"Containment" says it all in the title: it's about containing. People. In Atlanta.
It all starts two weeks after the epidemic started, people shouting, fighting, going crazy on the streets, the police/army unable to control them, fire to burn the dead bodies... And then we go back to day one and how it all started.
We have had many movies and shows about virus gone crazy and people suffering the consequences. This pilot just follows the 101 class on how to do a show about it. It is not original at all, but it's competently done, and the acting is acceptable enough (a little bit bland, though) that the script doesn't fall into caricature (something the show will have to take care of, as it may fall into it quite easily). The problem with an epidemic is that there is not much you can be original about the danger of it per se; a show has to be original in its characters, in their actions, in the mystery behind it. Here the characters behave more or less reasonable (except a couple of moments where the rules of "don't-go-doing-stupid-things are forgotten so we have some tension); but what happens is not especially fascinating, and there seems to be the danger of not really offering much new. It is also plays into the USA fear of being attacked from outside, and it plays a not very subtle game with it.
It is nothing amazing, but is entertaining enough for a first episode. The next ones will tell the whole story.
It all starts two weeks after the epidemic started, people shouting, fighting, going crazy on the streets, the police/army unable to control them, fire to burn the dead bodies... And then we go back to day one and how it all started.
We have had many movies and shows about virus gone crazy and people suffering the consequences. This pilot just follows the 101 class on how to do a show about it. It is not original at all, but it's competently done, and the acting is acceptable enough (a little bit bland, though) that the script doesn't fall into caricature (something the show will have to take care of, as it may fall into it quite easily). The problem with an epidemic is that there is not much you can be original about the danger of it per se; a show has to be original in its characters, in their actions, in the mystery behind it. Here the characters behave more or less reasonable (except a couple of moments where the rules of "don't-go-doing-stupid-things are forgotten so we have some tension); but what happens is not especially fascinating, and there seems to be the danger of not really offering much new. It is also plays into the USA fear of being attacked from outside, and it plays a not very subtle game with it.
It is nothing amazing, but is entertaining enough for a first episode. The next ones will tell the whole story.