Having praised Chao's Pilot so much and with the second episode having turned out to be a big flop, I'm a bit afraid for this TV show's life, if I go on with this review, but hopefully I'm not that powerful.
Another of this spring's lineups is Breaking In, a comedy about a bunch of ingenious misfits brought together by one Oz, no last name, to put their talents for "legal" uses. I'm not entirely sure that all Oz does is entirely legal, but I'll allow it! So, the title is pretty self explanatory. Oz, who is played by Christian Slater, runs a high tech firm that offers its services to break into other people's security systems before the thieves do. And for that he needs the best people to do the job.
Meet Melanie Garcia (Odette Annable), first trade lock picker and surveillance expert. Not your average beauty, likes riding motorcycles, breaking into safes and I suspect has some childhood issues. She's a little bit eccentric at times but it seems that being part of Oz's team requires it. I like how she's just one of the boys and shares their inside jokes and pranks, like in today's episode when she and Cash were teasing Cameron, doing the "Tapping the grave" dance.
Cameron Price (Bret Harrison, from TV show Reaper), hacker; taken off the benches of college, where he had spent too much time, Oz spotted his newest addition hiding in a dorm room, playing Grand Theft Auto and hacking into the school's system, breaking passwords for those in need of grade improvements. Needless to say he was one of them. With a giant debt of school loans, Cameron found a way into never having to leave the sweet sweet life of campus. It took him 12 majors to finally want to graduate and put his skills and payment, although if Oz hadn't recruited him, I'm sure it would have taken a couple more.
Josh Armstrong (Trevor Moore) , alleged master of disguise, although I'm not sure what to say about his skills, having seen that he couldn't find his way to a fine new pair of fake eyebrows, after losing his originals in an accident this season. Thinks he's top dog, ambitious, extra zealous, likes to believe he's so smart, but really he's just goofy. I will give him this, he does like to play mind tricks and is good at it. Last episode, he got Cameron to steal the right car from the wrong car dealership, in order to have his revenge for Cameron unwillingly stealing his role as team leader. Josh like to stick out a lot but in the end he is a team player and I think that he really likes what he does.
Last, but not least, Boom goes the Dynamite! Cash Sparks (Alphonso McAuley), the gadget man, a combination between Officer Jones of Police Academy and Hardison from Leverage; knows klingonian, likes playing pranks, is very good at whatever he does, which is mostly providing laughter among us spectators. He's Cameron's unofficial "partner", or side-kick if you will, showing him the ropes of his new life and how to handle the characters in the office such as his crush, Melanie and his boss, Oz.
Speaking of Oz, he's no new slick on the block, but Christian Slater does make him one of those characters you like despite of anything. He's got the mystery in his past, the craziness in his attitude, the cash to back it up, various talents of his own, such as lip reading and who knows what else we'll uncover. He's the kind of boss that gives you a full hand on the reigns if he thinks you've got what it takes; one rule only: you cannot fail. He's a big collector of movie memorabilia, such as the sword Connery used in Highlander. He likes to spy on his employees because he says he cares, but my guess is that a boss who knows all and sees all can avoid trouble in time and run a successful business. After all, his business plan relies entirely on the fact that his employees are able and have their heads in the game.
On this episode, Oz tricked the team into breaking into his own house. Or rather his old house, I'm still unclear if he was still living with his not yet separated wife (played by Alyssa Milano), but the fact is that he was on the outs with her and she had something he really needed her not to have. Of course, that being Oz's house, he employed the best high tech security I've ever seen: electrical shocking door lock, automatic lock down, tranquilizing darts, you name it! But since he failed to initially mention all this to his team and masking the fact that the house was his, they went in thinking it was just a breeze and got totally shocked. I mean, literally. The wife, however was onto her husband's tricky little plan and decided to plan a scheme of her own. Now i don't know if it was all those years spent with Oz that rubbed on her, or if she has skills of her own, but she is pretty slick herself and managed to turn off Cameron's entire operation. He, however, managed to pick up on it and came out with a better plan to accomplish the impossible.
In the end, Cameron got the job done and although he didn't also get the girl, he got to take her to a Jason Mraz concert. And that's a pretty good first step for him. Do you guys think he's got any chances with her?
