The television landscape is changing. One thing the networks are doing to be more efficient is by ordering series straight to series instead of going through the typical development process. This is the route ABC took with Black Box. Perhaps they should stick to the tried and true method.
Here is the basic plot from ABC. Catherine Black (Kelly Reilly) is a famous neuroscientist who secretly has bipolar disorder; the only person who knows is her psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hartramph (Vanessa Redgrave), who was with Catherine after her first break and has been a maternal figure for Catherine since her mother, who also suffered from bipolar disorder, committed suicide. Another interesting fact about the show was that it was created by Amy Holden Jones who also created Mystic Pizza and Indecent Proposal.
The brain is fascinating and struggling with mental illness can add gravitas. Despite this, Black Box fails to capture my attention. Part of the challenge is how the pilot balances the show. Usually shows of this type, focus on their procedural elements as you get to know the cast of characters. As the show moves forward they introduce more character elements. This formula is how Scandal found success.
The pilot focused on a bland cast while deemphasizing the fascinating patients. Usually a show takes a few seasons before it retreads. However, in the pilot the main character makes the same mistake twice. The fact that she didn’t learn her lesson makes her unlikeable. The rest of the cast is bland with the only bright spot is Vanessa Redgrave’s strong performance as someone who must be very frustrated by her friend/patient’s inability to do what is in her own best interest.
One thing that sets the show apart is the unique jazz score written by the husband-and-wife team of Oliver and Clare Manchon. It is hard to tell if the distinct sound is a positive or negative as it seems to be most present during the shows most obnoxious moments.s
There is a lot of dancing. Kelly Reilly prances around when her character is off her meds. This makes you cringe every time she dumps her meds down the toilet. Perhaps she should have put her attention to ABC’s Dancing with the Stars instead of this dreck.
I don’t know why ABC had such challenges with its mid-season slate. Most of their shows that they have premiered since January has bordered on unwatchable, with Resurrection being the only bright spot. This has not always been the case. Current ABC success stories Castle, Grey’s Anatomy, and Scandal all premiered mid-season. ABC Entertainment head Paul Lee must wish he had better luck. To be fair, I enjoyed several of their fall shows and the rumor is that next year’s development slate is quite strong. For his sake, and mine as a viewer, I hope we have better shows to review come the fall.
In the end, if you want to watch a more interesting show about a black box turn on CNN.