This show looks to have a lot of potential going for it. A cross-country race involving a bunch of people you wouldn't expect to find in a situation like this. At the very least it offers Nathan Fillion a vehicle (no pun intended) to do what he does, and it reintroduces the world to the great Charles Martin Smith, who all but dropped off the face of the earth.
The story goes that a bunch of uber-wealthy players organized a cross-country road race during the beginning of the 20th century. People would be chosen at random to race. And ever since this race has been going on right under our noses.
This particular race involves an interesting mix. There's a landscaper from Nebraska whose wife has been kidnapped and the revenge-minded stow-away who ends up being his partner. There's the desperate young mother from Ohio who's looking to get away from an abusive husband. There's the dying astrophysicist and his oblivious daughter who drive out from California to the Florida Keys so he can live one last time. There's the two Latino half-brothers from different sides of the tracks bonding for the first time. There's the young married couple from Arkansas, one of whom is a reservist in the army on leave from Iraq. And there's the three sassy ladies from New Orleans. And apparently they are all in a certain situation that makes them perfect candidates.
The first two hours focused most of the time between the landscaper and the abused mother, with a peppering of brothers and father-daughter drama to spice it up.
The always good Dylan Baker and Melanie Lynsky are looking to do the best they can with their roles. I'm a little bit surprised to see Baker doing something as action-packed as this, which includes one scene where he leaves his competition in the dust. I fear his character won't be long for this show, since he has a terminal illness, and is only credited as a guest player.
Overall an intriguing concept, and one that was bond to get made at some point. Given some of the formulas that make TV shows hits, there's not much reason why this shouldn't get a little notice. I don't know if it's the sort of show that will be terribly missed should Fox do what it is famous for, and cancel it, but I wish it the best, if for no other reason than they decided to give Charles Martin Smith a steady role as the enigmatic Mr. Bright. Indeed, unless they're in a high-speed chase, his scenes stand out as some of the best.
