If you watched the movie Unknown then you might remember that it’s kind of like one giant shell game in which identities are hidden, traded, and something big is about to happen but we don’t get to find out until it’s too late. In other words, it’s a Liam Neeson flick that has him at the center of a conspiracy as well as involved in the action to come. The series that will come isn’t going to star Neeson, but it will focus on a character like the one he plays in the movie and will go through plenty of twists and turns that will likely force the audience to pay attention or be left to catch up at a later time. For those that love a good mind-bending thriller, this is bound to be something that will grab their attention and keep it for a while. In fact, possibly the only issue is going to be the fact that it’s not starring the same high-caliber actors that were in the movie, but so long as it keeps to roughly the same feel that the movie delivered it should be okay.
Turning movies into TV shows carries a certain risk, especially when it comes to movies that might have been better as a one-off type of story. Too often it happens that such stories don’t need to be continued since the magic wears off by the end of the movie. Another issue is that while Unknown was successful, considering that it quadrupled its budget and did therefore count as a success, the reviews weren’t all that great. This is one of those times when money talks and, well, you know the rest. The fact that the movie was a success likely has producers thinking that it can work as a TV show, which isn’t always the wisest thing to do but is bound to happen anyway. One of these days the hope is that someone is going to take a look back in history and note that this trend doesn’t always work the way they want it to.
But in the meantime, it might be interesting to see what can happen with this show since it appears to have a bit of a Bourne feel to it but also that kind of Neeson allure since he’s been seen in many roles where he’s the kind of unassuming guy that a lot of people might not think much about. The series could benefit from each episode being an hour-long as well since there’s more time to develop a real story than there would be in a thirty-minute episode, especially with a storyline like this that needs to play out. But there is a question as to how many different plots there will be since the overriding theme has been established, but the conflict that needs to be handled per episode is bound to be something that will overlap or possibly be handled within one or two episodes as the main character then moves on. That’s what it appears to be at least, but perhaps we’ll know more once the show has debuted.
If it’s anything like the movie then people are going to be guessing but perhaps not trusting certain characters along the way since there are times when various situations make it at least a little bit clear who isn’t to be trusted and who is bound to be someone that the main character can rely on. It’s true that this isn’t always the case and a good suspense story tends to leave people guessing until the end, but it does sound as though this show might be wrapping things up within an episode or two in order to move on to the next issue that needs to be handled. That’s part of the formula at least since the overriding issue that the main character usually has to deal with is a part of the job, a greater calling/mission, or a quest that won’t conclude until certain milestones are met and the character feels that they’ve come to the end of the road. If this show lasts that long then we’ll likely get to see plenty of action.
But that’s the trick these days, lasting as long as it takes for a story to really unfold. Some might want to say that this shouldn’t be an issue, that Unknown should easily captivate the audience, but as of now, all we know is that it will take place after the events of the movie and be similar in a number of ways. That’s not much to go on, but it’s better than nothing when trying to figure out what’s going to happen and what to expect. There should be plenty of information coming eventually, so we’ll stay in the loop as much as possible.
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