Awake is a new show from NBC that chronicles the ever more delusional detective Michael Britten as he alternates between two alternate-realities both resulting from a late night car accident. In one reality his wife died in the other his son, and in both he must see a different psychiatrist and solve different crimes, though as the pilot unfolds the two realities appear to be linked as clues from one crimes reality lead to resolutions in the other. The performance from Jason Isaacs is what grounds the seemingly convoluted plot, there is a deep sadness in some scenes and a particularly chilling unraveling when Britten forgets which reality he is in that shows Isaacs is at the top of his game here.
Awake has the potential to be one of the very few good police procedurals out there, but it'll have to strike a better balance between the two realities. The pilot is jarring as the reality perspectives shifts often and even as the viewer you're left wondering which alternate universe you are in, maybe that is an intended effect but it was too much for me. There is a color-shift in the two realities too accentuate which world you are witnessing which is helpful but it could just take the show a while to master that transition. While I have no interest in a police procedural since there are hundreds to choose from and they are all identical. Awake peaks my interest purely on a conceptual level, and if they have bigger picture plans in store this could be a show to look out for.
For now I'm cautiously optimistic, like most pilots its an average episode of television but the concept of a man drifting between two planes of existence slowly losing gripes on which is real, if any, is incredibly compelling. I'll defiantly be tuning in when the shows airs March 1st, 2012. My biggest hope is that they capitalize on the amazing concept and go even further, maybe introducing more cerebral concepts, cause if it boils down into another police procedural with a twist, even if it happens to be an interesting twist, I'm out.
(4 out of 5)
No comments:
Post a Comment