Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Inside Out

I don't know if any of you has been watching the new TV series The Inside. If not, it pains me to say this, but: don't start.

It pains me because I like many of the people involved. On the writing side, the show was co-created by Tim Minear, who had a hand in Angel and Firefly, as well as Wonderfalls. Jane Espenson, also of the Whedon fold, is on the writing staff. So is Richard Hatem, co-creator of Miracles. On the acting side, there's Peter Coyote (best known perhaps for E.T., but also recently on The 4400), Katie Finneran of Wonderfalls, and Adam Baldwin of Firefly. With a team like this, I wanted to fall instantly in love with the show.

The trouble is, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Three episodes have now aired, and while none have been "bad," none have been notable. It's been a rather unremarkable "procedural crime drama," and I think we all know how little TV needs another one of those.

There have been moments of good writing and witty character here and there, but they've been completely overshadowed by one giant problem I have. The lead character, a Clarisse Starling-esque criminal profiler, is shaping up to be as big a "disaster rod" as Kim Bauer. Every episode has seen her put into jeopardy -- once by her own boss, once by her own actions, and once by a combination of the two. It seems "jeopardizing the heroine" is part of the formula of this show. And it's tired, boring, and predictable already. It also undermines her credibility, I think. If she's such a brilliant criminal profiler, how does she not see at least one of these situations coming?

So, despite the show's pedigree, I think I'm stepping off at this point. It's not "Point Pleasant" bad in terms of creative people I like letting me down. But it's also just not worth my time.

3 comments:

GiromiDe said...

What an unbelievable coincidence! I too managed to remember to TiVo last night's episode "Pre-filer." I had read some positive buzz for this series over at Ain't It Cool, and I believe the buzz was based on the first few teleplays and on the fact that a Whedon Acolyte had re-worked the show.

I too was very disappointed, but for different reasons, perhaps because I only watched one episode. While the lead character is pretty bad, the actress playing her is worse. The only actors that interest me are Baldwin, Coyote, and the other lead guy.

Also, the show tries to present itself as a "procedural with a twist," but there's no twist. The only "twist" is the gritty style. Whatever mythology revolves around Coyote's character will likely never be realized and isn't enough to keep me interested.

Finally, the show so desperately wants to be The Next Big Thing that it feels forced. The aforementioned style is pushed through every aspect of the show from the sets to the scene transitions to the acting to the way the film is filtered. In short, its all style with no substance.

thisismarcus said...

Thanks for the pic of Elisha! (If only...)

TheGirard said...

btw - I caught a piece of the 4400 last night (the very beginning of an episode with The Doctor in a diner). It looks interesting. Do I need to know more background other than "hey these peeps were abducted"?