The series premiere of ABC’s heavily promoted FBI drama "Quantico" accomplishes the near-impossible—it hits harder than the hype prophesized, and it may very well be the best new show of the season.
Taking a narrative and style points from ABC’s sudsy predecessors, “How To Get Away With Murder” and “Revenge,” “Quantico” pulls double-duty by sweeping from a current storyline in which heroine Alex Parrish (Indian-born Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra) is framed for a September 11-esque terrorist attack to past arcs FBI training that casts her fellow Quantico recruits in a suspicious light. The pilot does countless things right, particularly the characterization of Alex. She is a tough, capable woman but doesn’t sacrifice emotion to be so. When she’s scared, she shakes and pleads. When she’s upset, she cries. When she wants to have sex with a man she just met, she does so and isn’t ashamed to admit it. When terrifying things happen, she acts, even if that includes killing her father as a teenager or escaping FBI custody to figure out who framed her. And the list could be endless as her fellow Quantico recruits all have secrets running the gambit from tragic—Shelby’s parents died in during September 11 terrorist attacks—to horrific—Eric raped and impregnated a 14-year-old Malawian girl who died after getting an illegal abortion—to mundane—Caleb’s parents are both FBI agents and pulled major strings to get him into Quantico—to so jaw-droppingly awesome I wouldn’t dream of spoiling it. “Quantico” doesn’t just walk the line between primetime soap and genuine drama, it moonwalks across it, thanks to nimble writing and acting from creator Josh Safran (“Smash”) and a varied and diverse cast that includes Johanna Braddy (“UnReal”), Aunjanue Ellis (“The Book Of Negroes”) and Jake McLaughlin (“Believe”). It also effortlessly transitions between past and present while incorporating enough breadcrumbs to lead to future bombshells without being too obvious or too subtle. Admittedly, if “Quantico” burns through recruits as quickly as it does in the pilot, viewers will have difficulty rooting or caring about anyone. Caleb, the resident “gold-plated boy" with the self-deprecating one-liners, disappeared just as he became likable. If “Quantico” can maintain their sexy-suspense “Homeland”-meets-“Grey’s Anatomy” vibe, Parrish and Co. will be thwarting terrorist attacks for years to come. Grade: A What did you think of "Quantico"? Share your thoughts below. Photo Credit: EW.com
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I watch pilots with a cool detachment, because new shows are like looking at puppies on an adoption website. They’re all fluffy, adorable things wanting to bring you love and entertain you, and yet they can be ripped away at any second. I’m still grieving over the cancellation of “Battle Creek” and missing out on that adorable Char-Pei-Lab mix. However, I cannot contain my almost aggressive glee over Fox’s “Minority Report” starring Meagan Good, Wilmer Valderrama and Stark Sands.
It’s been 10 years since Tom Cruise shutdown the Precrime Division in the 2002 film of the same name, which was powered by a group of psychic siblings who could stop murders before they happened. They have since dropped out of society to live in anonymity. Good plays Lara Vega, a homicide detective who’s weary of the carnage, and wishes they could go back to preventing murders. Enter Dash, a now fully-grown, socially-impaired, emotionally-raw Precog. He’s still consumed with death and the need to help people, but he can only identify faces and smaller details. His brother, Arthur (Nick Zano), can hone in on identities. He is stoic and stony, the shark to his twin brother's desperate heroism. Lara and Dash secretly unite to prevent the murders of a do-gooding politician and dozens of supporters. “Minority Report” has clearly learned from its many predecessors, and by the end of the hour there was already a sprouting bond between cop and Precog. Vega is a dedicated detective, but hasn’t sacrificed her soul to rise in the ranks. Even though Dash is a means-to-an-end, she cares for him as a person, not a thing. And it’s nearly impossible not to. His visions hit like a freight train, and reverberate through him like a grand mal. Even my guarded heart begins to manufacture serious feels when it clicks that is how Dash spent his formative years—writhing from visions of constant murders and the physical pain of seizures. Since regaining his freedom, he doesn’t know how to live yet he’s dedicated to saving others from death. He’s a martyr, a futuristic Sam Winchester minus the mane. Their partnership is reminiscent of the best of “Sleepy Hollow’s” Abbie Mills and Ichabod Crane collaboration before Katrina swooped in to ruin everything. The rest is pure, imaginative fun. The pilot completely immerses you in the futuristic world that Spielberg built, and updates it. It’s still sleek and silver, lively and completely realized. There are colorful little touches—teleprompter glasses, healthy fries and flying selfie drones. There's suspense, humor and more than enough badassery, thanks to Good leaping off buildings and ziplining into warehouses without a flicker of hesitation. Even more, Dash's sister, Agatha, has been having a recurring vision that Precog program will be reinstated, and they will once again be imprisoned. Unlike Starks, Good—an industry veteran despite her babyface—doesn’t have the chance to stretch her acting muscles as much as her physical ones. Knowing the shelf-life of sci-fi shows on Fox (R.I.P. “Almost Human”), it is crucial that she gets the opportunities to show her range—her humor, rage and sadness—in the next few episodes. To carry the show, Good has to be more than the straight-laced cop or the hot girl with a gun, she has to be a fully-drawn person, and she's not yet. If Report trims the slightly indulgent scenes with the fancy CSI tools, they’ll have more time to invest into the cases, the action and the drama. Ultimately, “Minority Report" is not reinventing the wheel, but it definitely makes it more fun to play with. Its ability to play with linear time, burgeoning mythology arc and refreshingly diverse cast is a pretty slick way to solve the worst case of the Mondays. Grade: A- “Minority Report” airs every Monday on Fox at 8/7c. What did you think of "Minority Report"? Share your thoughts below. Photo Credits: Fox.com |
Small Screen GirlI am an unabashed pop culture and TV-aholic with no plans to ever seek treatment. Explore this blog and see just how deep my obsession goes. Categories
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