I have abnormal television viewing habits. I do not have cable, satellite, or even an antenna. I generally just wait until a show comes out on Netflix to watch it on my PS3*. Sure, I am behind the cultural times and I run the risk of spoilers* but it is a small price to pay not to have to watch an endless stream of irrelevant commercials or pay for channels I will never turn to. There are a few exceptions to my TV viewing habit; some shows I have to watch in season and can usually talk my parents into DVRing them for me so I can go over and watch them. Shows like Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and Syfy's Face Off are three current shows that must be watched as soon as possible*. With Kevin Bacon and a cool concept (a serial killer with a cult of serial killers? Yes please!) I thought I would give The Following a try. My parents watch shows like Criminal Minds and Bones so DVRing a show like this was no problem for them.
The first episode of The Following was a bit of a let down. It was too much like Criminal Minds and not enough like Luther for my taste. I though Kevin Bacon would bring a more dimensional character to the show but he was a little flat footed coming out of the box. The rest of the characters were not much better; even the main serial killer, Joe Carroll, was doing a bad impersonation of Hannibal Lecter. The only saving graces were the characters Emma Hill and Agent Mason. The pilot was not impressive but the concept was cool and I was willing to give the next episode a shot to see if they could fix some of the character problems that slowed down the pilot episode. The second episode toned down the Lecter impersonations and allowed Bacon to broaden his acting chops but it still wasn't a home run. Emma continued to steal the show but they sacrificed the lovely Agent Mason to bring in cult expert and full time sassy Agent Debra Parker, a bad trade off in my opinion. The Following showed signs of improvement so like a good follower I decided to keep watching to see how this season would unfold.
The next three episodes were fine if not really good. The creepiness was there, characters were more developed, Emma rocked, and they were willing to kill off what seemed like major players for the sake of the story. They even found a way to include Mazzy Star's* Fade Into You that made it sound more haunting than it already is. But the sixth episode, The Fall, destroyed the series for me. The episode started out great, Bacon was delivering his best performance thus far throwing around that Bacon charm that made us all want to Footloose* but that's where the positives end. The Fall switched the series from something sinister to a bad episode of 24. Professional mercenary tactical support? Check! Military trained computer specialists? Check! Good guys turning out to be bad guys? Check, check, check! I get how a cult of serial killers could happen, just look at what Manson was able to accomplish in a short time, but this whole militarized, expertly trained cult of super soldiers just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The series could have been something really dark for us to explore with these confused, loner types wanting to make Joe Carroll happy by doing his bidding. Instead we got The Expendables pt. 3: Suspending Disbelief. A bunch of psychopaths who get together to do some bad? Sure. Tactical teams going at it with FBI Swat? No thanks, moving on. And just like this, it's a waste of Bacon.
*PS3- Thank God for MLB.tv on the PS3 as well!
*spoilers- I have already had the last seasons of Sons of Anarchy and Downton Abbey spoiled for me on Twitter.
*possible- I wish I could watch SoA in season but my Dad has a personal hatred for outlaw bikers and refuses to allow that show on his TV.
*Mazzy Star's- Can you guess the Luther connection?
*Footloose- Thought I wouldn't?
