Should You Gaze Into The Future Of Crime-Fighting With Minority Report?

What Is This Thing?

Twenty-one years after the events of Steven Spielberg's 2002 film Minority Report (loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story of the same name), the younger twin precogs are all grown up and living in Washington, DC, but Dash only gets part of the visions of crimes that are about to be committed, and can't do much to stop them. His brother Arthur gets the perps' names, but doesn't seem all that interested in using his gift to protect the public. Now that Dash has convinced Detective Lara Vega that he can help her in her work, and she's enlisted him as a consultant, will Arthur come around?

When Is It On?

Mondays at 9 PM on Fox.

Why Was It Made Now?

Almost Human having been killed more than a season ago, Fox can try again with another mismatched-cop show set in the future (and filmed in Canada). People don't like robots? Make that guy like a soggy psychic!

What's Its Pedigree?

The network is definitely hoping you have fond memories of Spielberg's well-reviewed film; Spielberg himself is attached as an Executive Producer, but since his name's also on the likes of Extant, Lucky 7, and -- never forget -- Under The Dome, that's no guarantee of quality in the world of television. The primary writer is Max Borenstein, whose credits include the screenplays for the most recent Godzilla; that film's eventual sequel; and Kong: Skull Island. Other than Wilmer Valderrama -- who plays Will Blake (eye-roll), a smarmy cop promoted, probably unjustly, above Vega -- the most recognizable face in the cast belongs to Meagan Good (Vega), who until recently co-starred in NBC's Mr. Robinson and previously headlined Deception. Precog Dash is played by Stark Sands, formerly of Generation Kill, NYC 22, and a supporting role in Inside Llewyn Davis; his brother Arthur is Nick Zano, ex of One Big Happy, 2 Broke Girls, and The CW's 90210.

...And?

The show deserves props for making use of the weird, unfinished-looking concrete plaza across the street from Toronto's Eaton Centre, setting up a festival of some kind for a murder victim to fall into, basically; no one else in Toronto really knows what it's for. Also, the location scout and production designer found some of Toronto's most futuristic-looking real estate to sell the illusion of what life might be like in DC in 2065; it remains to be seen whether this record stands as the season progresses, since from what I read the production moved to Vancouver sometime after the pilot. Oh! And they snuck a West Wing shout-out into the series premiere. That's fun.

...But?

I guess Fox is never going to stop chasing the success it had with The X-Files, no matter how many Almost Humans or Terras Nova or Freakylinkses end up, unmourned, in TV's graveyard. But with the original X-Files actually about to return, maybe it...should. Just stop. After Minority Report, which seems unlikely to make it to one full-season order, never mind getting picked up for a second.

I'm sure Borenstein thought he was being clever not just by updating a known sci-fi property -- if one that's a little elderly at this point -- but by layering on the premise so many other influences. Almost Human was hardly TV's first mismatched-cop procedural, but it's at least the most recent one to have been set in the future, so that's one. Fox also has another current sci-fi/supernatural cop show featuring a steely black female detective and her socially awkward white-dude partner: Sleepy Hollow. But the story model of a practical, well-adjusted "straight man" and his or her brusque/brilliant partner, imbued with arcane knowledge of all kinds, has even deeper roots: we've seen it in the Sherlock Holmes stories (including the two current TV series based on that source material), as well as Law & Order Criminal Intent during the Eames/Goren years. Even the tech we see Vega used is derivative: putting a special computer-equipped contact lens in one eye -- like the one in Black Mirror's Season 1 episode "The Entire History Of You" -- allows her to see graphical projections of a crime in progress, which play out like a sub-Next Media rendition of Will Graham's mental crime scene recreations from Hannibal.

Alas, playing "Pin The Ripoff On The Source" is the only fun to be had watching the series premiere. It feels unfair to knock Dash for a lack of charisma knowing he spent his formative years floating in a milk bath or whatever, but he is skittish and weird; Vega, as your typical tough-as-nails TV ladycop, doesn't exactly compensate for the dynamic character beats Dash can't provide. Arthur -- who's putting his own gift to use amassing riches -- is supposed to be the morally suspect dick whose self-interest and cynicism throw Dash's saintliness into sharper relief, but meeting someone who's enjoying life is actually a relief and practically the episode's only surprise. Too bad it comes so late that I'd already lost interest.

...So?

As I said, the odds that this will last seem tiny to me. I don't know what in the pilot would interest anyone enough to compel them to watch more; I wouldn't bother making an investment of your time that's unlikely to pay dividends.