THE MESSENGERS Is a Mess

Article first published as THE MESSENGERS Review on Seat42F.

It’s never a good sign when The CW holds a show until mid-April before airing it, even bumping it back one more week as the premiere date approaches. Having just viewed the first episode of THE MESSENGERS, titled “Awakening,” I can see why this drama is being held until cast-off time, rather than getting a chance during the regular television broadcast season. It’s not the worst show the network has ever made, but it’s near the top of that list.

THE MESSENGERS begins with five strangers. Vera (Shantel VanSanten, One Tree Hill) is a scientist who sees something streak across the sky. Erin (Sofia Black-D’Elia, Gossip Girl) is a divorced mother with a little girl. Joshua (Jon Fletcher, Between the Black) is a preacher’s son at a mega church, sharing the gift of persuasion with his father. Raul (JD Pardo, Revolution) is involved with some bad dudes, though it’s unclear exactly what their deal is. Peter (Joel Courtney, Super 8) is an uncool high school student being picked on by a bully.

Then, one day, all of their lives change and intersect.

There is also a character called The Man (Diogo Morgado, The Bible). His intentions are hidden, and while his presence makes one uneasy, especially the way he is introduced, there really isn’t much to him yet, nor is the actor so menacing that viewers are likely to fear him.

The premise of THE MESSENGERS is far from original, but that doesn’t mean no television shows should do the strangers-drawn-together concept. It just means that there is a lot to compare it to, so if one is going to use the same format, one needs to make sure the product is high quality and can hold up to comparison. Usually, this is accomplished by casting very good, but often not super well-known, performers and crafting an intriguing, complex mystery. THE MESSENGERS lacks both of those elements (as well as subtext), the cast being OK, but nothing special, and the story confusing in such a way that it’s hard to care about.

A lot of THE MESSENGERS hinges on the mystery. “Awakening” shows us how the five get their powers, sort of, but doesn’t explain what those powers are and why they’ve been granted them. Press materials for the show reveal (SPOILER) that they are angels tasked with saving the world. I do not get that from “Awakening,” and even knowing what their mission is, it doesn’t matter. This pilot does almost nothing to make you care about these characters and their secrets are not laid out in a tantalizing way.

I do feel slightly sorry for a couple of them. Circumstance has dealt them a bad hand, or blindness to what’s going on around them has allowed them to become victims. But their situations seem too ridiculous to be believable, and should be put behind them quickly. An ex-husband threatens to lie in a police report and say you were drinking prior to the car wreck? You’re in a hospital, for goodness sake! Have medical professionals test you and provide evidence for your case. Your family is so sleazy it makes your skin crawl? Leave them far behind and have nothing to do with them ever again. Two problems with very easy solutions.

Could THE MESSENGERS improve enough to be good? Anything is possible, but I doubt it. The concept is just far too poorly executed at the start to recover. The show needs new actors, new writers, and basically a reset of the premise to even begin to show promise, and once the pilot has been released, it’s too late for that. I don’t hold out any hope for this one.

THE MESSENGERS premieres April 17^th on The CW.

Glad I'm Not GANG RELATED

Article originally published as GANG RELATED Review on Seat42F.

FOX is getting into the original summer series game with the gritty new crime drama GANG RELATED. Sort of a cross between Southland and Graceland, the show centers on Ryan Lopez (Ramon Rodriguez, The Wire), a street-wise cop working as part of a new inter-agency, gang-focused task force. The problem for Ryan is that he is part of a gang, too, beholden to the man who raised him, and providing information about the unit’s activities on the sly.

Ryan is torn between two worlds, his old way of life and his new one. He loves Javier Acosta (Cliff Curtis, Missing), who is good to Ryan, like a father. But he’s also really liking being a part of the team led by Sam Chapel (Terry O’Quinn, Lost). The double dealing is taking its toll on Ryan, who seems like a good guy at heart, and who definitely doesn’t want to end up in jail. Which will he choose?

It would be one thing if GANG RELATED presented two completely different worlds, a good one and a bad one. Clearly, the law enforcement agency is noble, trying to clean up the streets. However, Sam is getting frustrated with their lack of progress, and starts to turn to methods not everyone will approve of. On the other hand, Javier, spurred on by his son, Daniel (Jay Hernandez, Nashville), a banker, is trying to take the organization onto the straight and narrow. So neither side operates as black or white.

One would assume that the blurred lines mean GANG RELATED is a deep show, not separating the characters into good and evil, presenting layers to all involved. In a way, that’s true. Ryan, Sam, and Javier are interesting people, shaped by circumstance, and vulnerable to shifting winds, should the status quo be upset. There is much that can be explored with this trio, all excellent performers, that will make GANG RELATED interesting.

On the other hand, it’s also stocked with tired stereotypes. Javier’s other son, Carlos (Reynaldo Gallegos, Sons of Anarchy), is an unapologetic son of a bitch. It’s easy to see that he will not get along well once Javier goes legit, and he needs to be removed from the equation if the family has a chance. Javier can’t cut off his own son, though, so we’re stuck with this unwinnable scenario that feels forced. How did Carlos become so bad while still being tied to this family that is not the same way?

Just as bad is Sam’s estranged daughter, Jessica (Shantel VanSanten, One Tree Hill), who works for the D.A. and is often at odds with her dad. We understand why she might be, given the side of Sam revealed in GANG RELATED’s pilot, but their father-daughter relationship is not exactly new ground, and is set up solely to provide drama, coming across as unnatural, especially because of her job.

The premise itself has been done before, including quite recently. Because Mob Doctor, starring Jordana Spiro, was yanked off the air quickly, not many viewers may remember it. But apart from being a medical drama instead of a cop show, the two share a lot of the same DNA. GANG RELATED does not distinguish itself enough from this, and others in the crime genre.

Why is GANG RELATED full of police? Aren’t there enough shows like this on the air? Why not take a different tact, keeping the gang-going-straight story, and even including a cop or two on their tails, but giving prime focus to, say, Daniel, who has a job not seen on three dozen shows already airing? It’s this lack of originality that hurts the series in my eyes, as entertaining and compelling as its leads may be.

GANG RELATED premieres Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.