So, The Nine is the latest serialized drama to premiere and it’s good, but only time will tell if it’s going to be great. It’s a plot that’s very reminiscent of it’s lead in Lost; strangers from different walks of life bond because of a shared traumatic event, in this case it’s a failed bank robbery/hostage situation. Kind of interesting right?
The situation is pretty interesting. The build up to the robbery was nicely paced and provided a solid introduction for all of the main characters. But after that build up we flash forward 52 hours and see how the situation ended and the aftereffects.
I pretty much dug it. I do think that if there’s a flaw in the show it’s that we’re supposed to follow the characters and see how the situation altered them and their lives. But we barely got a glimpse of how they were before they entered the bank. So the effect seeing them “after” is kind of diminished since while we did get an introduction to the characters, they weren’t completely established.
Some of the stuff is more “interesting” than “compelling.” The doc whose relationship is hurt by the situation? Interesting. The girl who goes to visit her hostage taker? Interesting. The guy who uses the event to completely alter his personality? Almost compelling. There’s just little bringing me back next week other than that I’m hoping to learn more about the bank job.
But I guess that I don’t really care about any of the characters, which is never a good thing. While the show is kind of compelling, it really doesn’t stand out in a fall season that’s crowded with serials. It’s interesting, but I don’t really know if it’s enough to be a hit.
For me the show will sink or swim on it’s pacing. I’m curious what happened in the bank, but if that tale doesn’t unfold fast enough and the stories set in the present don’t move me I’ll probably opt out.
