Reviewed: Resurrection, Outlander, The Flash, Intruders, How to Get Away with Murder, and The Good Wife
The new shows just keep on coming and John Byrne catches up with some more while saying goodbye to an old favourite . . .
My head is spinning from all the new and returned shows that have appeared in recent weeks, and there's no sign of it abating either. Sure the dark nights are with us now, so bring it on!
The highly-anticipated Resurrection (Tuesdays, RTÉ Two) arrived in the spot vacated by the departed Devious Maids, and offered quite a contrast to Marc Cherry's fluffy soap. Although the premise here would lend viewers to assume it's an American TV version of French scare-fest Les Revenants/The Returned, it's actually based on the book The Returned, by Jason Mott.
An 8-year-old American boy wakes up in a rural Chinese province with no idea how he got there. All he can recall is that his name is Jacob and he's from Arcadia, a small town in the USA. An American immigration agent takes him there and discovers that Jacob appears to be a boy who died three decades ago. So it's a bit of a shock for his ageing parents when he turns up on their doorstep . . .
While Resurrection is a lot more cosy and mainstream than The Returned, and a far less of an unsettling experience, the pilot sets things up nicely. Standout performance so far is from Kurtwood Smith, who you might remember as the perma-grumpy Red Forman in That 70s Show. Here he plays Henry Langston, Jacob's dubious father, while Frances Fisher offers an alternate view as Henry's more welcoming wife.
Another new fantasy on RTÉ Two, but a vastly different prospect, is Outlander (Tuesdays, RTÉ2), a Starz adaptation of the series of books by Diana Gabaldon. Irish interest was piqued by the presence of Caitriona Balfe in the lead role of World War II combat nurse Claire Randall who becomes a time traveller, but if the pilot is any indication, this is well worth sticking by for the foreseeable. It's been described as epic and it's certainly dressed for the part.
A small fortune must have been spent on the opener, which took its time to tell its story, and was all the better for it as it helped viewers to get to know the central character. But despite impeccable production values, it needs a strong storyline to keep the viewer interested. The set-up of Randall inexplicably finding herself back in 1743 and tending to a wounded Scottish Highlander subtly hooked me in. Meanwhile the wife is insisting that we record and keep this show for another night (which is why I haven't watched episode two yet). Goodnight Sweetheart this ain't.
There was fantasy of another kind in the shape of The Flash (Tuesdays, Sky 1), which hit the small screen with a pacy, colourful and pretty impressive pilot. Typical for a show by US network CW, it's got a very young cast and comes as a kind of companion piece to Arrow, which is back for a third season on Thursdays on Sky 1.
Like Arrow, The Flash is based on a DC Comics' character, and takes on the Silver Age version, which means Barry Allen (played by former Glee star Grant Gustin) is the fastest man alive.
When Barry was eleven, his mother died in mysterious circumstances. Barry grows up to become a CSI cop, partly because he wants to figure out what happened the night his mother died. A freak explosion at the local STAR Labs complex then sees Barry become superhumanly fast and we're up and, eh, running.
As a Flash fan, this was always going to be an easy sell to me. But the key to success, as ever with this kind of tale, is whether the makers decide to flesh out the characters or adopt a Villain of The Week approach. Maybe a bit of both is all that's required, because the pilot was hugely entertaining.
Far more baffling, much more hard work, and a rather unsettling experience was Intruders (Monday, BBC One). It stars John Simm, and – quite frankly – I haven't a clue what's going on in this BBC America production that seems to be about a secret society and a quest for immortality.
It features the former Life on Mars' star as a former LAPD cop with a troubled and violent history, and who's now a writer. I can't recall the last time I was so baffled by a new drama (well, except for The Leftovers, but that's got me hooked after a few weeks of head-scratching), but I am intrigued in a David Lynch-like 'what the hell was that?' kind of way.
In the wake of the relentless rant that is Scandal, I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the latest from Shonda Rhimes, How to Get Away with Murder (Wednesdays, Universal). The pilot rattled along merrily and had an irresistible energy.
This legal drama stars a magnetic Viola Davis (The Help) as Annalise Keating, a law professor at a prestigious Philadelphia university who, along with some of her extremely eager students, becomes entangled in a murder. I'll give nothing away as it's already got me completely hooked and I recommend that, if you haven't got Universal, drop everything when it comes to a terrestrial channel near you. It has 'hit' written all over it and is more addictive than a bucket of ice cream.
Finally, it was time to say goodbye to The Good Wife (Thursdays, RTÉ One), which completed its sensational fifth season with a bit of a jaw-dropper that immediately made fans crave the arrival of season six.
Lockhart, Gardner & Canning inadvertently left the camera on after their live streaming deposition with Florrick/Agos, which allowed the latter to eavesdrop. That wasn't just clever, it was genius.
Josh Charles may be gone, but this show continues to offer a remarkable mix of great storylines, marvellous characters and an astonishing cast. While other shows may have a cooler cachet, The Good Wife remains in a league of its own.
John Byrne
