Adam Scott and Craig Robinson is really a duo made in TV heaven. Their chemistry is the best part of the slightly topsy-turvy pace of their new show on FOX, "Ghosted."
The lead protagonists have already proven their humorous talents with the notable roles on various comedies. I'm excited to see both the actors back on my screen. It’s also no surprise then that they quickly become the most charming aspect of “Ghosted,” dubbed as the comedic version of “X-Files.
Scott and Robinson play Max and Leroy respectively, brought together by the Bureau Underground, an organization that investigates the paranormal and anything outside the scientific realm.
Here’s my overall impression from the comedy without giving away too much: it needs to buck up a little bit.
Sure, our two main guys here are goofy and great together. That might not be enough to save the show. “Ghosted” needs a hook; a consistent storyline even if it goes down the serialized route, which it looks like it will. Max, at least, has somewhat of a mystery going on there in terms of his missing “abducted” wife.
Robinson, well-known for his roles on "The Office" and "Brooklyn 99" is a hilarious treat to watch. His dialogue delivery is so on-point. Ditto for Scott, who has well-established his comedic stance via "Parks and Recreation." As for the other actors, none of them really get a chance to prove their worth.
What doesn't work for the pilot is that it feels quite rushed. What works is that "Ghosted" doesn't shy away from being totally wacky, which is great for a light-hearted horror comedy. I’ll still continue watching, especially because this show has a lot of potentially great factors. I'm hoping for it to improve on its pace and storyline. I'm also hoping it gives other characters some room to grow.
Now, onto the nitty-gritty of the first episode.
Scott’s Max is an ex-professor of Astrophysics at Stanford who truly believes in everything the Bureau Underground stands for. In fact, he is certain his wife was abducted by aliens. He also wrote the book on multiverses. Stanford removed him from his position when he started sounding “crazy,” so now he works at a library.
Robinson’s Leroy works as a mall cop and takes good care of his ex-partner’s family. Oh, that’s right. Leroy was a part of the LAPD for 15 years, one of the best missing persons detective on the force, but he quit.
Both of them are kidnapped from their place of work and brought to the BU. Why the both of them? Because an agent at the BU, Mike Checker, is in an abandoned building on a mission and witnesses some kind of spaceship. As he tries to escape, some weird flashing lights capture him. Before this, he records a quick message for his team, specifically asking for Max and Leroy’s help.
At the BU, we are introduced to the leader of this troupe, Captain Ava Lefray (Ally Walker), Annie (Amber Stevens West), the weapons and tech expert, and Dr. Barry Shaw (Adeel Akhtar), who works on unidentifiable evidence left by the paranormal.
Lefray gives Max and Leroy two days to try and figure out what went wrong with Agent Checker. Obviously, the two have no incentive to work on something like this, so she promises Leroy to get him his job back at the LAPD and Max to get him his job back at Stanford. Plus, it gives Max the opportunity to prove that everything he believes in is real. Leroy does it just for the LAPD job and has absolutely no faith in the supernatural existence.
As their first act together, they go to a secret storage space Checker had. They learn he was reading Max’s book on the multiverses. Together, the two of them then head to a nuclear power plant, which was one of Checker’s last location and because he worked undercover there on a mission. They spot the same spaceship-like machine he was trying to escape from in the episode’s opening moments. Before they can do anything about it, a huge man with yellow eyes and a robotic voice interrupts them. Annie helps them escape.
Back at BU, Max realizes the machine is actually a magnetic coil and is being used to siphon electricity. This means there’s another machine somewhere that’s consuming all of this electricity. Leroy uses his deductive skills and they head to an abandoned building, the possible location of the second coil, and also the place Checker was when the magnetic coil captured him.
Initially, Leroy locks Max in the car so he doesn’t get in his way. The two haven’t really seen eye to eye since their mission began, mainly because of their different personalities and school of thought. Yet, you see a friendship being developed. We learn from Leroy that the reason he left Max behind is so that his new partner doesn’t get hurt like his old partner did. He blames his ex-partner’s death on himself because his partner followed him when he went without backup and got shot in the process.
The two quickly hug and become friends again (aw!) and continue on their mission. Inside the building, Max spots the same huge man from the warehouse about to operate on Checker. He witnesses the man literally remove his head from his body. Leroy doesn’t believe it at first but when he see’s the head, yeah, he’s shook.
They devise a plan to save Checker. Max gets a hold of the head and when the headless man follows him, Leroy attempts to save Checker. Things don’t go as planned, obviously, and Max ends up on the roof. That’s when he see’s a legit spaceship lifting up Checker’s body while the huge man looks on. Leroy enters when the spaceship takes off, missing the whole action, therefore finding it tough to believe a spaceship existed.
He doesn’t even believe Max’s story about his wife’s kidnapping. He tells his new buddy how his wife might have just left him, having learned she and Max had a huge fight and she was packing before the alleged abduction.
Max and Leroy head back to BU. They learn that the headless man (don’t worry, he’s got his head back), has no memory of what just happened to him. They also learn that BU is monitoring several other people who’ve had the same thing happened to them. And one of them happens to be Max’s wife. Ding ding ding! The mystery deepens, you know, beyond the whole “why Max and Leroy?” question.
“Ghosted” definitely has the humor angle going for it. I can’t wait to see how strongly they develop all of their character and stories.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the episode:
1. “If you don’t mind I’d like to take you up on that hug you offered earlier but I know you were kidding”
2. “I have to meet up with my boys. We meet up with the Panera Bread every morning and discuss world affairs. And I’m kind of their unofficial leader.”
3. “Is there another Kevin Spacey in the multiverse? I think we got the best Kevin Spacey”
What did you think about the premiere of "Ghosted?" Will you continue watching? Let us know in the comments.
