Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Other Doctor Lives: The Leftovers: Season 1, Episode 1 – “Pilot” (2014)

I never watched this series when it originally aired, but I have memories of seeing commercials for it while watching HBO. Even though it began a little late for that era, it struck me as being part of the Lost oeuvre: big ensemble cast drama involving freaky mystery-box plot. Having now seen the first episode, I’d say that impression probably tracks, but the set-up is intriguing enough that I’m prepared to keep watching for more than just the presence of our Doctor, Christopher Eccleston.

Three years ago, 2% of the global population disappeared, suddenly and inexplicably. Since then, the remaining 98% struggle to cope with the holes in their lives. Various cults have risen up to try and find meaning in the disappearances, nihilistic teenagers gamble with their lives for fun, and as the third anniversary draws near, Police Chief Kevin Garvey worries what that day of remembrance will do to his small town.

I like the premise of the show, which weirdly resonates in the current era. I mean, you look at it mathematically and you might think, “1-2% mortality rate isn’t that high,” but individually, that’s still a shit-ton of people – over half a million, and counting, in the U.S. alone. It’s a similar situation here. This isn’t the Snap, where half the universe is gone in a blink, or 12 Monkeys, where 7 billion people died. It’s “just” 2%, but that 2% is enough to touch every community. And with the eerie, unexplained nature of the disappearances, it makes sense that some people are going to extremes to grasp for answers while others try to find solace in oblivion. That resonates with me too, the national/global grief of it (even though the episode mostly contained within this one small town.) Even if you personally don’t know anyone who’s died in the pandemic, the mere fact of living through what we’ve been living through over the past year touches you, affects you.

Pilots, of course, are all about establishing the world and the characters, and shows like this pull triple-duty in that regard. So far, I’m pretty interested in the world and learning more about it, especially some of the different belief systems that have been born out of the disappearances. The character introductions are less successful for me – there are a few who are drawing me in, but at this point, many of them feel more like vehicles for exploring the show’s ideas than individual people.

A fine cast, as shows of this nature tend to attract. Leading the charge is Justin Thoreaux as Kevin, the wrecked remains of an everyman trying to hold it together for the sake of his kids and his town. The show also features Amy Brenneman, Ann Dowd (a.k.a. Aunt Lydia – Dowd must just like playing around in effed-up worlds,) Liv Tyler (for better or worse, she’ll always be Arwen Evenstar to me,) Carrie Coon (who I remember fondly from the third season of Fargo,) Charlie Carver (the Cowboy from The Boys in the Band,) and Paterson Joseph (the Marquis de Carabas!) As that rundown shows you, this is a pretty white cast for a show like this, less Lost/Heroes and more Jericho (although Jericho at least had the Hawkins family and very kindly introduced me to Aasif Mandvi.) Here, in addition to Joseph’s character, there’s maybe two or three other people of color in the show.

As for Christopher Eccleston, he plays a character named Matt Jamison. We don’t know much about him yet. He’s only in one scene in the pilot, but Eccleston was a regular for all three seasons of the show, so there will be more to come. What we do know is that he rubs a lot of people the wrong way with his thoughts on the disappeared. Understandably, many in town have lionized their missing family members and friends, but Matt takes a decidedly-opposite view. While his neighbors hold up the lost as saints or angels, he agitates to disavow them of that belief, waving around folders full of the sins and crimes of the disappeared in the faces of those they left behind. Needless to say, he doesn’t appear to be super-popular around town.

Accent Watch

Generic Middle American. I can’t tell yet if it’s a dubious accent or if I’m just so unused to hearing Eccleston sound American. At the moment, it’s really throwing me for a loop, but I might just need to hear more of it.

Recommend?

In General – Possibly. I’ve watched quite a few of these types of shows, and while this one didn’t grab me as quickly as some of the others did, it’s intriguing enough that I’d like to see more.

Christopher Eccleston – Too soon to tell. Like I said, we’ve seen Matt in one scene so far.

Warnings

Violence (including violence to animals,) sexual content, disturbing images, drinking/smoking/drug use, and strong thematic elements.

No comments:

Post a Comment