Alright, I'm gonna be reviewing as many episodes as I find necessary. I'm just a few minutes into episode 3 of my complete series DVD set, but had to pause and write these reviews before I forgot.
I was pretty excited for this show, as it couldn't be more up my alley. Journeyman and Tru Calling are two of my all-time favorite shows. I love when Sci-Fi blends with realism. I love it even more when it's less explored, because it means two things. More positivity, and more development of the why this Sci-Fi event is happening.
Anyways, onto this episode. It's a pretty decent start to the series, but I'm at an 8/10 instead of higher for one main reason. It's all over the place. I think the editing is choppy, and there's too much story covered. I think maybe they'd made a longer pilot, but the network didn't trust it'd do well, so they trimmed it. It just seemed like so much happened, and there were a few location changes that didn't bleed over into the following episode. Plus, it establishes a few things as consistent within the episode, and I felt as though they'd be changed. Come next episode. Which they were.
As for the plot, I won't spoil it. It's just your average life or death situation, like I'm sure nearly all of them will be. Not like it's an issue. I'm just saying. But as for the overall plot and characters, where do I begin?
Kyle Chandler's performance isn't bad, but I'm certain he's still growing into his, and being an actor in general. This is early in his career, or at least in comparison to when Friday Night Lights (2006), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), and Game Night (2018) came out.
As for the supporting cast, there's only for sure two key players. One of them is blind, which makes it very interesting without added challenge. I feel like that's not how most shows would handle it. Then we've got Fisher Stevens, who shockingly...is necessary? I totally expected a side character that wasn't super necessary. But he's absolutely vital to the interest, he plays against Kyle Chandler at all the right moments.
As for the "Sci-Fi" elements, nothing is explained yet. Will it ever? I think with four seasons it has to. But what's disappointing is THIS is the show that got four seasons. It was so early to the game relative to shows of this nature. In my opinion, this success should've helped those garner better treatment. Especially Tru Calling and Journeyman. At least three seasons each minimum, if not four.
Sorry if this review is all over the place. But I truly don't have THAT much to say. I just wanted to start with the pilot. From this point on, I'll probably exclusively review pivotal episodes. If something happens to a main character, a Sci-Fi development, or a mid-season finale. Of course the main season finales as well. Also, those may contain spoilers. Just to help me remember what happens in the show, when I inevitably look back on these reviews.