Minority Report - General Discussion

[thuganomics85]

Premiered at a mere 3.1 million and 1.1 in the 18-49 demo, so I guess it's good to know that there is no point in getting too invested.  Can't see it lasting long with those numbers.

[miracole]

I liked it.   Thought Sands' portrayal of Dash made sense and I liked how he and Vega played off of each other. I really liked her "sit down!"  when he was freaking out in the diner and I liked Dash and his ill timed observations.  Not a fan of Valderrama but hopefully he is used sparingly. I was was entertained and I'm interested to see where it goes. 

Edited September 22, 2015 by miracole

[seamusk]

That's disappointing. I haven't watched the pilot yet but will be watching it tonight.

[ribboninthesky1]

I enjoyed it.  The pilot did its job for me - piqued my interest (though I preferred the leaked pilot overall).  I understand the Sleepy Hollow comparison, but I was never a fan of the show and disliked Crane from the jump.  So, if anything, I appreciate that I won't have to watch the white male character be a pissy malcontent for the sake of "comedic fish out of water" and that these two might actually function as partners. Dash's social arrested development makes sense. 

 

I believe Meagan Good has some room to grow.  I like Nicole Beharie as well (look forward to the day she's moved on from SH), but they're different actresses.  I appreciate that Lara Vega is a cop yet seems close to her family and has a warmth about her.  It would be nice to have a black female lead without a dysfunctional family life and past - leave that to Dash.  I'll see where they take her character.  I don't care enough to research, so not sure if the production team for this show is different.  Based on the promos I've seen, they actually seem to like and support Good, so I hope that continues.   

 

I really enjoyed the film, so I'm interested to see where they take the TV show.  Valderama is definitely the weak link for me, though he's certainly nice to look at.  Nick Zano looks off to me, but I haven't seen him in anything since What I Like About You.  That was some 10 years ago, so maybe it's just age. 

[Free]

I thought in the movie that Arthur and Daschel were identical twins - at least, that was my recollection from the end of the movie.

 

It was in the movie and in the original leaked pilot version before they changed it and added Nick Zano as Arthur to the cast.

[Trini]

Now the question is whether they'll let all the episodes air.

[Raja]

Maybe it was because I never watched The 70s Show much but I had no problem accepting Wilmer Valderrama as the Lieutenant, He was as good detective too just without access to a confidential informant. What seemed odd was Detective Vega's cleavage and booty showing body suits with the peekaboo  jacket cover up. It didn't fit with the fashions the other characters and extras were wearing and when they flashed on uniformed cops or the SWAT team raid they were not in catsuit combat gear either. I guess if you have the assets you push them forward for every advantage to stave off early cancellation.

 

Its a FOX show so the episode running down prostitutes or some kind of sex trade will no doubt be pushed forward out of the producers preferred order last done with the bang bots on Almost Human.

[ribboninthesky1]

I suspect the main reason Meagan's body was noticed is because she's busty with a healthy butt.  I don't think her attire is egregious - it's just that many actresses aren't particularly shapely (if at all).  

 

I guess if you have the assets you push them forward for every advantage to stave off early cancellation.

 

This seems like an unfair low blow, especially for a pilot.  

[Enero]

Aw that's too bad about the ratings. With all the tech they use for the show there's no way it'll last with those numbers.

[VCRTracking]

The Iggy Azalea bit reminded me of stand up comic Nick Swardson talking about how old people in the future are going to be listening to gangsta rap.

[tennisgurl]

Finally saw this, and...I liked it more than I thought I would. 

 

I thought the future stuff was interesting and fun. I enjoy seeing near future stuff, and some of the stuff there worked for good world building (the Red Clouds, the never ending Simpsons, the face tattoos that seem to be popular with women), and I think there is potential there.

 

I loved Stark Sans in Generation Kill, so I`m glad to see him here, and I think he did a good job. I can see how he become all twitchy, if he`s the one of the siblings who actually sees the murders. Thats bound to screw somebody up.

 

I have liked Meagan Good in other things, and I think she did alright here. Nothing super special, but likable enough. She clearly has room to grow, and I hope they give her more to work with soon.

 

And yes, I do still miss Almost Human. I cant trust Fox with anything, especially anything with even a sliver of sci fi.  

[Free]

Aw that's too bad about the ratings. With all the tech they use for the show there's no way it'll last with those numbers.

 

FOX hasn't had great success with Sci-Fi in general.

[Free]

Its a FOX show so the episode running down prostitutes or some kind of sex trade will no doubt be pushed forward out of the producers preferred order last done with the bang bots on Almost Human.

 

Well now that you mention it...

[Raja]

Finally saw this, and...I liked it more than I thought I would. 

 

I thought the future stuff was interesting and fun. I enjoy seeing near future stuff, and some of the stuff there worked for good world building (the Red Clouds, the never ending Simpsons, the face tattoos that seem to be popular with women), and I think there is potential there....

 

 

And yes, I do still miss Almost Human. I cant trust Fox with anything, especially anything with even a sliver of sci fi.  

It reminds me of how Alien Nation started but as that series progressed the background stuff not dealing directly with Newcomer culture like the characters wearing hats to guard against ozone depletion disappeared.

[mandigirl]

I really loved the movie and I felt like that love did a lot of the heavy lifting during the tv series pilot episode. I was pretty bored at times and by the time TRAINED PIGEONS became part of the plot, I started to question if I would finish the episode. I was particularly annoyed by how Vega kept on saying they couldn't go to the police-- why not just say that she had information from a reliable informant? 

 

 

Oh yeah, these two definitely are not Beharie and Mison, but this show struck me as wanting to be SH so much that I actually posted my first thoughts over there. 

I noticed that too. This show DESPERATELY needs the adorable chemistry Beharie and Mison make look so easy on SH. MR is going to be relying heavily on the buddy-cop angle from what I've seen-- the leads' chemistry is going to be critical.  Both characters are pretty likeable independently, so it could make a good pairing. So far, the witty banter fell completely flat for me in this show.

 

They alluded to some sort of Vega-Dash love interest scenario which was unexpected but I didn't hate the idea. Especially if that means we won't have to see her hook-up with Wilmer's character. Yuck!

[Johnny Dollar]

Not good, either the show or Megan. It seems like they're trying to combine Almost Human and Sleepy Hollow without the charm of either or the immediate chemistry that the leads in both of those shows seem to have from the get-go.

I may check on here to see whether it gets any better, but probably won't be continuing with this one. The previews for the season's storyline show it to be boring and predictable.

Edited September 23, 2015 by Johnny Dollar

[paigow]

It was in the movie and in the original leaked pilot version before they changed it and added Nick Zano as Arthur to the cast.

Avoiding Orphan Black type logistical issues

[Sparger Springs]

The Iggy Azalea bit reminded me of stand up comic Nick Swardson talking about how old people in the future are going to be listening to gangsta rap.

That took me right out of the show. Vega's dad had Iggy Azalea on Vinyl? Iggy Azalea doesn't have Iggy Azalea on vinyl.

[DearEvette]

I finally watched this and was a little apprehensive because of some of the bad advance word of mouth.  But this was not that bad, imo. 

 

The only reason I can see why people would even attempt to compare this to Sleepy Hollow is because of black female cop/white awkward dude.  But thematically, visually, vibe everything else is so different, they shouldn't be compared.  This feels closer to Almost Human as others have noted. 

 

Having seen Megan in her other cop role on NBC's Deception I have to say she is ten times better here.  Not only is she better in her cop persona, but also her acting has a warmth and naturalness that she lacked on the other show.  I endured her in that show and in the end gave up.  I rather like her here in this one.

 

I have never watched That 70s show so I had no cognitive dissonance with Wilmer Valderama.  But I have to say he was my least favorite character & actor of the whole pilot.  The smarm factor was high and he was too obvious with it. 

 

By contrast the twin brother was also smarmy but he infused his with some charm and a little bit of humor.  I always appreciate when an actor presents a few layers to their obviously trope-y character.

 

I like how distinct they made not only the abilities but also personalities and present circumstances of all three pre-cogs: Agatha in her bucolic glade trying to stay away from it all, Arthur in his slick willy high rise using it for his personal gain, and poor Dash running around like a rootless Mr. Robot trying to help people.

 

And finally I love the diversity. 

[jaytee1812]

I went into this not expecting much but I liked it. Nice relationship between the two leads, and the mystery was pretty decent.

[karasmom]

I liked it so far and have not pulled it off the DVR yet, so that's a good thing.  I have not seen the leads in anything else, so I don't have that baggage to deal with.  And I barely remember the movie -- if I saw it at all.  Not a Tom Cruise fan.  I liked the actor who is playing Dash -- he plays him with just the right amount of naivete. 

[TimetoShine]

I was pretty bored at times and by the time TRAINED PIGEONS became part of the plot, I started to question if I would finish the episode.

This pretty much. I watched this last night before bed and it made me want to go to sleep at 10pm. I usually don't turn in before 1am.

This was super duper boring. I'll to see if reviews improve but I won't be watching again.

[jcin617]

It was in the movie and in the original leaked pilot version before they changed it and added Nick Zano as Arthur to the cast.

That's unfortunate;  the whole point of Arthur and Daschel was (as Dash said) that they were two halves of one mind.   Which sort of plays off the fact that they were identical twins, but seems less poignant if they're fraternal.  (But is admittedly a minor nitpick.)

Edited September 23, 2015 by jcin617

[ribboninthesky1]

Having seen Megan in her other cop role on NBC's Deception I have to say she is ten times better here.  Not only is she better in her cop persona, but also her acting has a warmth and naturalness that she lacked on the other show.  I endured her in that show and in the end gave up.  I rather like her here in this one.

 

Yep, I never mentioned in a different thread that I bought Good as a cop on this show in a way I NEVER did with Deception.  

Edited September 23, 2015 by ribboninthesky1

[Sandman]

I thought the plot dragged, and there was lots of exposition, but that's to be expected to some extent with a pilot. I liked the two leads, and I thought they played off each other well. I think the show could explore the ethical and philosophical implications of Pre-Crime more.

I think I liked Vega's CSI: Eyeball crime scene tech, even though it seems almost more like science fiction than Dash's gift.

Minor nitpick: The teacher or tour guide in one scene exposits that the three precognitives at the heart of Pre-Crime were codenamed "the precogs," which didn't make sense to me -- pretty sure that was just the way the Pre-Crime Division referred to them in general. Agatha, Arthur and Dash(iell) are codenames, really. I'm assuming that the names were assigned by the Pre-Crime Division; I refuse to believe that they all happened to be named at birth for three of the most famous mystery writers in the world by pure coincidence.

[Nessie]

I thought the future stuff was interesting and fun. I enjoy seeing near future stuff, and some of the stuff there worked for good world building (the Red Clouds, the never ending Simpsons, the face tattoos that seem to be popular with women), and I think there is potential there.

 

Agreed although some it it took me out of the show.  Not the tech stuff, I thought that was fine.  But like when Vega said her mother hit 60 and wanted another baby.  It looks like her brother is at least 6 or 7 right?  So then, I do the math and think if it's 2065 and her mom is at least 65, and that means she was born around 2000, which means she was around marrying age after 2020 and would people really still be using Tinder to find a mate after 2020?  And is Tider still around in 2065? Also, presumably her father was around the same age as her mother, so would someone born around 2000 really have a vinyl collection?  My kids were born in the 90's and I intend to leave them my beloved record collection but I really don't expect them to keep them...maybe a few, but not all of them.  And would Iggy Azalea be on vinyl?

 

That took me right out of the show. Vega's dad had Iggy Azalea on Vinyl? Iggy Azalea doesn't have Iggy Azalea on vinyl.

And that answers that question!  Thanks Sparger Springs!

 

The only reason I can see why people would even attempt to compare this to Sleepy Hollow is because of black female cop/white awkward dude.  But thematically, visually, vibe everything else is so different, they shouldn't be compared.  

Agree with this as well, somewhat.  I see a lot of Abby Mills in Vega, especially in the way they are dressing her, but almost nothing of Crane in Dash, except as stated above - awkward white dude.  But the whole tone of the show feels different to me.  I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the premiere ep of Sleepy Hollow, but I generally give a show at least 3 episodes before I decide to keep it on my DVR or not.  I don't know if this show will last that long, but I'm willing to give it another two weeks.

[Amelie06]

 

That took me right out of the show. Vega's dad had Iggy Azalea on Vinyl? Iggy Azalea doesn't have Iggy Azalea on vinyl.

Agreed! I was actually dismayed by this turn of events. How is Iggy Azalea still a thing that far into the future. People are already starting to forget about her, you mean to tell me that 50 years into the future people are still going to be listening to her terrible music. Damn. Don't even get me started on the unfortunate crime recreation scene where Meagan Good seemed to be dancing to a Beyonce song. They may not have played the lyrics, but I know that was music from her latest album.

 

Weren't the twin boys they used at the beginning identical? From seeing that, I expected Arthur to just be Stark Sands again. I think it will probably work better this way. Are the twins actually related to Agatha? I thought they just had the same background, but weren't related. 

 

 

I suspect the main reason Meagan's body was noticed is because she's busty with a healthy butt.  I don't think her attire is egregious - it's just that many actresses aren't particularly shapely (if at all).

That's a really fair point. I do think her pants were too tight, but the boobs were just doing their thing. Except for the ridiculous jogging scene, I don't think they went too far. 

[Free]

That's unfortunate;  the whole point of Arthur and Daschel was (as Dash said) that they were two halves of one mind.   Which sort of plays off the fact that they were identical twins, but seems less poignant if they're fraternal.  (But is admittedly a minor nitpick.)

 

They reworked it into the pilot, if you compared both the leaked pilot and the final version, you can see the changes that some people have already noted.

[ribboninthesky1]

I mentioned earlier that I preferred the leaked pilot.  I liked that Arthur wasn't formally introduced and their dynamic more implicit.  To me, it set a mysterious groundwork to build on rather than the anvilicious "Arthur is the complete and total opposite of Dash in every conceivable way" scenes. I'm not crazy about the changes made, but I still plan to watch.  I guess Arthur is going for the hiding-in-plain-sight slice of life, but it felt tonally off to me. 
 

That's a really fair point. I do think her pants were too tight, but the boobs were just doing their thing. Except for the ridiculous jogging scene, I don't think they went too far.

 
And yet, I have to wonder if it were Li Jun Li (with the kickass facial tattoo) in the same attire (work and jogging), would it have mattered?

[Happytobehere]

The pilot was okay, not great. I will give it a three episode watch as I do with all new shows, but at this point, I'm not really seeing anything to be invested in.

[cynic]

The only reason I can see why people would even attempt to compare this to Sleepy Hollow is because of black female cop/white awkward dude. But thematically, visually, vibe everything else is so different, they shouldn't be compared.

Agree with this as well, somewhat. I see a lot of Abby Mills in Vega, especially in the way they are dressing her, but almost nothing of Crane in Dash, except as stated above - awkward white dude. But the whole tone of the show feels different to me. I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the premiere ep of Sleepy Hollow, but I generally give a show at least 3 episodes before I decide to keep it on my DVR or not. I don't know if this show will last that long, but I'm willing to give it another two weeks.

I would agree that visually and thematically the show has more in common with Almost Human than Sleepy Hollow, however I think the partnership dynamic is very reminiscent of Abbie and Ichabod. Like LadyCassandra, I felt like there was a lot of Abbie Mills in Vega, from her styling to her willingness to go off book to her sometimes stern, sometimes exasperated, sometimes amused (even snarky) way of reacting to this strange new person in her midst, though Abbie is much more closed. Dash's personality is very different from Crane's, but their circumstances have a lot in common. They both have basically been awoken after a long period removed from the world. Both are experiencing new things and are trying to learn to deal with them while still trying to fulfill what they feel is a higher calling. Dash is very open and can't conceal his apprehension and confusion. Crane hides his behind arrogance, but I think it's still there. They both need someone to guide them and Vega and Abbie fill that role in many ways. Also, both men need to keep their real identities secret.

At the start of the episode, both Crane and Dash are odd and viewed with suspicion by Abbie and Vega. They're treated as possible criminals, but both women also recognize that these men can be useful. As they work together, the effectiveness of their partnership become more apparent. Vega and Abbie provide the professional experience and Dash and Crane provide specialized knowledge that can't be obtained elsewhere. So, Vega and Abbie imperil themselves and their careers by using deception to be able to work with these men. By the end of the first episode, there are the beginnings of trust and a mutual understanding (partly due to a heart to heart that they both have in the middle of the episode where we learn Abbie and Vega's tragic impetuses for joining the force) and they both seem to embrace their new special mission.

From what I remember about Almost Human, which granted isn't a whole lot, I seem to recall the partnership being much more antagonistic for many episodes (at least coming from Karl Urban's side). There's way more warmth, even in the pilots, between the partners on SH and MR. Ealy's character was a robot and easily could have been written as him needing a guide in the ways of the world, but that's not the dynamic they had. The robot was almost better at functioning than Urban's human cop. The trope they used was more of the by the book cop and the dysfunctional rogue forced to work together. I don't see similarities in their partnership at all.

I think it's easy to write off the SH comparison as being based solely on the optics, but I think there is much more to it than that. Of course, YMMV.

Edited September 24, 2015 by cynic

[jhlipton]

IThe only reason I can see why people would even attempt to compare this to Sleepy Hollow is because of black female cop/white awkward dude.  But thematically, visually, vibe everything else is so different, they shouldn't be compared.  This feels closer to Almost Human as others have noted. 

 

And finally I love the diversity. 

 

 

I agree.  Further, there is no chance of a She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named sucking (up airtime).

 

I really liked it (far more than the incredibly bland Blindspot).  I'm in as long as it lasts.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Should You Gaze Into The Future Of Crime-Fighting With Minority Report?
Steven Spielberg's 2002 movie about 'precogs' who foresee crimes is now a TV series. Should someone have tried to stop it before it started?

[jhlipton]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Should You Gaze Into The Future Of Crime-Fighting With Minority Report?

Steven Spielberg's 2002 movie about 'precogs' who foresee crimes is now a TV series. Should someone have tried to stop it before it started?

 

Magic 8 Ball says  "Definitely" to the first; "All signs point to mo" for the second.

[Twilight Man]

The Simpsons would still be kicking around.  I just wonder if they had to recast the voice actors, or has technology improved to the point of finding ways to preserve the original cast.  I want answers!

 

After 550 episodes, I'm starting to believe that it might be possible to "piece-meal" together the audio for an episode (and who knows, an entire season).

And not in the hysterically intentional way they made Chef's voice in "The Return of Chef".

 

Fun fact:  They took several bits and pieces of dialog that Larry Hagman delivered in just 20 episodes of the new "Dallas", and made an entire phone conversation that J.R. had with John Ross, just before someone came in and shot him and killed him. It sounded flawless.  We have the technology.  We can do this.

Edited September 25, 2015 by Twilight Man

[Netfoot]

We have the technology.  We can do this.

 

Lauryn Hill sang a duet with Bob Marley 18 years after his death.  We've had the technology for decades.

[cynic]

I thought this was an interesting take on the show. If they really delved into all that, I think I'd really enjoy it. I love shows that explore moral questions like 12 Monkeys and Continuum. Unfortunately, I don't trust Fox to do it.

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/09/minority-report-fox-review/406489/

[Ottis]

We watched the whole pilot and afterward were left with ... virtually no impression at all.

 

The special effects were movie quality, and done well. But the plot? The actors? The action? Nada.

 

This prompted a discussion about whether we were suffering from pilot episode OD.

 

We'll watch again, but hopefully it leaves more of an impression.

[Ms Blue Jay]

There were so many ultra-Toronto landmarks.  It was so funny!  And it's supposed to be Washington, D.C.  As someone from Toronto it was really hard to concentrate on anything else for the first 15 minutes.  I understand you want to film in Toronto because it's cheaper or whatever, but everything was so blatant.  You could just take generic looking universities or buildings or whatever.  Instead they used really unique landmarks that all Torontonians would recognize.  And then a random shot of another city that I didn't recognize, then I guess "stock footage" of D.C. they borrowed from Scandal or whatever.

 

And for those who might think this is a stupid concern, there are 2.6 million people in Toronto, while 650K in Washington, D.C.

 

I just wish Meagan had kept her eyebrows.

 

Oh, I liked the episode.  I liked this more than any of the other new shows I watched.  I will be back.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[Primetimer]

A 'pick-up artist' can get famous and rich teaching the 'art' of negging women while a shy 'nice guy' nurses festering grudges against women he finds insufficiently attentive? THE FUTURE SURE IS CRAZY.

Read the story

[Enero]

This episode dragged and dragged. I was waiting for things to pick up but nothing happened until literally the last 5 minutes. That's not good if this show has any chance of staying on air.

All that said, I did like the bonding moments between Lara and Dash. The actors and characters seem to be jelling more. Dash's fish out of water moments worked more too. The funny was actually there for those moments in this episode. I was laughing my ass off when he tasered the guy in the club.

I cannot stand Lara's boss. It's not just his voice but his personality. He just annoying.

Tonight's episode was okay. They have some work to do though to get me engaged in the conspiracy/mythology that they appear to be trying to build as the undercurrent of the show. Right now, it's weak at best.

[RandomWatcher]

Hooking up seems like it will be a lot easier in the future.

[Lila82]

Dash/Lara's relationship is like a strange combo of Ichabod/Abbie "iZombie's" Liv on her brain of the week. I like watching them bond.

Cut Wilmer Valderrama and this show might have a chance. He just sucks up screentime that could otherwise be allotted to Arthur...who serves a purpose...and furthers the plot...and has an actual connection to the core mythologies.

Mostly? More Arthur.

[Free]

Cut Wilmer Valderrama and this show might have a chance. He just sucks up screentime that could otherwise be allotted to Arthur...who serves a purpose...and furthers the plot...and has an actual connection to the core mythologies.

 

Seems out of place, even for this show, even the procedural stuff can work better without him.

[Amethyst]

The only thing that caught my eye was that Spinelli from GH was the murderer.  

 

The COTW was boring.  Vega and Dash were funny in the club, but the stuff with Arthur and Agatha bores me.  I really don't care about the dastardly deeds Arthur has in store.

[Free]

They have some work to do though to get me engaged in the conspiracy/mythology that they appear to be trying to build as the undercurrent of the show. Right now, it's weak at best.

 

It's because it's only vaguely there at best while more time was spent on the procedural aspects of the show instead.  It's just Arthur/Agatha, while our main leads are off doing their own thing.

[thuganomics85]

Good news is that I found Dash and Vega to be a bit more fun together, and, in general, there was a least a few more humorous moments in this one.  I think one my main issues with the pilot might have been it was just so damn serious.

 

On the other hand, I wasn't impressed with the "case of the week" aspects, which is a problem since this is going to be a big thing for the show.  Not sure what depressed me more: that, in the future, datings is now just simply using technology to see if you are the perfect match or that, years for now, we'll still have things like "pick-up artists" and "nice guys", who get all psycho because a woman dares not to like them.

 

The overall arc still bores me as well.  Agatha is dull, and while Nick Zano is doing what he can, I feel like I should be enjoying Arthur more then I am.  I feel like he's suppose to be one of those magnificent bastards that steal the scenes, but Arthur just comes off like he's a second-rate version of a magnificent bastard.

 

And, quit trying to make "Blake" happen: he will always be Lieutenant Fez to me.

 

I do think their are aspects to this show I liked.  I think Dash and Vega have potential to a good team, and I like their sidekicks (Dash's former handle, Vega's tech friend), but they really need to do something with these cases, mythology, and overall arc, or it's going to fail before it even gets off the ground.

[cynic]

I actually liked this one quite a bit more than the pilot. Dash's childlike qualities seemed toned down and he and Vega clicked better. The cotw was nothing special, but at least there was some humor in it like Dash's use of the book and with the taser thing. Fez still isn't working for me though. He seriously grates.

I didn't understand what the bracelets were measuring. How could it gauge compatibility when the only info it has from the wearer comes from touching it to the lips?

Edited September 29, 2015 by cynic

[Netfoot]

No, no, no!  A big, flashing red light on the sidearm?  What for?  To give the bad-guy a point of aim in the dark?

[Iboatedhere]

I feel bad about not liking this. I feel like Stark Sands deserves better but maybe that's just residual Generation Kill feels.