Kevin Williamson's 'The Following'

[runawayboulder]

I don't know. I felt like there were too many cliche elements in the show.

It also felt like I've been through this all before when watching The Mentalist with the Red John plotline.

Too many of the good guys come across as clueless, so in that sense I didn't really care for many of the characters with the exception of Kevin Bacon. Unfortunately he is shackled with the cliche trait of being stuck inside of a bottle.

I realize they want to build up Carroll as this mastermind, but I think you can do that without destroying the credibility of the good guys. All this episode did for me was establish that the law enforcement characters are incompetent.

Spoiler

For me, I could see the thing with Maggie Grace's neighbors coming from a mile away. What I would have liked to have seen would be something like Bacon and the others interrupting her abduction and killing the neighbors, but then she is taken by other means. Or something like that.

I really did not like Shawn Ashmore's character. Some of the lines for that character just plain sucked. Also...Mike Weston....come on.....

I'll give the show a shot next week and see what Annie Parisse brings to it.

I agree with most of what you said. The pilot actually reminded more of the movies Manhunter and Red Dragon. Damn near the same plot that was condensed into 1hr.

The show has quite a few predictable elements right off the bat. You know that Bacon's character is gonna have to dry out in order to save the day. I can understand the need to have a flawed protagonist but this isn't exactly original. Also an FBI traitor is really predictable if it does come true over the course of the next 14 eps. My money is on Agent Mole since they're bringing another female into the fold starting next week, Agent Mole becomes expendable.

After all it's still the pilot and the show needs to grow and branch out story lines, build characters more, ect. They just need to be careful on how it all progresses or it will fall flat.

 

[X-Ray]

Not a bad premiere.

Anybody wanna place bets on who the first FBI turncoat "follower" is going to be?

Probably both the annoying female agent (who apparently has been recast) and Shawn Ashmore's character.

 

[squeekness]

I will say that this show reminded me a lot of Chelsea Cain's Archie Sheridan detective series. Not that that is a BAD thing, but it makes me wonder if the person who wrote that read those books. I don't mind a certain amount of predictability as long as the show has engaging characters like this one does.

 

[HighFivingMF]

Apparently it had 10 million viewers.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/20...-how-i-met-your-mother-down-castle-up/166000/

 

[squeekness]

Good, I hope the show keeps going.

 

[Sawyer]

Apparently it had 10 million viewers.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/20...-how-i-met-your-mother-down-castle-up/166000/

Building on Bones' numbers and more than doubling what The Mob Doctor premiered to in the fall. Probably also effectively wiped every other new Fox show of the season off the map, given what a **** fall the network has had.

 

[squeekness]

This is my first time watching a FOX channel show. If they were trying to get new folks to the channel it worked for me.

 

[Sawyer]

Fox was also encouraging viewers to set their DVRs, so I wonder what the Live+3 or 7 or whatever will look like.

 

[Marvolo]

Well, its got a strong hook despite the one note supporting cast, and the been there done that feeling. I just hope it doesn't turn into a procedural with cult member of the week. The dog scene has me worried this will get into Criminal Minds territory which is a depraved ****ing show that I can't watch. Also, not pleased that James Purefoy is basically Hannibal Lectar and Ryan is Clarice.

On the fence right now.

 

[runawayboulder]

I don't mind a certain amount of predictability as long as the show has engaging characters like this one does.

Really? Because I thought that was one of the weakest parts of the pilot. /i didn't really care for any of them right off the bat except Bacon, Natalia Zea and Purefoy. The rest just kinda faded in the background.

 

[Primal Slayer]

Watched it and enjoyed it. Though I dont know how I feel about whats his name having so many moles/followers everywhere.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I thought it was a solid start, you just have to go with the ludicrous premise and take it on it's own terms. I can't buy Purefoy as a charismatic psycho cult leader for a second though and most of his dialogue came off corny, I hope he flips it and reveals it's all just an act.

Well, its got a strong hook despite the one note supporting cast, and the been there done that feeling. I just hope it doesn't turn into a procedural with cult member of the week. The dog scene has me worried this will get into Criminal Minds territory which is a depraved ****ing show that I can't watch. Also, not pleased that James Purefoy is basically Hannibal Lectar and Ryan is Clarice.

On the fence right now.

Really? I thought it was just another CSI type show.

 

[Marvolo]

I thought it was a solid start, you just have to go with the ludicrous premise and take it on it's own terms. I can't buy Purefoy as a charismatic psycho cult leader for a second though and most of his dialogue came off corny, I hope he flips it and reveals it's all just an act.



Really? I thought it was just another CSI type show.

Criminal Minds is a procedural like CSI in that they chase criminals, but the stoiries are much darker than CSI. Rapists, sadistic serial killers, child killers and molesters etc are much more brutal than anything you will find on CSI and its presented in a darker way. And they delve into the mind of the killer, and pretty much obssess over it. Its just too disturbing for me, and not what I want from entertainment. It's almost like the show takes pleasure in the sick.

 

[Maximus One]

Yea I keep hearing stuff about Criminal Minds and I'm just like whaaaat?? Lol I hate crime procedurals for the most part but if it's all about serial killers n stuff like that I think I'd dig it

 

[chamber-music]

I thought it was pretty good. Bacon and Purefoy were solid as always.

I do get a Hannibla Lector - Manhunter/Red Dragon vibe as well.

I found it rather predictable. I could guess almost everything that happened before it did and thats probably down to the fact there isn't much in the episode that we have not seen a million times before. I still enjoyed though. You could tell Fox spent a few dollars on this show because it is far more cinematic than alot of your standard cop procedurals.

Criminal Minds is a procedural like CSI in that they chase criminals, but the stoiries are much darker than CSI. Rapists, sadistic serial killers, child killers and molesters etc are much more brutal than anything you will find on CSI and its presented in a darker way. And they delve into the mind of the killer, and pretty much obssess over it. Its just too disturbing for me, and not what I want from entertainment. It's almost like the show takes pleasure in the sick.

You think Criminal Minds is bad try watching BBC Show Waking The Dead. It was one of the darkest shows I've ever seen. Violent rapists who toss a child witnesses off a bridge, serial killers who kidnap torture and molest homeless kids, a mother who has an obsession compulsion for the limelight so bad she made a kid get cancer, the main detective had an anger managent problems that lead him to beat almost half the suspects to death and that is just the tame stuff I can post on here. The show was border line horror movie style at times.

Only TV show that left you feeling depressed after watching it.

 

[Sawyer]

I don't quite understand the complaints about the supporting cast. Given the high concept and that Hardy and Caroll are the stars, how much development did you expect the side characters to get in a one-hour pilot?

 

[runawayboulder]

I don't quite understand the complaints about the supporting cast. Given the high concept and that Hardy and Caroll are the stars, how much development did you expect the side characters to get in a one-hour pilot?

Not much......and that's why I thought the pilot would have benefited from another hour. And that's also why I'm not going to give it more time to get rolling.

 

[Sawyer]

It already is rolling.

 

[Ultimatehero]

I've never seen CRIMINAL MINDS as that dark actually. But then again, I've never seen animal brutality in it which is the one thing that truly gets to me the most.

I think I'll give Waking the Dead a shot also, sounds morbid but interesting from a creative story-telling stand-point.

 

[Trimmings]

Other than the serial killer, my favorite character was the agent that gave Kevin Bacon mints. I think (hope) they'll continue to make him look like a follower until a killer agent comes out of left field. The people who were most obviously followers were outed in the first episode, so that makes me hope the others will be much more subtle.

This is the first police/FBI show I've watched, so not much seems cliche to me :P

 

[Sawyer]

I'm curious to see where they go with the triangle that kidnapped Joey. The promo at the end gave me the impression that one of the guys fell for the other, but the other is involved with the nanny. That could get messy.

 

[Trimmings]

I'm curious to see where they go with the triangle that kidnapped Joey. The promo at the end gave me the impression that one of the guys fell for the other, but the other is involved with the nanny. That could get messy.

I didn't even think about this until now, but I really hope they don't brainwash that kid. Well, maybe I do. Maybe even have him killing mom as the cliffhanger for the season finale

 

[Shifty]

I'll tune in next week, not sure if I can get behind a social network of serial killers beyond one season but it was a good debut.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Really enjoyed the first episode, Bacon and Purefoy were awesome as expected, and I found the premise really good, will be watching this series definately.

 

[SuperBatman]

This was a Awesome Start to the season I can't wait to see where it goes from here. Hopefully the Rattings hold up and tis Series doesn't get a short run like most Fox Series