Pilot: The Following

You've probably read my sentiment on primetime television. I've been a little spoiled with shows like Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and (while I don't really love it, I'll include it) Dexter, that dramas that come out on major networks like FOX just seem generic and trying to be more than they actually are.

Before I get too hipster on you, I think there are the exceptions. 24, Lost, Prison Break, the first season of Heroes. Granted all these shows came out in the early 2000s but I do still believe that prime time television has the ability to make good television.

This show is a glimmer of hope for that sentiment.

So The Following follows the story of Kevin Bacon's character, Ryan Hardy. Ryan is a former FBI agent who devoted his career to bringing down a serial killer by the name of Joe Carroll. Carroll made his trade by killing college women and drew a lot of his inspiration from the work of Edgar Allen Poe.

At the very beginning, Carroll escapes prison and Kevin Bacon is brought in. I know the character has a name but I'm just going to call him Kevin Bacon.

Its funny because he was the main reason this show got so much hype. The small screen is slowly becoming a place for big movie actors to develop their characters more and really hone their acting ability... at least that's what I read somewhere in a piece about Matthew Mcconaughey and Woody Harrelson in True Detective.

Unfortunately, with Bacon, he just seems bored. He's suppose to be playing this alcoholic former FBI agent. And while I'll give him some credit that you see how attached he is to this case, he basically has the same expression on his face and just looks like he's waiting around for the paycheck at the end of the show.

The pilot is mainly the manhunt for Carroll. As the episode develops, it is discovered that Carroll has gained a following or cult from prison and has a bunch of people who for one reason or another will do anything for him and, in some cases, are willing to die for him.

And that brings up a little bit of a problem, at least for the pilot.

James Purefoy plays this serial killer who gains this Charles Manson-like cult. But all these people are placed very conveniently in these specific places in order to follow through with Carroll's agenda. And I'm guessing that'll be a recurring twist in the show, characters, reoccurring and new will suddenly appear as cult members.

As cool as it sounds... I just don't buy it.

For example, Carroll solicits the help of the prison guard who spent the most time with him to help him escape and in return he would teach him to be a serial killer. But what would have happened if that guy wasn't imbalanced like that? That would kind of throw a wrench in his plan wouldn't it? But its through that guy that he's able to go on the internet and gain more members to his cult. Pretty convenient isn't it?

And then we get to the performance of James Purefoy. While he kind of looks like the poor man's Hugh Jackman, Purefoy actually does a pretty good job for the little time that he is onscreen in the pilot. He pulls of the batshit crazy, the kind you can't reason with at all, you just have to outsmart and he really does become the antithesis of Bacon which is the most important part of creating a setup like this. The ending is really the moment that made me think, maybe I should keep watching, see where they go with this.

The call to action really comes at the end when Carroll says, everything has been orchestrated so him and Bacon will go on manhunts for serial killers for the entire show. Its just that classic scene with the chaotic evil guy and the neutral good guy sitting down on opposite ends of the interrogation table and making a deal for how the rest of the season is going to go.

It reminded me of the scene from The Dark Knight where Batman and the Joker are finally face to face.

Is it generic? Yes. A lot of this show is. The whole scene where they bring Kevin Bacon out of retirement is the most stereotypical worn out cop coming out of retirement scene in the book. The other cops in the show are the most generic cops in the world, I don't even know their names. Chances are one of them will turn out to be a cult member or die and the other will get replaced. So I don't really care about those guys. And you shouldn't either, because the main focus is the chemistry between Bacon and Purefoy.

Is it the best pilot I've seen? Not at all. But its intriguing.

If you were wondering what I was saying when I said neutral good and chaotic evil, this is what I was talking about.

Its a great, fun little chart that categorizes characters of popular culture. I think the fun thing about this chart is considering the possibilities that could happen with each of them and their interactions with each other. And that's exactly what happens in The Following.

Is it a perfect pilot? No. Will I continue watching it? I'm not quite sure. I think they have a little bit of a broad definition of the psychology behind a serial killer. Again, while they're not my favorite, Dexter and American Psycho do a really good job at representing serial killers. I think I would love to see Kevin Bacon go toe to toe with Dexter. But we get a british guy, which is okay I guess.

So that's my thoughts on The Following. A decent enough pilot that got me intrigued.

Have you seen The Following? What do you think? What's your recommendation?

I'll leave you with this. Here's Kevin Bacon on Conan talking about this beginnings in Footloose, apparently the head of the studio didn't want him on the movie because he wasn't fuckable. Check it out.