Pilot

Is it me, or does it seem like there are more new shows this season than ever before? When I heard the premise for the show, I was a little concerned that it was a variation of something we've seen before. After watching the pilot episode, I felt a refreshed. This show seems like something new, or at least, something different. It has certainly exceeded my expectations and I am rooting for it to succeed. The main characters are interesting and mysterious. The storyline was not the usual predictable stuff. Do yourself a favor and watch this episode. I'm quite excited to see more episodes and have already programmed my digital video recorder so I won't miss a minute. One of the best premiers I've seen in a while.

Ok I'm like 10 episodes into this show and I swear this is just a twist on Batman with some minor shifts in the archetypes.

1. Reese is Batman and has the same skills but isn't the billionaire.

2. Finch is the billionaire but he is a mix between Alfred and Watchtower.

3. Detective Carter is a woman's Detective Gordon.

4. Lionel is kinda like a Robin? Lol. In the loosest sense.

It's hilarious that once this dawned on me I can't get it out of my head, the similarities are so apparent and it works so well. I'm loving the episodic structure to the show, I find that the episodes I love the most are the self contained ones with little carry over. I say this has similarities to Batman but in reality I like to think of Reese as a guardian angel. He comes out of nowhere and inserts himself into your situation, protects and solves. Then disappears. I love it.

As a geek and self-proclaimed multibrokenaire I was instantly driven to the show because of its concept and protagonist. At least before watching the pilot I thought Michael Emerson would play this role but as the enigmatic Mr. Finch his character is minor compared to James Caviezel's one. The last plays a former special agent John Reese, how original, who is hired by Finch. So at the beginning as I was expecting that it would be mostly about the software engineer Emerson portrays I was slightly disappointed. Indeed the actor marked TV forever considering how much his performance as Benjamin Linus was both dazzling and puzzling on Lost. However when I had never seen Caviezel before his charm and bold performance quickly made Reese grow on me. I also appreciate the fact that he has strong moral values, if shooting bad guys in the leg can be considered one. I worried about the inevitable procedural approach of the show, a crime to prevent per episodes, but the pilot was such a great surprise that I have instantly signed up for a second session.

Beside the convincing acting, and the fact that you can't help smiling when Finch calls his partner John (Locke), it's really the story that impressed me the most. Indeed like in Asimov's Foundation the Machine built by Finch can't predict everything so all he's left with are numeric breadcrumbs. At first what tasted like an old recipe and cold meal quickly became exciting and captivating. The lines are blurred, twisted and wicked ! In the upcoming episodes it should make the crimes even less predictable because the characters aren't just black and white. Here the guest was Natalie Zea and as her performance on Hung was bittersweet she definitely contributed to make the pilot a success even we could have used extra minutes featuring her character. The eternal battle of time management. An other element that will even appeal the demanding viewer are the cultural references. From Big Brother to 9/11 the way fiction is connected to reality is quite interesting. Still I'm not sure about the whole surveillance camera approach because it's far too limited considering the device isn't plugged everywhere in the world. So I hope they'll soon inject some irrational elements to make it fascinating or at least more believable. Otherwise as the end was reminiscent of The X-Files I'm almost certain they have plenty of strange ideas to fuel the season.

That's for the substance. In its entertainment department the series has some delightful elements. First even if they definitely abused the camera mosaics and surveillance footages it made the editing smoother and more dynamic. Second Caviezel makes a believable action man with a brain. The action scenes count is decent and well balance the investigation. Third don't expect a Minory Report occurring in 2011 but he used a few interesting gadgets like one to quickly break a window and an other to listen cellphone conversations. He's not Angus MacGyver but him and the lame leg Mr. Finch (A reference to The Usual Suspects ?) makes a team to root for. Last but not least between two shots or serious dialogs there're a few humorous scenes that can only make you laugh considering how well they're subtly mixed with the main story. I even spotted a running gag and already anticipate how much fun it's going to be in the next episode !

A homeless man called John Reese (Jim Caviezel) is traveling in the subway when a group of punks attack him, but he subdues the attackers. He goes to the precinct and a stranger called Harold Finch (Michael Emerson) bails him out. Soon Reese learns that the stranger is a billionaire that has invented a device called "The Machine" capable to predict any attack like the September 11th to the government. The Machine also predicts people in danger but the government has disregarded the minor crimes. Finch left a back-door in the device to provide the Social Security Number of the possible victim and hires Reese, who was a former operative agent that misses his girlfriend Jessica Arndt (Susan Misner) that died, to investigate and help the persons and prevent the crime. His first name to investigate is the Assistant D. A. Diane Hanson (Natalie Zea) that is working in the case of a drug dealer. Will Reese succeed and overcome his depression?

"Person of Interest - Pilot" is a TV series with a promising premise and high IMDb Rating. The first episode is highly intriguing with The Machine capable to predict a crime but with minor information: only the Social Security number and no other clue. In the first episode, the good guys are misled by the information. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Pilot"

Note: On 02 February 2024, I saw this episode again.

I always rate shows as they arrive on TV, I rated Cold Case and Seinfeld as some of my best TV shows, but Person Of Interest has beaten them with casting, acting and the idea of the show.

The casting is superb along with the idea, and I hope the show doesn't move from the format or what you call the 'plot'.

Some TV shows end when the producers/writers try to add or change to improve, but as we have seen from many first up programs that have good ratings, if you try to change, add or be 'cocky', they fail slowly.

It is going to be hard to come up with scripts that suit the show for a lengthy time, but if the writers are smart, this show will be around for a few years hopefully.

We must remember, this is not real but make believe like many shows like this.

The show is perfectly casted and acted, and the actors probably didn't expect the show to do so well.

Its the only show on TV at the moment that I cant miss, and will do anything to watch or record if I cant watch, and normally I don't watch too much TV.

It has violence, but it seems to be logical violence, people like it when violence ends up with revenge, it has an element of corruption along with sentimentality and heroism.

No doubt there will be a movie of this, I hope so.