A good start to NBC’s new show.
Crisis may not boast a cast of A-list cinema heavyweights, as is the fashion with many TV shows these days, but still has names that can draw an audience. For most, Gillian Anderson of X Files fame who more recently appeared in two seasons of the highly popular Hannibal, playing Hannibal Lecter’s psychiatrist, will be more recognisable, playing Meg Fitch, a powerful CEO and mother of one of the kidnapped children, Amber (Halston Sage). Meg’s sister, Susie Dunn, is played by Rachael Taylor, who some should remember from her 8 appearances in Grey’s Anatomy. I remember Taylor from the brilliant but ill-fated 666 Park Ave, which ran for one season of 13 episodes, and I admit to being more than a little annoyed at that show coming to a premature end.
Meg’s sister Susie Dunn is a federal agent and doesn’t get along with her sibling, with the reason revealed near the end of the episode. Susie happens to be assigned to the case of the kidnapped children. Dunn is under orders to make peace with Meg to enable them to get information that could help figure out just who they’re dealing with. Reluctantly, Susie agrees. A heroic secret service agent, Marcus Finley (Lance Gross), whose first day on the job sees him neck-deep in a kidnap scenario, and shot by his Secret Service partner, Agent Hurst (David Andrews, World War Z), during the opening minutes of the kidnapping.
Koz (Max Martini, Pacific Rim), one of the hostage-takers appears to be one of the men in charge, however, as the tale unfolds it’s clear we may not know who actually holds the power and is in actual charge, which may just be where this kidnapping thriller differs from other shows. Thomas Gibson (Dermot Mulroney, August: Osage County), is the father of Beth Ann (Stevie Lynn Jones, Runaways), a man who is greatly lacking in confidence and is estranged from his daughter who doesn’t want to speak to him.
There are a lot more people to keep track of that I haven’t mentioned, making this story very complex to say the least, but what it does do is give us many possibilities and plot turns in this adrenalin pumping thriller. We start Crisis by seeing a group of rich kids who have parents with extremely important and powerful jobs, including the President’s son, as they head off on a trip, but their coach is intercepted by professional criminals who know exactly what they’re doing, taking them all hostage
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After the hostages are taken to a safe house, the authorities try to use the latest technology to try to find the kids, however the tracking-devices that have been inserted under the skin of the rich kids are removed, making it almost impossible to find their whereabouts. A drone is also tasked with finding them but at this point we discover just how powerful the kidnappers really are as they’re blackmailing some of the parents, one of whom has the knowhow to bring down the drone that’s seeking their location. He pulls the plug on the drone just in time to bring it down and find himself under arrest, however this is only the tip of the iceberg as more parents are coerced into doing the kidnappers bidding. But to what end?
Crisis is a show with so many directions and arcs the story could follow, with each of them being very interesting. The writing by creator Rand Ravich, is really quite something and gripped me from practically the getgo. If it can maintain that level of intrigue and entertainment then I for one will be a firm fan of the show, and plan to continue watching the first season to see where the writers take us. I can’t remember feeling this excited about a show to this extent in quite some time. Lets hope the writing team can continue to give us such a powerful story, where there are enough possibilities and secrets to keep us intrigued for some time to come.
Review by Lead Entertainment Writer Ed Blackadder