SPOILER ALERT!!!
Having now binge watched all episodes as a Duchovny fan, I've got to be honest and say I was not taken in by the first two episodes that premiered this week on NBC. But I'm glad that I stuck with it and continued through the entire first season. It took some time for the series to catch its stride.
Set in Los Angeles 2 years before the Tate/La Bianca murders, Duchovny and Grey Damon (Friday Night Lights) play detectives with a generation gap who tangle with an early Charlie Manson. Some Justified players are also along for the ride. David Meunier plays a character I think is loosely based on Manson associate Tex Watson. Abbey Miller plays Manson's first follower, 'Mother Mary,' who comes into the family fold about half way through. Gaius Charles (also from FNLs) plays a Black Panther's leader.
As I said, the first two episodes, I didn't care for them. The loosely based Manson story was distracting, chaotic, even corny. At first, there is too much going on with that and Duchovny's character, Sam Hodiak, with a former love, her daughter, and his son. I was much more interested in getting to know the core cast in the Detective Squad. And the series finally goes there, moves through time, and takes on other cases and stories. Those law enforcement relationships are rich and honest, and I really enjoyed those stories a lot. Well cast and well acted. Hope to see a lot more of that in Season 2 because that is where the gold is.
Duchovny does a good job developing his character. As do he and Damon in slowly developing an unlikely partnership. Love the female officer. All of them. Even the racist officers and the Neanderthols of the 1960'd LAPD. As I said, it's honest.
I lived in So Cal during this time. I remember the hippies, the racial strife, the music, counter culture, and the political Revolution and unrest of the turbulent 60's. The Vietnam War. I was a kid, but I vividly remember the times. Manson should have been a minor backdrop in this series as a time marker . . . . and maybe in Season 2, he will be.
Having now binge watched all episodes as a Duchovny fan, I've got to be honest and say I was not taken in by the first two episodes that premiered this week on NBC. But I'm glad that I stuck with it and continued through the entire first season. It took some time for the series to catch its stride.
Set in Los Angeles 2 years before the Tate/La Bianca murders, Duchovny and Grey Damon (Friday Night Lights) play detectives with a generation gap who tangle with an early Charlie Manson. Some Justified players are also along for the ride. David Meunier plays a character I think is loosely based on Manson associate Tex Watson. Abbey Miller plays Manson's first follower, 'Mother Mary,' who comes into the family fold about half way through. Gaius Charles (also from FNLs) plays a Black Panther's leader.
As I said, the first two episodes, I didn't care for them. The loosely based Manson story was distracting, chaotic, even corny. At first, there is too much going on with that and Duchovny's character, Sam Hodiak, with a former love, her daughter, and his son. I was much more interested in getting to know the core cast in the Detective Squad. And the series finally goes there, moves through time, and takes on other cases and stories. Those law enforcement relationships are rich and honest, and I really enjoyed those stories a lot. Well cast and well acted. Hope to see a lot more of that in Season 2 because that is where the gold is.
Duchovny does a good job developing his character. As do he and Damon in slowly developing an unlikely partnership. Love the female officer. All of them. Even the racist officers and the Neanderthols of the 1960'd LAPD. As I said, it's honest.
I lived in So Cal during this time. I remember the hippies, the racial strife, the music, counter culture, and the political Revolution and unrest of the turbulent 60's. The Vietnam War. I was a kid, but I vividly remember the times. Manson should have been a minor backdrop in this series as a time marker . . . . and maybe in Season 2, he will be.