I have a strange relationship with Chase; I'm never quite sure what to think about it. Not unlike the central relationship in this episode, which sees Jackson Cooper (played by Steven Strait, best known for starring in The Covenant and Sky High) disappear with his much younger girlfriend Corrina after offing her father (David Keith, most recently seen as con-man father John Allen on FOX's Lone Star, which should still be on the air). Being that she is a teenage girl, it's not hard to believe that he can get her wrapped around his finger by promising her everything she's always wanted, even if he's beating people to death in bathrooms. I think anyone can identify with how that entire period in life seems to make us all go vaguely stupid.
It's not long, however, before Jackson's true nature shows itself, and Annie and the team set out to track him down before he can make Corrina his next victim. The case itself is fairly straightforward, moving at a reasonable clip as Jackson continues to cut a dangerous swath from Texas to California, while the Marshals continue to close in on him. (What would we do without cell phones?) It's an interesting twist that he ends up on the doorstep of one of his past victims, with whom he's unknowingly fathered a child; unfortunately, it's dropped almost as quickly as it's revealed. It doesn't help that the two main guest actors are less than engaging; neither of them register at all. Chase has cast some pretty scary villains, but Strait is easily the weakest one.
The episode manages to depart from, as a family member of mine put it, "the part where [Annie] singlehandedly takes off and catches the guy," by allowing Marco to be the one to make the arrest. However, it doesn't live up to the stated promise in the press release that Annie "must confront her own family history." She used it as common ground but she certainly didn't confront it. The show's teased us with the promise of Annie's backstory, and it's out there to be had, but it's not in this episode. Shame, too, because it probably would've spiced up an otherwise unremarkable episode. After this, I'm still trying to figure this show out.
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Brittany Frederick
DigitalAirwaves.net
Good to see some Chase reviews here. I've not seen this episode yet, but mostly am of the same opinion as you each week - undecided. At the moment i'm enjoying it as a weekly thing, without too much arc or depth, and i like the dusty cold cowboy feel to Annie and the rest of the team. They're going to have to invest a bit of effort in making us care more about the characters though (i liked the recent glimpse of Annie's apartment and dog, that worked well), i think, if they want the show to last.
ReplyDeleteI leave Chase on in the background on Monday's because I'm busy recording or downloading the shows I really want to watch.
ReplyDeleteI found last night's episode a tad unbelievable for two reasons. First, I can't fathom a girl being that gullible or naive no matter how "in love" she is. Second, I didn't buy Danielle Panabaker as a 16 year-old for a second. She's been on TV since she was little and it has been quite a while since she was a teenager.
This show is alright if you're just passing the time but, once again, Kelli Giddish and Cole Hauser are two good actors in need of a better television series. This show isn't really much of a step up from "K-Ville" or "Past Life."
I was wondering who that was, Bruce! I swore that was her, but neither my listings nor IMDB could verify it. And yes, that was part of what bothered me too; I can get the "teenage girls are naive" part to an extent, but after awhile it just got ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with you about the show as well. (Although I liked K-Ville, honestly.) I like these two, but the show just doesn't click with me for some reason. I keep watching it because I'm a Cole Hauser fan, but I never feel like I have to watch it. I wish Cole's pilot for CBS would have taken off; the idea of him leading a show created by Ed Bernero (Third Watch, Criminal Minds) seems like it should have worked.
I agree with you. We have a sense of Annie and Jimmy, but beyond that, I don't really know who the rest of these guys are. The most character development Luke has gotten past "new guy" is the fact that he slept with Daisy and is now awkwardly ignoring that it ever happened. I'll forgive slightly pedestrian plots if I love the characters, but I just can't get a feel for either.
ReplyDeleteThe extent of the teen's gullibility officially became ridiculous last night when she actually believed her boyfriend traded away his car for a convertible at the gas station. Additionally, I have a hard time believing the casting director didn't confuse Danielle Panabaker with her younger sister Kay when she cast the role. I'm sure someone muttered "Oops. Wrong one." when she arrived on set.
ReplyDeleteAs for Cole, I wasn't aware of Hauser's CBS pilot but I have been thinking he'd do well if he had a show like Justified or The Glades.
LOL!
ReplyDeleteYes, absolutely. Both those shows are great watches; Justified is one of my favorite shows, actually. Cole's one of those people that I love to see, I just wish he'd find something that fits him better. No offense to Kelli Giddish, as I like her too, but sometimes I find myself thinking, "He could lead a show like this."
You've just about hit the nail on the head. There really is no offense to Kelli Giddish here because a show like Chase is so generic you can plug in a laundry list of different actors who could headline it and it wouldn't make a difference.
ReplyDeleteYes, even that small bit of character development with Luke and Daisy has essentially left us even colder hasn't it, because they're both being very uncaring and frosty about it. The whole show is a bit chilling, it needs to warm up!!
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