Auggie- "If anyone's going to be sucked in by his evil vortex I prefer it be you."
This review of Covert Affairs was mainly due to Alan Sepinwall's twitter actions this week. He mentioned that "Like most USA shows, (it) will rise and fall on its guest stars." While I agree with the sentiment, and believe it is the case with almost all procedurals, I don't believe that should be reason to watch or not watch a show.
One of the main reasons I don't watch any of the Law and Orders, CSIs or many of the other procedurals out there is because the main characters are that appealing. Sure there are plenty of other reasons, but the lack of intriguing leads is the downfall of many of these shows. Without the backing of great serialized story telling, you will rise and fall on your lead stars.
Procedurals like House, The Mentalist and Justified through the first half of its inaugural season mostly rely on the greatness of their respective leading men. That's why I've stuck with Covert Affairs. I hate to say it, because I rarely show love to the females of the television world, but Piper Perabo has me coming back week in and week out on Covert Affairs. She brings a Sarah Walker-esque hotness and butt-kicking combination that should keep most guys' butts in their seats.
Sure she doesn't fight as much as the Chuck star, but her lack of training in this spy world is something sets her apart. Perabo plays Annie, the right out of CIA school operative that is called upon for her language skills.
Now ask me why I currently enjoy The Mentalist more than House. Go ahead. Well...since you asked, it's because the other main characters in House don't do it for me anymore. Sure there's Wilson, but that's it. The Mentalist has Cho, Rigsby and Lisbon that make the hour enjoyable throughout the season. Similarly, Covert Affairs has a couple of ringers, that paired with Perabo, make for an all-star cast.
Christopher Gorham's Auggie Anderson is quickly moving up my list of favorite characters. Now that might come from my previous love of Gorham's work on Harper's Island, but he plays this character as very charming and funny and it works extremely well. The fact that he was injured in the field, causing him to lose his eye sight doesn't hurt his cause either. You know, the sympathetic vote?
Yeah there is Mohinder from Heroes, Wilson's dead girlfriend from House, and that woman that played the reporter in Studio 60 (what you don't remember? come on! great show), and they're all great so far, but the other one keeping me interested is the great Peter Gallagher. After his unappealing stint on Californication, it is great to see the best dad in television history back to his old self. Although he's not as hip and witty as Sandy Cohen, Gallagher as the head of the CIA is a great addition to this cast.
Blah, blah, blah...some no name actor with no exuberance is playing someone on some random procedural...no thanks. Give me stars that I love, and I'll watch every week.
Having said that, there are obviously going to be minor ups and downs on a procedural that uses guest stars in a semi-prominent role every week. Week's like this one it is an up. What do you expect when you have that dude from ER and the terrible President Charles Logan. What's great about Gregory Itzin in this episode is that I couldn't help but think he was completely dirty though the whole thing. That is just what happens when you terrorize the United States as the President.
Just because it's a procedural doesn't mean it can't have bits of serialization thrown in the mix. The long running story line of Annie's ex-boyfriend going rogue behind the scenes should play more of a role as the season goes on, which will be nice.
All in all a good start to a show on a network that I have never given a chance. It's not gonna set the world on fire, but as pure entertainment, it gets the job done.
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