As a fan of political dramas, I decided to give "Crisis" a try because it looked like a very interesting premise. Plus, being an X-Files junkie, I was curious about Gillian Anderson's return to network TV. Those assumptions did hold...for about two episodes. After that, unfortunately, the show turns into a standard crime procedural lacking any sort of "new ground".
After the first two episodes of "Crisis", I thought that I had found the next great political drama. A group of high-society prep students on a school field trip (one being the son of the President of the United States) are kidnapped and held hostage. It is very interesting to see the different dynamics between the students and how they all react a little bit differently to the situation. Even the heavily-advertised Gillian Anderson return is a hit, as her character adds a toughness angle to the show that seems intriguing.
Sadly, that is where the innovation of this show ends. For the next 3/4 episodes, it turns into a complete procedural. It has the stereotypical "one male, one female F.B.I. agent" (played by Lance Gross & Rachael Taylor) premise, and follows a "one parent of a hostage each week" approach to storytelling. It is sad, because had the show-runners been able to focus on the relationships between the teen hostages themselves, THAT is where the interesting material was. As soon as the focus shifted to the parents, it became tedious and un-inspiring. Even Anderson's character has been pretty much in invisible since those first couple episodes.
I compare "Crisis" to a show like "Intelligence" on CBS. Both shows had great kernels of concepts/ideas, but instead of truly breaking ground with original storytelling, the networks instead shoe-horn those interesting plots into tired TV storytelling conventions. Both shows were also advertised as something almost completely different from what they turned out to be. Much like "Intelligence", I would be surprised if "Crisis" gets a renewal for a second season. It just doesn't differentiate itself enough from other similar "stock" fare on television these days.
After the first two episodes of "Crisis", I thought that I had found the next great political drama. A group of high-society prep students on a school field trip (one being the son of the President of the United States) are kidnapped and held hostage. It is very interesting to see the different dynamics between the students and how they all react a little bit differently to the situation. Even the heavily-advertised Gillian Anderson return is a hit, as her character adds a toughness angle to the show that seems intriguing.
Sadly, that is where the innovation of this show ends. For the next 3/4 episodes, it turns into a complete procedural. It has the stereotypical "one male, one female F.B.I. agent" (played by Lance Gross & Rachael Taylor) premise, and follows a "one parent of a hostage each week" approach to storytelling. It is sad, because had the show-runners been able to focus on the relationships between the teen hostages themselves, THAT is where the interesting material was. As soon as the focus shifted to the parents, it became tedious and un-inspiring. Even Anderson's character has been pretty much in invisible since those first couple episodes.
I compare "Crisis" to a show like "Intelligence" on CBS. Both shows had great kernels of concepts/ideas, but instead of truly breaking ground with original storytelling, the networks instead shoe-horn those interesting plots into tired TV storytelling conventions. Both shows were also advertised as something almost completely different from what they turned out to be. Much like "Intelligence", I would be surprised if "Crisis" gets a renewal for a second season. It just doesn't differentiate itself enough from other similar "stock" fare on television these days.
