Wisdom of the Crowd

"Wisdom of the Crowd" takes the viewer on a ride exploring the most important societal issue of our time; Privacy vs Security in the digital age. America is one the most, if not the most voyeuristic societies in the history of the world, we love to watch others. This is evident by the 19 seasons, now going on 20 seasons of the CBS hit reality show, "Big Brother," as well as numerous other movies and shows tackling the issue. That being said, there are few societal luxuries that are held more sacred than that of privacy in the United States. Wisdom, uniquely brings this question to the forefront of American dialogue and debate. The show tackles the question, "how much bad is tolerable if in the end there is more good?"

Wisdom, follows lead character Jeffrey Tanner (Jeremy Piven) on his mission to bring his daughter's killer to justice using a crowd-sourced interface that he created. The basic premise sends chills up my spine as I remember the crowd-sourced Reddit mayhem that ensued after the Boston Marathon Bombings in 2013, in which a photo of an innocent man was posted to a Reddit forum. The open forum that Reddit provides caused the situation to quickly spiral out of control. The trial was opened and closed minutes later with a unanimous vote of guilty. The show takes an interesting look at both the criminal justice system as well as our societal need of 'nowism' and the impact that technology can and will have on both.

Wisdom, finds balance in Detective Tommy Cavanaugh (Richard T. Jones) who sees the danger in the interface and works to draw lines between right and wrong, dangerous and safe. His hesitation can be seen in an exchange of dialogue early in the episode in which Cavanaugh argues; "We have this thing called the Constitution, which protects people's privacy." To which, Tanner responds "Privacy, we gave that up a long time ago so we can watch cat videos on our phone." Cavanaugh and Tanner will surely continue this debate as will those who decide to tune in. In a post-Snowden world, "Wisdom of the Crowd" has the potential to be THE 'water-cooler' show of the season.

A viewer wrote that this series is another concept of 'Person of Interest' which has been aired since 2011 with 5 seasons to date. I have never seen this so I cannot judge. It is only fair to review this new series on its own merits.

Having seen the pilot episode, I am pleased what it is about and moves along at a good pace, keeping one's interest. We have to wait how the story develops but for the time being I rate it 7 to start off with.

Update after 4 episodes: The story wanders and does not stay focused. Rating reduced to 6.

Latest. Now seen 7 episodes and am giving up! It's become an endless bore. Rating reduced to 5 as I wave goodbye.

Tech entrepreneur Jeffrey Tanner (Jeremy Piven) forgoes his wealth and his company Allsourcer to offer a $100M reward to find his daughter's real killer. Carlos Ochoa was convicted for her murder a year earlier. Using his crowd sourcing program Sophie, he aims to find new evidence with his team of programmers led by Sara Morton. He partners with police detective Cavanaugh who was dismissed from her case. His ex-wife Alex Hale is a politician who wants him to stop digging up their daughter's closed case.

This is a workable concept. It's another show where a wealthy billionaire Batman tries to save the world. He has a box where answers magically appear and a personal murder mystery that he's desperate to solve. The magic box is too magical. The general idea of crowd sourcing is easy to understand but the show doesn't explain how the program finds the right people with the right answers. The show starts off fine at first but it devolves into Deus ex machina.

The other problem is trying to force a procedural out of the concept. He's trying to find his daughter's killer. It's a simple idea and the show should run with that at top speed. All these other cases keep detouring the show. The first season should be a tightly written whodunit that wraps up with a big climatic cliffhanger. It should be an intense mystery thriller but this is so much less. The show should go the procedural route only after his daughter's killing is solved. It looks like the show is ending after a 13 episode run. The mediocre ratings don't help but Piven's sexual harassment allegations in this environment is probably the final nail in the coffin.

This show displays a very dangerous concept. Very negative unintended consequences will happen. At least the writers acknowledge this at about 23:32 when a driver is attacked by a crowd based on very limited and incomplete information. If the concept for this show happens in real many innocent people will be attacked and seriously injured. Crowd "wisdom" is very easily turned into Mob Mentality where a few people with an agenda whips people into an emotional frenzy and sways them to commit acts they would never even consider as individuals. That's how, historically, there were so many lynchings in the past. Another potential issue is if the courts will even allow "evidence" gathered as shown in this show. Would that actually preclude any legitimate evidence being gathered and presented. This concept, if ever enacted in real life, could do much more harm than good in apprehending and prosecuting criminals. Very, very dangerous concept.

A unique and contemporary approach to the traditional crime format. Impressed that a network show would introduce some new tropes into an old format. Rounded out by a deep, talented cast, this is a really enjoyable show. The pilot really kept me engaged and I'm looking forward to seeing future episodes.