Zero Hour – 1.01 – Strike – Review: A Poor Man’s Davinci Code– A to Z Challenge – Day 26

“A Poor Man’s Da Vinci Code”

‘Everyone loves a conspiracy.’

― Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code

Prologue

I literally only choose this because I didn't want to end my A-Z challenge reviewing an animated TV show (sorry, Zeta Project). I watched this pilot in a constant state of second hand embarrassment for all involved. Poor Anthony Edwards, such a long fall from ER and a far cry from the coolest dude ever – Goose from Top Gun.

About the Show
Seasons: 1| No. of Episodes: 13
Premiere Date: February 13, 2013 | End Date: August 3, 2013
Genre(s): Action, Drama

The Show in a Nutshell: Hank (Anthony Edwards) runs the magazine Modern Skeptic with his friends, Rachel (Addison Timlir) and Arron (Scott Michael Foster). They find themselves involved in a dangerous, centuries-long, worldwide conspiracy after Hank's wife (Jacinda Barrett) is kidnapped.
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Title: Strike | Writer: Paul Scheuring | Director: Pierre Morel
Episode Summary: Hank Galliston publishes the magazine Modern Skeptic, which focuses on the paranormal. His wife Laila buys a unique-looking clock from a boardwalk vendor and is later abducted. FBI Agent Riley arrives to show Hank and his copy editors, Arron and Rachel, video footage of Laila's abduction. The screen freezes on mercenary White Vincent, with whom Riley is familiar. Hank disassembles Laila's clock to find a flawed diamond. With light shone through it, the stone refracts a map. Hank shows the map and its markings to Father Mickle (Charles S. Dutton), a priest who talks of a language that died in the 2nd century. The priest also mentions the Rosicrucians, a group of Christian mystics of the 17th century, and place called New Bartholomew. The map diamond is left with the priest and Vincent later assaults him, collecting the diamond. Hank leaves his team behind and travels to where New Bartholomew should be, with Agent Riley in tow, as she tells him White Vincent's terrorist history. Aaron and Rachel travel to Bavaria to find the clock maker (Jan Tříska), who wears a Rosicrucian cross. He informs them that after the Nazis created a new "eternal life", the Church appointed twelve new "apostles" that assembled in 1938 to protect the war-torn world from doom. A clock was created for each. The apostles then scattered to hide from the Nazis. New Bartholomew was not a place, but one of the apostles. Hank finds the place on the map where New Bartholomew is located. It is a German submarine, stuck in Canadian ice, with some dead people inside including New Bartholomew, who resemble Hank. Outside, Vincent arrives as the clock maker's voiceover warns of the approaching tumultuous "zero hour".
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Awards

Character of the Night
• Hank
Best Character Interactions
• Hank and Father Mickle

Best Scene
• The end scene, which I will admit was a pretty darn cool cliffhanger and it actually made me want to watch the next episode to get a little resolution.

That Awkward Moment
• That awkward when you keep expecting Robert Langdon to burst onto the scene at any moment. This show really was a few years too late on trying to capitalize on an international Easter egg hunt trend that Dan Brown’s Da Vinci code reinvigorated.

The ‘Who thought this was a good idea?’ Award
• Nazis, again? Indiana Jones did it first and did it the best. Knock it off…

Miscellaneous

Fun Facts: On March 1, 2013, the series was removed from its airing schedule by ABC due to low ratings. On April 26, 2013, it was announced that the remaining episodes will begin airing June 15, 2013, with two back-to-back episodes

Tasty Tidbit: The premiere of Zero Hour marked the lowest-rated in-season debut for a scripted show ever on ABC.

Side Notes: I like when a show’s pilot actually has a real title, I don’t know why, I just do. Most of my favorite shows have this in common for some random reason.
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Grade: C-
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Comparable Shows
If you like shows based on conspiracy theories with a thriller aspect then may I suggest that you check out one, some or all of the following TV shows: The 4400, Haven and/or Continuum.
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Epilogue
Well, that’s it, that all she wrote folks (at least for the A-Z Blogger Challenge, that is)!
I hope you have enjoyed the past 26 days that were filled with reviews of some of the interesting TV shows past and present that I’ve watched. I hope I have inspired you to watch a few, start a marathon of some cult classics with friends and/or also managed to help you avoid wasting your precious time on an unworthy hot mess.

I do hope you continue to come to my blog as it is forever evolving and improving. I’m always on the lookout to make new internet friends, especially bloggers to chat and exchange ideas with, so hit up my inbox, tweet me on Twitter, follow me on Instagram, Google+ or Pinterest, or even friend me on Facebook, all that information can be found in the ‘Contact Me’ tab.

It was a fun run. I’m proud of myself and all the bloggers who attempted this challenge and even prouder of the ones who completed it. See ya next year (or tomorrow, tomorrow’s good also)!