Intelligence – 1.01 – Pilot – A to Z Challenge – Day 09
“He's not safe, but he's good.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Prologue
This episode falls into the category of ‘Firsts’.
I have to say I was super excited to hear that Josh Holloway would be back on my TV screen on a weekly basis. I loved the character of Sawyer on Lost a whole lot and always thought that Josh was a diamond in the rough. When I didn't hear anything about him going out during the pilot season directly after Lost ended I thought he might never be on my TV screen again.
Intelligence in theory is firmly in my wheelhouse as it is set up to be a high concept drama with elements of heavy sci-fi technology and when I decided that I was no longer going to watch Person of Interest (if you want to know why just wait for day 16 of this challenge when I review Person of Interest)I thought this show could possibly fill that niche.
It didn't. I gave this show 3 episodes and every week I was utterly bored and disinterested. My friends tell me that show has gotten a little better. But since I don't think it will get renewed for a season 2, I have little interest in catching up on the other 10 episodes of the series. The cast is filled with tons of people I just absolutely adore but the dialog is so stiff that I just can't...
About the Show
Seasons: 1| No. of Episodes: 13 |Premiere Date: 01/13/2014| End Date: 03/31/2014 |Status: Unknown
Genre(s): Action/Adventure, Drama, Espionage, Science fiction
Story in a nutshell: Gabriel Vaughn (Josh Holloway) is a high-tech intelligence operative enhanced with a super-computer microchip in his brain. With this implant, Gabriel is the first human ever to be connected directly into the globalized information grid. He can get into any of its data centers and access key intel files in the fight to protect the United States from its enemies.
Lillian Strand (Marg Helgenberger), the director of the United States Cyber Command who supports Gabriel and oversees the unit's missions, assigns Riley Neal Meghan Ory), a Secret Service agent, to protect Gabriel from outside threats, as well as from his appetite for reckless, unpredictable behaviors and disregard for protocols.
Meanwhile, Gabriel takes advantage of his chip to search for his wife who disappeared years ago after being sent by the C.I.A. to infiltrate and prevent the Lashkar-e-Taiba from carrying out a terrorist attack in Mumbai, India.
Best Reason to Watch the Show: Meghan Ory. I loved her from the moment I saw her on Once Upon a Time and was always annoyed with what little screen time she got. So when I heard she was going to have her own show and be kick butt to boot, I HAD to check this out.
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Episode Summary: Secret Service Agent Riley Neal (Meghan Ory) is brought into the U.S. Cyber Command and tasked by Lillian Strand (Marg Helgenberger) with the assignment of protecting Gabriel Vaughn (Josh Holloway), an ex-Delta Force operative with a chip implanted in his brain that allows him to access the global information grid. The US Cyber Command investigates the kidnapping of one of its top scientists Shenendoah Cassidy (John Billingsley) in relation to a second chip being created, and Gabriel searches for his missing wife.
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Character of the Night
•Riley
Best Character Interactions
• Gabriel & Riley
• Gabriel & Nelson
• Lillian & Riley
Best Line
• Gabriel: What am I… an animal?
Best Scene
• Gabriel tries to run Riley off by being a rude,obnoxious know-it-all.
Memorable Moments
• Gabriel jumps off a cliff into a river.
• It's revealed that Riley is the Secret Service and is in the Presidential detail and saved the daughters from an attacker.
Notable & Quotable
• Nelson: Loyalty goes both ways.
• Riley: That is a great party trick.
Superb Scenes
• Shoot out in the paint ball warehouse.
• Lillian and Riley talk about what triggers Gabriel’s unpredictability.
• They made it too easy to figure who the traitor was. I mean come on; the guy practically had a neck beard. All he needed was a fedora to complete the quintessential dude bro uniform.
• The show is very predictable.
• The pacing was brutally slow.
Wait… what?
• There was no shirtless Josh Holloway featured in this episode. Excuse you, a girl needs some eye candy.
My Favorite Main Character
• Riley
My Favorite Side Character
• Nelson
Burning Questions
• What's in Riley's sealed juvenile file?
• Is Gabriel's wife dead?
• Did Gabriel's wife actually switch sides?
Fun Fact: In the March 31, 2014 episode, it was revealed that the name "Clockwork" was based on the 1879 short story "The Ablest Man in the World" by Edward Page Mitchell. The story is about a mentally handicapped mute who grew up in an mental asylum whose life was changed when a scientist replaced his brain with a clockwork device that is intended to make the patient -- who has become a Russian baron at the time of the story -- become Russia's answer to Sikandar Napoleon.
Lost Connections: Zuleikha Robinson who plays Amelia Hayes, Gabriel’s ex-wife, was also in Lost.
Tasty Tidbit: The book Phoenix Island by John Dixon is credited as source material.
Style Spotlight: Riley’s pant suits are just so awful. It reminds me of the suits the Winchester on Supernatural wear when they are impersonating FBI agents. But somehow, Meghan still manages to look approachably beautiful.
Side Note: My favorite snippet from all of the reviews I read about this episode comes from Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly who said "those hoping the show will be Sawyer, P.I. will be disappointed, but there's potential."
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Grade: C
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Comparable Shows
If you are interest in finding more shows like Intelligence then recommend you watch one, some or all of the following shows: Believe, Hostages, Person of Interest and/or Touch.
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Up Next: If you love Timothy Olyphant, you are in luck, because tomorrow I’m going to write about my favorite episode of Justified.
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