DIG Deeper

Article originally written for Seat42F.

USA’s DIG has an intriguing premise, the kind we need on television. Created by Gideon Raff (who created the show Homeland was based on) and Tim Kring (Heroes, Touch), DIG is a globe-spanning mystery set mainly in history-teeming Jerusalem and full of biblical prophecy. Our hero has to investigate a murder and a conspiracy despite overwhelming odds against him, while forces are rising in other parts of the world that will soon converge in Israel. It’s a really great concept for a TV show.

Unfortunately, DIG is not as well-executed as it should be. The story plays out in a predictable manner with some really trite dialogue, and an absolutely stupid use of a grainy surveillance photo. There are good things of note in the pilot, but the pacing makes much of the hour boring, and there’s real a lack of depth in several of the lead characters.

It’s known that Jason Isaacs (the Harry Potter films, Awake) is a good actor, and I’m sure he can convincingly carry a show. Just not this one. His character, Peter Connelly, sleeps with a very young woman, Emma Wilson (Alison Sudol, Transparent), who reminds him of his dead daughter, which is icky. He is married, by the way, and also already sleeping with his boss, Lynn Monahan (Anne Heche, Hung, Men in Trees), making him doubly repulsive. He’s bad at his job, pissing off the local cop he works with, Golan Cohen (Ori Pfeffer, World War Z), and inserting himself where he isn’t needed or wanted. He’s unlikeable, without even a bit of charm that normally makes such jerks tolerable.

While Peter is the main protagonist, thankfully there are others. There’s a side story about a red calf, and even better, a secret compound in a New Mexico desert that is keeping an orphan boy (Zen McGrath) hostage. These add actual intrigue to the plot, and provide a reason to keep watching, to see how they may tie into the story and if the mythology of the series will be worth committing to.

I particularly enjoy the compound scenes in the pilot. The place is run by David Costabile’s (Suits, Breaking Bad) Ted Billingham. Costabile is a reliable character actor, and his creepy cult leader is interesting. He is served by evil Faye (Angela Bettis, May), who matches his demeanor. Even better is Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under, Torchwood: Miracle Day) as his truly demented follower, Debbie, who is far too lax with their hostage, probably my favorite performance of the piece. Together, these three are far more compelling than anything going on with Peter, and so I kept finding myself eagerly anticipating their scenes.

I think the fundamental flaw with DIG is that it’s a Tim Kring show. Kring’s Heroes was a series that started out with an excellent premise and cool characters, then lost steam as he didn’t know what to do with them to keep them going. After the failed Daybreak, he then did Touch, which also involved global conspiracies. Again, Touch was a neat series that hooked the viewer, especially the pilot, which gripped a certain type of audience, myself included, in just the right way. But like Heroes, Touch suffered from a lack of direction and vision, and faltered as it wore on.

DIG feels very much like Touch, and that worries me. While there are some definite differences, including a darker tone, the lack of cohesion in the pilot itself makes me think this will go the way of Kring’s other efforts. Creating a poor core arc certainly doesn’t help, but this definitely feels like a one-and-done season because it squanders its ambitions from the start.

Television deserves a show like DIG, but not DIG itself, which falls short of the heights it should be reaching.

DIG airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA.

Touch now touching on DVD

FOX presented a very strange show last year called Touch, the complete first season of which is now available on  DVD. It is mostly a procedural, with each episode finding Martin Bohm (Kiefer Sutherland, 24) following clues left by his autistic son, Jake (David Mazouz, Amish Grace), who doesn't talk, to help someone in need. But it is also an anthology series, with several plots going on around the world every week, oftentimes connected to one another in unexpected ways. And it is also a mystery, as we don't know why Jake sees the numbers, or who may be trying to stop him from seeing the numbers.

The premise of Touch is that there is a connectedness to the world that can be explained with mathematics. Jake can see this, while almost everyone else cannot. Somehow, it isn't really explained how, these patterns track the movements of people. Jake wants Martin to help preserve the patterns, tying together two pieces of string that may have become disconnected. What happens if he doesn't? Will the entire tapestry fall apart? That seems unlikely. More probable is that Martin can use the pattern to make others' lives better, and that's what Jake wants.

This can all be very confusing, and understandably so. What starts off as a highly intriguing "Pilot," full of magic and wonder, soon settles into a head spinning series. Viewers may want more of the answers, but instead, all we get are small pieces to a puzzle we don't have a finished picture of to guide us. If creator Tim Kring can be trusted, a risk to be sure after the disappointing Heroes, there should be some major payoffs down the road. But for now, little is explained. We just know that life is great, and coincidences are supposedly predetermined, if you know how to see them.

While Jake and Martin are the central characters, a few others play a role in their lives. In season, Jake is placed in a home under the care of social worker Clea Hopkins (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Undercovers, Doctor Who). She slowly starts to see what Martin sees, and is torn between her superiors, who appear to have a hand in preventing anyone from following these numbers, and wanting to help Martin help people. There is also professor Arthur DeWitt (Danny Glover, Lethal Weapon, Brothers & Sisters), who has worked with children like Jake before, and offers his assistance to Martin.

What is going on among these four is definitely the meat of Touch, and the most engaging of the many elements. While other tales may be neat and inspiring, they don't mean as much, since we don't know the characters. Whenever one of them enters into Martin's direct arc, it gives a greater weight to the plot, while those less obviously connected seem less important. Touch is still struggling to find the balance of these elements throughout this freshman run.

In the season finale, the two part "Gyre," the game changes significantly, providing a tangent that should move season two in bigger directions, giving more attention to the mythology and the larger arcs. I won't go into much detail, because I hope you might check out these episodes and see how it plays out for yourself, but "Gyre" opens the door for a notably different second season. Should the series whole-heartedly go with this turn, Touch might become one of the best shows on television. For now, it's just an interesting curiosity, which may or may not pay off down the road.

Whether this happens or not, Touch isn't quite like anything else on television, which when combined with a truly terrific cast, makes it worth watching. The eleven episodes of season one are clearly just an appetizer for what is planned, and if there is a plan, I look forward to a delicious multi-course meal in the coming years.

On this three disc DVD set, there are a handful of special features. The "Pilot" is presented in an extended version, and some deleted scenes are included. Two featurettes, "Touch the World" and "Fate's Equation," get into the mechanics of the series a bit, but do not really provide more understanding than what is contained in the episodes. Like the show, they are interesting, but murky in their significance.

Touch The Complete First Season is available now on DVD.

If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Check out my website, JeromeWetzel.com! First posted on TheTVKing

Touched by Touch

     FOX presented a very special preview episode of Touch last night, two months before it officially joins the network lineup. In the "Pilot," widower Martin Bohm (Kiefer Sutherland, 24) is working a low paying job, struggling to make ends meet, while caring for his autistic son, Jake (David Mazouz, Amish Grace), who, by the way, doesn't talk, nor allow even his father to touch him. When Jake repeatedly runs away from his school to climb a cell tower, social worker Clea Hopkins (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Undercovers, Doctor Who) shows up to remove Jake, at least temporarily, from the home. But soon both Martin and Clea are drawn in by the mystery of Jake's numbers, which leads to some remarkable connections. Martin follows those, and when his actions result in kids' lives being saved, he becomes a true believer.

     "A believer of what?" you might ask. Well, that's complicated. Basically, the theory set forth in Touch, and explained to Martin by the series's mysterious fourth main character, Arthur DeWitt (Danny Glover, Lethal Weapon, Brothers & Sisters), is that everything in the world is connected. Not only that, Jake is part of the next stage of human evolution. Jake can see all of these connections, and it allows him to understand what is going to happen. It's not predicting the future, but rather, having a clearer understanding of how the world works. Unfortunately, being mute is a side effect that prevents Jake from acting on this knowledge, so Martin must pick up on the clues and do the hard work for his son.

     While, in terms of realism, Touch stretches things just a bit, the emotional impact of this show cannot be overstated. Sutherland is fantastic as Martin, and other than at the beginning of the episode when Martin is informed that Jake has left the school, and dad gets upset, there are few echoes of Jack Bauer. For instance, Jack Bauer would never be afraid of heights! Viewers will really feel the affection Martin that has for his son, as well as his frustration at not being able to connect with him. Add to that, Martin's wife died on September 11th, and the whole nation will remember and feel his pain. Martin is in a nearly impossible situation, and the way in which he deals with his life is nothing short of heroic. Being given this purpose, as difficult as it may pan out to be, is kind of like a reward for all of the suffering Martin has been through, tangible proof that his efforts have paid off.

     In "Pilot," things get personal for Martin when Jake's numbers keep leading dad to run into a grumpy man (Titus Welliver, The Good Wife, Lost, Sons of Anarchy). At first, this strange guy seems to be an antagonist. But soon enough Martin learns he is a firefighter, and one who not only tried to save Martin's wife's life on that fateful day, but also pulls children from a bus. He is a hero, too, and Martin's actions lead to the latter outcome. It personalizes the mission in a way that future episodes likely won't often be able to, making for a hell of a "Pilot."

     It's wonderful that Clea gets on board with Martin so easily. Many shows would stretch out this friction to make drama, keeping Martin fighting with her. But in finding an ally for him and his son, Martin's job gets a little easier. And Martin has suffered enough, he doesn't need any further problems. Look for Clea to get more personally involved soon, cementing her role in Touch.

     There are other things going on in the "Pilot," though, that don't seem to have a lot of connection to the main plot, other than the central role of cell phones. A woman trying to make it as a singer sends videos of herself out on cell phones, aided by a friend. The video gets onto a father's, which he loses, and it also has pictures of his young, deceased daughter. The father desperately tries to get his phone back, and it ends up on a suicide bomber in the Middle East. Luckily, the bomber just needs an oven for his family, the father is a restaurant supplier, and they end up both connected to an operator, who happens to be the singer, during a crucial moment. How this connects to Jake and Martin is circumspect, but it's an inspiring, uplifting tale.

     In all, Touch really hooks viewers in with one of, if not the, the best pilots of the season, even with the few leaps people will have to make to enjoy it. The biggest worry here is that it is from Tim Kring, who also created the ill-fated Heroes. Fans of Heroes will remember how awesome the beginning of that show was, before devolving into something not worth watching, and getting canceled at the end of season four without resolution to a cliffhanger. Thus, watching Touch is recommend with some reservation, given that if Kring goes down the same path, an emotional investment might hurt quite a bit.

     Touch will return in March to FOX.

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