LEGENDS Anything But Legendary

Article first published as LEGENDS Review on Seat42F.

Morris Chesnut, Sean Bean and Ali Larter | LEGENDS

TNT’s newest drama is LEGENDS, premiering this week. Rather than some epic tale rooted in mythology, as one might guess from the title, LEGENDS refers to the secret identities that deep cover spies have. It is based on a book by Robert Littell. A premise like this should still lend itself well to a large, serial story, in my opinion, but LEGENDS goes in the opposite direction, basically making a case-of-the-week show, or so it seems from the pilot, squandering both an interesting setup and an excellent cast.

At the forefront of LEGENDS is Sean Bean (Game of Thrones) as Martin Odum. Martin is one of those people who gets super intense about his mission, supremely focused on his goals, ignoring rules that might get in his way and a family, including a son (Mason Cook, The Lone Ranger), that could humanize him. This is a very familiar type of protagonist to TV viewers, as it seems that any character that carries a show cannot be average in any way.

In the pilot, Martin is approached by a mysterious man who tells him that the Martin persona is yet another Legend, and the real man is buried deep within by a shady part of the government. This is intriguing, of course, making viewers question both the truth in what we’re seeing and Martin’s mental stability. I could easily see a show or season-long story being focused on this, but the pilot barely glances across it, seemingly destined to be developed in tiny pieces, rather than played up as it should be.

Besides Bean, many other talented people are wasted on this project. Martin’s co-workers are played by the likes of Tina Majorino (Grey’s Anatomy, Veronica Mars), Steve Harris (The Practice, Justified), Morris Chestnut (Nurse Jackie, V), and Ali Larter (Heroes, Resident Evil). None of the characters they play really stand out in episode one. They’re mostly there to alternately back Martin up and get in his way, making up a very standard ensemble for such a show.

What is really troubling is that Bean’s characters inevitably die in just about every project he’s involved in. Because the rest of the characters are so under-developed, LEGENDS as it currently is would not work without its star,

There really isn’t much about LEGENDS that is original or impressive. The acting is top notch, to be sure, but the writing is not. There are hokey situations such as when Larter’s character has to pose as a stripper at the last minute, ostensibly to slyly get to Martin past the bad guys, but in reality, probably just to show off some of Larter’s skin to the viewers, who tend to like a little sex with their action. But it seems designed to be the equivalent of a popcorn flick, sort of like a crime-genre Falling Skies, rather than make an impact on the television landscape or win any awards.

In comparison to other procedurals, LEGENDS holds up well enough. The production looks good and there are no obvious problems. As I said, it copies the structure of other projects quite copiously, but so does everyone else, which is how we end up with so many versions of what is basically the same show all on the air at the same time. It’s not that there’s anything glaringly wrong with LEGENDS or the peers it borrows from. They just aren’t anything special either.

One wonders if we’ve reached a tipping point for this kind of show. Many of the procedurals currently running have either started to skew more serial or incorporate serial elements into their format. However, as long as Bones, NCIS, and others like them rule the airwaves and get the biggest ratings, I don’t see simple escapism entertainment going anywhere any time soon. That is disappointing to the critics, who watch a lot of TV and quickly tire of this junk food-like product, but maybe not to the casual viewer, relaxing with a favorite they stumbled upon and like to check back in with.

LEGENDS premieres this Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.

Awake premieres tonight

NBC's new drama Awake premieres tonight, though the "Pilot" has been widely available online, so many have seen it already. The main character in Awake is Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs, Case Histories, the Harry Potter films), who is involved in a car accident with his family. He now lives in two separate realities. In one, he is a widower father to son Rex (Dylan Minnette, Saving Grace, Men of a Certain Age). In the other, Rex is dead, but Michael's wife, Hannah (Laura Allen, Terriers, Dirt), lives on. As two therapists try to help Michael navigate which world is real, his lives in both diverge further.

It is a shame that Awake does not begin with Michael first realizing the dual reality. The car wreck is shown, yes, but the real story of the episode begins sometime later, with Michael returning to work. By now, Michael is already set in the way he handles both versions of his life, using a colored rubber band on his wrist to tell them apart. Viewers miss that initial shock where Michael tries to figure out what is happening, and instead, pick up with him already settled with his lot. A wasted chance for great drama, to be sure.

Michael has no desire to know which world is real. Why would he? Accepting that one is a dream would cost him either his son or his wife, both of whom he loves dearly. As such, Michael decides to keep going on as is, with no motivation to be "cured" of whatever it is that is affecting him in this manner.

This is not good news to his therapists. Dr. Lee (BD Wong, Law & Order: SVU, Oz) is argumentative, trying to convince Michael that his reality is the real one. The other, Dr. Evans (Cherry Jones, 24, Signs), has a much gentler touch, but acts like she can disprove the alternate version, too. All this does is confuse Michael, and upset him, as he fears losing one of his worlds.

Despite the very well constructed "Pilot," it's hard to see where Awake will go from here. Will Michael become unhinged, as he seems to be doing in a disturbing scene with a knife? Will Drs. Evans and Lee do their best every week to convince Michael that they are in the real world, and Michael will keep resisting? With the therapists listed as main characters, there must be some movement in this story. However, if either one gets a serious edge, it risks unraveling the entire premise, and a permanent deadlock will be very difficult to keep interesting.

More likely, Awake is a standard crime procedural that tries to disguise itself as something more with a unique idea. In both versions of his life, Michael is a detective. In the "Pilot," he works on two different cases, one in each reality, with two different partners. But the clues from each case inform on the other, and so, somehow, he manages to figure both out much quicker than his colleagues. This interconnection is done in such a way that viewers will find it impossible to tell which one is just the dream, keeping folks guessing where the originate from.

There is also a possible romantic plot in the world where Rex lives, with tennis coach Tara (Michaela McManus, The Vampire Diaries, Law & Order: SVU) clearly interested in Michael. Of course, this is a non-starter, because Michael believes he is still married. A devoted husband, there is just no way that he will go for two relationships at once. More likely, this plot is simply a device that will force Michael to tell Rex about the other life. Hopefully Rex will handle the information a little better than Hannah does, which again, is told instead of shown, since it happens before the action of the "Pilot" begins.

The acting in Awake is fantastic, of course. With a slate of veterans, led by the terrific Isaacs, it has to be. Aside from those mentioned above, The Practice's Steve Harris plays Michael's long-time partner, while in the second universe, Michael works with rookie Efrem Vega (Wilmer Valderrama, That '70s Show, Handy Manny). Both fit nicely, the latter, surprisingly so. But will these great performers want to stick around when the material grows stale, which seems a likely prospect, sooner rather than later?

Great "Pilot," Awake. Now prove you can do something with it, because the early signs are not good. Awake airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

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