which feels a lot like any British or Canadian crime drama, though less believable than most. Some twists are obvious from a mile away and the writing feels formulaic. The opening scenes waste what could be a cool aircraft element, and lackluster special effects fail to deliver on the visual expectations. Panjabi, Plummer, and the rest are much better than the material they’re given, so despite them elevating the level of writing, it just doesn’t ever rise to something that needs to be viewed in its entirety. Which is saying something, given what a small commitment it would be to finish the season.

This is extremely disappointing. Yes, right now American networks are running out of fresh programming to fill their airwaves and streams because of the pandemic. And lots of them are borrowing from foreign productions to fill that gap, which is overall a positive, as Americans really should watch more non-American television. But DEPARTURE is just not that good, and it’s hard to believe Peacock couldn’t do better than this.

DEPARTURE begins streaming on Peacock Thursday, September 17th.

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 Makes Me "Cry"

Article originally written for Seat42F.

This year’s season finale of GRIMM is called “Cry Havoc.” Picking up from lack week’s cliffhanger, Nick (David Giuntoli) still reeling by the box containing its mother’s head, the hour features the showdown between our heroes and the royals who have plagued them this season. It also features the death of a main character.

“Cry Havoc” finally fully eliminates my frequent complaint that the show has become too procedural. Nothing about this installment is case-of-the-week. With Nick going after Kenneth (Nico Evers-Swindell) and Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch), and Renard (Sasha Roiz) dealing with the fall-out of his Jack the Ripper possession, the show only has time for serial arcs, not anything new.

Unfortunately, that’s not enough to save this season finale from being completely terrible, doing nothing to redeem a once-good series.

The opening of “Cry Havoc” is absolutely awful. The house is a “trap,” and yet a henchmen calls in to Kenneth to get permission to attack Nick, several minutes after Nick enters? Permission is given freely and without hesitation, so why wasn’t it pre-granted? Then, the bad guys all come across the street very obviously to the front door, leaving the back completely unguarded. If this is a trap, it is the worst trap ever. And Kenneth is surprised when it doesn’t work? Really? This from the scary group that policies the Wesen world. Guess they aren’t so scary, huh?

And why does Juliette look slightly concerned with hearing Nick’s death ordered but doesn’t say anything? Does she want him to do die or not? This isn’t clear even when she declines to flee Portland and returns for a final confrontation. First, she asks him to kill her, then she tries to kill him. Is she just drawn to him for some reason? I’m not saying the writers should hand us everything on a silver platter, but when a character is as back-and-forth as Juliette, we need some clue as to what her motivations are.

I hope Nick doesn’t hold it against Trubel (Jacqueline Toboni) that she kills Juliette. Juliette seems irredeemable at this point, and while Nick can’t bring himself to snuff the life out of the woman he once loved, which seems a little weird given how final he is when he says he’s done with her, the world is better off without Juliette. At least, without this version of her.

Juliette’s fall is a tragic tale, and I hope GRIMM follows up with this next season. Her being dead doesn’t erase the trauma Nick goes through. While he shouldn’t send Trubel away, he needs to struggle with his grief and pain. These last couple of weeks see Nick go through the worst things that could happen to him. One does not just bounce back from that.

Might GRIMM put Nick and Adalind (Claire Coffee) together, a silver lining in the dark cloud? Nick doesn’t want her in his house in “Cry Havoc,” even after the danger seems to be past, but everyone is much nicer to Adalind than they’ve ever been. She’s almost a friend to the group. This change has come too quickly, though, without enough consideration of the bad things Adalind has done in the past.

“Cry Havoc” leaves fans with plenty of unanswered questions. Renard looks to be ready to move past the Jack the Ripper stuff, but his involvement with the royals can’t be over. When his father is murdered by the rebels to steal back Adalind’s child, doesn’t that leave Renard in line for the throne? How might that affect the show next year, if Renard is offered the position?

While the possibilities raised above, Renard ascending and Nick dealing with stuff and Nick and Adalind’s new dynamic, there are strong paths that can be used to build a more serial fifth season. Unfortunately, after the (at best) mediocre fourth year, it makes me wonder if GRIMM will pursue such things, or give them only short snippets in episodes mostly involving yet another stupid murder case. Probably the latter.

GRIMM will return next fall to NBC.

"Headache" from GRIMM Subsiding

Article originally written for Seat4F.

This week’s episode of GRIMM on NBC, titled “Headache,” actually picks up right where last week leaves off, finally following a serial story! Nick (David Giuntoli), Hank (Russell Hornsby), and Wu (Reggie Lee) continue to investigate the grisly murders, and the evidence leads them to Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz). Is Jack the Ripper after their boss?

It’s pretty obvious early in “Headache” that Jack is Captain Renard, or rather, he is inside Renard. To GRIMM’s credit, though, Nick suspects as much by a quarter of the way through the hour and voices the theory, not drawing out a twist that’s already been given away. It’s nice to be able to give the show and its story credit after being so disappointed in it for so many months.

The better part to this plot is that Jack gets inside Renard when he is dead, a thread from the very beginning of the season, and has been growing in power and influence since, eventually hoping to replace Renard. This explains Renard’s arc throughout the year; his strange visions and behavior. It’s a nice pay-off for a long simmer, and while it should have been reached much sooner, I’m not disappointed by the way it plays out now.

Roiz is the star of “Headache.” The actor wonderfully embodies the maniac serial killer, differentiating him fully from the police chief. The dual role is something most actors long for, but few do it as well as this one, transforming body, voice, and mannerisms into a vastly different part. Watching him is the highlight of the episode for me.

Far less satisfying is the other story in “Headache.” Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) takes up with Kenneth (Nico Evers-Swindell), sexually now as well as just helping him with evil schemes. Together, they kill Nick’s mother and gain custody of Adalind’s (Claire Coffee) baby.

The plot itself isn’t terrible. Juliette’s complete behavior change has been explained by the Hexenbieste inside of her, which apparently is more destructive and dominant than a normal Hexenbieste. It’s no surprise, then, that she would help Nick’s enemy or take the child. 
What’s unforgiveable is Juliette’s involvement in killing Kelly Burkhardt. This spells the end of Nick and Juliette as a couple forever, methinks. Nick’s utter grief at the close of “Headache” is very moving, and it’s far too deep for him to overlook. Even though Kenneth is the one who actually kills her, Juliette deserves punishment for her involvement. At this point, assuming Nick finds out Juliette is complicit, he might even kill his former fiancé. The homicide would be justifiable.

It’s a fascinating story to take so much away from Nick in this manner. In a way, Juliette dies the moment she becomes a Hexenbieste, and he’s just trying to save a relationship that is already over. The version of Juliette that lives now is a totally different person, and even if they can restore her, there’s no telling if she’d get her old personality back or if Nick would be able to forgive her. Certainly, that would take years, at minimum. I’m sad because I think there could have been some interesting possibilities for the couple that will remain unexplored, but this is a pretty cool direction to take GRIMM in.

The worst part by far of “Headache,” though, and what dampens this part of the story is that Kelly’s death happens off-screen. I assume that is because the actress was unavailable, as we only see her from

afar and hear her fighting. Still, if GRIMM couldn’t get her, they shouldn’t do this story now, or find another way to bring the baby pack into the picture, or cast an actress with more free time in the first place, considering the vital part she plays in the series. I know availability isn’t always known in advance, but to have such an important character meet their fate like this just plain sucks. This is more unforgiveable than the rotating royals, another pet peeve of mine, and no head-in-a-box (no matter how high quality it is) makes up for it.

Still, even with that huge complaint, which is not something that can just be overlooked, “Headache” is the best episode of GRIMM in a very long time, building upon last week’s improvements. I can only assume at this point that next week’s season finale will be equally well done. The test is if the show will maintain the momentum into next year, or if, like last fall, it will fall back into rote procedural, ruining an at-times solid series.

GRIMM’s season finale airs next Friday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Slightly Less GRIMM

Article originally written for Seat42F.

This week’s installment of GRIMM is called “Mishipeshu” (pronounced similar to the car, Mitsubishi). Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) are joined by Deputy Sheriff Janelle Farris (Toni Trucks) as they investigate a couple of grisly murders. Rather than a Wesen being responsible, though, it’s a ghostly Mishipeshu, which possesses a person and takes revenge for them. Since three men killed the boy’s dad, the reason for this summoning, our heroes have to hurry to save the last undeserving criminal.

On its own, “Mishipeshu” is fine. It brings an interesting, new creature into the picture. More of the running time is given over to Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) being self-destructive, an arc that begs for more attention, and there are some great lines. Farris shakes up the dynamic of the detectives, and I hope the tag with her at the end has lasting implications (though it probably won’t). The whole hour ends up being far more enjoyable than most recent hours.

But you can’t take a single episode of GRIMM on its own, and even when you do, there are plot holes.

First, the Mishipeshu is a Great Lakes creature, so it has no reason to be anywhere near the West coast. Serving the Native American mythology is a good idea, but GRIMM should stick to the beasts that actually belong in their part of the world, as there are plenty of those. While Wesen from other parts of the world come to Portland, it makes less sense for a ghost to move, as it isn’t an individual with its own life goals. Though, I have to admit, the Mishipeshu is one of the coolest looking things the show has done lately.

Second, while this isn’t the first time supernatural non-Wesen have entered into the show, we’re still lacking any type of explanation for them. GRIMM has a certain set of rules and logic it mostly follows, and whenever it ventures outside of that realm, it does so without any attempt to justify it or explain it. It would be interesting for the series to expand its world, but the why and how must be dealt with if it wants to be a quality show.

Third, it still makes no sense that Nick and the others, who are supposed to be very good at their jobs, don’t notice any weirdness in the world prior to Nick discovering he’s a Grimm. Wu (Reggie Lee) asks Renard (Sasha Roiz) this week how much of crime is Wesen-related. Renard replies that most crime is, in most places. And yet, we’re still expected to believe the vast majority of the population has no inkling of such a huge, visible grouping constantly drawing attention to themselves? Renard’s words just don’t make sense.

Fourth, the episode opens with Hank being possessed by the Mishipeshu and Nick trying to fight him. This doesn’t work because Nick and Hank are friends and Nick would need a very good reason to battle Hank. If GRIMM were to do an arc where Hank became a problem that Nick must solve, they wouldn’t tease something so heavy in a hokey opening. Plus, as I’ve mentioned in other columns in the past year or two, this “starting at the end” convention has been done to death and needs to be retired.

For all of these reasons, “Mishipeshu” doesn’t fix what’s wrong with GRIMM. If anything, it adds to the problem. It may be entertaining, but if it can’t present a story consistent with the world it takes place in, then it’s not worth much.

By contrast, I think I finally understand where GRIMM is going with Juliette. Her personality has changed so much because power corrupts, and she likes the power. She’s like a teenager, testing her boundaries to figure out how to live a life she doesn’t fully understand yet. Nick leaving her in jail after she causes trouble in a bar is smart because it keeps the problems she poses contained. But like most teenagers, she probably won’t take kindly to the punishment, which should ramp up the drama even more moving forward.

Unless there’s some magic cure that restores personality as it takes away the Hexenbieste, this is probably the end of the line for Juliette and Nick as a couple. I wouldn’t want such a neat reset, anyway, as it would feel inauthentic. Breaking up the primary duo is sad, but it opens up a lot of possibilities for the show. I just hope Juliette isn’t (SPOILER) the major character that GRIMM reportedly will kill off this year, as the conflict surrounding her is too juicy to throw away.

GRIMM airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

"Hibernaculum" Puts GRIMM Viewers to Sleep

Article originally written for Seat42F.

This week on NBC’s GRIMM, Nick (David Giuntoli), Hank (Russell Hornsby), and Wu (Reggie Lee) investigate a frozen body. Of course, a Wesen is involved, so the trio research what kind of Wesen it is, ask Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) for help, then try to track down the killer before zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Oh, sorry. Did I fall asleep while writing the episode description for “Hibernaculum?” That’s because this show pretty much lacks all originality at this point, now following a pretty strict formula and presenting what is basically the same episode over and over again.

The fact that GRIMM has become almost strictly a crime procedural is bad enough, but it’s a bad crime procedural, which is much worse. From Nick and Hank wondering if a dead guy is a suspect before a simple check for bite marks, which they then do and immediately rule him out, to the facts, such as their murder suspect having an obvious, distinguishing tattoo, being far too convenient, it makes one wonder if our main characters have any detective skills at all.

A question occurs to me while watching “Hibernaculum”: what did the police think of all these Wesen cases prior to Nick being a Grimm? When Nick finds out about the secret world, he doesn’t go “Oh, all the strange things I’ve seen now make sense!” Instead, he is completely surprised by this other world. Yet, now, he finds strange things all the time, and the Wesen, as they are presented in GRIMM, didn’t just show up when Nick realizes what he is. So the current plots don’t make sense with how the show begins.

The Wesen on the show have become so much less complex, just villains to arrest or kill. Until they aren’t. Those in “Hibernaculum” that don’t commit murder are innocents that should be protected and left alone (though how they all explain their months-long annual absence to employers and loved ones remains a mystery), while those that killed to survive should be killed in turn. There is no debate about letting the third murderer go back to the hive with the others because, by Nick’s definition, he isn’t innocent. That, despite the fact that if he didn’t attack the cab driver, he’d be dead, and any one of his fellows in the “Hibernaculum” would have done the exact same thing in the same circumstances.

Rosalee (Bree Turner) screaming to no one about Juliette also shows how poorly thought out the writing is at this point. Why does she do it? It just doesn’t make sense.

“Hibernaculum” does give us our few minutes of interesting, serial story. Monroe has PTSD well after his kidnapping. Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch) comments on not feeling like herself, which somewhat explains her erratic behavior, though not completely. Oh, and everyone else finds out Juliette’s secret. Renard (Sasha Roiz) continues to be plagued by bleeding and flashbacks of his death, and he sleeps with Juliette because, um, I don’t know; there is no explanation for that. And Adalind (Claire Coffee) is afraid Juliette will kill her, which actually does make sense, though I think if Juliette commits murder, there will be no coming back from that for her.

The threads in the above paragraph are what this week’s episode should be about. Not so long ago, GRIMM presented such tales for most of their hours, making for a more unique (though not wholly unique by any stretch) story. For whatever reason, though, GRIMM has abandoned this in favor of what so many other shows are doing, which really has made it a chore to watch much more than a pleasure, confining the good stuff to a scant few minutes. It can’t end soon enough at this point.

GRIMM airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.