Reversal of fortune
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- October
- 9
One of the great pleasures of being a critic on vacation is the difference in the way you watch TV — with more of a willingness to be diverted than a critical eye.
Still, the critical eye is never entirely absent. I found many of my first impressions unchanged. I was tickled by “Chuck” the second and third time around —you have to love a guy who’s willing to do “the girl part” in the tango —and wished, yet again, that I could say the same for “Moonlight” and “Journeyman.” (Although you’ll notice that the writers on “Journeyman” are making an effort to explain Dan’s ability to time-travel and to distinguish between past and present with flashes of white light. I still say the show’s success will hinge on the triangle with lost love Livia and beloved wife Katie.)
Some shows, however, improve greatly upon acquaintance. Such is NBC’s “Life” (10 p.m. Wednesdays, Channel 4 locally), which I originally liked for star Damian Lewis’ sake, but which now has me hook, line and sinker.
I love the way exec producers Rand Ravich, Far Shariat, Dan Sackheim and David Semel manage to satisfy two often diametrically opposed audiences. For those who can’t stand continuing story lines, there are cases that are solved each week in the self-contained episodes. But for those who don’t mind being “Lost” in an over-arcing plot, there is the larger issue, unspooled documentary-style, of who framed Det. Charlie Crews (Lewis) for the grisly murder of a family that sent him to the slammer for 12 brutal years. (Clues are embedded in each episode and at nbc.com.)
Crews, we’re told, has emerged from the joint a changed man, and part of my newfound fascination with the show is how this plays with gender expectations. Pre-prison, Crews was a by-the-book cop looking to put in 20 years for a pension. Post-prison, he staves off the dark night of the soul — or does he? —by scarfing down fruit, plumbing philosophy, marveling at the brave new techological world he missed inside and expressing his feelings to his partner, Det. Dani Reese (Sarah Shahi), a recovering addict who’s not into sharing.
If Crews is a feminized male, Reese exemplifies that hot new trend, “the fembot” — a woman who lives her life like a man supposedly does, no strings attached. (We know this is a trend, because the “Today” show recently told us so, using the annoyed and annoying Sandra Oh character on “Grey’s Anatomy” as an example.)
Shahi’s Reese is a more appealing presence. But I do worry about her and the other women on “Life,” who are either tough careerists like Reese and Crews’ boss (the terrifically irritating Robin Weigert) or eye candy helping Crews “meditate” in the mansion he bought with a portion of his $50-million settlement against the police department.
Isn’t it possible that a woman can be devoted to her career and the trappings of traditional femininity? Crews’ lawyer, Constance Griffiths (Brooke Langton), suggests a middle way — which, as Crews would tell you, is a very Zen thing. She’s successful, persistent, attractive and sympathetic, although a tad too eager to bond with her troubled client. (Must a woman always be yearning for a man?)
As that troubled client, Lewis grows in subtlety each week. His pauses contain real reflection, and his quirks are becoming more integrated. (Speaking of quirks, Adam Arkin is wondrous as his idiosyncratic sidekick.)
What’s heartening about Lewis’ performance is that he keeps you guessing: What will he do when he unravels the conspiracy surrounding his wrongful imprisonment?
Clearly, his Crews is not guilty. But he’s also far from innocent.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, October 9th, 2007 at 1:52 pm by Georgette Gouveia.
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