PILOT REVIEW: American Odyssey

AMERICAN ODYSSEY

Starring: Anna Friel, Peter Facinelli, Jake Robinson, Jim True-Frost, Sadie Sink, Omar Ghazoui, Nate Mooney, Elena Kampouris, Daniella Pineda, with Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Treat Williams

Created by Peter Horton, Adam Armus, and Kay Foster
Written by Adam Armus, Kay Foster, & Peter Horton, Directed by Peter Horton

THE PREMISE: American Odyssey is a new thriller from NBC with tons of stories overlapping and a conspiracy happening. Sergeant Odelle Ballard (Anna Friel) is a US sergeant in North Africa who discovers that a US company is secretly funding terrorists. At the same time, she is kidnapped and reported dead to media and her husband and child (Jim True-Frost and Sadie Sink). A corporate litigator, Peter Decker (Peter Facinelli), and a protester and activist, Harrison Walters (Jake Robinson) are also trying to unravel the conspiracy, which is connected to Ballard's boss, Colonel Stephen Glen (Treat Williams). Many other characters in Africa and New York City also populate the pilot but it would take paragraphs to fully explain the plot.

THE GOOD: When this show was first picked up last spring, it was being compared to the Academy Award winning Traffic, which is a good thing. I loved that movie and the way its storylines weaved through each other. I see that potentially happening here and if it does, that could be quite a good show. Of the many "conspiracy" shows that have come out recently, this is one of the better ones. The stakes seem very high and the performances are solid, especially Anna Friel in the leading role.

THE BAD: There's just too many characters! I'm all for the interweaving storylines and the idea behind this show, but not everything needed to be introduced in the pilot. It led to way too much exposition and I found myself forgetting who was who. That's not a good thing because this show requires us to not only follow the plot closely but also care about what happens to the characters. By throwing too much at the wall to see what sticks, it works against both of those goals. It worries me about where it is going because a better crafted show wouldn't feel the need to do everything and anything in the pilot.

BOTTOM LINE: There is the next in a long line of high stakes conspiracy dramas (see shows like Crisis and State of Affairs for recent examples). I like it better than some but I'm also not too optimistic about where it's going (or the ratings for that matter). It makes me not really want to even watch episode two because it doesn't seem worth getting invested in this show.