I feel as though TV procedurals get an unfairly bad rap from some – but I can see why. TV these days is full of them, and many of these offerings can be repetitive, formulaic and unoriginal. However, I am a big fan of many shows considered to be a ‘procedural’ and whilst there are bad examples, there are also a lot of good to be found within this particular format. With the right ingredients pulled together, a procedural can provide good TV as much as any serialized show can – something I think has been achieved by shows such as ‘The Mentalist‘ on CBS, amongst others.
So, when I heard of a new ‘procedural’ coming to cable with TNT this summer, my interest was instantly piqued. The initial premise for ‘Perception’ reads as follows:
“Dr. Daniel Pierce, a talented but eccentric neuroscientist, is enlisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to assist in solving some of its most complex cases. Dr. Pierce works closely with Special Agent Kate Moretti, a former student who recruited him to work with the Bureau. Also on the team are Max Lewicki, Dr. Pierce’s teaching assistant and Natalie Vincent, his best friend.”
Now, it is impossible to judge any show on paper, especially a show of this nature and format as many of them do feature a similar set up or situation, giving the instant impression that it may well be a case of ‘seen it all before’. However, it’s what the writers do with these things going forward that sets apart the good from the bad. Characters and their relationships develop, over arching stories are set up and a (hopefully) strong mystery is served up each week.
The big question is – will Perception deliver on these aspects and become one of the great procedural shows?
Here’s 5 reasons why it may do just that:
1. It’s Got A Great Cast
Rachael Leigh Cook is Kate Moretti, former student of the main character and FBI Agent, whilst Arjay Smith and Kelley Rowan are Max Lewicki and Natalie Vincent respectively – his teaching assistant and best friend. This is what I’d describe as a ‘solid’ set of actors, each of them with ample experience in TV and certainly up to standard quality wise, particularly Rowan who has done a lot of great stuff in both TV and Film in a career spanning over 30 years.
The most important casting decision, as is often the case with these shows, is that of the central character – the main ‘detective’ if you like. In this case it’s Eric McCormack, a TV veteran in his own right and Emmy award winner for the relatively long-running sitcom ‘Will & Grace’. McCormack’s character is Dr. Daniel Pierce, a neuroscientist and professor assigned to help the FBI with their more complex cases. Eric is a leading man and certainly seems to have the screen presence a central character needs to carry a show. Colour me very pleased on this particular piece of casting.
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2 Comments
Now this sounds like my kind of show. After being a fan of many procedural shows over the years, I agree on the fact that most of them these days are very repetitive to each other and focus on very similar aspects. With the constant element of crime being popular to viewers and creators nowadays it’s hard to give a different perspective to ones already done, unless they focus on a more unrealistic form of crime. So when a show like this comes around, you’re always automatically intrigued to how they approach it and how they differ it from the cliché of crime detectives. Like you mentioned the example of Monk is perfect as it was very unique in its methods and with Adrian Monk’s OCD condition added a new perspective to how an outsider could help solve crime. Now I’m not necessarily saying the condition is what made it unique but the idea of someone outside the force coming in to help. Their vast knowledge tending to be the key to solving these murders without them so much bragging about it, but being willing to use it in order to help. The Mentalist being another good example given in this essay, this alone proving this method of crime solving is popular amongst the viewers and is a technique people thrive on seeing as it’s not your typical team of CSI’s.
I look forward to watching this and if it does basically what “it says on the tin” then it should hopefully make for a great addition to the procedurals currently on our screens.
Thanks for sharing.
OK, I love the classic crime shows like Law and Order, NCIS and CSI. This new show is an example of the new formulaic trend that has been the death of many shows in the last few years. The idea is to create a crime-solving character who has some eccentricity/condition/disease/special power that is annoying/debilitating/a curse but that is tolerated because of the wonderful results it garners. Monk was a good execution of this and ‘Unforgettable’ a very bad one.
The really successful crime shows that all these guys are trying to emulate do not really have gimmicks like “I’m an eccentric neuroscientist” at the core. Law and Order was just about the crime. CSI delved into forensics but basically just told a murder mystery. The Mentalist is an exception to this rule because the writing is pretty good in my humble opinion.
I’m *not* liking new shows like this because I can already tell: The character is over the top which makes him uninteresting to me. I don’t see McCormick as the right person for this role despite the fact that I like him as an actor. If Perception follows the recent formula that has been popular, then there will also be a ton of pointless and extraneous “personal relationship” garbage that breaks up the main story. I loved Law and Order early on and CSI/NCIS early on because there just wasn’t any emphasis on the character’s personal lives. They were just there moving the story along with their professional personalities.
I’d love to have a new show since they cancelled some of my favorites or turned them into melancholy soap operas about cliché stuff I don’t much care for. This, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to be that show from all of the footage and ads I’ve seen. I’ll give it a chance, but I don’t have much hope.