Going UNDERGROUND

Article first published as UNDERGROUND Review on Seat42F.

WGN America’s newest series is UNDERGROUND. Set in the pre-Civil War Days, it follows a swath of representative Americans, both black and white, slaves and free, at a pivotal, conflict-ridden time for our country, just before full-scale war erupts. It’s a period we’ve seen before, most notably in Roots, but never in a successful, ongoing weekly series, which should allow the writers and performers to get much deeper into the personalities and complexities of the era than has been done before.

UNDERGROUND stars Aldis Hodge (Straight Outta Compton, Leverage) as Noah, a smart man who is tired of being forced to serve a master, but who knows it wouldn’t be productive to openly rebel. Instead, he plays the game, pretending to be obedient, even while making secret plans to flee the plantation and head north, using the Underground Railroad referred to in the show’s title.

Noah is not going to go alone, which might be a good or bad idea, depending on how it plays out. Among his possible traveling companions are: Rosalee (Jurnee Smollett-Bell, True Blood, Friday Night Lights), a timid house slave and protective older sister; Moses (Mykelti Williamson, Justified, 24), who allows the others to believe he can read, even though it’s his wife, Pearly Mae (Adina Porter, True Blood, The Newsroom) who has been educated; and Cato (Alano Miller, Jane the Virgin), the collaborator who wants to go so he isn’t punished in their place after the others are gone, if he doesn’t turn them in first.

To represent the dominant race of the time, UNDERGROUND has August Pullman (Christopher Meloni, Law & Order: SVU, Wet Hot American Summer), John Hawkes (Marc Blucas, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Elizabeth Hawkes (Jessica De Gouw, Dracula). John is a lawyer and an abolitionist, who is offered the job of campaign manager by his brother (Dollhouse’s Reed Diamond), a Northerner who has moved South and now owns the people John is fighting to free. John’s wife, Elizabeth, seems mentally unstable, though, putting additional pressure on John. And August is… well, I’m not sure if he’s a help to runaways or a slave catcher yet, but I’m sure we’ll soon figure that out.

As you can see, there are a number of different parties represented, and that gives UNDERGROUND a full feel, in a good way. The focus is on the African-Americans, as it should be. However, no one portrayed are just stereotypes, with complex realities warring with individual morality and circumstance. Each individual, including a number of those not listed above, stand out and are quickly memorable.

The production is equally well done. Filmed in the American south, one can feel the sweat dripping when characters are out in the fields, and the landscapes are beautiful. There’s a gritty realness to it, and the costumes and sets are clearly well thought-out.

The music in UNDERGROUND is probably the oddest part of the show. At times, it is appropriate for the year, including in singing some of the more spiritual songs. But at other times, modern numbers are mixed in that really kind of pull one out of the moment. The lyrics of these fit the story, so it’s not like they’re just pop songs to punch things up, but at the same time, they clash in such a way that doesn’t quite feel right to me.

The music is the only complaint I have, though. Overall, I found UNDERGROUND to be a compelling narrative with plenty of quality in the cast, the story, and the style. The drawback is minor enough to overlook, and it’s debatable whether it really is a negative, even if I don’t understand why it’s present, at least not yet. I do recommend this one, and will probably watch more of it soon.

UNDERGROUND airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on WGN America.

Go Back to SALEM

Article first published as TV Review: 'Salem' - Series Premiere' on Blogcritics.

WGN America enters the original programming game this week with Salem. Set in the town of the same name during the famous witch trials of the 1600s, it claims to be based on real events, though in the first hour, “The Vow,” it quickly becomes clear that what’s shown can only be true if you believe actual magic was present at that time and place. Still, it’s an interestingly built period piece, far more enjoyable that I expected.

As Salem begins, John Alden (Shane West, Nikita) goes off to war, leaving behind the backwards town of Salem, which is run by the cruel George Sibley (Michael Mulheren, Rescue Me). Years later, John returns to find the love who is supposed to be waiting for him, Mary (Janet Montgomery, Made in Jersey), married to Sibley and the town panicked by a witch invasion. To that end, Cotton Mather (Seth Gabel, Fringe) comes to help out, using his preacher’s pulpit to decry the dark arts.

One way Salem could go, would be to tell historical happenings as close as they can, letting paranoia and small-mindedness run the mood of the citizens. Instead, Salem chooses a different tact, immediately outing Mary to the viewers as a powerful witch. We don’t yet know how Mary became what she is, having seen her run off into the forest to try to get rid of John’s baby that she carried, then, years later, keeping Sibley under her command and palling around with the creepy Tituba (Ashley Madekwe, Revenge). We also don’t know if John’s return could possibly save her soul, which appears lost.

On one hand, I’m glad Salem does this. The machinations of the ladies with their spells and manipulations make for a driving story. We have Mary torn between what she is and what she used to be. Women of that time period often were not strong figures, and giving this power to them changes that. With real magic on the side of the witches, they have a fighting chance of persevering against the awful injustice that a handful of folks, Sibley chief among them, is reigning down on Salem. Plus, Salem is superior to some other recent witch-centered shows (Lifetime’s Witches of East End springs to mind).

On the other, this is sort of a bastardization of history. Many of the people, including John Alden, Cotton Mather, and Tituba, are actual figures, now being twisted in strange ways. Not to mention, the real events are intriguing enough, a cautionary tale of what happens when the population buys too far into superstition. Someone could make an incredibly complex character study on the emotional mindset of those involved, and how innocents might be taken down by lies and rumors.

But, Salem is what it is. It keeps the time period, which makes it different than most of the other supernatural series populating the airwaves, and adds its own elements. It has a pretty decent cast, with the actors, who have often been weak in other series, suited to the characters they are playing here. It looks neat, and the effects are well done. It also sets up a consistent tone and some simmering arcs that can play out over the course of the season or longer. It feels like the love child of AMC’s Turn and FOX’s Sleepy Hollow, but also has its own perspective.

I am not yet confident enough in the quality to truly recommend Salem as appointment television. But I am intrigued enough to set my TiVo to catch the next couple of episodes and see where it goes. Salem airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on WGN America.