Skip to main content

PILOT REVIEW: Wicked City

WICKED CITY










Starring: Jeremy Sisto, Taissa Farminga, Gabriel Luna, Jaime Ray Newman, Evan Ross, Ed Westwick, Anne Winters, Karolina Wydra, with Erika Christensen

Created by Steven Baigelman
Written by Steven Baigelman, Directed by Tom Shankland

THE SYNOPSIS
Wicked City is designed as a crime drama anthology that focuses on crime in Los Angeles throughout its history with each season focusing on a different era. This season is set in 1982 on the drug-fueled Sunset Strip. Kent Grainger (Ed Westwick) is the "Sunset Strip Killer" being hotly pursued by Detectives Jack Roth and Paco Contreras (Jeremy Sisto and Gabriel Luna). Grainger starts up a relationship with single mom Betty Beaumontaine (Erika Christensen) and she soon joins his killing spree. The story is also being followed by an aspiring journalist, Karen McClaren (Taissa Farminga). Rounding out the main cast is an undercover detective on the strip, Dianne Kubek (Karolina Wydra), Karen's boss, Diver (Evan Ross), and Jack's wife and daughter (Jaime Ray Newman and Anne Winters).

THE REVIEW
I had a very mixed reaction to Wicked City. I felt like it started very strong. The opening scene was very captivating and it set the tone and the era quite well with minimal dialogue and lots of 1980s music very fitting to the scene. Then the credits hit and I felt like the show did a whole lot of nothing for most of the rest of the episode before finding its way a little bit more towards the end. I love the idea behind this show but I'm a little disappointed in the execution though I still have hope for it in the long run.

I liked the cast but they weren't given much to work with. Erika Christensen is a pro but it was a pretty thankless role in the pilot. Jeremy Sisto was only OK but the show is not really about him, or at least I hope it isn't. Speaking of, is there a need to spend much time with the wife and daughter? If they're not integral to the story, I hope the show doesn't try to do too much humanizing of an inherently boring character like Detective Jack Roth. Also, stories of a grizzly veteran detective not getting along with a hotshot newbie are so overdone. Just saying. The real standout of the pilot was Ed Westwick, who was charismatic and interesting in the killer role. The network made a good call to make him the focus of the ad campaign.

I want this show to succeed because I think there's a place for these anthologies on network TV and I'd love to see different eras in future installments (1940s would be really cool!) But I'm not going to stick with it long if it's going to continue to bore me. This is a good storyline set in a really interesting era that hasn't been explored much on TV. You have such a good idea, creators and writers! Do something quality with it!

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Yes but as I said before, it better not bore me again or I'm done.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EPISODE GUIDES: Rhoda Season Five

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Five (the final season) of  Rhoda ! RHODA: SEASON FIVE 1978 13 episodes Rhoda' s final season was a truncated one as the show was cancelled in December 1978 after only 13 episodes had been produced (and only nine had aired). This feels like a continuation from season four in many ways except with the ill-advised split between Ida and Martin (more on that below). While  Rhoda  has an occasional good moment and even a couple decent episodes, it is a show that seems so wildly different from season one and not in a good way.  Rhoda  could never figure out what it fully wanted to be and only made it four and a half seasons as a result. Starring Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern  (13 episodes) Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern  (13 episodes) Ray Buktenica as Benny Goodwin  (11 episodes) Kenneth McMillan as Jack Doyle  (9 episodes) Nancy Wa...
Post a Comment
Read more

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Thursdays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Charlie Grace The Monroes Various Programs Oct Murder One Nov Various Programs Dec Various Programs Thursday Night Movie Jan Feb World’s Funniest Videos Before They Were Stars! Mar Apr May NBC was the powerhouse on Thursday nights but ABC still gave it the old college try in the Fall of 1995 with a trio of new dramas that they hoped would help them cut into the Peacock's dominance. Headlining their night was Murder One , a high profile new show from Steven Bochco that received much of the network's attention before the season started. The series focused on one murder case for an entire season, whi...
Post a Comment
Read more

DECADE IN REVIEW: The Best Comedies of the 2010s

During the month of December, I will be looking back at the decade that was the 2010s on TV. I will be sharing my favorite sitcoms, dramas, the best episodes, the best performances and the worst shows of the decade. To be eligible for this list, a show had to air the majority of its episodes in the 2010s. However, for the rankings and determination, all episodes were taken into account, including ones that may have aired before 2010. I will also preface that there are comedies that have aired this decade that I haven't watched yet so this is the best of what I have watched. To be fair, that preface is more true for dramas. There's not a ton of unwatched comedies sitting in my Netflix or Amazon watchlist. So here are my Top 10 comedies of the 2010s! Close Calls:  Master of None (Netflix) - An inconsistent but occasionally fascinating commentary on many life issues done so with innovative storytelling. The Good Place (NBC) - A show that aims high with a fascinating premis...
Post a Comment
Read more