Anybody catch it? The first episode was a 2 hour premiere. As with most “first episodes,” it was sort of a mixed bag, but overall, I found it quite interesting.
Pros:
[ul]
[li]I like the way David Creegan seems to be truly on-edge…dangerously so, at times. He’s not merely quirky, although he can be that way at times. I was a little concerned that with all the illegal shit he was doing, the show would be eye-rollingly unrealistic in the long run. Actually, I still am, regardless of the fact that his nefarious plot at the end turned out to be moot. See “Cons” below.[/li][li]I found the relationship between Creegan and Cyril Kemp to be very interesting. Cyril was an extremely likeable character, IMO, and I found his “breakdown” at the end outside the skate park to be quite touching. I hope he’s a regular.[/li][li]Same for the Swopes character. Seemed to be quirky in an interesting way. I liked how he and Creegan were more or less completing each other’s sentences at their first meeting.[/li][/ul]
Cons
[list]
[li]Details, details, details. You can’t tell me that the super-duper-careful bad guy wouldn’t have noticed three black SUV’s turn the corner toward his house less than two seconds after he turned the corner in the opposite direction. You also can’t tell me that he didn’t notice, if not immediately, then the next day, that his driveway was full of busted tail-light lens.[/li][li]I found the female lead to be sort of a cipher. Nothing much about her (except the gorgeous eyes) stood out. Some serious character development is needed. I hope she doesn’t end up like D’Onofrio’s female foil in L&O:CI.[/li][li]What’s up with the uber-plush conference facilities and station they work out of? Subdued, recessed lighting? Eames furniture? Star-chamber-style planning center? Uh, right.[/li][li]The aforementioned liberties taken with legality. If he keeps doing stuff like that and getting busted (B&E, assault and battery, destruction of property, etc.,) but not getting his ass handed to him, I don’t think I can watch the show. I know he’s supposed to be “out there,” but I can’t believe any law enforcement agency would tolerate the more extreme forms of his “quirks.”[/li]
Anyway, I thought it was mostly an interesting first effort. It has some potential. What do you think?
Cons:
[ul]
[li]Details, details, details. You can’t tell me that the super-duper-careful bad guy wouldn’t have noticed three black SUV’s turn the corner toward his house less than two seconds after he turned the corner in the opposite direction. You also can’t tell me that he didn’t notice, if not immediately, then the next day, that his driveway was full of busted tail-light lens.[/li][li]I found the female lead to be sort of a cipher. Nothing much about her (except the gorgeous eyes) stood out. Some serious character development is needed. I hope she doesn’t end up like D’Onofrio’s female foil in L&O:CI.[/li][li]What’s up with the uber-plush conference facilities and station they work out of? Subdued, recessed lighting? Eames furniture? Star-chamber-style planning center? Uh, right.[/li][li]The aforementioned liberties taken with legality. If he keeps doing stuff like that and getting busted (B&E, assault and battery, destruction of property, etc.,) but not getting his ass handed to him, I don’t think I can watch the show. I know he’s supposed to be “out there,” but I can’t believe any law enforcement agency would tolerate the more extreme forms of his “quirks.”[/li][/ul]
I liked it and I think the premise offers a lot of interesting possiblities. There were more than a few strains on my suspension of disbelief but Creegan’s character makes up for it. I liked it best when he used his nuttiness to be lovably odd rather than intimidating.
Massive injury to the right frontal lobe does result in loss of inhibitions and concentration issues. 3 years to recuperate from such an injury is completely plausible.
Cyril Kemp was played by the guy from “Identity” which added to his character’s overall creepiness.
The sense that there’s a cosmic plan. The importance of the number 3 and fate saving Creegan from committing murder at the end (that actually made me gasp out loud).
CONcerns:
Friday nights at 10 is a really crappy timeslot so the show might have trouble finding an audience. Luckily, it seems to be repeated several times throughout the weekend.
Creegan’s quirkiness could become annoying/ predictable.
A lackluster female lead usually ends up as a love interest. Hopefully, they won’t go the Scully/Mulder route.
