Paramount is WACO

Article first published as TV Review: WACO on Seat42F.

You likely haven’t heard of the Paramount Network. After all, that network name has only been on air for about ten days. The channel formerly known as Spike TV, and before that, as TNN, has changed names once again. And with that change comes a new direction for the network, as evidenced by their miniseries WACO, which premiered this past week. I can’t imagine WACO airing under their past network names.

WACO tells the story of the FBI and ATF seizing the Waco, Texas ranch of cult leader David Koresch back in the spring of 1993. The six episodes cover the lead up to the 51-day stand-off, through the event itself. The story as portrayed here is based on two biographies, one from each side of the conflict. The first was penned by David Thibodeau, a survivor who joined the commune about nine months before the famous proceedings. The other is from the perspective of hostage negotiator Gary Noesner. Both play significant roles in the miniseries, and it provides some balance to get the law enforcement and a commune member’s point-of-view.

At the center of the cult is charming, relatable, earnest David Koresh (Taylor Kitsch, Friday Night Lights), a man who claims to have biblical visions. He has surrounded himself by many followers who buy into his words. Some, like Steve Schneider (Paul Sparks, House of Cards), are educated, and some, like Thibodeau (Rory Culkin, Signs) are not. WACO explores some of the mentality of a person who would follow Koresh, and how that can span across different demographics.

Tension within the commune starts well before the feds arrive. David has made everyone swear themselves to celibacy, except himself and the women he chooses to lay with. He calls it a sacrifice, but his best friend Steve doesn’t appreciate it when his wife, Judy (Andrea Riseborough, Bloodline), becomes pregnant. Nor does David’s main squeeze, Rachel (Melissa Benoist, Supergirl), seem all that happy about her man fathering a child by someone else. So it is clear there are issues long before things get violent.

At the same time, Gary (Michael Shannon, Boardwalk Empire) provides a look at how the FBI and ATF don’t exactly have it together, either. There is a culture that demands results and covers up mistakes. Funding is at stake, and not everyone seems determined to do the right thing to keep the money flowing. Gary is seen as the stereotypical hero, a man who will stick to his personal moral compass no matter what. Yet, Gary isn’t the one in charge. With all of the disagreements and political motivation shown, it’s no wonder that things don’t go smoothly when they’re asked to take down the ranch.

WACO is an entertaining and compelling miniseries. A top-notch cast ensures that it flows and the characters are understandably complex. At the same time, the various elements thrown together here provide a pretty detailed, comprehensive picture of the situation. They foreshadow the things that go wrong by showing us how the event didn’t unfold in a vacuum, and neither side was perfect. I don’t seek to excuse a cult leader, and I don’t think WACO does, either. But it does try to be fair in its storytelling, and I think it succeeds pretty well at that.

I liked the first episode of WACO a lot, and hope to catch the other five hours. If this smart, enjoyable, well-made series is the type of thing viewers should expect from the Paramount network, I think it will do its movie namesake proud and Paramount could become a cable player. Though it has awhile to go before we can call that for sure.

WACO airs Wednesday evenings on the Paramount network through February.

TUT Not King of TV

Article originally published as TUT Review on Seat42F.

Spike begins its six-hour miniseries TUT tonight at 9 p.m. ET, with the rest to premiere Monday and Tuesday. Based on the famous Egyptian pharaoh, King Tutankhamun, the special covers the brief events at the end of Tut’s life and reign as he struggles to establish his rule as an adult against those who have been making decisions for the child king, with a fair amount of sex thrown in.

One can presume that TUT is based upon truth, but there isn’t a whole lot known about the pharaoh. His tomb is one of the best preserved ever found and DNA matches can put together a few details, but it’s not like there are surviving books from the day to give us many facts. Thus, the makers of TUT have a long leash with which to tell their story. Regrettably, they choose to make it a very modern soap opera rather than a sweeping epic.

Much of the first two hours of TUT, all that I have viewed so far and all that I probably will ever view, is given over to personal drama. Tut (Avan Jogia, Twisted) is married to his sister, Ankhe (Sibylla Deen, Tyrant), but she has been unable to give him an heir. She’s in love with Tut’s comrade, Ka (Peter Gadiot, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland), which in these superstitious times leads Tut to believe could be the problem. Luckily for Tut, he soon meets Suhad (Kylie Bunbury, also Twisted), who doesn’t realize who he is, meaning they have to soon sleep together.

This love rectangle is predictable and trite. Because TUT takes place prior to just about all other tales viewers are privy to, it’s possible that the way things are laid out in TUT was fresh in its own time, but knowing that little historical evidence backs up this sequence definitely makes it feel like a copy of so many other things. TUT mashes up several very familiar plots and fails to give us enough originality to set it apart.

More interesting are the political machinations happening in the palace. Vizier Ay (Ben Kingsley, Hugo) seems wise and fair-minded, aspiring for more than servitude, but content with his lot until opportunity should arise. General Horemheb (Nonso Anozie, Zoo) is far more open about his frustrations, unhappy when Tut begins telling him to run the army. Priest Amun (Alexander Siddig, Game of Thrones) is a little murkier in his intentions, but seems to be walking the halls of power for a reason.

Were TUT to focus on these three men and their relationships with the boy king, I think it would be a far superior miniseries. There are plenty of places to see the sappy romantic stuff on television, but far fewer to watch a great epic unfold, and love could be a part of this without stealing away so much focus. True, even if the politics parts of the program were played up, it could still come off as cheesy, but it’s less likely to, even when the motivations are simple and underdeveloped.

Instead, TUT tries to balance both and fails to make either one all that compelling. Given such a blank canvass, with only a few pinpoints to connect, one would hope that the writers would chose to tell an original story, playing with the rich landscape available to them. Instead, TUT is almost a paint-by-numbers thin copy of too many other tales. This is highly disappointing because it really, really does not have to be and just feels lazy. With the interesting costumes and settings, it’s easy to see what TUT might have been, which is likely to leave one dissatisfied with what it is.

If you’re so inclined, you can catch TUT the next three nights on Spike.