Saturday, May 05, 2012

NBC - Please save Awake


This year on TV has been a little disappointing for me. I lost patience with The Mentalist due to the fact that the character rarely seems to genuinely grow and the Red John storyline has been eked out at a rate of one or two episodes a season. I tried watching Touch but found it too saccharine. Even Game of Thrones began in a somewhat fragmented fashion as it desperately tried to stitch together the many and varied threads it has spun out...

So, Awake came as something of a surprise. The premise was interesting - a cop (played by Jason Isaacs) is involved in a car accident but finds himself existing in two parallel realities that follow on from that accident. In one reality, his wife died in the crash and his son survived; in the other his wife survived but his son died. And against the backdrop of his confusion, he has to try and solve cases in both of these realities - with clues and coincidences criss-crossing and foreshadowing between both. Throw in a conspiracy that's being slowly revealed and you have a really intriguing show...

I admit, at times, it is not an easy watch - you need to concentrate to make sure that you keep track of which reality he's in at any particular moment - but it's a show that's worth concentrating on because, up until as far as I've watched (episode seven), it actually delivers.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that I find it one of the most interesting shows currently on TV, it seems that its ratings are dropping week-by-week and it is looking more and more likely that NBC will pull the plug on it after season 1. Now, I really hope that is not the case and that the viewing figures pick up because when tripe such as Jersey Shore manages to pick up five or six million viewers a week it is a crying shame that intelligent drama such as Awake is on a downward ratings slide into oblivion.

All I can hope is that more people start tuning in and that the figures creep up a little, just enough that NBC can justify giving it a chance in a second season, hopefully in a better time slot (it doesn't help that it started mid-season and was pitched against The Mentalist). Because Awake is far too good a show to fall to wayside this early...

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wholeheartedly agree. It's awful that TV trash gets a good time slot and enough viewers to keep it going and then gems like "Awake" are thrown to the wolves with competition that leaves it no chance of survival. The show just gets better every week. I really wish NBC would open their eyes.

Anonymous said...

I agree. I think this show has the potential to be the new "Lost" due to the complexities and unknowns in the story line. If they would continue it I think they would grow a large fan base as well.

larknn said...

Two thumbs up to concur. Love the show and especially Isaacs.

Oliver Davies said...

The worst thing is that, even while the axe has descended upon it, the culminating episodes of the season just keep on getting better and better...

Anonymous said...

This show is amazing!! I found it by accident and got hooked. Honestly I never heard of it, should have done a better job promoting it. If more people knew about Awake, I'm sure they would fall in love like I did.

grud5 said...

Love this show! Dont cancel!!

grud5 said...

Save the show! It's awsome!

grud5 said...

Save this show! It's awesome!