Cast:
· Michael Emerson
· James Caviezel
Grade: B+
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CBS Debuts Series of Interest
Television Review: Person of Interest, "Pilot"
by R.J. Carter
Published: September 23, 2011
Born from the ashes of 9/11 comes a new action drama about brains and brawn coming together to protect the innocent from impending catastrophe. John Reese (Jim Caviezel) is a former CIA operative who is believed dead. Finch (Michael Emerson) is a billionaire software developer who built the omnipresent surveillance network used by the government to gain early insight into potential terrorist threats. But Finch had to throttle down his computer program because it always predicted too many threats, and so he had it "throw away" the irrelevant ones -- the planned murders, kidnappings, and other violent crimes.
In a fit of conscience, Finch backdoored the system to get access to the irrelevant information. But to protect his backdoor, he could only get a quick burst of information: a single social security number. Nine digits, somehow related to the events predicted by the computer, and he has no idea if they belong to the victim or the perpetrator.
John Reese has been living homeless, trying to drown his personal sorrows in booze. He initially refuses the job Finch offers, until forced to relive a particular murder no one was able to prevent. Working together, they attempt now to be there, in time, to stop something horrible from happening to someone innocent.
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People of Interest. Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson as
Reese and Finch in CBS's Person of Interest. |
Person of Interest follows in the vein of such television events like The Fugitive, The Sentinel, 24 and others, with a fusion of "Eagle Eye" and "The Minority Report" as the plot-launching macguffin. In the pilot episode, Finch's single social security number points to an attorney prosecuting an accused drug dealer. It's likely, to Finch, that she is being targeted by either her partner (and ex-lover), or by friends of the accused. It's to the writers' credit, however, that there are some clever twists in here that neither Reese, Finch, nor the audience see coming as Reese gets closer to uncovering the predicted event.
There's a lot of violence in Person of Interest of the cinematic action style, with Reese battling solo against half-a-dozen bad guys at one point. There's also plenty of mystery about Finch's personal past, which Reese (and the audience) will no doubt try to resolve as the series unfolds. No doubt CBS has unveiled something that will be of interest to persons viewing across America for months to come.
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CD Giveaway - Paper Bird, "Rooms"
Ends May 28, 2013
Drifting ever so slightly away from traditional folk music, this Colorado band delivers harmony and energy aplenty. |
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