Jim Caviezel (Jesus in Passion of the Christ) is John Reese, a CIA agent who quit when he realised he’d been forced to kill people who were only believed to be guilty. Michael Emerson (who you’ll probably recognise as Ben from Lost) plays Mr Finch, an eccentric millionaire who built a machine for the government that detects violent crimes. When he realised that the government were ignoring crimes that they considered irrelevant as they only involved a small group of people, he set out to help these people; recruiting John to be his muscle. However the machine only gives them a person’s social security number, so they don’t even know if the person they have the number of is a victim or a villain. Finch acts as researcher and the eyes and ears. while Reese shadows the person of interest to stop whatever disaster they may be involved in.
When the show first begins it seems like it will be new and different, but after the first episode it becomes quite clear that it’s just a crime drama with some slight variations. Each episode someone’s number comes up and Reese and Finch have to figure out why. Very few of the instalments do enough with the concept to keep things interesting, as most are simply of the ‘someone is going to get murdered’ variety. Reese finds them, Finch discovers everything about them and at the end of the day, Reese marches in and saves the victim just in time. One episode has Reese cut off from Finch, forcing him act alone, but within 15 minutes it’s back to the same old plot. This is often the case in fact an episode seems to be going down an interesting road but then heads back to the same old route. The biggest issue I have with the show is how intensely cheesy it is at times, containing 80s buddy cop style jokes that don’t gel with the dark story it is attempting to portray.
There is a subplot about detective Carter (Taraji P. Henson) investigating the pair, but it never really comes to anything. Carter just ends up on their side as their police informant. Kevin Chapman plays a crooked cop who they recruit early on and use as a sap, working similarly to Carter yet neither is aware of the other. Of slightly more interest is the story revolving around a team of corrupt cops and government officials who are working with the mob to cover up their crimes and later perform contract killings, but this is mostly set up for the second season.
Michael Emerson is the shows only interesting character; a mysterious, quirky individual who you slowly learn more about as the show progresses; yet he still remains an enigma. His flashbacks are actually quite effective, revealing things about his past and what happened to his boss and friend. The other characters’ flashbacks aren’t anywhere near as interesting, but at least unlike Lost, not everywhere episode features one. Mr Reese is similarly mysterious but the flat performance from Caviezel makes him incredibly dull, he’s simply the gun toting hero who rides in to save the day. Henson more interesting as Carter yet she doesn’t get much to do other than occasionally looking tough. Enrico Colantori (who you may recognise as the dad from Veronica Mars) joins the show as the main villain for the season. Elias is a kingpin who is behind many of the crimes in the series. Elias is mostly behind the scenes throughout, being limited to a few appearances that don’t allow much time for him to develop as an intriguing villain.
While a spotty series at times, it does have its moments of excitement and can occasionally use the concept well. What’s most interesting are the episodes where the team are completely incorrect about which side their person of interest is on; leading to effective twists when the truth is revealed. The series finale sets up a new villain, played by a favourite actress of mine who will hopefully come to play in the future. If the second season can provide a greater balance, as well as play with its formula more often, then it could prove to be an entertaining show.
The special features for the box set are a bit sparse, the most interesting of which is an extended version of the pilot that provides a few interesting unseen scenes. Both the original and extended pilot get commentaries that provide interesting information for the fans, The only other significant extra is ‘living in an age of surveillance’, which explores the idea of the machine and the likelihood that it will one day be a reality, if it isn’t already. You also get a brief gag reel.
Overall Verdict: Could have been an interesting series but in the end just feels too familiar to every other crime drama out there, without much variation between episodes.
Special Features:
Extended pilot episode
Commentaries for both versions of the pilot episode.
Living in an age of surveillance
Gag reel
Reviewer: Matt Mallinson