Fox’s latest original series, The Strain, premiered last night with an uneven pilot to what could be a potentially decent new show. The Strain is a show that I’d been excited to see ever since the reveal of the project. Still too early to judge the fate of the new series, it’s safe to say I have higher hopes for it than what was showcased in the pilot.
The Strain tells the story of a far from compelling lead character, Dr. Ephraim Goodweather. Goodweather and his team, Disease Control Canary of New York, are called upon to lead an investigation to find out the cause of a mysterious viral outbreak. The case has signs of an evil strain of vampirism, that in the larger scope of the show may lead to war for the fate of humanity.
After having hyped myself up for the show, in my mind it had a lot to live up to, luckily it wasn't a total disappointment. To my pleasant surprise I found the pilot entertaining and creepy. For a pilot I felt it raised a good amount of questions without being overwhelming, which is a mistake often made. It also had an efficient soundtrack that helped establish the pace. I really enjoyed the mood the show captured with lighting and camera work. The strongest aspect the show accomplished was the atmospheric horror that loomed over the runtime.
Along with any pilot comes cons, and what bugged me most was the lack of likable and compelling characters. Without strong characters, a show is bound to fall flat on it’s face, unless it has a great plot. Fortunately, The Strain kept me interested enough in this first show to keep watching, otherwise I would have turned it off. But not even the most interesting plot can make up for forced, unnatural, cliché dialogue spoken by boring, uninteresting characters.
The only reason I will be returning to watch episode two is because of the plot. I believe the show has more to offer than the premiere, and I’m open to giving it another chance.
C-
No comments:
Post a Comment