Episode Review: Awake (pilot episode)

[dragonheart]

I don’t bond easily with TV shows, so when I find one that I like, I am a faithful fan. Right now I only have four shows that I watch (NCIS, TBBT, Homeland and Game of Thrones). I just may have found my fifth.

 

Last night was the premiere of the new show Awake. It has an interesting premise and the pilot episode did a great job of setting up the storyline. The only drawback that I can see for now is how long can the show keep up the dueling realities before it starts to get old and rehashed. The shiny ring around that cloud is that the show runner is Howard Gordon (the man who brought us Homeland) so if anybody can pull it off, it would be him.

About the show:

LAPD Det Michael Britten (played by Jason Isaacs – can you say Lucius Malfoy?) is living two alternate parallel realities after a devastating car crash involving himself, his wife and his son. In one reality, his wife survived the crash, but his son died – in the alternate reality his son survived while his wife perished. He wakes up to one reality, goes to sleep and immediately wakes in the parallel reality. Is one reality a dream? If so, which one? Or, are both realities a dream? My little mind is actually of the notion that both his wife and son survived the crash, but maybe he is the one who died (this is his afterlife) or he is in a coma. Hey, with this show – it could be any of those, that’s what is so fascinating.

To help him keep his realities straight, he wears a colored rubber band on his wrist. It also helps the viewer determine what reality he is in – this is not a show for the casual viewer – you can’t be folding laundry while watching or you will quickly get lost (another reason why I like it – it’s more than mindless entertainment).

Red band reality:

*Hanna (his wife) is alive. Rex (his teenage son) is dead

* Hanna is coping with the death of Rex by repainting the house (hoping to sell it because she can’t stand the empty room upstairs)

*Michael doesn’t want to sell the house (because for him the room isn’t empty) and he is afraid if they move, the realities may come crashing down.

*His partner is Det Efram Vega (played by Wilmer Valderrama – sorry he will always be Fez from That 70’s Show to me – a danger I am afraid my beloved NCIS actors will also face)

*His department appointed psychiatrist is Dr. Lee (played by DB Wong – more typecasting – he is more or less the same character he plays on Law & Order SVU)

*Dr Lee tries to get him to “choose” a reality, but Michael refuses to do that – even if it costs him his sanity
*He has told Hanna that he dreams about Rex, she finds it comforting and disturbing at the same time, I did get choked up when she told Michael to tell Rex that she loved him when he saw him in his dreams (sobs).

 

 

Green band reality:

*Green is Rex’s favorite color

*Rex is alive and Hanna is dead

*Rex is having a really hard time dealing with his mother’s death: he gives up football and takes up tennis (Hanna’s fav sport) and begins bonding with his female tennis coach (who played with his mom) I really hope they don’t try to pair up Michael & Emma in this reality – that would be icky as Hanna is still “alive” in the alternate reality.

*His partner is Isaiah “Bird” Freeman (can’t remember the actor’s name – darn)

*His psychiatrist is Dr. Evans (played by the wonderful Cherry Jones) whose council very closely follows that of Dr. Lee (which Dr Evans points out to him)

 

The cases that Michael works in the alternate realities are loosely tied together – clues from one case help him solve the case in the alternate reality. He puts those down to hunches and gut feelings (that would put Gibbs to shame) but they are so out there and farfetched that it is starting to raise a few eyebrows amongst his partner(s).

 

A very good first episode and I am excited to see where they go with this, I just wished that it came on earlier than 10:00 p.m. - I had a hard time staying awake to watch Awake – especially when my days begin at 5:00 a.m.

Comments

[turnerwolf.livejournal.com]

I started to watch it last night and I feel the same way- it is incredibly awesome but I fell asleep halfway through LOL.

[proseac]

The ads for this looked intriguing. The premise reminds me a bit of a show I used to watch called Nowhere Man.

Now that I have the DVR, I should probably set it to record this, because it sounds like something I actually could get into. Thanks for the detailed synopsis. I'll check and see if the premiere is going to be repeated anywhere this week.

[dragonheart]

If you get a chance to watch it, let me know what you think.