Last Resort : 8.38/10.
It was the most compelling and instantly addictive pilot I've seen since Homeland's pilot a year ago, and if I look only at big networks the last incredible effective first episode that comes to mind is… what do you know, FOX's Chicago Code in February 2011. What do The Chicago Code and Last Resort have in common ? Shawn Ryan. If there are proven names in the TV industry in terms of quality, his is at the top of the list. Shawn Ryan's shows always deliver, whether it's one of my all time favorite The Shield or the brilliant but short-lived Terriers and The Chicago Code, I've always liked his character-driven, cliché-avoiding, addiction-inducing serialized work. I usually hate copshows, not because they're about cops but because they're often lazy procedurals wrapped with petty twists (oddly mannered main character, consultant helping the police, sexual tension between the leads, opposites teaming up, you pick, and I puke).
As you may notice, on Last Resort things get tense and sweaty - just the way I like it.
This time, however, there are no cops in sight. The charismatic Andre Braugher (whose TV work I've seen include the great FX miniseries Thief and Men of a Certain Age) leads a great cast including Daily Betts (who I enjoyed in the flawed but somewhat interesting Persons Unknown), Dichen Lachman (who I found amazing in the under-appreciated Dollhouse), Robert Patrick (the T-1000 and countless other roles), Omid Abtahi (he definitely loves conspiracy series after being on Sleeper Cell, 24 and Homeland), Autumn Reeser (who I've seen in some of Entourage's worst days and in a bad ABC fantasy show, No Ordinary Family) and a French actress, so that's cool. I don't know the others well yet, but Scott Speedsman made a good impression.
Le plus gros retournement de situation de l'épisode : elle s'aperçoit que c'est pas du Nutella mais une sous-marque !
I noticed quite a few musical compositions that were pretty good, one of the most memorable being around the 28th minute when the submarine got out of the water near the island. I like this type of epic music, which did add a bit of a blockbustery side to this pilot. There are so few TV dramas for which the score is noticeable, I'm glad Last Resort is one of them and hopefully they will keep that in the upcoming episodes.
However, I thought there were editing problems. Maybe this pre-air was an unfinished work ? I don't think it was, but I hope so, because a little tweaking in the editing room (or simply a longer cut) would be enough to make this pilot even greater. As it is, it felt like a 52-minute pilot compacted into a 44-minute one. It didn't flow as smoothly as I had hoped, it sometimes felt a bit rushed with no breathing between the scenes. It sure did not leave any room for boredom, but maybe there was too much exposition in such a short amount of time. I think a longer pilot would have been better, but that would've bothered ABC and the almighty Grey's Anatomy. Of course, I have no doubt the pace of the following episodes will be slower and the segues will not be as rushed as in this pilot in which I feel they wanted to cram as much information as possible.
I have 21 other monologues in this submarine. If you dare shutting us down, I will unleash them and my badass charisma on you. You've been warned.
I trust Shawn Ryan and I know he will not turn this intriguing pilot into a 'case of the week' series. The characters are not walking clichés, they're not all black/white, and that's usually what you need in the first place to have compelling interactions and coherent evolution. There are plenty of stories of which we've just seen the tip, we can see them in the ending montage carrying Chaplin's speech, of which the last 30 seconds show how badass Andre Braugher can be ("You've been warned"). I think Autumn Reeser's character and Kendel's wife wouldn't have been in the main cast had it aired on, say, FX, I don't see what they can possibly bring to the story on a weekly basis that doesn't make me think that I'd prefer seeing scenes on the island with the rest of the cast, but I guess there's got to be series regulars in Washington to uncover the reason why the Colorado was set up, it's not like Chaplin can do much on his own on the island (but I wouldn't be surprised if the Seals they picked up had a big role in this).
How can you tell Last Resort was truly great ? Well, that's simple : I want to see episode 1.02 right now ! I can't say the same for any other pilot that I've seen so far.
Dramas :
1 - Last Resort (ABC) : 8.38/10.
2 - Revolution (NBC) : 4.14/10.
I have no interest in watching neither The Mob Doctor (FOX) nor do I want to watch Elementary (CBS), therefore I won't review them. As of now, the only pilots left for me to watch and review here before the end of the year are Nashville (ABC), 666 Park Avenue (ABC), Vegas (CBS), Arrow (CW), Ripper Street (BBC America) and Hunted (Cinemax).
Comedies :
1 - Go On (NBC) : 6.16/10.
2 - Ben & Kate (FOX) : 5.69/10.
3 - The New Normal (NBC) : 4.58/10.
4 - Animal Practice (NBC) : 3.03/10.
5 - The Mindy Project (FOX) : 2.91/10.
Great review. I agree with everything you said. It was really fast-paced and interesting all-round. The cast is stellar and Shawn Ryan failed to disappoint. I do suggest you try watching Elementary and The Mob Doctor though. Elementary is different from the cliched CBS dramas and has a certain quirkiness to it that has gotten me obsessed. The Mob Doctor is intense, and although the name is a put-off, it is a lot more compelling that it suggests.
ReplyDeleteOkay, so the review is you love Shawn Ryan, you liked the score, and you have faith that it's not going to be a cookie cutter cop procedural with sexual tension between the leads??? Huh? None of that addresses the pilot that you actually watched except for some maybe editing mistakes and the music. I don't understand.
ReplyDeleteOkay, maybe I'll try them in a few weeks. Well, "a few weeks", that if if they make it past November : the critics don't seem to like The Mob Doctor, which, according to the ratings, could get cancelled anytime soon. But Jonny Lee Miller did get a few compliments for his portrayal of Holmes and I think this one has a shot at being successful enough to get past 2012. If it does, I'll probably give it a shot ;).
ReplyDeleteI don't understand your comment either. I say stuff about :
ReplyDelete- The creator, always failing to disappoint and turning copshows into genuinely great dramas.
- The cast, full of great actors who worked in underrated shows that you should check out, hence my mentioning them.
- The score, something many TV series don't bother with and here it stands out.
- The editing problems, or more precisely the feeling that things were a bit rushed.
- The characters don't seem one-dimentional.
- The promise of interesting stories in the near future, most of them shown during Chaplin's speech.
- The fact that it airs on ABC (would the two women in DC have been series regulars had it aired on FX ?).
- And the fact that this pilot was intriguing, captivating, didn't resemble 100 other shows on the air and that it makes me want to see what comes next.
What else must I talk about in a review ? Should I recap the whole plot ?
And yes, cookie-cutter interactions between cardboard characters are numerous in many network drama series, so I thought it was worth mentioning that it wasn't the case here.
First of all, I wouldn't have accepted the gift. It is either Nutella or it isn't. Period.
ReplyDelete"I have 21 other monologues in this submarine. If you dare shutting us down, I will unleash them and my badass charisma on you. You've been warned." Hahaha. You really had me laughing out loud alone, which is kinda creepy.
The seals caused all this IMO. They are the reason why someone had to bomb Pakistan in order to cover something up. This cover up appears to have been caused either by some mistake from the SEALS or by the fact that someone gave them fake intel and they followed the orders nevertheless.
I liked your essay. It is an essay, after all, not a recap.
ReplyDeleteGlad you brought up Thief when mentioning Andre Braugher!
ReplyDeleteThat was a stellar mini-series that not enough people have seen...
Agreed on all counts.
Best pilot of the season so far by far and I have seen Elementary and Mob Doctor. XD
Shawn Ryan has such a great touch with characters and even the seemingly cliche roles are tweaked just enough to make them something different and interesting. I really like the mix of characters on the show and also the performances.
Okay, was Autumn Reeser in lingerie just to get a quick clip for pilot promos? Sure, but she will not be living in lingerie for the series so that is excusable to me. I agree that the network seemed to add a few female characters that may not have been around on FX or HBO etc. The scared wife at home will get old fast if done in a cliched way, but I do not have much of a concern of Ryan doing that.
The pacing did seem fast, but many pilots do. I thought the pilot had the feel of a blockbuster movie. Amped up music and short scenes with plots that are really not explored in any more detail than necessary to advance the story. I would be wary of that if I thought it would continue over the season. I just do nto see Ryan doing that though as he loves to explore the "grey areas" of life and diving into his characters and stories into depth not normally seen on TV.
Great start, and an unexpected great start to the series and I hope it stays on the air for a while unlike Ryan's last two very underrated and under-watched projects.
I watch or have watched many of those CBS cop shows and liked more than a few for a time.... Elementary may be different, but it certainly was not better.
ReplyDeleteIt was filled with constant cliches and not those associated with Holmes mythos either sadly. It was quite possibly the least Sherlock Holmes show I have ever seen that was based on Sherlock Holmes... and I include The Mentalist in that mix.
If it would have been just some detective series with a different name I would have given it a C over all, but since it was a "Holmes" series I gave it a D+ in the end.
All of which is to say that CBS likely has another hit because sheeple flock to cop shows where the wise-cracking partners have sexual tension,
By far the best pilot and one of the best major network pilots in recent years. Chaplin is so badass and Andre has such a presence he is hypnotising to watch.
ReplyDeleteIt tells me nothing critically about the pilot that we didn't know before we watched. Of course it isn't a cop procedural with sexual tension between the leads. It is a military thriller. You investigated the plot heavily when you reviewed Revolution, so yes, I expected you to address the numerous, giant plot holes and problems. The stereotypical and tired presentation of the military which was vastly more suited to the pre-9-11 world of Tom Clancy. The flat characters who have made enormous premise-generating choices for no apparent reason. I expected a review, not you to say how much you love the creator and the actors and give a 50-word homage to Chicago Code. What did you learn from the pilot that you didn't know before going into it. That's what I was expecting. All I got was you love Shawn Ryan and you have faith that he'll make this work. Like I said I am confused as to what you are reviewing.
ReplyDeleteI have watched the pilot this afternoon. I was amazed. It's a riveating hour. You have amazing character build-up, an infinte number of plotlines and storylines that can be started from the amazing number of characters (which, as you've said, are far from black and white), all with an amazing pace and incredible storytelling. I suck at describing episodes and shows and why I like them, but I never expected to love this so much. I loved Revolution pilot and I will watch the show religiously, but I have to say that Last Resort's pilot has put into shame. Please gods of television let it be the one that breaks the ABC Thursdays 8pm curse, please please...
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