The All-Pilot Project: My Own Worst Enemy & Crusoe (Dec 8)
The Poop: Since it’s already cancelled, this is going to be largely academic. Of course, if it turns out to be really good, then you’ll be said that you missed it. As it turns out, you didn’t miss much.
Usually, I like a good high concept. Give me something crazy and then spend a lot of time justifying it (John from Cincinnati) or just assume that I’m going with it (Life on Mars), and I’m happy. Unfortunately, Enemy’s basic premise is so inherently flawed that it pulls you right out of the series.
The government thinks that hiding Edward’s personality inside Henry is a perfectly good plan, and I’m not sure why that is. Apparently, that’s how they protect their asset – by shutting down his spy-ness and letting him lead a second life with no knowledge of his shenanigans. It seem to me that, other than running the risk of fracturing his psyche and ending up with there wrong dominant personality at any given time (which happens before the end of the first act), it also exposes him to tremendous danger. Keep in mind, they aren’t changing his appearance and thus making some effort to disguise him from any enemies who might come looking. No, what they’re doing is taking all of his survival skills, and leaving them completely inaccessible to him. Better yet, the fact that Henry has a wife and two kids means that they’ve maximized collateral damage!
So, yeah. It definitely cuts into any enjoyment factor when you can’t spot wondering if Edward’s bosses are actively trying to get him killed. Some of the earlier scenes are still interesting, though. I liked seeing how his handlers justify Edward’s activities when Henry takes over, which sounds like the most boring thing ever, but I’m kind of a procedure junkie. Of course, I’d want a series about the handlers themselves, using Edward/Henry as a side character. Oh, man. A series about CIA problem solvers and continuity guys? Hands off! That’s my idea, and I’m pitching it!
As I mentioned, the series almost immediately has Henry and Edward start bleeding over into the others’ activities. I feel like it was too early to start that. Flawed premise aside, we need to see Edward and Henry as separate characters first, and then maybe have them start to lose control a few episodes in. They sabotaged our connection to the characters right off the bat, and also immediately limited their story possibilities. It seems like there’d be some benefit in combining straight espionage stuff with suburban mundanity, but they took that out of the equation.
On top of all that, the action scenes aren’t all that exciting. Other than the entertainment value of Henry taking over in the middle of the shoot-out, there’s nothing particularly interesting here. Even worse, something similar is being done exponentially better just two hours earlier on Chuck, which makes Enemy come off even worse.
The Prognosis: I wish I could call it disappointing, but the promotional campaign made it look sloppy and unforgivably cheesy. Book, meet cover.
Crusoe
Friday 8 PM, NBC
The Premise: It’s a “re-imagining” of the 17th Century novel, Robinson Crusoe. Guy shipwrecked on an island, builds a new life, fights pirates. There’s a much bigger emphasis on pirate battles here than in the original, you understand.
The Personnel: Developed by Stephen Gallagher, the creator of the UK version of Eleventh Hour. So he’s got a chance to disappoint me twice this season! The leads are largely unknown, but Mia (Alias) Maestro, Anna (Hellboy 2) Walton, and Sam (Everything) Neill appear in recurring roles. Strangely, IMDB lists the novel’s author, Daniel Defoe as a series writer, crediting him with “unknown episodes”. They’re probably saving those for sweeps.
The Poop: Wait, is this a kids show? They’re not promoting it that way, but I think this is definitely a kids show. Broad acting, wacky musical cues, stereotypical pirates in bright, primary colors? Yeah, this has to be a kids show. I mean, Crusoe has a freaking zip line, that he uses one-handed. This is not a faithful adaptation or anything.
And if this is supposed to be a kids show, it’s not half bad. It’s got a sense of humor, plots that are easy to follow without spoon-feeding, and a steady dose of action. Some of Crusoe’s island inventions are a little more Swiss Family Robinson than Defoe, but if it was good enough for my generation, it’s good enough for kids today, dammit.
If this is, in fact, aimed at kids, I have only one gripe. Friday. Yes, it’s part of the story that Crusoe educates an island-dweller, who becomes his friend / valet. But we’ve got a situation here where there is exactly one Black person on the series, and he’s referred to as a “savage” and he refers to himself in the third person. And they do attempt to justify it in the pilot (He calls himself by name to mock Crusoe’s inability to pronounce his real name), and they also tell us that he speaks 12 languages, which he somehow picked up on an uninhabited island. That’s all well and good, but if you’re deviating from the story this much to begin with, maybe you should have the Black character wear regular clothes and not speak like a caricature. That’s the kind of thing you can get away with when writing for adults, because we can grasp the idea of subverting stereotypes. But for kids, it’s probably best not to keep calling a Black guy “savage”.
Other than that quibble, it’s a darn good show for kids. Good time slot for them, too. It’s like a new generation of TGIF.
By the way, if I’m wrong and this is actually meant for adults, it kind of sucks.
The Prognosis: I’m not trying to be snarky here – I really think this is supposed to be aimed at children. It would help if they marketed it that way, though. This is either a giant misstep of advertising (if it’s a kids show) or of content (if it isn’t).
