Stalker, as a subject matter, holds great promise for a TV-series. Stalker the actual TV-series seems to be trying too hard to make a big splash. The initial scene is an gasoline drenched murder, by, you guessed it, a young woman's stalker. It is actually a fairly sadistic trap, if rather "wam, bam" and over. Seemingly, this is also to make a point: this show is about some seriously evil sick bastards.
Time to meet the the characters. Maggie Q (fashion model cum actress, usually not a good combo) plays detective Beth Davis who is head of the, yes you're good, LA Staking Unit. A silly lecture (college students at some institution?) introduces viewers to her. I didn't like this scene because it was staged in a silly way and the cream of the brightest minds asked stupid questions shouting over one another. Next the show segues into the morning after the gas murder. Flat, rude, and flat come to mind as detective's personality is purposely without emotion (flat), cold to a fault (rude), and she's proud she doesn't need to wear a bra (flat).
Just as this is sinking in comes new transplanted detective Jack Larsen played by Dylan McDermott. After the mandatory "un-welcome" by detective Davis we quickly see this guy is the new Sherlock Holmes who can deduce a complex profile of a victim by osmosis or some skill set. Too bad he's immediately unlikeable because even though Sherlock Holmes was a bit of a narcissist at least he was lovable. This was not unlike the character trait of McDermott's last role in the one-season show Hostages, only is seemed much necessary there. The two other people under detective Davis are glossed over, though the somewhat attractive woman wants to throw herself on detective Larsen, apparently. Please.
In what seems like being beat over the head viewers are "forced" to get that detective Davis doesn't like detective Larsen, but when she goes through her own nightly ritual she has to give him credit for his superb criminal intuition. It seems detective Davis is not only a stalking specialist, but maybe she does this because this is her own personal fear - but how she handles her fears may be deeply rooted even more than her career choice and nightly protocol of sealing herself in? There's plot holes, but the good is that the story here (and each week?) moves so fast it keeps the viewer invested. While fast the details of who is involved in the crime comes slower and linearly. Again, this keeps one interested. Surprisingly, this fast/slow method works better than the quick character intros. And sure, you guessed it again, there's much more to the main characters of Beth and Jack. In the last minutes much is revealed. Beth is pro-active when she's not on duty in a bit of stalking herself, confronting perps head on if you will, fearlessly even. And Jack? Well, his move to LA was due to some "mistakes" he made. He had an affair, he lost his family, and he wants to be close to where his ex moved so he can once more have a relationship with his son. He might be more sympathetic than arrogant, but that remains to be seen.
This is network TV. It needs to move differently than HBO or Showtime series, and it does. It started pedestrian, though with an excellent premise of exploring the criminal behavior of abhorrent stalkers. It was quick to give payoffs which kept one watching, and it got better. It isn't clear if this is going to be even a good series at this point, but I'm going to keep watching to see and you should too.
Time to meet the the characters. Maggie Q (fashion model cum actress, usually not a good combo) plays detective Beth Davis who is head of the, yes you're good, LA Staking Unit. A silly lecture (college students at some institution?) introduces viewers to her. I didn't like this scene because it was staged in a silly way and the cream of the brightest minds asked stupid questions shouting over one another. Next the show segues into the morning after the gas murder. Flat, rude, and flat come to mind as detective's personality is purposely without emotion (flat), cold to a fault (rude), and she's proud she doesn't need to wear a bra (flat).
Just as this is sinking in comes new transplanted detective Jack Larsen played by Dylan McDermott. After the mandatory "un-welcome" by detective Davis we quickly see this guy is the new Sherlock Holmes who can deduce a complex profile of a victim by osmosis or some skill set. Too bad he's immediately unlikeable because even though Sherlock Holmes was a bit of a narcissist at least he was lovable. This was not unlike the character trait of McDermott's last role in the one-season show Hostages, only is seemed much necessary there. The two other people under detective Davis are glossed over, though the somewhat attractive woman wants to throw herself on detective Larsen, apparently. Please.
In what seems like being beat over the head viewers are "forced" to get that detective Davis doesn't like detective Larsen, but when she goes through her own nightly ritual she has to give him credit for his superb criminal intuition. It seems detective Davis is not only a stalking specialist, but maybe she does this because this is her own personal fear - but how she handles her fears may be deeply rooted even more than her career choice and nightly protocol of sealing herself in? There's plot holes, but the good is that the story here (and each week?) moves so fast it keeps the viewer invested. While fast the details of who is involved in the crime comes slower and linearly. Again, this keeps one interested. Surprisingly, this fast/slow method works better than the quick character intros. And sure, you guessed it again, there's much more to the main characters of Beth and Jack. In the last minutes much is revealed. Beth is pro-active when she's not on duty in a bit of stalking herself, confronting perps head on if you will, fearlessly even. And Jack? Well, his move to LA was due to some "mistakes" he made. He had an affair, he lost his family, and he wants to be close to where his ex moved so he can once more have a relationship with his son. He might be more sympathetic than arrogant, but that remains to be seen.
This is network TV. It needs to move differently than HBO or Showtime series, and it does. It started pedestrian, though with an excellent premise of exploring the criminal behavior of abhorrent stalkers. It was quick to give payoffs which kept one watching, and it got better. It isn't clear if this is going to be even a good series at this point, but I'm going to keep watching to see and you should too.