Why I Love Mid-Season TV

Miss me? I've been kind of busy nurturing a newish and amazing relationship while trying to direct a play that has had the dice stacked against it from the beginning (but which I am determined to bring into fruition if it kills me). But that's not what tonight's post is about.

Tonight, I want to talk about Television. Specifically Mid-Season Television. Mid-Season has traditionally been the time where the shows the networks weren't sure about were poised to take the place of the ones cancelled by the Holiday Hiatus. Lately, Mid-Season has become the place where the networks are more willing to gamble and experiment. Three very interesting new Mid-Season shows premiered this week and I have managed to catch - thanks to yesterday's snow day - two of them  ("American Crime" is still on my DVR, waiting to be watched).

First up was ABC's "Secrets and Lies," starring Ryan Philippe; Juliette Lewis; Kadee Strickland and Natalie Martinez and based on the Australian series of the same name. Philippe is house painter Ben Garner who, while out on an early morning run just before Christmas, discovers the body of a beloved 6 year old neighbor in the woods. His memory of events before his run are more than fogged from a night of heavy drinking (which followed an intense argument with his wife) and Ben is soon the focus of  what has become a murder investigation. Strickland (last seen on Shonda Rhimes' "The Practice") is Ben's wife Christy and Martinez ("Under the Dome" and "Eureka") is the boy's mother, Jess. Lewis (Cape Fear; Natural Born Killers) is the severe and intense Homicide Detective Andrea Cornell, determined to find justice for the young victim. The first two hours had as many plot twists and secret revelations as the season finale of last year's breakout, bat-shit insane drama "How to Get Away with Murder" combined with some powerhouse performances from the four leads and their supporting cast members. Directed by Timothy Busfield (who has a small role as a high-powered defense attorney), the two-hour pilot flew by, leaving this viewer exhausted by a roller-coaster of emotions. If you missed it, go OnDemand or to HULU or ABC.com and watch it, now! If you aren't as immediately caught up in it, I will email you a personal apology. Well-written and beautifully acted, "Secrets and Lies" is some terrific TV drama. **** (Four Out of Four Stars).

Next, I caught the extended premiere of the latest from "Heroes" creator Tim Kring, the USA network's apocalypse mini-series drama "Dig." Part police procedural and part supernatural thriller, "Dig" stars oddly attractive DILF Jason Isaacs (best known to American audiences as Lucious Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies) as FBI agent Peter Conelly on assignment in Jerusalem. His boss and occasional lover, Lynn (the questionably sane Anne Heche) is trying to help him get over the recent loss of his daughter. When a case involving a terror suspect and the murder of a young archaeologist (who reminds Ben of his daughter) intersect with an ancient prophesy about a red cow (yes, a red cow - it's in the Bible or something), the apocalypse is apparently nigh. Oh, and it has something to do with clones, maybe? It's deeply twisted, high-concept mythology and I adored it! The fact that my beloved Lauren Ambrose ("Six Feet Under;" Psycho Beach Party) is some sort of religious acolyte who seems opposed to what's going on and Angela Bettis (May; The Woman) is a murderous religious fanatic makes it so very much better. Fans of "Lost," "Fringe" and "Heroes" (Season 1, anyway) will probably love this show as much as I think I do. It is supposed to be a limited, 10 episode run. I hope they stay smart and keep it that way. It's nice to see an American series follow a European model, ala the original "The Returned." I hope the rest of the series is as insane and maddening and satisfying as the premiere. **** (Four Out of Four Stars)

I'm truly hoping that ABC's other much-hyped Mid-Season show "American Crime" is as good as both of these. I'll let you know.

More, anon.
Prospero

TV Review: "Missing"

I See What They Did There...

Ashley Judd stars in ABC's latest thriller. "Missing." She plays former CIA Operative Rebecca Winstone who, after her husband (Sean Bean) is assassinated while on assignment in Austria, leaves the Agency to raise her son Michael. When Michael (Nick Eversman) leaves for Rome to study architecture, he is abducted by persons unknown for reasons unknown and Becca is off to search for him.

Once in Rome, Becca makes contact with former lover Giancarlo (Ocean's Twelve's  Adriano Giannini), who helps her evade both the police and Interpol. She is being tracked by European CIA deputy Dax Miller (Maori hottie Cliff Curtis, most recently seen on TV in "Body of Proof"), who has been instructed to bring her in, no matter what. It is through Miller that we learn that Becca was one of the Agency's best operatives (because her file is so slim).

Known for big-screen thrillers like Kiss the Girls; High Crimes and Double Jeopardy, Judd has transitioned nicely into the "Mom" role, while maintaining her tough-girl attitude. The last time I saw her, she was in the terrible 2006 film adaptation of Tracy Lett's play Bug, unsuccessfully playing against type as a woman who allows herself to get caught up in her lover's madness. She's done a few things since, most recently appearing in the family film A Dolphin's Tale. Judd is also one of the co-producers of "Missing." She's fine her as a desperate and resourceful mother, but doesn't do much to add to her resume of desperate and resourceful characters. And Curtis also seems to simply be playing yet another stock character from his cop resume. 

The best part of "Missing" so far, has been the European locations. It can't be a cheap show to produce, though I fear it may go the way of NBC's world-wide locale CIA show, "Undercovers" (which starred the impossibly gorgeous Boris Kodjoe). Pilot director Steve Shill ("Dexter") may have an eye for locations, but the fight scenes in the "Missing" pilot (particularly the one on the train) are a muddied mess, shot in low light and filled with multiple jump cuts that leave viewers wondering just what the heck is happening.

I'll probably keep watching, if only to figure out why Michael has apparently been targeted since he was 8 and to see some gorgeous footage of Europe's most beautiful cities, if for no other reasons. I can't say that the first episode got me intrigued enough to fully invest my time in yet another TV series, unlike the pilot episode of "The Walking Dead," which immediately got me hooked. As a mid-season replacement series, it's not bad. But it's not particularly good, either. ** (Two Stars Out of Four).

More, anon.
Prospero

Belated TV Review: "Awake"

Because of my last post's aforementioned 5000 plates, I didn't get to see the premiere episode of NBC's newest genre drama "Awake," until tonight. And I have to be perfectly honest admit that I thought... well, about that in a moment (or three).

Ruggedly handsome Jason Isaacs, best known to American audiences as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, is Detective Michael Britten; a man who is having a rather unusual experience -- or should it be 'experiences?'-- after a devastating  auto accident. Mike seems to have found himself torn between two realities. In one, his wife Hannah (Laura Allen from "The 4400" and "Terriers") survived the accident but not his son. In the other, his son Rex ("Saving Grace" and "Lost" alum Dylan Minette), instead of his wife. He goes to sleep in one reality and awakens in the other. He is seeing a therapist in both realities, who offer conflicting advice and opinions and each other's therapies, while insisting their counterpart is a fantasy. B.D. Wong ("Law & Order: SVU") plays the aggressive realist who insists Mike's other world is a dream, while the always impressive Cherry Jones (the last POTUS on "24") is the more sympathetic shrink, though equally insistent on her own reality. Mike also has different partners and cases in each world, though both cases have similar details which seem to impact on one another. Wilmer Valderama ("That 70's Show;" "Royal Pains") and Steve Harris ("The Practice;" Quarantine) are the respective partners.

New genre TV hasn't been so good, so far (see "The River") this year. But I must admit that the first episode of  NBC's "Awake" has me intrigued. We know nothing about Mike and his family's lives before the accident, so what bearing does any of that have on what's happening to him? Why are some things leaking over from one reality to the other? Which world (if either) is reality?  

Isaacs, with his rugged good looks (and impressive American accent) is exceptional in his performance as an emotionally devastated man who has decided to try to embrace the duality of his existence rather than deny one for the other. Allen and Minette are both seasoned up-and-comers who are able to deliver the kind of solid performances needed in show like "Awake." It helps that both of the therapists are played by two highly-regarded (and openly gay) Broadway and TV veterans in Wong and Jones. 

Show creator Kyle Killen ("Lonestar") has done a fine job in setting up the premise by starting right in the middle of the story, with possibly the most minimalist (is that an oxymoron?) exposition possible, which made me immediately want to know about the events that led up the accident and what effects (if any) they have on what's happening now. The show is beautifully shot in alternately realistic and semi-dream-like styles and anchored by the dedicated performances from an excellent cast.

The central conceit of "Awake" is about as high-concept as genre TV can get. It also joins "Fringe" (for my money, the best show on broadcast TV) as the second contemporary network series to feature alternate universes, albeit in very different ways. ***1/2 (Three and a Half out of Four Stars).

Have you seen "Awake?" What did you think? 

More, anon.
Prospero