The Nine, 52 heures en enfer

The Nine is a potentially stellar new show that, while still working out a few kinks, is proving itself to be the best new show of the season! With all the junk that is on the television these days, this show is quite refreshing. The show is a critical hit, though not one with the viewers. This is likely because of the misleading previews which made the show look like a new Big City version of Lost. The Nine is not like Lost, and as a fan of both shows, I believe that The Nine definitely brings new things to the table.

The Nine deals, simply put, with a bank robbery. When 2 brothers decide to rob a bank, they are sure that it "will all be over in 5 minutes." However, when things go wrong, the brothers decide to change the plan. 52 hours later, the 9 survivors finally emerge from the bank, changed from their traumatizing hostage ordeal. The show focuses mostly on The Nine's lives after the robbery.

The Nine is definitely character-driven, unlike its comparison show, Lost, which, although character plays a vital role, is driven primarily by some crazy plot line. The Nine leaves the events of the bank robbery a mystery, making the viewer wonder what happened in there, what caused the characters to change situations the way they have, and who was really innocent or guilty. Bonds have been made and broken, but no matter what, The Nine are all connected after what they went through.

The acting is believable and genuine. The actors bring their emotions out fully, and there is not one stand-out performance in comparison to another. They are all fantastic. They make the viewer really feel attached to the characters.

The script is realistic, if not a little cheesy at times, but is heartfelt nonetheless. With time, I know this show could turn out to be something big, if given the chance.

All in all, The Nine is intriguing, and heartbreaking. Unfortunately, so few people are realizing this, so the show is in danger of cancellation. I'm just going to enjoy this rare gem while I can!

I was channel surfing late one night in Costa Rica and washed ashore on The Nine. One of those yummy slow burns. I enjoyed the build-up, the character development, the changes in point of view. I looked for it every night - like trying to find a lost ankle charm on a sandy shore - and kept looking when I arrived back in Canada. I found out that the show can be downloaded. Lucky Day... NOT. Just another case of "US viewers only". Shame, shame. I know the show isn't for everyone (particularly for those who need more instant gratification) but it hooked me and I don't even know what episode it was. I hope it shows up on DVD - or the ban (and why is that?) on Canadian downloading comes to an end.

I enjoyed this series and am very disappointed it's gone. It's plot line was unique and compelling, and though character developments were ramping up slowly, I found that to be a good thing. Sort of like getting to know a good friend in depth, over time.

That 'friend' wasn't any particular character - there were no "superstar standouts" in the large ensemble cast in my opinion, but each person was interesting enough to hold their own, plus contribute to the overall 'character' of The Nine.

If they're going to pull the rug out it would be great if they'd consider a wrap-up movie, a micro-series or a publication where lingering questions and mysteries of what happened during the hostage holdout and what happens with their lives in the aftermath are put to rest.

Lucas Dalton (Owain Yeoman) and his brother Randall Reese (Jeffrey Pierce) walk in to rob a bank. It's supposed to be a short hold-up but 52 hours later, the police finally ends the long stand-off. The nine surviving hostages are changed by the incident and regularly meet. Franny Rios (Camille Guaty) and single-mom sister Eva Rios (Lourdes Benedicto) are bank tellers. Eva is killed along with the security guard. Suicidal Egan Foote (John Billingsley) becomes a celebrated hero. Surgeon Jeremy Kates (Scott Wolf) and secretly pregnant girlfriend Lizzie Miller (Jessica Collins) break up. Police detective Nick Cavanaugh (Tim Daly) has a gambling problem. Felicia (Dana Davis) is the daughter of bank manager Malcolm Jones (Chi McBride). Nancy Hale (Susan Sullivan) is at the bank with her ADA daughter Kathryn Hale (Kim Raver).

This needs a more compelling hook at the very beginning. The missing money should be the big reveal in the first episode. There should be a cop character investigating it to heighten the tension. I would like more of a Rashomon method of flashback story telling. It takes too long to have the first exciting extended flashback. It's the third episode when the initial takeover is added to and it's probably too late to hook the audience. The problem is that the slow reveals don't add up to excitement. It's a somewhat meandering way of story telling. With no viewers, this is quickly canceled.

Network: ABC; Genre: Drama; Content Rating: TV-PG (some violence and language); Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);

Seasons Reviewed: Incomplete Series (1 season)

Nine strangers walk into a bank, followed by a pair of violent deranged robbers. 52 hours later they are released. What happened in that time we don't know, but as each episode unfolds we get an hour-by-hour account of how it all went to hell inside. The survivors now bonded together by trauma, including cop Tim Daley, boyfriend Scott Wolf, politician's wife Kim Raver ("24") and bank manager Chi McBride.

While it sounds like an exciting premise, "The Nine" comes off more like "Lost" in reverse. Creator K.J. Steinberg answers the network mandate coming off the success of ABC's island character drama and Fox's "Prison Break" with her own drama that like it's predecessors uses the medium of TV to flesh out and explore characters in a confined situation.

TV is a copy cat industry, I have accepted that. When trying to replicate a hit often what gets lost in the translation are the very things that made the original show a hit. And it is usually the small things that were overlooked. In a desire to change things just enough, Steinberg gets everything that makes "Lost" work completely backwards. Where "Lost" has a grand-scale adventure A-story that drops us out of it for more character building in the B-story, "The Nine" takes the opposite approach, making the character drama the A-story and the more exciting bank robbery the B-story. As a result it feels bottom-heavy and lacks urgency. And worse, it is an unsolvable problem.

"Nine" calls back to "Prison Break" in that it is a short-sighted series that doesn't seem concerned that its basic premise by its nature is enclosed. In this situation it can either play like a long movie and end earlier than the average syndication-craving series or it stretches itself out over seasons with inevitably leads to cheating on the premise and loosing all credibility. The audience and ABC saw to it that neither of these happened by doing what it does and pulling the plug early.

"The Nine" is painfully anti-climactic, peaking in the first episode with the harrowing immediate aftermath of the bank robbery, and settling into a straight character drama for the remaining episodes. Relationships are formed. Relationships break up. People feel guilty about something they did in the bank. The cop (Daley, who along with McBride deserves much better) is slung in the middle of a department cover-up of the way they handled the hostage situation. The further we get from the bank, the more "The Nine" could have been about anything – and that is being very kind, not knowing what happened in the bank is more riveting than what is actually revealed.

There is one highlight. John Billingsley steals the show as a meek accountant who is inspired by his new post-robbery lease on life (and minor celebrity) to leave his wife, quite his job and live, dammit, live! Everyone else, I really could not care less about. Their stories quickly become routine plug-in drama, completely and totally interchangeable with almost any other character drama. The show tries to hard to split the difference, be everything to everyone and it works as neither a character drama nor a thriller. And I don't have to tell you that is a deadly recipe to put the audience to sleep.

* ½ / 4