PILOT REVIEW: SEAL Team

SEAL TEAM

Starring: David Boreanaz, Max Thieriot, Jessica Pare, Neil Brown Jr., AJ Buckley, Toni Trucks

Created by Benjamin Cavell
Written by Benjamin Cavell, Directed by Christopher Chulack

THE PREMISE
SEAL Team is the second of three military dramas premiering this fall and this one brings David Boreanaz back to TV after his long run on Bones ended last fall. Boreanaz plays Jason Hayes, a Navy SEAL who takes on very dangerous missions at a moment's notice. He works with his main team including Ray and Sonny (Neil Brown Jr. and AJ Buckley) in the field as well as newcomer Clay Spenser (Max Thieriot). Rounding out the main cast is CIA analyst Mandy Ells (Jessica Pare) and Logistics Officer Lisa Davis (Toni Trucks).

THE REVIEW
The first thing I thought upon finishing the pilot episode of SEAL Team was "two military shows down, one to go." That's not a ringing endorsement of this show. I already mentioned that I am generally not interested in military dramas, but I think a well done show can transcend almost any genre. This was not that show, but that's not too surprising because it's on a network that doesn't like to take chances and this really feels like a CBS drama through and through, albeit with a bit more action thanks to its military theme.

SEAL Team has accomplished a couple strong performers. Boreanaz has a natural ease about him and is a TV drama veteran. Max Thieriot and Jessica Pare are coming off of two of my favorite shows (Bates Motel and Mad Men) so there is definitely some solid experience here. But Thieriot, Pare, and even Boreanaz cannot overcome the mundane plot and dialogue. They do everything fine but there's nothing that pops about their performances. Do I believe them in these roles? Yes I do. Do I care about them in these roles? No I do not.

The more I watch critically acclaimed dramas, the more I get annoyed by shows like this that aren't laughably bad by any means but they are excruciating in their lack of ambition. That's not to say every show needs an elaborate mythology or a unique premise. There can be brilliant cop or medical or even military dramas. But they have to look at something from a new angle, one way or another. They have to have a new story to tell. Shows like SEAL Team with heroic rescue missions, battle with home lives, and grizzled veterans dealing with hotshot newcomers are all tropes that have been done to death. SEAL Team is what it is and for me, that's not enough.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
No. I have one more military drama to watch - Valor when it premieres on the CW in a couple weeks and that will probably conclude my foray into that genre this year.