It's not an easy thing to mix good TV drama with the right amount of endearing, yet goofy comedy. The writers of October Road must know that, because they failed. What they got was a show that can't decide how dramatic it wants to be.
The story is centered around Nick (Brian Greenberg), a writer in his late 20s who comes home after hitting it big with a book based loosely on his home town and friends. No one's really mad about the book, though. It's the abandonment -- that he didn't come back after a backpacking trip in Europe -- that the people closest to him can't stand.
I shudder to compare the show to Ed, as I've been told it has been. Ed was genius beyond its years and its viewers. October will get that label only because it's using the premise of a successful main character coming home and reconnecting with a life left behind.
The shows, though, are exact opposites. Nick doesn't want to go home, and honestly, no one in their right mind would stay considering the heaps of animosity he faces -- but of course there's a game-changing plot point that I'll save in case you actually care to watch the show. It's not much of a surprise though.
The show's biggest failure is that you won't really care about Nick, or any of the other characters you meet in the pilot episode. There's little room for development in any of them, and very little in the way of obstacles for them to overcome. The one shining participant is Sam (Slade Pierce), son of Nick's ex girlfriend (Laura Prepon), who's the only character to show any amount of genuine wit or smarts.
It's better than some of the other 10 p.m.-type dramas ABC has (Brothers and Sisters, Men in Trees), but it's nothing remarkable... nothing you haven't seen before.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment