A Review in Two: Awake

Awake is a new midseason offering from NBC that tells the story of Detective Michael Britten, a man who, after a terrible accident, finds himself drifting back and forth between two different realities.  In one world, a car crash has killed his wife and in another the same crash kills his son.  In both worlds, he loses a loved one and in both he must try to help a loved one to grieve.  The change between realities occurs when he tries to go to sleep so Michael dons a green bracelet to let him know he is in one world and a red for the other.  I thought the pilot showed a lot of promise, but in the interest of fair journalism I decided to correspond with a version of myself from another reality that did not like the show.  He will take on the moniker of Red Ryan and I will go by Green Ryan.

Red Ryan: My biggest complaint with the show was that none of the acting was very strong.  With a show like this where one main character carries the weight of most of the show you have to make sure the person has some serious acting chops. Jason Isaacs is not a bad actor but in the pilot I found his detached stoicism just a little too much like not acting.

Green Ryan: I think the strongest and most interesting decision that was made by the writers was to skip over the phase in which Michael comes to grips with his new strange life.  When the pilot starts, he has clearly been jumping between worlds for at least a week or two and the initial “what is going on?” has worn off for him.  The premise of the show and the back story are explained as Michael talks with each of his psychiatrists (one from each reality).  This allows the pilot to dive right into what a normal episode will look like with Michael investigating two different cases in two different worlds and using connections to help solve them.

Red Ryan: One problem I had after watching the pilot was a concern with where the show is going to go in the future.  At the end of the pilot, Michael has spoken extensively about his situation to his psychiatrists and concluded that both worlds seem pretty real and neither seems to be a dream.  He also states in pretty clear terms he has no intention of altering his life or getting to the bottom of how or why he has become stuck in a double life; his circumstance allowing him to have lost neither loved one.  The whole thing seems like the end of a movie, not the start of a promising show.  It makes me wonder whether the premise of the show is going to be a driving plotline or if it’s just going to be another police procedural with a gimmick.

Green Ryan: The writers of the show went into pretty great detail in the pilot about the many differences found in each reality.  Michael is the man who has two of everythings.  In each reality he has a different psychiatrist, a different partner, and a different family member who has died and those differences present him with a very different set of challenges in each world.  Overall, Awake is a show with an enjoyable pilot . . .

Red Ryan: . . . but real concerns about where the show is going to go in the future.

Green Ryan: Make sure you stay awake for the next offering from ScreenFix.

Red Ryan: You are signing off with a pun? Really? And you put it in italics . . . so people wouldn’t miss it?

Green Ryan: Oh shut up. 

Red Ryan: Good to see that English degree has given you a wide vocabulary.

Green Ryan: You can watch the pilot for Awake on Hulu.  Let us know what you think in the comments.