Pity CBS. Feel sorry
for them. The other networks you may
laugh at, mock, point fingers at and snicker, but CBS deserves your pity. Their problem is that they have been so
successful for so long, they've forgotten how to succeed. They get an innovative (for TV) idea, and
they can’t help but pound that square peg until it fits awkwardly into a round
hole.
They did it last season to a series called intelligence,
which had a promising premise and an appealing cast, but it was forced into
fitting the procedural mold that made the CSI and NCIS franchises so
successful. What was produced was bland and predictable, and didn’t survive for
another season.
This season they are doing the same thing to a new series
called Scorpion (cool name, never explained). The concept is not earth-shattering
but has potential: a team of socially inept super-geniuses are recruited by
Homeland Security to solve what on The Middleman were called “exotic problems.”
The show has potential, but first it has to escape the network notes
emphasizing procedural elements over interesting characters.
The team is overseen by Robert Patrick, who brings his best
glower. Patrick is a solid actor, best
known for Terminator 2 but who also did some underappreciated work subbing for
David Duchovney on The X-Files. He
should ground Scorpion when the plots start to spin out of control. The team of
geniuses consists of a math prodigy, an engineering genius, and master
psychologist, and their leader who claims to have an IQ of 190. Oh, and a waitress. Can’t forget the waitress.
The plot of the pilot was mercifully free of the standard terrorist
threats or super-villains. Thanks to a
computer glitch, the software at every airport in Southern California goes on
the fritz, which means every plane in the area will crash in about two
hours. Or 45 minutes. Or ten minutes. It’s hard to keep track, because deadlines
keep coming and going. The whole thing is contrived, but what television show
plot isn’t? The plan is to find an
uncorrupted version of the software, transfer it to a laptop, then e-mail it to
the control tower at LAX, which eventually means having to connect a laptop to
an airplane’s computer—with a cable, while the plane is flying.
The whole thing is kept moving at a brisk pace by veteran
director Justin Lin. He not only
directed the later installments of the Fast and Furious franchise, but he also
directed the brilliant paintball episode of Community (he deserved a best
director Emmy, but shows like Community never win Emmys). Lin keeps things moving fast enough that we
don’t have too much time to soak in how absurd the situation is.
It’s hard to judge shows based on pilot episodes. The first
episode of Scorpion was amusing enough, but I don’t know if the showrunner and
writers will be smart enough to keep a show about a bunch of geniuses credible.
And I suspect that the Suits at CBS will provide the producers with “notes”
that will slowly drain Scorpion of what little innovation it possesses.
Scorpion has potential, but I doubt that potential will
survive CBS’ need to make the show look like all its other shows. So feel sorry for CBS; they can win for
winning,
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