To clarify, this article and the ones similar to it are not reviews of this fall/midseason’s pilots (because pilots can change a lot between now and when they broadcast). These are just my first impressions of the not-for-air network pilots that I have been able to screen. I last wrote about ABC’s Quantico. Next up: The CW’s Containment, which premieres at midseason.
The Premise: An epidemic breaks out in Atlanta, leaving the large city quarantined and those stuck on the inside fighting for their lives.
The Cast: David Gyasi (Interstellar) as Lex, Chris Wood (The Vampire Diaries) as Jake Riley, Christina Marie Moses (Twisted) as Jana, Kristen Gutoskie (Beaver Falls) as Katie Frank, Claudia Black (The Originals) as Dr. Sabine Lommers, and Hanna Mangan Lawrence (Spartacus) as Teresa
First Impression: Julie Plec is quickly becoming the Shonda Rhimes of The CW, and that’s not a bad thing. With Containment, the third series she’s created for the network, Plec moves away from vampires, witches, and werewolves and gives us a survival story, as citizens of Atlanta fight to live when facing a rapidly spreading virus that has a 100% mortality rate. And while this type of story is certainly different for Plec, it’s also very different for The CW, which is what makes Containment so refreshing–it’s unlike anything that the network has on its schedule right now.
What works best in Containment‘s pilot are the main characters, whose relationships and connections with one another feel real and lived-in, thanks a lot to the performances of the talented cast. Another strong aspect is the overwhelming sense of dread; without giving anything away too much, the pilot provides us with a look into what the future holds for many of these people, and it’s not promising at all, which helps set up a nice battle between the direness of the situation that these individuals find themselves in and the hope and strength they need to survive it.
As I mentioned above, this cast works really well together, with Gyasi, Wood, Moses, and Gutoskie as the four main leads. What worries me about Containment, though, is how many characters it has, and while that may come in handy when needing to kill characters off, it may prove to be problematic when getting us to care about each of these characters as real people. Also, there’s some dialogue in the pilot that is pretty horrendous, the type of lines that feel and sound so overtly written that they become laughable. Let’s hope that’s just a pilot issue, especially since dialogue has never been a problem for Plec and her writing staffs in the past.
Overall, though, Containment is entertaining and exciting television that feels cinematic in scope and style, thanks in large part to David Nutter’s direction. There’s a lot going on in this first hour, probably too much if I’m being honest, but most of it works really well.
My Interest In Watching More: Pretty high. I really like Containment‘s cast, particularly Gyasi, Moses, and Wood, who was terrific as Kai this past season on The Vampire Diaries. And while there are a couple head-scratching moments in the pilot (which, as I mentioned above, mainly come from some very rough dialogue at parts), there’s enough good stuff here that I’ll come back for a second episode and probably more. Also, I’m really interested to see how Julie Plec and the creative team behind the show turn this into a weekly series, because, at best, it feels like there’s about four to five hours’ worth of material here. I hope I’m wrong, though, and that Plec and company are able to turn Containment‘s solid pilot into a special show, adding yet another diverse series to The CW’s already impressive slate.
Will you be checking out Containment when it premieres at midseason? Comment below and let us know.
[Photo via The CW]
Follow Us
