Sci-Fi News and Reviews

Impressions: "Drive"

I watched the two hour premiere of "Drive" last night on Fox. I thought, since I have adopted it as a Sci-Fi show due to the presence of Tim Minear and Nathan Fillion (and its overall feel), I would post a quick set of my impressions of the pilot episode. This will be as non-spoilery as I can make it, so don't worry!

The Premise/Intro
The premise of the show is an illegal cross-country road race. Since they have such a large list of characters, the writers did a pretty good job of introducing the main competitors, while balancing the 'OK - I'm bored with the intros...Let's race!' feelings. I loved the quote "...Well, it won't be as impressive without the PowerPoint" (paraphrased). Overall, the intro and setup was about a 'B'.

The Race
Once the race started, I thought the show flowed quite well. Fillion was as good as expected in the lead role. He was believable and likeable. I also liked the astrophysicist (heh...of course!) and his daughter quite a bit. The other characters (the mom, the three girl team, the newly met brothers) were all decent and I expect their stories to be fleshed out a bit. Even Fillion's partner was acceptable - and her backstory looks to have the most depth of any of the characters save Fillion's himself. I give the main portion of the show an 'A-'.

Potential
Enormous. Hercules over at AICN calls it "...DRIVE Fox’s
Best New Series In Years!!" Although I won't quite go that far, I have faith in Tim Minear's show leadership. His shows always deliver - and I think this one is set to mature very nicely. For potential, this show is a solid 'A'.

In the final analysis, I give the pilot an 'A-'. I think you should give it a shot. Just as a note, I watched the "Drive" pilot right after viewing my TiVo recording of the new "Painkiller Jane" pilot - so, if I have exaggerated anything here, it's because of the vast difference in quality! Poor Kristanna Loken - she can't be in anything good.

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Posted by Fred on April 16, 2007 4:56 PM
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