Crossing Lines - Pilot Review

CROSSING LINES (NBC) - PILOT SHORT REVIEW

 

Image courtesy of NBC, 2013.

Remember that feeling when your emotions felt like one extensive ride on a roller coaster? Well, “Crossing Lines” felt a lot like that very ride and yet at the end still managed to pull me in. How exactly that was achieved? Let me tell you in this short review of the 2-hour-pilot of NBC’s ambitious new drama that is unique and a big risk for the network at that. 

“Crossing Lines” (CL in the following) is NOT an American TV series. Why do I mention that as NBC is obviously an American network and is broadcasting it? Well, this show is not produced by NBC and feels different to other American shows. Not the “oh look, we have another genders in the lead roles”-style which is often (maybe too often) used, but the “you haven’t quite seen a show like this”-different. And this is the main reason I went to check it out.

An international team solving border-crossing crimes, sanctioned by the ICC (not very willingly, though) while also set in many international places (Berlin, Paris, The Hague are just three prominent examples from the pilot - even though mostly filmed in Prague - other shots were filmed in Nice and Paris) and starring William Fichtner, Tom Wlaschiha and some more names including the one and only Donald Sutherland. 

I have to admit, I disliked CL in the first 20-25 minutes because it, well, did not live up to the hype around it, not in one single case except that for the possible first time, the Germans were actually the best equipped (both technically and reasoning) portrayed but that was it, quite frankly. What I really could not oversee were these moments where you just heard characters deliver dumb lines such as when they were in the lab with the victim from Paris when the Doctor said that the killer had cut her wrists and the British detective repeated a second afterwards ‘So, he cut his wrists’. The viewer is not that dumb. He/I knew that from just a second ago. But thank you for repeating the obvious and then not even continuing the thought that came afterwards (Why?). Too bad. 

But as they arrived at the crime scene once again to find some concrete, old, fashioned evidence (spoiler avoided) the show did a shift and let me forget about my dislike from just before in a moment. From there, the drama really kicked it off and continued to grip me deeper in with every development to come. Especially when they pulled the first big trigger by letting one of the team fall captive to our psychopathic killer, the show became unbearably intense and I found myself not worrying about anything anymore. I have, literally, never experienced such a turn-around with a show as CL pulled on me/the viewer and I have to give big kudos for that. But as this may read as “boom, the show just got dope” (see, I’m cool, I’m using slang - not), that is not quite the case.

The second half of the pilot which focused on getting back the captive agent and chasing the killer through Europe was good and solid from beginning to end but failed to amaze me with the promised difference from other shows (but since I was not expecting this, I was not disappointed but I’ll talk about it anyway). CL from here on out played out like any other crime procedural TV show out there, mainly the American ones, of course, as the difference is strictly limited to the cast, characters and the setting. It is, as previously said, an international style this shows features and this is doing serious good to it as otherwise this would just be another known drama. But here you get European cases, a European team and a solid “known” drama procedural. And that is good. 

 

"There are always two sides to choose from, young apprentice with a french accent."
(Image courtesy of NBC, 2013.)

NEGATIVE ASPECTS

         The show did start off more disappointing than promising and if I would not have had the will to get up to minute 30, I’m pretty sure I would have never watched it again (which would be a mistake, though).

      The background stories of the team and each of its characters are lacking some serious explanation (mainly the ones from the team’s lead which was shown but never was understandable or even logic).

      While I’m sure that is being addressed throughout the season/series, it was still missing greatly in the pilot. 

     The promised difference does NOT really concern the cases or the detective work.

     Some few (major) hick-ups in the first half hour as partly named before.

POSITIVE ASPECTS

        The cast, the team and the show is international and features a lot of European cities which is a more than welcome change from your typical TV show. The feeling the show achieves is awesome when you just see city after city. 

       I really enjoyed the show’s move to let a diplomat be the killer in the pilot, a strong opener at least. 

       The team is made of very interesting characters and that promises a strong team dynamic later on.

      The triggers they pulled (there were two big ones, both at the very end of both halves: a) letting one of the team get captured by the killer and b) killing off one of their own kind of randomly) were amazingly good and unseen. 

       It was after all very entertaining. 

I really liked how they pictured every team mate individually (the Irish guy with family problems, the American one with his drug addiction, the British detective who slowly connected to the Irish guy), how they showed territorial rivalry between the different agencies and I have high hopes that the show will continue walking this path. That leaves me with Donald Sutherland who feels that he was only added to the show to have a big name to market it (remember, this show is not an American one). BUT, he played his part without flaw and every second we got to see him the show hit a home run, so to speak. Hopefully, we will see some more of him soon and maybe even the political process and enemies/friend within the ICC. That would make for some interesting season-long arc. 

Originally, I had been quite sure that CL would not receive a second season renewal because it was, well, international and took a stronger but also slower tone to the story which normally does not fear well in the US, especially not on NBC where a Sunday spot is not the best spot as well (again, especially not when this premiere was showed next to “Mad Men”’s finale). But then I learned it was an international production and therefore I still have hope for the show as this will most likely sell out very well, given the change in scenery, cast and the big names attached to it. Europeans love that. 

 

"Check this show out or I will personally come after you."
(Image courtesy of NBC, 2013.)

CONCLUSION

 

“Crossing Lines” may not be a never-before seen show concerning the procedural stories but it sure is when it comes to the team/cast and the settings. Having Donald Sutherland on board is helpful as well, of course. But for the show itself: even though it had its flaws in the beginning and sadly did not live up to its “new thing”-hype, it was still very entertaining and managed to intrigue me as I’m now really wanting to see how the show will go from this point on. 

Therefore, if you like a change in scenery, this one you should really check out, it’s actually quite good after all. 3/5 for the lead-in pilot which at the end was really good and satisfying.

NOTE: Since the show has an international cast, you have to deal with much accents but you get the drill soon enough. Enjoy.