Well that was lame.
It seems like the trend his fall season is going to be police procedurals with a genre-twist. Of the three high-concept pilots that leaked in the last week, all of them feature the stereotypical pairing of an accomplished police detective with an unlikely partner (who naturally possesses some special ability). Lucifer has Satan teaming up with an LAPD detective, Blindspot has a skilled amnesiac joining forces with an FBI agent, and now Minority Report has a Precog (a person with the ability to see crimes before they happen) teaming up with a detective. In all three shows, there’s the prospect of a romantic relationship, and a premise that lends itself to standalone cases of the week (mixed in with a larger mystery). Maybe it’s time the networks start investing in a little creativity?
Of the three pilots, Minority Report is surely the weakest. It doesn’t help that this series is based on an already existing property (a very successful Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise collaboration), and that the budget isn’t as impressive as you would expect from such an ambitious production. I was never wowed by the CGI or the set design, and that’s never a good thing (pilots are supposed to sell a show after all). In addition, the casting falls flat. Stark Sands just doesn’t work for as our Precog Dash, while Meagan Good only fares a tad better as Detective Lara Vega (she was the lead of another pilot, Deception, a few years back and she was equally mediocre).
That’s not to say Minority Report is a total disaster. I know many people find pop-culture references cringeworthy, but I was amused by Lara’s parents having met on Tinder, the fact that The Simpsons is in its 75th season, and that junk food is now healthy thanks to some sort of “genetic revolution”. It’s little details like these that help with all the world-building a TV pilot has to contend with.
And finally, how did Wilmer Valderrama get cast? He’s absolutely terrible in every way. Disastrous.
Conclusion
A clunky and unimpressive offering from what should have been a mind-blowing pilot. When the source material is this rich, a lackluster pilot like this one can only be classified as a major disappointment.
Nad Rating
C
Nadim, I was waiting for you review to see what your thoughts were. The pilot was lame indeed, and that is an understatement. Technically, I shouldn't' even comment since I only watched like first 7 minutes and that was enough to turn it off. I was expecting this one to be much much better. Oh, well…
Hhaha I totally get you not finishing it! Did you watch Blindspot and Lucifer? Much better!
I did watch Lucifer and I liked it enough to tune in when it airs…. I'm saving Blindspot for now. I have a feeling I'm gonna like it and I don't want to watch it just yet and then have to wait so long for ep.2 hehehe
I suspected the Minority Report pilot wasn't going to be much good. Honestly, I didn't see the point of a show being made on the movie. Lately, I've been noticing an almost disturbing trend of networks developing shows based on movies like Training Day and Red.
It truly is very disturbing! Where is the creativity?