Cracked

This episode was enjoyable and intriguing because it dealt both with a bizarre mental illness (prosopagnosia or the inability to identify or recognize faces, hence the title) and background world events (children soldiers in former Zaire). I was shocked, however, to learn that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has switched official languages from French to English, and nobody warned me! It must have happened when Zaire became DRC, I'm sure. Why else would two DRC immigrants speak with a blatant African accent from English-speaking Africa? More seriously, I find it hard to believe that the series' production team was unable to find actors who would be originally from French-speaking Africa especially in a country like Canada that prides itself on its bilingualism.

When I first heard about Cracked and the idea of the new unit I was somewhat on the fence about how it would translate to the screen and how good it would actually be. But I was pleasantly surprised to see the show was excellent David Sutcliffe's portrayal of Aidan the somewhat "Cracked" Detective whose operational history makes him one of the best cops in the department, whose new partner is not a detective but a psychiatrist who doesn't carry a gun plays out brilliantly Stefanie con Pfettens portrayal of Dr Daniella Ridley is also excellent with their being good chemistry between the two quite opposite people. Although we don't see very much of the other partnership of Detectieve Poppy Wisnefski played by Luisa D'Oliveira and Psychiatric Nurse Leo Beckett played by Dayo Ade what we do see of them leaves me with high hopes of how they interact as a partnership and also of how the whole group will play off of each other with two trained officers and two mental health professionals will allow both sides to give us new perspectives on each individual crime and the criminals themselves with the first episode showing this as well. Overall a great start for a show with a lot of potential.

To be honest, I didn't think much of the pilot, but I wanted to give it a chance because of the topic matter. With there still being such a negative stigma attached to mental illness sufferers, it's good to see relatable, realistic characters that are either displaying signs of a mental illness or be seen to be compassionate and understanding towards those going through the symptoms.

If I were to nitpick at it, I guess some of the writing seemed a bit lazy in parts, but I find the characters likable despite (or maybe because of?) their flaws. I find myself being easily drawn into the plot and I guess this helps me overlook what I see as failures in the story line where luck seems to have them in the right place at the right time saying just the right things... not as realistic as I'd like, but I guess I'm watching this more for the entertainment factor.

It also helps having actors who double as eye candy ;)

I don't need to be Miami Viced with flashy cars and stubbly studs, nor do I need to be blown away with mind boggling scientific 3D visualizations, nor do I need to be cajoled into mirth by quirky hipster references. And this show is none of that.

Appreciating acting is subjective for the most part, although 'bad acting' is obvious and painful to watch. I've seen complaints that the acting is bad, but I personally found myself rapt and engaged by these people, who I might add, I haven't been overexposed to and so I'm not distracted by previous characters they've played. This helps I suppose.

It doesn't even feel particularly Canadian to me, which is a testament since I can usually spot it instantly. Looks like they are finally braving some new attitudes in camera/lighting techniques up here.

Overall, I am looking forward to some more thorough fleshing of the main characters (and I don't mean gratuitous sex, save that for season two)

Perhaps they will dare to broach the mental health issues rampant in the Business/Corporate world (ie: sociopaths et al). I'd like to see that.

I have just started watching the show today, and I have to say, it's a new thing. The show has the suspense and also the drama. I was literally holding on to my pillow as I watched this show, trying not to miss even the tinniest details. This show doesn't contain a lot of action, although enough action for a Wednesday night. The choice of the actors and actresses is amazing, and the cast does a great job following the role of each character. Although,I was just frustrated by the commercials, because I just couldn't wait to continue watching! Really, a must watch. This new series defiantly has me hooked. CBC @9:00 pm every Wednesday!