Tonight was the series premiere of the show Fox hopes will save their season, The Following. It’s Kevin Bacon’s first foray into television, and it’s easy to see why he thought this was the right star vehicle for him. For starters, Fox is the network that saved another 80’s star from obscurity, 24’s Kiefer Sutherland, and it seems obvious to me that they hope The Following will be a hit in the 24-mode of constant thrills.
A show like this is hard to judge based on the very first episode, since it’s pretty much all set-up and hard to know if the tension can be sustained over the long haul without getting ridiculous. In this episode alone, I spotted some pretty big plot holes. [Things like why Kevin Bacon’s ex-FBI Ryan Hardy would go to The Lighthouse alone and keep his information to himself, when he could have just shared it, gotten local law enforcement to arrive at the scene faster, and possibly save the girl’s life. Plus, how did his FBI friends find his location? And why didn’t they investigate the babysitter after the neighbors had already proven to be followers?]
But 24 also had its share of plot holes, and that never fully took me out of the show. Since The Following is starting from a less realistic place, the key will be how entertaining it can be, and whether it can really add anything new to the already crowded-cops-and-killers genre that CBS seems to have cornered (to snooze-inducing results). So far, the most interesting elements seem to be the dynamic between Bacon’s wounded ex-agent and the always-luminous Natalie Zea (who can steam up shows as different as Justified, Dirty Sexy Money, and Californication) as the head serial killer’s ex-wife, and also the cult itself. In fact, previews hint at an interesting plot-line between three of the cult members, who are shacked up in a house, and forming various alliances. For now, that’s enough to make me follow this season. Grade for the Series Premiere Only: B