Les Jones: Who's Watching/Watched "Drive" Tonight?

April 15, 2007

A&E > Who's Watching/Watched "Drive" Tonight?

So the new series "Drive" with "Firefly"'s Nathan Fillion starts tonight at 8:00. I can't resist watching it.

I also can't resist wondering what the negotiations between Fillion and Fox were like considering how they muffed "Firefly." FOX: "Oh, no. We'd never start a series, support it half-heartedly, interfere in its scheduling, pre-empt it with Sunday night sports, then cancel it after one season. No, sir. Not on the Fox network."

Updates below.

That was quick. The cop investigating the disappearance of Alex Tully (Nathan Fillion's) wife is Richard Brooks, the same actor who played Jubal Early in the final "Firefly" episode. Brooks is better known as Paul Robinette on NBC's "Law and Order."

Not much after that. It was OK, but came across like "The Amazing Race" (complete with nightly check points and elimination rounds) with car chases and a script. It's a drama that plays like a reality TV show. It's OK, but I don't plan on watching any more episodes.

Posted by lesjones | TrackBack

Comments

I was gonna watch it. I'm a fan of Cannonball Run and CRII. ::hangs head in shame::

I decided I'd either wait for DVD or catch repeats if they let the thing live.

I've been burnt by Fox too many times. (ie. Reunion, Vanished, etc.)

Posted by: Kat Coble at April 15, 2007

Futurama, etc. Fox really is getting a reputation for doing in perfectly good shows.

To be honest, you didn't miss much, IMO.

Posted by: Les Jones at April 15, 2007

Not just Fillion -- producer/director/writer Tim Minear has been burned on Firefly, Wonderfalls, and The Inside. I'm amazed he continues to let FOX back any show he makes.

FOX again made him re-edit the pilot episode of Drive, to meet the network's demands. The show itself had some nifty editing and had an interesting set-up. I'll give it another episode or two, but I admit a bias to a metaphor of Americans caught up in a winner-take-all race controlled by unknown entities.

Posted by: Joe P. at April 16, 2007

Meh, it was alright. Nathan Fillion is going to have to work hard during the next few years to escape his Mal character.

I'll probably let it run in the background while I do other things. Like you said, it looks a drama that wants to be a reality show. Just like LOST.

So I'll keep watching, but warily, and only for Fillion.

Posted by: Paul Simer at April 16, 2007

Joe: I did not know about Wonderfalls and Inside. Hard to believe Minnear would trust Fox again.

Paul: I'm glad I'm not the only one who had that impression about Lost. During the previews I honetly thought it was a reality TV show and so I didn't watch it. We just started watching it this season and I have to say I really like it. When the season's over we're thinking about renting the seasons we missed.

Posted by: Les Jones at April 16, 2007

When the season's over we're thinking about renting the seasons we missed.

you probably really want to do that. There's a lot of good information and intriguing theory in the first two seasons.

In fact, it'll make the first six episodes of this season look extremely crappy in retrospect. (Because they were...)

Posted by: Kat Coble at April 16, 2007