"Elementary" and "Revolution"

Some quick thoughts on pilots for two new shows that will be premiering later this month, NBC's "Revolution" and CBS's "Elementary."

Let's deal with the bad news first. "Revolution," the new post-apocalyptic adventure show that takes place fifteen years after all electricity stops functioning, is this year's "Terra Nova." Created by Eric Kripke and produced by J.J. Abrams, it imagines society falling apart, and the survivors ruled over by an evil militia. Those who are lucky live in peaceful agrarian villages, like Ben Matheson (Tim Guinee), his teenage son Danny (Graham Rogers), and daughter Charlie (Tracy Spiridakos) who is in her early twenties. The arrival of the villainous Captain Neville (Giancarlo Esposito) and his men one day leaves Ben dead, Danny captured, and Charlie on a dangerous road to Chicago to find her uncle Miles (Billy Burke).

The only two characters that are remotely interesting in the pilot are Aaron (Zak Orth), a former Google employee who serves as good-natured comic relief, and Maggie (Anna Lise Phillips), Ben's doctor girlfriend who invites herself along on the trip to find Miles. Have you noticed the female love interests are always doctors in shows like this? "Revolution" is one cliché after another. Charlie has a rebellious attitude and spouts a lot of ideals, but she's pretty useless. I think her pushy naïveté would have worked better if she was cast about a decade younger. Of course they give her a love interest, Nate (J.D. Pardo), who is temporarily on the wrong side. Miles drowns his sorrow in drink until Charlie shows up on his doorstep with a reason for him to reclaim his inner badass. I was looking forward to Giancarlo Esposito's involvement, but his evil Captain Neville is a few degrees too evil, and the real big bad is someone else. To top it all off, the premise of a future without electricity gets completely subverted when we find out that the whole point of the series is going to be to find a way to turn the electricity back on.

I think I've been spoiled by recent cable series with their high production values, because "Revolution" looks pretty lackluster. The pilot was directed by Jon Favreau, but the budget limitations are very obvious in spite of some flashy special effects and scenic destruction. And then there are the content limitations that come with being a network television production, which means "Revolution" never gets nearly as dark or intense as this kind of material really needs. After "The Walking Dead" and so many other apocalypse themed media properties lately, this one feels very derivative and underwhelming. It's certainly more competent and more promising than "Terra Nova." The later parts of the episode involving Graham Rogers were decent, probably they didn't come across like they were trying too hard to impress. However, "Revolution" is already telegraphing far too many familiar plot arcs that I have no interest in following.

"Elementary" is CBS's modern day version of "Sherlock Holmes" that is a completely different animal from "Sherlock," the BBC's modern day version of Sherlock Holmes. "Elementary" is a crime procedural, and the irony is that despite Holmes being the progenitor of so many crime solving eccentric detectives that appear in these shows, like Patrick Jane in "The Mentalist," and Dr. Lightman on "Lie to Me," "Elementary" feels derivative of them, rather than the other way around. The new Sherlock Holmes, played by Jonny Lee Miller, is a former consultant to Scotland Yard, currently residing in New York City after a stint in rehab. The performance is decent. Miller's borderline manic, often inconsiderate Sherlock Holmes is a little softer and more vulnerable than either the Robert Downey Jr. or Benedict Cumberbatch takes, though it borrows bits from both.

The biggest departure is the show's other lead. Lucy Liu plays Dr. Joan Watson, a former surgeon carrying some emotional scars who is hired by Holmes' unseen father to help with the transition from rehab back to normal life. However, this immediately sets up "Elementary" to follow in the footsteps of couple-based detective shows like "Bones" and "Castle." Fortunately, "Elementary" doesn't appear to be going in that direction. Though there's clearly going to be a lot of focus on the developing relationship between Holmes and Watson, it's not clear at all that this relationship is going to be a romantic one. Lucy Liu is a good match for Jonny Lee Miller because she underplays so much, but can sell the big moments, especially when she's dressing him down. I like the rapport that the two actors are building and I expect it to get even better as the show goes on.

Otherwise, I don't think there's anything particularly distinctive or interesting about "Elementary." The crimes and the crime solving are pretty typical of any other crime procedural on the air right now. The New York setting is so familiar, I wouldn't have batted an eye if they turned a corner and came across a few "Law & Order" alumni. Holmes piecing together elaborate fact patterns from tiny, disparate clues is something we've seen many, many times before and "Elementary" doesn't really offer any new twists on them the way that "Sherlock" did. However, familiarity doesn't necessarily mean tedium. The execution of the show is very good, and the actors are strong and add a lot to the mix. The show is not breaking any new ground, but it's clearly not trying to. If you're generally a fan of these kinds of slick hour-long whodunits, you'll probably be perfectly satisfied with "Elementary."
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