User Reviews

I LOVED the pilot of "Raines"; being a HUGE JG fan, I couldn't wait to watch it (holding my breath all the while, hoping that the creators would do credit to JG's highly underrated acting prowess). I was NOT disappointed.

His POV throughout the pilot episode was so unique; I was concerned that this was another in a long line of 'kooky detective' series (see Monk, Psych, etc.). But my fears were soon allayed.

The most interesting aspect of this show was that, while I watched it, I truly ran the gamut of emotions (if I may employ such an over-used cliché); I laughed, I was intrigued, and the ending not only completely caught me off-guard, I found myself in a pool of tears. Sounds corny, right? Well, shucks, it's the truth.

I suggest to those who haven't seen the pilot do so before watching the following episodes, as it is the essential building block for the series (yea, I know that's what a pilot is supposed to be, but so often that is not the case--I have seen the ol' bait and hook method used in a variety of pilots that went on to a series that didn't follow the original premise).

I can't wait for the upcoming episodes; I just hope the networks give it the chance that it deserves.

What a treat! We don't have to wait for a movie with just the right part to see Jeff. "Raines" is a perfect fit and it is a pleasure to see him on weekly TV! I was channel-surfing on my way to the History Channel, and, "Wow," I found Jeff and something surprisingly entertaining. "Raines" is different from the psychics in the current TV plots; a stressed-out detective having hallucinations is believable. I've grown older with Jeff watching him since "the Big Chill." Jeff seems to be one of those remarkable people who start out in acting with great performances and continues to deliver for his fans. Impressive. I may start to watch a regular series on TV again!

This series has a great deal of potential. When Detective Raines (goldbloom) begins working on a case to solve the death of a young woman he starts having hallucinations. The victim of the murder appears perfectly real to him, and throughout the episode he continues to carry on conversations with her.

Now here is what makes this premise and this series interesting:

1.There is nothing at all supernatural about his hallucinations. In fact they only know what he knows. By talking to these hallucinations he is really reasoning through the crime.

2. In the process this makes the victims of the crime very real to the viewer. Most crime dramas begin by finding a dead body and the rest is a chase to catch the killer, and none of the characters become fully developed. By the end of Raines however, the victim of the murder is a dynamic and unique individual.

3. Because Raines' hallucinations only know what he does, the character of the victim shifts through the episode. This is a very useful tool. Unlike most series that only focus outside events, these hallucinations give the viewer a window into Raines' own mind.

4. The fact that Raines' visions are only hallucinations and that he is aware of that fact makes this show much more interesting a series like Medium, which Raines has unfairly been compared to.

5. The absence of supernatural elements makes the series science-friendly. This is not to say I don't like shows or movies about the supernatural, but there are very few series or movies consider supernaturalism and reject it directly.

This quick comment is based on the first episode only.

I hope the quality of writing and the premise of the series continue to play out along this course. The quickest way to ruin what has all the earmarks of a very good series would be to hint that there may really be something supernatural going on, to move away from character development, or to bring in God, angels, or psychics as explanatory tools.

My vote would have been a 9 or a 10 for this series, but currently it is 8 because only one episode has been broadcast and it is therefore difficult to determine if the quality will remain high from the pilot episode. I have great hopes for this series, but many times series go in a different direction than the pilot episode would suggest, and so I am tempering my response.

At the moment I highly recommend the series---especially for those viewers who have grown tired to typical television clichés.

This could very well be the thinking person's crime drama.

Raines is the most intelligent network television drama to come along in years. It is a drama because the direction of the action is dictated by the character, police detective Michael Raines (Jeff Goldblum). It is intelligent because its producers have had the good sense to put their faith and their money into excellent writers and actors.

The hook in Raines is that this particular cop talks to imaginary characters. But it doesn't take long to figure out that the murdered woman in the premier episode who pops up and asks Raines to find her killer actually represents that part of Raines' mind that seeks the solution to the mystery. She knows no more than he does at any moment in their conversations, and as he queries her, he is actually working out the evidence in his own thinking. When he has questioned a witness, he runs what he has learned by her, and she reacts as his knowledge of her would react. What we as the audience are allowed to witness through this device is the mind of the detective at work as he unravels the mystery. He actually quizzes his best witness, the murder victim, before our eyes. This may not be a stroke of genius, but it is certainly a stroke of brilliance.

At the heart of Raines beats the eccentric brilliance of Jeff Goldblum. I actually approached this first episode with some trepidation, fearing that Goldblum would gum up the works with all sorts of quirky business. He has been known to fidget and squirm to a degree that takes the attention off an otherwise excellent performance. But he actually underplays Raines to marvelous effect. When his characteristic wit does show through, and I mean wit in both senses here, he is both so intelligent and so funny in lightening quick flashes that they are gone as quickly as one notices them. So, in a sometimes passive exterior, we are aware of a formidable, volatile power. And, as if that isn't enough, Goldblum gives us true tenderness at moments in this performance. We simply don't see acting like this on network television often enough to keep track of it.

So we must ask the inevitable questions. Will the public appreciate a television program with the intelligence of Raines? It is slotted against CSI, and that's a tough sell. But the prospect of seeing Jeff Goldblum talking to people who "aren't there" might be a point in its favor with a mass audience. Will the producers of the show continue to invest in scripts as good as the first one? That's anybody's guess. A lot probably depends on reaction to the first episode or two. Here's hoping that Mike Raines lives a long and happy life, talking to himself via his inner cast of characters. Just in case the run of the show is brief, however, catch the brilliance while you can. (If you have an Intel processor, you can download the first episode at the NBC site.)

Like another person here commented I was a little worried Jeff might be a little over the top in this. My fears were completely unjustified. I thought it was a wonderful, funny, sensitive performance. Jeff's quirks weren't a distraction here, the made perfect sense and complimented the character wonderfully. It made me a little reminiscent of Tenspeed and Brown Shoe because it was so enjoyable but honestly I don't remember that series very well, I was pretty young. Excellent writing, excellent acting, even excellent choices in music. Very satisfying. As for the commenter that said it had the same shtick as Monk: are you insane? You may need to go back and watch another episode of Monk. If there was any hallucinating happening there it was you not Mr. Monk.

Having been force fed countless boring shows featuring the supernatural, here is one that grabs you from the beginning. It is not supernatural but the visions or hallucinations of a police detective. Since the vision, as I'll call it, only knows what Raines knows, we get to see the victims character develop over time. I prefer to think that it is Raine's extremely active imagination and the trauma of being shot and losing his partner, that in thinking through the crime and the evidence that brings the victims to life, but after bringing them to life now he has to deal with seeing and talking to the dead and solving the crime. The constantly changing personality of the victims, sometimes in a matter of minutes, shows us the methodical thinking of Raine's as he runs all the possibilities through his head. My fear is that this show will not attract enough viewers to stay on. Most people seem to enjoy the same boring cookie cutter shows that don't require any thought.

I'm a big fan of Jeff Goldblum's and he was terrific in this. Intelligent writing really sets this apart from much of what is on network television these days. Let's hope this generates a following and maybe it will inspire some other producers to step up their writing a notch. Not to mention originality. So often every viewing choice I've got falls in such a narrow, predictable, repetitive, cookie-cutter slot. It's refreshing to see something original. The characters were wonderful, well defined, intelligent and well acted. It just made for a very fun hour. The pilot has a very touching ending. What a wonderful new project for a great actor.

I write this review at the early onset of this show's run. I was intrigued by the premise of this show from the get-go: an already neurotic homicide detective named Michael RAines(Jeff Goldblum in a role that seems made for him and ONLY him)has started to lose control of some elements of his mind after he survives a shootout that claims his partner and friend. He can't sleep much(if at all)and has withdrawn into his own mind,where now he can actually "See" the victims of crimes he's investigating,talking to him and giving him clues to solve the cases. While these visions are(made clearly so in,among other venues,the ads for the show)NOT ghosts,just figments of his imagination,they still prove to add insight into the work he's charged with doing. NAturally,most of his peers,friends and even the precinct shrink(MAdeline Stowe)are skeptical and subscribe to the conclusion that most(including Raines himself)would do:that is,that he's cracking up.

While Mr.Goldblum still makes movies,I feel like he may've found a better stage for showcasing his quirky,odd and brilliant acting prowess in a TV drama,which allows him the benefit of having a P.O.V. position(i.e.narration)to frame the stories. Blending elements of "Monk" and "Medium"(though NOT to be confused with either),this show has the qualities to be something special,though how far and how well this show runs will largely depend on whether NBC wants to hold on to it,letting it grow,and the commitment to the show's almost retro(read:Raymond Chandler,Philip MArlow-esquire L.A. crime stories,set to the current day)feel and unique style,respectively.

I don't watch TV much, if at all. Never have been a fan of the crime wave that's hit the world over the past half decade; the little I did catch always felt overblown in almost every sense. Granted, this doesn't apply to the genre by and large, for I've seen barely anything; it's just that what I did see, I was incredibly turned off by. Also worth noting is I've never cared for crime-themed shows/films in the first place. So why'd I check out 'Raines'? Goldblum.

....and he's basically the reason this show impressed me, in that I actually came away liking it. For sure, the pilot seemed a bit lazy at times, both in acting and direction, and the story was typical fluff, but I did enjoy the dynamic between Goldblum and his hallucinatory victim. It's hokey and absurd, to be sure, but taken as an overt metaphor for his thought process, it works. I wasn't crying by the end or anything (as Goldblum nearly does), but there was a certain amount of resonance when his victim disappears after the case is solved; naturally, one of the hooks of the show is the emotional "bond" that forms between Goldblum and the empathetic hallucination. I should add, the victim in this particular episode happens to be a young, quite sexy "prostitute" -- though her character in Goldblum's mind really doesn't appear as one would imagine she did before her death, given her job and actions -- but whatever.

Goldblum does appear to be sleepwalking throughout a reasonable amount of it, but I'd rather watch Goldblum sleepwalk than pretty much any other actor that appears on television; he's a genius (his performance in 'The Fly' is one of my very favorites in all cinema). And he's basically handsome and charming to boot (I'm a male), tall and charismatic. One little complaint, though, is that he does his little "drooping of his eyes" bit WAY too much (it's sexually fueled, also; he did it two or three times in 'The Fly' to great effect -- in the romantic context of that film it was suited perfectly, and used in respectable moderation -- but it feels tacky and merely a mask for him conveying any emotion in those particular moments. Again, though, it's a fairly trite nag.

Again, the episode wasn't spectacular (that being said for a pilot is was probably pretty exceptional; even many of the great shows out there have abhorrent, painful pilots), but this hour of 'Raines' was entertaining and somewhat affecting, enough so that I'll be catching the show when it finally hits the airwaves. Pretty confident I'll be following it throughout the entire season, too.

Since the days of Tenspeed and Brownshoe, I've looked forward to another hit Goldblum TV Series. I'm thoroughly enjoying this foray into the world of the paranormal via Goldblum, and I'll tell you why. Goldblum himself exhibits some quirky mannerisms, which lends something tangible and pro-active to the venue.

So far the show is just getting started, and I'm not looking forward to a Summer hiatus, but I'm excited as to where this show will go in the future. So far every episode I've seen has been highly entertaining, exuding the Goldblum charm and mystique, leading me to look forward to the next installment.

The show is worthy of a better time slot, but I'm willing to stick with it while it pays its dues. Frankly, the quality of performances, writing, and direction have already elevated this work, in my opinion. Hopefully soon the execs will realize this, too.

This is totally entertaining and very enjoyable. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Goldblum, psychics, New Age, clairvoyance, or just being completely entertained.

It rates a 10/10 on the TV Scale from...

the Fiend :.

RAINES is a perfect case of an actor superior to his material. Jeff Goldblum plays a brilliant but somber detective who imagines he communicates with the victims of the murders he is being sent to investigate. The usually quirky Goldlbum actually is rather subdued here, dealing with very dark mysteries in some cases. No tricky effects, just images of victims popping in and out of Goldblum's mind to help him figure out who killed them and/or how they died. Problem is, most of the shows have verged on the pedestrian while Goldblum is consistently interesting. He's like Monk crossed with Ghost Whisperer crossed with House, M.D. We will see how far this series can go without benefit of more interesting scripts.

Raines is a unique take on the detective/cop drama. I'll start by saying that Jeff Goldblum is one of my favourite actors, i just love his acting style, his voice and how he naturally brings humour to his scenes. Saying that, the character Raines is like a glove for Jeff, it is almost surreal watching him play Raines, he does it flawlessly, i cant think of any other word to describe it.

The show itself is really interesting and like i said has a unique take that makes it stand out from other detective/cop dramas. Raines sees and talks to the dead victims of the crimes he is investigating, but they are not ghosts, but extremely vivid hallucinations. I won't reveal anything but an event happened that caused Raines to see these victims. It is a unique way of character development for the victims and you find yourself caring for these characters much more than you should be. Other than that there is nothing really special about the way the crimes are solved or the crimes themselves but you won't care, you will be mesmerised by Goldblum's performance throughout every episode.

After 8 episodes this show got cancelled. Proof that modern TV is becoming dumber with every passing day. Instead of interesting and intelligent shows like Raines we get all the reality crap.

8/10. One of the better TV shows iv'e seen in recent years.

Network TV again proves it cannot produce programming worth a damn.

Let's start with the name; "Raines" is supposed to make the viewer think of Claude Raines, the police chief in "Casablanca" and actor with many detective roles under his belt. PROBLEM: Jeff Goldbloom is over 6 feet tall, Claude Rianes barely over 5' 3"

Opening gives the feeling you are about to see a film noir. In fact the entire episode tries to be noir. PROBLEM: Noir is French for Black; as in Black & White; as in Casablanca, Maltese Falcon etc.; NOT COLOR

The lead character tries to solve crimes by having imaginary conversations with the victim. PROBLEM: USA Network already tried a similar and successful shtick like this; its called Monk and that show is lot more entertaining.

There is no action or gripping dialog. Good cop shows (Law & Order) either have a fast pace to pull the viewer in or some straight-forward dialog for the viewer to get the gist. PROBLEM: This pilot developed slowly and sometimes the dialog did not make any sense. I turned it off after the first 20 minutes.

SUMMARY: 1- This show ain't film noir; so it can never aspire to be Casablanca 2- Jeff Goldbloom is not Claude Raines or Boggy. He is a good actor but this is not the part for him. 3- This show was so slow I watched a re-run of Papillon.

Since I've only seen one episode so far, I can't give the series as a whole a ten rating. but nevertheless, the pilot episode of this program presents a series with great potential, all based on a REALLY clever idea. I was glad that this show wasn't just another supernatural affair, a la 'The Sixth Sense' or something along those lines. Instead, it is a study of one L.A. detective's determination, and even maniac ism, to solve murder cases. The victim's "form" throughout the show as Michael Raines (played perfectly by the always-great Jeff Goldblum!) starts to piece together their personalities from evidence gathered while investigating said crimes. They're not "ghosts" or "unresting dead", but actual figments of Raines' detective mind.

There is a line in the show, a bit of dialog, that sort of describes how this came out: Raines' ex-partner (surprises to come!) reminisces about Raines' method to talk to himself during investigations... to "talk through" his cases to get to know his victims. Well he does that now, except trauma, both emotional and physical (Raines' was shot prior to the pilot episode) has him actually "seeing" the victims and he talks to himself. It's real clever, and interesting. Because it's all in the mind, anything can happen.

Anyway, give this show a shot. It's not one of these over-the-top "what ridiculous shlt is gonna happen next" kinda network show that's been on the last few years. It is written, co-created, and directed by Frank Darabont ('The Shawshank Redemption', 'The Green Mile') and all the acting is excellent. Goldblum always delivers quirky, yet still likable and believable characters, and there's always something new around every story corner. This is the kind of quality show that could be on HBO Sunday nights. GO WATCH!!!

This is less of a review of the show and more of an open letter to the powers that be at NBC: Hello NBC people,

This year you have two excellent new shows in your lineup in Heroes and Raines. Everyone knows that Heroes is an amazing show, but Raines is also as equally amazing. Since the original CSI on CBS there have been a million different shows, on your network and others, trying to capitalize on the format and success of your competitor's blockbuster, but all, in my opinion, have fallen far short of the goal to even be watchable shows, not to mention achieving the level of quality that CSI adheres to. I think Raines hits the mark. It is unfair to compare the two shows because they are fairly dissimilar. However, that doesn't matter with Raines. It is its own show. It isn't trying to pull in people who are looking for a "CSI alternative." Simply put, Jeff Goldblum is wonderful to watch, the writing is top-notch and the premise is just quirky enough to hook you in and keeping you wanting more. It isn't the same old thing and it isn't so far fetched that it comes off being silly. It is just right. So, in short, please keep this excellent show on the air. My friends and I watch it and will continue to watch it as long as it is on. Thank you, NBC, for providing another 40 minutes of television worth watching in this age of unbearable reality shows, contrived comedies and blasé copy-cat dramas. Here is to a long run of Raines.

In episode six of season one of BOOMTOWN, Detective Bobby Smith engages in conversation with his long-dead and long-lost friend in that 2002-3 milestone series that introduced me to incredibly long oners, powerful dialogue, and brilliant actors who portrayed singular events from multiple points of view. Whether Detective Smith's cameo in the RAINES pilot indicates that Graham Yost is planning to blow me away again is moot, but the quality of his work presented in BAND OF BROTHERS and FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON leaves me very little room for doubt. I'm not much for who-done-it mysteries, and detective procedurals are my cure for insomnia, but I've already bought myself a RAINES season pass at iTunes, because there's just so much more juicy, layered information in the pilot than a single visit allowed me to explore. Mykelti Williamson was uncredited in the pilot, so I've got to wonder whether other spectres will rise from the flawed scraps and fragments of humanity that still make BOOMTOWN spectacularly insightful.

Of all the great cities of the world, spawned by her great rivers, perhaps only L.A. hugs the banks of an open sewer. He's back, and I'm more than ready for the instants of insane camera angle, the unexpected beauty wrung from a place where there's no There, and the onionlike complexity of real personalities opening in the mind of a writer/detective who tells vivid tales of emotional explosions like nobody else. At the center of every episode outline, under the wonderful throwaway lines and ThinMan banter, are the severely mutilated hearts and damaged lives of real people, especially the protagonist.

Michael Raines paints dead victims three-dimensionally, from the bare canvas outward, sifting through layers of hearsay contradiction to reveal a final likeness. Simultaneously, he identifies the killer by initially suspecting everybody, then whittling away impossible suspects; all of whom are merely "ordinary people". It's a process easily confused with making art. I can't spot the difference, although if this were a democracy, I'd vote for more Matt Craven.

The south forty is a ranch, "the back forty at Crawford" is too many golf courses.

Raines is quite simply a wildly clever and creative TV detective drama. I am quite enchanted by Jeff Goldblum and the way he wonderfully converses with the case victims' visions in his mind. I find the whole premise of Raines' character crossing over into somewhat of a spiritual world in order to define the history of the deceased victim very, very intriguing and thought-provoking. Jeff Goldblum rather shines as the introspective detective and he definitely seems endearingly comfortable in this role. The supporting cast of this show also works together quite well, especially impressive is Raines' sympathetic boss played by Matt Craven. Let's hope that the network eagerly gives this remarkable new detective show the fighting chance it certainly deserves.

The first episode of "Raines" really surprised me. I was expecting the usual procedural formula with contemporary spice & sadism tossed in to please the blood and flash types. Not so. The show is based on a genuinely sophisticated premise: Namely, a cop haunted by "ghosts" of his crime-fighting past. This device worked beautifully. Goldblum and the guy who plays his boss were excellent. This show is probably too subtle to be very popular, but I sure hope it hangs around. I'm really looking forward to episode number 2. Oddly enough, another show that I consider excellent (namely "Numbers")is on at the same time as "Raines". I would never have seen "Raines" had not the NCAA Basketball Tournament pre-empted "Numbers". Now "Raines" is Numero Uno. "Numbers" (that excellent show about detection through higher mathematics) is - well - Number Two. That's just the way it goes.

In fine - well done indeed.

I admit to a soft spot for Jeff Goldblum, a wonderful actor whose career has spanned theater, film, and television. Years ago, he and Ben Vereen had the series "Tenspeed and Brownshoe," which was a flop. I remember loving it especially because of Goldblum's quirky delivery. The show was a little ahead of its time and even five years later would have done much better.

Here's Goldblum again, here as a thoughtful police detective who, in the genre du jour since "Sixth Sense" sees dead people. And, like Medium's Allison Dubois, he not only sees them but he talks to them as he tries to figure out the identity of their murderer. In this case, however, the dead are only in Raines' imagination and only know what he knows. Because of this, they change throughout the episode, as he begins to see different facets of their lives and personalities.

Though the show has a dark quality, it contains a lot of humor. "Maybe she saw him naked and laughed," Raines suggests as one motive for a murder. "It always comes down to penis size, doesn't it?" the female officer observes. "Pretty much," Raines and his captain answer in unison.

It's offbeat, downbeat, quirky, and a welcome addition to television. I hope it continues.

"Raines" is a fantastic program that combines strong elements of a well thought out, innovative thriller with a very interesting detective story, plenty of human warmth (both at the personal and group level,) splashes of obvious and subtle humor, beautiful staging and photography, and excellent, top of the line, very realistic acting by all members of the cast but especially Jeff Goldblum and Linda Park. The main paradigm may have been used before in movies and books, but never with such clarity and simplicity, portraying such a humane treatment of what must be one of the most difficult human experiences: study the murder of a fellow human being and work to find and capture the culprits. The open view of the detective's internal psychological struggle, what he is going through and what he had to give up to be effective in his job, is an added and much appreciated bonus that makes these stories all the more attractive. This is what TV shows should be like, in my opinion. Bravo! Let's see more of them!!

Another crime drama with an original approach! Solving crimes in TV shows and movies has been done to death! So what does "Raines" add to this genre! Well plenty! First you have Jeff Goldblum! A very charismatic actor who always is convincing as a genius with certain flaws! In "Raines" he is a detective who is literally seeing his murdered victims! He only gets rid of seeing them when he solves their murder! The brilliance of this peculiar matter is that it all is happening in his mind! It is not certain if he is mad or becoming mad! To me it seems like a tool for him dealing with the murders and the death of his partner! It actually helps him solving the cases! Sometimes he has the feeling that he is losing control! And is afraid that people will find out! There is more to this and we sure will find out later! Each episode is full of little twists and turns that will keep you watching! Especially on the drama front! It is nice to see different sides of a murder victim to get a more objective view! And it is fun to watch what is going on with Raines! I like the fact that sometimes he is helping the friends or relatives of the murdered victims! It is noble and touching! Excellent!

The best of the best in Raines... entertains, chains you to the television to the end of the program in all and each one of the programs.

Rains selects the best and better actors every time with to very good taste in everything... the visions, the drama or sweet comedy.... I believe that we have to very good series for so long time.

But what I can tell them ,if the series has all in there, is not words to describe the excellent quality of the librettos, actors, photographs and the charisma of Jeff Goldblum, Alexa Avalos, etc., etc., etc.

Iam very grateful I founded and congratulations to NBC

I normally don't comment on shows, but I wanted to make an exception. I absolutely love this show. The show is funny and entertaining and I think Jeff Goldblum is quirky and engaging. There are some really funny scenes between Raines and his murder victims and I love how the victims change as he learns more about them. I am always looking for new shows to watch and I saw the preview and thought I might give it a try. I don't think the preview did the show justice. While I do like the Ghost Whisperer, this show is nothing like that. I noticed that is a common misunderstanding people have who have never seen Raines. I think people should give the show a chance and don't base your opinion on the pilot. Although I did like the pilot, I think the show only got better from there. I hope they don't cancel this show.