TV: Awake

Thoughts after the premiere episode:

A couple of familiar faces. BD Wong plays a psychiatrist – isn’t that what he did on Law & Order: SVU? Wilmer Valderrama is in a serious role, which is interesting, but he does a good job. Steve Harris has moved from playing a lawyer (The Practice) to detective. The show ended in 2004 and the guy doesn’t look a day older. Jason Isaacs – I’m biased, I adore this man. I have probably since The Patriot, but definitely since The State Within from 2006. Awake is about 2 realities - Isaacs’s character tries to figure out which is real after he has a car accident. In one reality, his son is killed in the crash, but his wife survives. In the other, he has lost his wife, but his son is alive. He goes to 2 psychiatrists, one in each reality, and in each he’s in treatment for post-traumatic stress. He can’t connect well with either after the accident. I’m getting the impression that it’s part crime drama (he’s a homicide detective in each reality) but also a little of the paranormal “what if”.

The show flips back and forth between the two realities and the only way the viewer can keep them straight is by which shrink he’s talking to and by who his partner is (Harris in one and Vilmerrama is in the other). The show could maintain its structure if he were solving the same crime in each of the realities, but instead you see elements of one in the other. Details do cross over into the dream world. But which is which? Is that a choice he can make and what kind of a choice would that be? He either “kills” his wife or his son. His choice in the first episode is not to choose – he can keep them both, and he’s more than happy to, even if it costs him everything else. He keeps his realities straight by wearing a different colour rubber band around his wrist. When he doesn’t see it, he is absolutely lost. He really doesn’t have a clue what’s really real. It’s all real as far as he’s concerned.

The show has potential. It’s just not terribly interesting right now. I really hope the story develops some more depth, otherwise I don’t think it’ll keep me interested.

Image from: http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tv/awake/photo-gallery-detail/EP01419003/939860