Bourne Again

Blindspot

Well everyone, the new Fall TV season is upon us and it is a reviewer’s job to shift through all of the new TV shows to find the diamonds. It’s a hard job, but as you know someone has to do it. This week a few new shows have/will come out. A few that I am excited about and there are a few that I am scratching my head about. With my first TV review I will head to NBC where they are trying to double down on the government agency action/conspiracy type show. The Blacklist has been a constant ratings success for NBC, so why not milk that cow for all it’s worth. This past Monday, NBC premiered its biggest hopeful for the new fall season with Blindspot.

Found in a duffle bag in the middle of Times Square, Jane Doe (Jamie Alexander Thor) has no memory of anything and no clothes. She is, however, covered in cryptic tattoos with one that is of extremely curious to the FBI. The tattoo is a specific name of one the FBI’s top agents Special Agent Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton 300: Rise of an Empire), but he has no idea who she is or why his name is tattooed on her back. When scans of all the tattoos littered on her body has been taken, Jane notices one behind her ear of Chinese characters that she can somehow translate. Leading the FBI to a small apartment in Chinatown, Jane and Weller stumble upon a terrorist threat and quickly attempt to squelch the situation.

I will admit that I was both excited and skeptical about this show. I absolutely love the Bourne films and when the similarities of those films and this show started to pile up, I got worried. However, the show does a decent job trying to make the parallels to a minimal. I also liked how the mystery of who she is and where she comes from is only given is snippets, keeping the audience wondering. The leads are strong and the premise is decent, but unless the show can keep the secrets of who Jane really is and why someone would erase her memory interesting and not to obvious the show won’t survive very long.

The Blacklist works for two reasons. First is the action and suspense of the show. The producers have done a great job being able to keep the show exciting. Secondly and most important is James Spader (Avengers: Age of Ultron). Spader is an amazing actor and has held up that show like no else can. Blindspot must learn from The Blacklist. Alexander and Stapleton are off to a good start, but the need to be able to keep up the pace through the entirety of the show or even season. If they slip and become boring, the show will fail horribly.

My Prediction: NBC will try everything in its power to make sure this show succeeds. It seems like they are putting a lot of effort into this show with the high production and the high caliber cast. So, Blindspot will be around for at least a couple seasons. Like I said, unless the fans get bored with the leads or the ‘shadowy’ figures become too clear then the show will be in trouble.

The Verdict: Worth Your Time.