I deliberately didn't watch any of the clips of this before going into the series, I love the novels by Jeffery Deaver and wanted to go in a little blind to everything. After a mild panic brought on by a faulty series link I managed to see the first episode.
Series Overview
Starring Russell Hornsby and Arielle Kebbel.
A retired forensic criminologist teams up with an ambitious young detective to help capture some of the most dangerous criminals in America.
Series 1, Episode 1: Pilot
While on patrol, NYPD officer Amelia Sachs stumbles across a victim left by the infamous Bone Collector, which brings her to the attention of Lincoln Rhyme, a retired detective left paralyzed from the neck down while trying to catch him three years ago. Lincoln's ex-partner Sellitto brings him in to consult on the case, and Lincoln insists that Amelia wear a special rig that will allow him to communicate with and see everything she sees as he trusts her to listen to him. A second victim is rescued only seconds before death, and Amelia's intuition gives the team a lead that reveals the killer is not the real Bone Collector, merely a copycat who wants the same glory as the original. The fake Collector kidnaps Amelia's sister Rachel and puts her in a trap to drown before committing suicide by cop. Lincoln uses his insights to determine the location of the trap, and Rachel is saved. Afterwards, Lincoln makes a deal to return to the NYPD as a civilian consultant, with Amelia as his liaison. The real Bone Collector, aware of the copycat's existence, prepares a "gift" to send to Lincoln.
Review
*stares blankly at the blank page and wonders how on earth to start*
When I spotted the series originally I didn't realise that it had a subtitle, I was expecting Lincoln Rhyme, not Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For The Bone Collector. It might sound daft, but there's definitely a difference.
I'm going to try hard to not compare it to everything else and go at it as a lone entity... don't worry, you'll get to hear everything else shortly...
We're introduced to Lincoln Rhyme through the incident that leaves him paralysed, searching for the Bone Collector he enters a warehouse alone and walks into a trap that's set for him. He comes across as more cocky and confident than anything in this opening and it doesn't quite feel appropriate for the situation, there's almost a touch of humour and it caught me off guard almost instantly.
Amelia Sachs is a perky and enthusiastic police officer, we learn quite quickly that she's ambitious but possibly too keen to prove herself. She's close with her sister and is able to make connections with people quite quickly. Despite this confidence she's living with a past trauma that still haunts her professional life.
Together the two have a good balance, she calls him out when he gets stubborn and he pushes her to improve. Combined with the rest of the cast it's a well-balanced ensemble, the acting is solid with all of the extended characters and there are some strong personalities.
During most of the episode there's nothing really wrong with the script, but the beginning feels like it was filmed as part of something completely different. Sachs and Rhyme are having a conversation and their lines become overly dramatic and almost feel like a parody. The delivery was awful and I was extremely worried that would continue throughout... but as quickly as it arrived, it disappeared, and I didn't notice it again.
My last two observations kind of mesh together so I'll start with the digital effects that they use. With Rhyme's disability he needs a lot of tech as part of his set up, the main piece is three screen monitor that shows their case and evidence. That in itself isn't a problem but the design isn't visually accessible to the viewer. Those screens are clear glass and often it's next to impossible to see exactly what's on them, personally, this is half the fun of watching crime dramas. In a second part to this effect Rhyme analyses the evidence and it comes out into the real world and develops while he talks it through, it's an interesting way to bring it to life but occasionally feels a little over the top.
My main issue is probably best described as "everything happens and yet nothing happens". When something is discovered in evidence Rhyme has one of his digital effect brainwaves and after briefly spouting facts and tales he solves the clue. This happens at every turn, nothing seems to take very long to work out. It's almost like they thought... "Well, there's been CSI, so we can't do too much of the forensic analysis of the evidence... and there's been Criminal Minds so we can't profile people..." And on and on until they've talked themselves out of the whole principle behind the original material. This means the episode has a fast pace because it's find-solve-find-solve, but it also means that there's not really much time to get invested in anything.
Watching More?
I set up the series link and I'm keen to see more, but I'm also hoping that things develop from this frustrating first episode. It's not exactly a great opening, if it wasn't for my love of the source material I probably wouldn't be too bothered about powering through.
What You Should Do
I can't honestly recommend the series off the back of this first episode, particularly if you're a fan of the novels.
Thing You Wish You Could Take Home
Some of the Lincoln Rhyme mental power.
Comments
Post a Comment