Sight Unseen

It's unfortunate that the people who panned this series didn't watch past episode 1. I agree that the premise required a credibility stretch, but I think that the producers and writers have done a superb job of laying the groundwork to make the pieces come together. I just watched episode 4.

Rather than a police procedural, the story is more about how individuals and those around them shouldn't set themselves up for failure because of perceived limitations. The protagonist learns to take risks with her relationships, her job, and her life which show her true strengths, limitations, and a way forward. She also realizes she can't do it alone or the same way she did things before.

The lead has sight limitations and the series has a low sight consultant to ensure vision loss is depicted accurately. For those who think they have a handle on how a person who has lost their sight should walk and move, remember that the character has a degenerative condition and has been adapting since the symptoms began just like a person with a broken leg or one who is losing hearing adapts.

That was a similar show in the early 70's about a blind insurance investigator. Of course he had none of the tech that Tess has. Only basing this on the first episode but was surprised that it was entertaining enough. Especially the burgeoning work relationship with Sunny. Sure you're going to have to suspend disbelief, take that stick out of your.......and just relax and enjoy. You can start with why is Sunny wearing lipstick at home with no one to see. And speaking about Sunny the mystery surrounding her seems worth waiting for. Characters are likable enough and acting is more than adequate. One delusional reviewer stated who is blind in the show. Apparently comprehension skills elude them as Tess is only partially blind and the actress portrayed that perfectly. For now I'm intrigued enough to give it further viewing.

I don't usually watch police dramas following a blind person's view but when I watch this, I was actually surprised! A blind detective who loses her vision due to Leber's? That's something a show never puts out for their dialogue. I liked how that Dolly Lewis actress plays Tess (the blind detective), and Daniel Gillies actually kind of surprised me since I've seen his shows like The Originals, and Saving Hope. Maybe I should give this show a chance just like I did with Wild Cards, Law & Order Toronto and many more, it doesn't actually bore me that much, it actually makes me want to watch more.

After the second episode you can see that this series may actually start to grow, and could get quite interesting over time, as the main character comes to terms with her blindness. She obviously has to give up lots, and being a full time cop probably won't work out for her, so she is going to have to adapt. The relationship between Tess and Sunny is going to be the key to the thing in order to make it work. I think I will keep watching to see where it ends up, I don't think judging it by just the first episode is the right thing, there are a fair number of possibilities, and the procedural audience may come to enjoy it.

This show is a really fun watch for anyone who likes mystery/crime solving, female leads, and/or disability representation. (Side note: the actors who have visual impairment in the show actually do in real life, and there was representation in the writer's room as well.) It's a drama, but there's enough camp and quips that it's not a stressful watch, which is personally exactly what I'm looking for after a long day. The mysteries aren't super complicated but they're well composed, and it's fun to follow along with the clues.

The people leaving negative reviews because "it's not realistic for a cop to be blind" clearly haven't watched the show, because she leaves the force immediately; I'm not even calling that a spoiler because it happens in the first few minutes of the first episode. The point is that she's grappling with what it means for her life that she has to give up things that she cared about and adapt to her new reality. If you or anyone you've known have ever dealt with a life-changing injury/illness it's very relatable, and refreshing to actually see portrayed on screen.

I took off one star for some pacing issues; they're squeezing a lot of stuff into a pretty short timeframe and it's more successful in some places than others, but overall I definitely recommend checking it out and I hope it gets another season.