I didn’t expect to like Frequency as much as I did.
The show’s premise is an admittedly whacky one: a police detective in 2016 discovers that she can communicate via radio with her dead father all the way back in 1996. And thus an unlikely partnership is born as they solve a decades-old crime while rebuilding their strained relationship across two separate timelines. Crazy huh? Well it works!
I first remember seeing the gorgeous Peyton List as Roger Starling’s girlfriend on Mad Men. After that brief turn, the CW promptly tried to turn her into a breakout star with a role on the short-lived The Tomorrow People, and as The Golden Glider on The Flash. I’m pleased to report that the network has finally found a proper starring vehicle for the actress, and she does not disappoint. Peyton beautifully juggles the character’s kickass cop persona with a whole lot of emotional baggage. She provides a real heart to the show, and that feeds directly into the father-daughter dynamic at its center.
And really it’s so refreshing to have that parental bond be the crux of the show instead of yet another romance. Sure there’s an added layer as Raimy navigates her relationship with her fiancé Daniel, but that’s not what we’re here for. The extremely complicated dynamic between Raimy and her father is just wonderfully absorbing to watch, and it manages to tug at the heartstrings the whole way through.
There’s a lot of potential in this one. Here’s hoping they don’t squander it and the CW gives it a chance to find an audience.
Bits & Radios
– Yet another pretty simple title card. That’s all the rage this season!
– 72 hours earlier! We all know how much I hate this narrative device but it wasn’t too distracting here. Still, let’s never see this again!
– I love how baseball results bring the father-daughter duo together.
– The episode’s most powerful sequence: Frank evading death and Raimy getting a whole range of new memories thanks to the affected timeline. The music here is just gorgeous as the radio lights up again and Raimy begins to experience the wonders of the dual timelines. Goosebumps.
– So in the new timeline, Raimy’s dad dies from a car crash at 43. Also, her mom is the one who was murdered in the Nightingale case. Talk about a butterfly effect!
– Chilling moment when we realize that the Codine switch means her mom is now the victim!
– So will the Nightingale case be the focus of the season? I’m definitely down with the show focusing on one singular case all year long instead of useless cases-of-the-week.
– Great twist with Daniel not even recognizing Raimy anymore in the new timeline. Will he remain part of the show as she tries to rebuild that relationship from scratch? Do we even care about the romance angle?
– Loved Raimy talking to herself on the radio at the end. And the visual of little Raimy bringing the apparatus to her dad in the hospital? Too cute.
Must-Download Tunes
Lost In The Light by Bahamas
Save My Soul by Rivvrs
Conclusion
An engrossing start for one of television’s most ambitious new shows.
Nad Rating
A-