Debuts: 'Prime Suspect' clicks; 'Charlie's Angels' mostly fluff
-
Maria Bello brings a crusty dedication to the role of Detective Jane Timoney on "Prime Suspect."
Share with others:
Television networks will take any advantage they can get when it comes to launching a new television series. Sometimes they'll look to a well-known actor as their promotional hook, but other times it's a familiar title.
With remakes, networks see the potential for a built-in audience of newcomers and fans of the older show. It's the reason "Charlie's Angels" and "Prime Suspect" are both back in new forms this week.
When: 10 p.m. Thursday, NBC.
Of course, with remakes there is always the danger that old fans will balk at efforts to "re-imagine" a TV series they loved in the past. Will fans of the PBS British import "Prime Suspect," starring Helen Mirren as Jane Tennyson, take to NBC's "Prime Suspect" (10 p.m. Thursday, WPXI), starring Maria Bello as Jane Timoney?
Format-wise, it's a different show. Rather than following one case for multiple episodes, the American "Prime Suspect" is more procedural, with one case per episode. But it also takes time to explore the lives of its characters, especially Jane in the pilot episode.
Viewers meet her father (Peter Gerety, "Homicide") and her boyfriend (Kenny Johnson, "The Shield") and his ex-wife, whom Jane puts in her place in a fantastic dinner scene that closes the episode. It was this scene that convinced me to stick with "Prime Suspect" for a few episodes.
Much of the first half of the premiere feels stale and anachronistic, particularly the blatant discrimination Jane faces from her male colleagues. Wouldn't it be more subtle and insidious rather than in-her-face, particularly in the present day? These scenes feel too on-the-nose. Same goes for the fedora Jane frequently sports; it's overly self-conscious and gimmicky.
But "Prime Suspect" improves as the hour goes on. The guys' attitude toward Jane evolves. One cop, played by Kirk Acevedo ("Oz"), wonders aloud, "Do you ever worry someone might drop a house on you?" Yes, he's calling her a witch but in a more playful manner that's more believable than an earlier scene where the guys outright accuse her of sleeping her way into her new job.
As Jane, Ms. Bello brings a crusty dedication to the role that serves her well. She's only slightly younger than Ms. Mirren was when she originated the role in 1991, and Ms. Bello is not afraid to allow herself to look tired and worn, a necessary trait for the character.
First Published September 21, 2011 12:00 am
