F-Rated: Drive's untimely Death

Shows

How did Drive veer off it’s path?

The polished new FOX drama had still yet to lose its new-car smell when the network’s greater powers collided and crushed it. Okay, enough with the automobile metaphors.

The truth is, Drive, the very short-lived newborn FOX series was slashed off the network’s sched before it really had a chance to, ahem, pick up the pace. FOX premiered the show with great fanfare, promoting it amidst the likes of American Idol and other top-rated hits, but gave it maybe, what – 3.5 seconds to survive?

It’s times like these when quality-conscious TV viewers are berated to the likes of mere children, with nothing left to do but petulantly cry out, ‘It’s not fair!’. And it isn’t, really.

It’s not fair because Drive had a thought-provoking premise, following the ventures of a host of quirky contestants specially selected to participate in a race across the country for of course, millions. Only the ‘race’ is laced with mystery, and each competitor has been selected for an even more mysterious reason. It isn’t fair because this so-called race, was a charming, primetime attempt at satirizing what has become a Western obsession with reality-TV treks for cash, desperate pursuits for a prize we convince ourselves will be the easy-peasy fix to whatever is missing in our lives. The journey though isn’t really about the pot at the end of the rainbow, along the way the path is littered with character-defining pain and anguish, some naughty hitchhiking and pesky speed bumps. It’s kind of like that long road of life we all mosey on down, and is the reason why Drive had so much further to go.

There was no way this show would have ever done itself justice in the minuscule six-ep run FOX had stamped out for it – not with it’s multitudinous cast, and certainly not with the overarching narrative skit they were setting up for themselves. So imagine how funny it was, when FOX trashed it after half the amount of airings. Methinks they were goners before the gun went off.

D-Rate. ‘Dead’ before its time.

Sir Linksalot: Drive