The pilot episode of NBC’s Believe is proof that not every Academy-Award-winning filmmaker has a knack for television. Having just won Best Director for Gravity, his absolute masterpiece, Alfonso Cuarón has now produced something that will leave its viewers absolutely bewildered and unimpressed.
What begins as a seemingly intriguing piece of TV within the supernatural genre quickly becomes an indescribably convoluted sci-fi disaster. The story begins with Bo (Johnny Sequoyah), a young girl with extraordinary abilities, whose foster parents are killed by a highly skilled assassin.
We then learn that the protagonist is none other than a murderer who is 30 minutes away from being executed when we first meet him. This man, Tate (Jake McLaughlin), is offered a chance at redemption when a Priest offers him a job. With nowhere else to turn, Tate accepts and is tasked with breaking Bo out of a hospital and away from the assassin pursuing her.
It is then revealed that the Priest is actually a Morpheus type character named Milton Winter (Delroy Lindo), who acts as a guardian of sorts to Bo and others such as her. Milton then offers Tate a new life as Bo’s guardian. If he accepts, Tate will receive protection from the authorities hunting him down. He of course does, and the series is built on this premise of exploring the relationship between him and this prodigy child.
If you thought The Walking Dead and Falling Skies have suffered from having too many showrunners, this series is already on its third and it just premiered! Though co-creator Mark Friedman was originally set to have this position, some amount of behind-the-scenes drama prompted his decision to leave in July 2013. Succeeded by Sons of Anarchy veteran Dave Erickson, this too did not last long as he left in December 2013. Scrambling to fill this position, the producers recently promoted Jonas Pate, who according to IMDb is the director of the second episode.
Like every other show on TV, JJ Abrams is also listed as an executive producer, but who knows how much involvement he actually has. With his directing the next set of Star Wars movies, I doubt he has much time to run yet another series.
Though the concept of this show does have potential, it is quickly ruined by a number of plot holes and an overall weak cast. McLaughlin provides an altogether mundane and unremarkable performance, Though the woman playing the assassin does little more than run around with a gun. Sequoyah and Lindo provide the only worthwhile performances in this episode, with their characters also being the only interesting ones.
In many ways, the series attempts to mimic more successful sci-fi television hits such as Fringe and The X-Files, when in actuality it plays out like season two of Heroes. The whole time the episode plays out, viewers are left wondering why a convicted murderer would be chosen to protect a young girl with special powers. No amount of Cuarón’s directorial skill makes up for the low quality of the script and acting.
Furthermore, there is a definitive lack of layers to the storytelling. The one antagonist shown in the episode is entirely one-dimensional, with nothing really distinguishable about her other than that she’s an assassin. Even the fight scene comes across as blatantly laughable, particularly after Milton tells Tate: “We don’t use guns. We’re the good guys.” Give me a break.
Though Believe is currently set for eight more episodes, I myself will be surprised if it survives beyond one season. Cuarón is currently listed as an executive producer, yet given the fiasco of management changes already, time will only tell if he decides to stick with this project for much longer. Hopefully he’ll move on to something better.
Believe airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. on NBC.
