PILOT REVIEW: Blood & Oil

BLOOD & OIL

Starring: Don Johnson, Chace Crawford, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Scott Michael Foster, Amber Valletta, India de Beaufort, and Delroy Lindo

Created by Josh Pate and Rodes Fishburne
Written by Josh Pate & Rodes Fishburne, Directed by Jonas Pate

THE SYNOPSIS
Blood & Oil takes place in a modern day "Boomtown" - thousands have flocked to Rock Springs, North Dakota following an oil discovery and the mayhem ensues from there. At the center is oil tycoon Hap Briggs (Don Johnson) and a young couple who has just moved out to North Dakota - Billy and Cody LeFever (Chace Crawford and Rebecca Rittenhouse). Briggs has a bad boy son, Wick (Scott Michael Foster) and a socialite wife, Carla (Amber Valletta). Rounding out the main cast is loan shark Jules Jackman (India de Beaufort) and Sheriff Tip Harrison (Delroy Lindo).

THE REVIEW
When this show was in development, it was one of the shows I was most excited about based on the premise. I began to be a little skeptical after seeing the trailer and hearing early buzz and I'm sorry to say, it is one of the biggest disappointments on the fall season. All the elements were there to make this the new Dallas and we've seen with Empire that a modern day soap opera for today's audiences can work. But this is a show that doesn't want to get crazy enough to embrace its soapiness but it's too soapy to be a serious or thoughtful drama. The result is a show that's pretty darn boring.

It's disappointing that it all feels so listless because the setting is quite unique. What's the last show you can think of that was set in North Dakota? Some of the shots are pretty breathtaking, but it doesn't give off the feel of North Dakota, or at least what I imagine it to be like as I've never been there myself. This is a show like Fargo where the setting should practically be another character and that's not the case here.

As far as the actual characters, none were particularly memorable. This show has advertised Don Johnson as a JR Ewing type character, but he vanished for a long time in the middle of the episode and he seems to be giving a half-hearted effort. Maybe he realizes the show is no good. The rest of the cast is forgettable. Amber Valletta could certainly be a queen bee type of role as the socialite but she's not mean enough in the part and it was hard to get invested in the story of the young couple at the center of the show. It's hard to get invested in anything here, really.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Nope. Easily one of the biggest disappointments for me this fall.