Second Chance

There are countless series and movies out there where the main character is an ex-cop who, because of some excuse, becomes some sort of lone wolf vigilante with the help of some organization or the government or some technological miracle etc. or a combination of the above.

"Second Chance" is the latest addition to the pile! The "excuse" here is supposedly based on Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein. (The producers were even thinking calling the series "The Frankenstein Code").

An 80 y.o. ex-sheriff (played by the veteran Philip Baker Hall) is murdered and his body not only comes to life (!) but it is rejuvenated and genetically improved by a couple of billionaire twins (who invented the facebook or something). He becomes a 30 y.o. stronger version of him retaining in the process ALL his previous memories in every detail! Soooo, this has absolutely nothing to do with Frankenstein, which was a dull monster, sum of bodyparts from many different corpses and no memories whatsoever!!!

The basic set-up of "Second chance" is something you've seen a gazillion times on TV (Intelligence, Agent-X, The Player etc. etc.), i.e. a lone wolf action hero with high-tech support and some sort of secret.

The key question is "Is it fun?". Well, too soon to tell (I just saw the unaired pilot). The main plot of the pilot (some crooked FBI agents) are pretty much resolved. There is no mystery in that plot-arc.

So, I guess, the main character Ray (they should have named him ...Frank!) would start taking assignments "to clean the city" as an ex-sheriff he ones was. His job will be fairly easily having superhuman power and 2 billionaires hackers who can easily penetrate any database and yada-yada-yada etc. etc. You ve seen it a millions times before.

In the next episodes I'm pretty sure we will see Ray breaking-in in some facility wearing an earpiece and exchanging "witty" comments with the Twins.

Overall: Nothing special so far. Seems like a work in progress. Didn't hate it, but it looks like it will become an average unimpressive same-o show.

UPDATE after 10th ep.: I know the ratings are extremely low, but the show has improved during its course. It is "another excuse" for a special consultant cop, but the backbone of its main plot arc is also strong. And even the actors and their chemistry together were improved. A couple of twists were welcome too. So I increase my rating and hope for its continuance, although against all odds.

So obviously this is network TV, and is therefore bound by corporate committees and maybe by law to be unoriginal. And I think the writers tried pretty hard to fit that mold... but maybe they couldn't help making an interesting show despite some of those limitations. Clearly, it didn't happen by accident.

Right from the jump, I felt like something was a tiny bit different about this show than your usual network fare. I don't know if it was just the set design or the direction or the cinematography, or maybe a bit of all of these. But this show was a tad ahead of most other network content from the very beginning.

The acting was good. Dilshad Vadsaria played a very convincing and very sympathetic character, and also she's smoking hot. I hadn't really heard of her before, but now, having finished Second Chance, I have to go find another show of hers to watch. Robert Kazinsky did a great job. I had no idea he was doing an American accent until I read an interview with him shortly after I started watching. He seemed super familiar to me but I don't think I've seen much of his other work. On the whole, I'm kind of reminded of Henry Cavil, and that's a good thing.

But as the episodes went by, the show started getting really good. The plot pieces fit together fairly well; the suspension of disbelief was adequate. The dialog was quite good, and I had to laugh on quite a few occasions. I also shouted at the TV in frustration when Pritchard senior was too dumb to just talk to Mary about how he felt, and that's really not my usual style.

Plus, I felt like the writers and the showrunners were maybe going to actually resolve some of the key plot issues that most programs would usually milk for 3 or 4 seasons, and make room for newer things. I wonder if they had cool ideas for new storylines in future seasons.

Unfortunately, we'll never know, and it's a damned shame.

Only the pilot is out, so all the people whining about character development, plot development, and so on, give me a break! Watch 5- 10 episodes of a new show before judging.

Sure, it's been done before (Like "Intelligence", which I also enjoyed. Even "The 6 Million Dollar Man!"), but it's a fresh twist. I wish they had done a 2-episode pilot, to develop the story-line and characters a bit more, but it was fast-paced and there was enough to get my interest piqued...

We will have to see, but I am enjoying it so far. I am entertained, and that's what this is all about folks. "Formulatic"? Of course! Most TV is ...and if we've seen some elements before, it's because, hello!, it works! ...Plus it's what, folks like myself, want to see.

Robert Kazinsky is good in the main role - I can "see" his former self "coming thru" his new, younger self. I am also really glad to see Tim DeKay, as he's a great character actor - I was wondering where he'd end up, after "White Collar", another favorite show of mine - back as an FBI agent "again", there's a stretch, but he does it so well! ...This is full of excellent actors.

I love shows like this, because there's so much room for development, directions they can take it, a lot of potential there. It appears Fox ordered 13 episodes ...I can't wait to see where it goes!

When I read the plot line I wasn't overly enthralled, just figured I'd give it a go. So glad I did.

There are some really interesting characters here, most of whom are deliciously flawed, with interesting relationships and interactions between them.

Visually pleasing, an interesting extension of technology and software that we already take for granted (and the slightly darker big brother aspect to it with the developers using it for their own ends without conscience) is a believable near future that makes the more esoteric sci-fi storyline feel more natural.

The plot for the first episode was a bit 'seen it before', but I think a necessary lack of invention in order to establish the story and give us an immediate understanding of the prime characters. I expect the plots will thicken up nicely.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how this develops; early days but has serious potential, for me, the best show so far this year and I'm eager to see more.

First of all they changed the title from The Frankenstein Code to Second Chance. Why? I have to guess they think we're stupid and can't handle such a cool title. And I really enjoy this show from the few episodes I've seen. I like the cast and acting. It isn't perfect but hey, it's only episode 3! Now Fox has moved the show to Fridays. I can handle Fridays, but I don't want them to cancel the show. If you believe the internet it doesn't look good for the show.

IMDb gives it a 7.9! I'll give it an 8 and some room for improvement. Other shows are below this rating.

The title 'Second Chance' though appropriate isn't a good title. They must have been forced to change the title by a bunch of suits. A show with The Frankenstein Code would pull in more viewers. Change it now! Why couldn't you? But you won't because it's probably too late.

I will be sad to see this show go after so few episodes. I've read elsewhere people saying 'There goes Fox again!' It makes it difficult to even care about a show when it may not be given a chance. I really really hope they do. Fingers crossed. P.S. And with episode 3's big and deserved early reveal... should I watch another episode? I will for the cast, crew and what could have been a great run.