Monsters of Television

“Did you just say the word sexpionage?”

Having followed J.J. Abrams for my entire life it’s easy to see how he has gotten to Undercovers. It’s a little Mission Impossible III, a little Alias and yeah, some Felicity thrown in there as well. Abrams is at the top of his game with this action-packed, funny and just plain cool spy show.

I know I probably sound like a J.J. fanboy (and that’s because I am) but the show really does rock. Let’s break it down, shall we?

Story: A married couple, both ex-CIA agents, get thrust back into the spy game when an old colleague goes missing. From an action standpoint there’s already a lot that you can do with this. Both Steven and Samantha take no time getting back into the spy swing of things. Their reputations precede them as we learn from their helpful fellow agent, Hoyt.

The episode wastes no time filling us in on the couple’s past as well as setting us up for what is to come. One of the things that I like that I’m sure will be a point of story development for seasons to come is the agreement Steven and Samantha make to never talk about their spy histories. They have never discussed specifics and plan to keep it that way. The fact that neither knows what enemies the other has what missions they’ve done, etc could be the source of many conflicts not only as spies but as a couple. It’s already started as Steven learns that Samantha once dated Leo, the operative they’re attempting to save.

Aesthetics: Everything about this show is beautiful. In the pilot a lone we travel to places like Madrid, Paris and Moscow and the cinematography is just amazing. The amount of locales spies can hit on just one job opens the doors to show the audience a lot of different places, whether it’s actually the city it claims to be or not. The production value on the episode seemed pretty high, another J.J. staple.

Not only are the locations beautiful, those are two damn attractive leads. Gugu Mbatha-Raw is stunning and Boris Kodjoe is such a handsome man I was unsurprised to see he’d already showed up in a Tyler Perry movie. Which leads me to…

Characters: It’s easy to believe the chemistry between Steven and Samantha. Their banter, both as spies and couples, is wonderfully executed. Their back and forth took me back to the Felicity days. Shaw (Gerald McRaney), their CIA handler, plays his role with such deadpan detachment that you can’t help but laugh. He isn’t thrilled about the arrangement with the Blooms and he doesn’t hide that fact. He’s also kinda shady. There are apparently other reasons why Steven and Samantha have been reinstated as agents. Is there any government agency out there that’s just honest?

Hoyt (Ben Schwartz) is a character people are either going to love or hate. He’s the comic relief of the show and while I love him, I can see how people might get annoyed with him. He’s very Topher from Dollhouse to give you an idea. He idolizes Steven. I’m excited to see him take more responsibility and have to step it up when the time comes.

Undercovers can go to a lot of interesting places not only location wise, but story wise as well. While the show plans to take a more “adventure of the week” angle initially, look for deep connected stories and mythology to come about. It is a J.J. Abrams show after all.

Final Thoughts:

• Love the snazzy intro credit sequence. And the location transitions.
• They mentioned locker number 813. I’m already storing that away for possible numerology mysteries later.
• Slotsky looks like James Cameron. Great way to make your audience hate a villain.