It was inevitable that the runaway success of The Blacklist would spawn imitators. No doubt the attraction of having a ready-made “list” of episodes provided a “lightbulb moment” for many a producer. But where we never get to actually see Raymond Reddington’s “blacklist”, in Blindspot, the clues are literally laid out for you.
In the pilot, an unnamed woman dubbed Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander) is found stuffed into a duffel bag in New York’s Times Square. She’s naked but covered in newly applied tattoos. One of those calls on whoever finds her to call FBI Agent Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton). Just why Weller’s name is tattooed on her back is a bit of a mystery; but Weller soon comes to think it might have something to do with the disappearance of his childhood friend many years earlier. Anyhow, point is that Jane’s tattoos provide clues to a series of mysterious or nefarious activities going on in and around New York. Oh, and she has kick-ass ninja/Navy Seal skills, thus providing some useful kick-ass-ery for Weller and his team, which includes the suspicious Agent Reade (Rob Brown), the sassy Agent Zapata (Aubrey Esparza) and nerdy scientist Patterson (Ashley Johnson).
As high-concept TV goes, this is about as “high” as concepts get without going into superhero territory. This show doesn’t so much require suspending disbelief, as sending disbelief off to Bali and telling it to have a nice vacation. There are some serious plot holes, and it remains to be seen whether the writers will be able at least paper over – if not fully repair – them. Then again, the whole idea of the show is such that close analysis is probably not really useful or appropriate.
Each episode links to one of Jane’s tattoos, which provides a link that should provide practically as many episodes as required; especially considering her body is literally covered in them and many of them require microscopic analysis to even be seen clearly. A few story arcs are also chugging away in the background – there’s the disappearance of Taylor Shaw, Weller’s childhood friend; a murky “dark ops” program what Jane may or may not have been a part of; and powerful people playing shadowy political games.
The shining light of the series is Jaimie Alexander (Thor: The Dark World) as Jane. She manages to brings a semblance of humanity to slightly counteract the rather sombre tone of the show and its line-up of rather one-note characters. Australian actor Sullivan Stapleton, so good in local films like Animal Kingdom, seems to have been directed to do his best Easter Island statue impersonation as Weller. I swear, the guy hasn’t even cracked a smile in any episode I’ve seen so far. Rob Brown (Treme) and Aubrey Esparza (Black Box) largely follow suit as the other members of Weller’s team. At least Ashley Johnson (The Help) adds a touch of humour as Patterson, while Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Broadchurch) lends her considerable gravitas to proceedings as the FBI unit commander.
As it did in America, Blindspot has proved a ratings boon for Seven here in Australia. It certainly has a lot of the elements to make it a success; although personally I’d prefer The Blacklist over it any day. Still, if you’re looking for a thriller with some style and a bit of a twist, this could be the show for you.
Channel: Seven
Day & time: Wednesday, 8.30 p.m. (as of November 2015)
David Edwards
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television