He said: Okay, Anna. Time to debut our blog we've been discussing for months. And I must say, I'm quite excited to talk about Awake, an excellent television drama we saw last night. (By the way, is it weird that Awake began with a wake?). Being so hopped up on X-Files lately may have slightly diminished its impact on me, but given my continued excitement, that should say something.
I'm sure everyone is familiar with the basic premise by now. Following a deadly car accident, the protagonist Detective Michael Britten (played expertly by Jason Isaacs...was he in Harry Potter?) is living in two realities: one where his son survives and his wife is dead, and one where his wife survives and son is dead. In each reality, his therapist insists the other reality is merely a dream, created by his subconscious to help cope with his loss.
Okay, there's a ton to discuss here. I want to first tip my hat to the acting, which is first rate. I think Isaacs simply nails the role. While his son and wife are passable (for now), his therapists steal the rest of the show. BD Wong in one reality, and Cherry Jones in the other, are both excellent and convincing therapists, with different approaches to the protagonists's condition.
I think the visuals may be the best part. The tones of each reality are very different and colors play a major role too. Did you notice he wears the green arm band in one reality (which is dominated by cool colors) and a red one in the other reality (lots of hot colors, his wife's dress comes to mind, too).
Finally, Anna my dear, I want to discuss what may bring the show down. Let's call it "mythology" for lack of a better term. That "behind-the-scenes" mystery-story-arc that made Lost so compelling, but ultimately destroyed any hopes of a cohesive, coherent story. X-Files actually benefited from a mythology (the alien backstory) in early seasons, but as the standalone episodes become tighter and better written, it seemed the mythology episodes began to falter in quality.
So what is the mythology here? Is one reality linked to the other? Do clues to crimes leak through? Is it just his subconscious remembering things? Is he dead, and his wife and son still alive? There's dozens more questions than this. I want to know what you think.
PS: I thought the final five minutes was especially emotionally powerful. It really struck home for me.
She said: Coming soon.
