TV Review: PERSON OF INTEREST 1.4 - "Cura Te Ipsum"
Now generally I’m not a huge fan of procedural dramas but my pick of the new crop of shows would have to be CBS’s espionage thriller Person of Interest.
The Autumn TV season is now well under way, bringing with it the promise of some enticing new shows, most of which will probably be cancelled by Spring. In fact some have already been given the chop (The Playboy Club for instance). Now generally Im not a huge fan of procedural dramas but my pick of the new crop of shows would have to be CBSs espionage thriller Person of Interest. So why get excited? Well the pilot episode was penned by Jonathan Nolan, yes that Jonathan Nolan and the series is Executive Produced by TV heavyweight J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Fringe). It also stars Jim Caviezel (Jesus Christ himself) and Lost favourite Michael Emerson. If thats not enough to wet your appetite then I suggest you throw out your TV and go and buy a book, because your not likely to find a better creative line-up on any new show this season. If you havent managed to catch the show yet, Ill explain the premise before I get into this weeks episode. Set in New York City, the American Government has built a super computer that monitors and analyses every kind of public and private communications network imaginable CCTV, mobile phones, emails, you name it. If it exists, they are abusing it. Its something like the Patriot Act times ten. Imagine if Google built a Smartphone, the last piece in the their communications monopoly, allowing them to know where you are at any given time of the day and what ads would most suit your current situation. Oh wait... The purpose of the machine is to predict terrorist threats. Using its immense monitoring capabilities and what must be one hell of a processor, the machine identifies crimes before they happen. The only problem is, the machine cant tell the difference between terrorism and everyday malicious crimes. These aptly named irrelevant crimes are subsequently discarded. Enter Harold Finch (Emerson) - reclusive billionaire scientist and the machines inventor. Finch secretly retrieves the deleted irrelevant list and recruits burned C.I.A. hitman John Reese (Caviezel). Together the pair bring vigilantly justice to the endangered citizens of New York. Theres just one kicker - the machine gives them a name and thats it. They dont know when, where, or how this person will be involved in some future crime. The subject could be the perpetrator or the victim. The nature of the crime is also unknown, only that it will happen soon. This weeks person of interest is Dr. Megan Tillman, an overworked young physician played by guest star Linda Cardellini, whom some of you may remember as the star of the short-lived cult sitcom Freaks and Geeks. As per usual, Dr. Tillman is just a name spat out by the machine and the initial investigation presumes that she is going to be sexually assaulted by a serial stalker, Andrew William Benton (Adam Rothenberg). Reese promptly realises that this is not the case. A background check on Benton reveals that he was responsible for the rape and subsequent suicide of Dr. Tillmans sister many years ago, and it is in fact Dr. Tillman who is methodically stalking Benton, with malicious intent. There is also two minor subplots, both concerning reoccurring characters. Detective Carter (Taraji P. Henson) an NYPD detective, continues her investigation to track down Reese and Detective Lionel Fusco (Kevin Chapman) a corrupt cop in Reeses pocket gets some much needed assistance dealing with cartel gangsters. Caviezel turns in a strong performance as the brooding, world-weary soldier and in particular this episode brings up some strong personal turmoil about the cost of taking anothers life and whether a person can come back from that and change for the better look out for a powerful final scene. Emersons character has less to do in this episode than in previous ones, but his performance is consistent and I have a feeling this role was written just for him. A fine actor, but it seems for the moment he is stuck playing the illusive mastermind after his stellar turn as Ben Linus in Lost. Cardellini does well with what shes given but these one-off characters in the procedural format dont really give the actor a chance to develop any meaningful relationship with the audience and to be honest, they all tend to blur together as the season progresses. The series has so far been consistent, delivering well-written, interesting stories and episode four is no exception, I particularly enjoyed the ending. Next week, Reese and Finch come under threat whilst trying to protect a Judge.