So obviously this is network TV, and is therefore bound by corporate committees and maybe by law to be unoriginal. And I think the writers tried pretty hard to fit that mold... but maybe they couldn't help making an interesting show despite some of those limitations. Clearly, it didn't happen by accident.
Right from the jump, I felt like something was a tiny bit different about this show than your usual network fare. I don't know if it was just the set design or the direction or the cinematography, or maybe a bit of all of these. But this show was a tad ahead of most other network content from the very beginning.
The acting was good. Dilshad Vadsaria played a very convincing and very sympathetic character, and also she's smoking hot. I hadn't really heard of her before, but now, having finished Second Chance, I have to go find another show of hers to watch. Robert Kazinsky did a great job. I had no idea he was doing an American accent until I read an interview with him shortly after I started watching. He seemed super familiar to me but I don't think I've seen much of his other work. On the whole, I'm kind of reminded of Henry Cavil, and that's a good thing.
But as the episodes went by, the show started getting really good. The plot pieces fit together fairly well; the suspension of disbelief was adequate. The dialog was quite good, and I had to laugh on quite a few occasions. I also shouted at the TV in frustration when Pritchard senior was too dumb to just talk to Mary about how he felt, and that's really not my usual style.
Plus, I felt like the writers and the showrunners were maybe going to actually resolve some of the key plot issues that most programs would usually milk for 3 or 4 seasons, and make room for newer things. I wonder if they had cool ideas for new storylines in future seasons.
Unfortunately, we'll never know, and it's a damned shame.
