Eyewitness - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Eyewitness here.

[patty1h]

I saw a trailer for this show back in August.  I guess there are two trailers - one "safe" one for family viewing, and another one for the mature audience.  I caught the racier one and when I saw the show had a male couple in it as part of the story line, I put it on my list of shows to check out, as I am all about the hoyay.   

The trailer I saw is here:  http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/24/eyewitness-usa-exclusive-trailer  Scroll 3/4 down the page.

Edited September 28, 2016 by patty1h

[kat165]

Thanks, Patty. I'm looking forward to this show too. I really like the actress who plays Helen, the police chief (or at least I think she's the chief). Haven't seen her since Criminal Intent.

[kat165]

Thank you, SilverStormm. She's why I'm going to watch this.

[WendyCR72]

As teens share their first kiss, they witness a murder; Philip's foster mother, a sheriff, takes the case.

[WendyCR72]

Anyone see this?

My first impression...it was dark. Not just the tone, but very gray/dark looking. At least Julianne Nicholson seemed adept at playing the sheriff/cop. Being on L&O: CI for 3 seasons may have helped in playing the investigative stuff.

Assuming the female FBI agent is dirty, but who knows.

My verdict: Too early to tell.

[SimoneS]

Why was the show so gray? Ugh. Too much. I didn't think that it was that interesting and cannot imagine how they are getting 10 episodes out of this story. I will give the second episode a shot.

[Lilly77]

I thought it was really interesting.  I was way more interested in the relationships than the crime.  Didn't like the washed out look of everything, small town life isn't that colorless!  I will decide next week whether it's going somewhere that I want to keep watching.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Lilly77

[zxy556575]

I'm interested in the relationships as well, but truly, at this point in my life I am so bored by sex scenes. I know it's a main plot point and the reason Lukas and Philip have more than one secret to keep, but ... I get it, already. They're hot for each other.

Similarly, I'm hep to the fact that this is the stereotypical small town with choked emotions and a bleak outlook, and don't need to be beat over the head with the washed-out, muted gray cinematography.

I liked Helen's uppity deputy who provides the sense of humor that she's lacking. While I don't really care about whatever it is that drove her to a rural town, I'm resigned to having to hear about it. The family scenes of her and Gil Bellows at least have the foster parents aspect to make it a little different from the norm. I'm not sure yet if they know Philip is gay?

Despite the negatives, I did enjoy it. The story is a solid B, which is enough to keep me watching.

[numbnut]

I also don't get why the color is so washed out. (At first I thought I was watching a flashback.) Love Julianne but the gay coming-of-age storyline is a yawner and some of the actors are bad or one-note (the FBI agents, the sister, the killer). I'll try one more ep.

Edited October 18, 2016 by numbnut

[Lostinthehouse]

IMHO, the washed-out colors were meant to convey the drabness & disappointment  of the setting (small town with secrets), the ennui of the characters (foster dad not getting enough attention from wife, the kids with horrible secrets, a mom with a kid in foster care because of her drug habit, the drabness of day-to-day lie, the sheriff finally getting a murder case but an FBI agent overtakes her investigation, etc).  I'm hanging with the series - I don't care about the teen romance (just deal with it, boys), but I love the anticipation of finding out what happens to the bad guy & if he gets to the kids .

[sugarbaker design]

I loved the cinematography, it added ambience and it set the mood for the plot, it reminded me of classic Twin Peaks and The Killing in a good way.  So far I'm in, I like the idea of a 10-13 episode story.  Time will tell.

[NorthstarATL]

8 hours ago, Lostinthehouse said:

IMHO, the washed-out colors were meant to convey the drabness & disappointment  of the setting (small town with secrets), the ennui of the characters (foster dad not getting enough attention from wife, the kids with horrible secrets, a mom with a kid in foster care because of her drug habit, the drabness of day-to-day lie, the sheriff finally getting a murder case but an FBI agent overtakes her investigation, etc).  I'm hanging with the series - I don't care about the teen romance (just deal with it, boys), but I love the anticipation of finding out what happens to the bad guy & if he gets to the kids .

It's a small town in a really beautiful setting, though. The lake alone would provide a gorgeous vista, and the horrible secrets are even more jarring in an idyllic setting. I was put off by the filters. I think I may play around with my copy on the computer and see if it's more compelling with color.

The characters are pretty one-note so far. The kids obviously have YouTube, and, one would imagine, twenty-first century television, so the casual bullying and the OMG! YOU"RE GAY! stuff seems like a city writer's view of "them rural folk", and not at all like real life.

  The Sheriff's marriage seems to be on shaky ground. I assume we will find out why she moved out there, what case consumed her to the point that the husband is worried, who his foster sibling(s) is/are, and why they are fostering a teen rather than birthing or adopting a baby.

  I like that the incompetent guy from Rookie Blue is capable on this show.

  The FBI folk are dirty or incompetent, which is true both in real life and on Quantico, so I enjoy the consistency.

[Chaos Theory]

On 10/18/2016 at 8:44 AM, Lostinthehouse said:

IMHO, the washed-out colors were meant to convey the drabness & disappointment  of the setting (small town with secrets), the ennui of the characters (foster dad not getting enough attention from wife, the kids with horrible secrets, a mom with a kid in foster care because of her drug habit, the drabness of day-to-day lie, the sheriff finally getting a murder case but an FBI agent overtakes her investigation, etc).  I'm hanging with the series - I don't care about the teen romance (just deal with it, boys), but I love the anticipation of finding out what happens to the bad guy & if he gets to the kids .

Once I realized it wasn't my TV I thought the same thing.  Everyone's life is a drab by shade of grey.   No one is particularly happy and when your life is that...blah if effects how you see the world and the world sees you,. 

Although the boys relationship in itself isn't as interesting as it should be each boys relationship with their parents and guardians is and why both boys are willing to keep such a big secret and the ramifications of keeping that secret.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[WendyCR72]

Philip and Lukas find proof that the killer's alive. Helen tries not to let the case affect her marriage. A new head of the FBI task force is introduced.

[Dowel Jones]

I realize it's a plot contrivance, but what public school would put pictures of their minor children on their website for anyone to view?

[sjohnson]

The word "gay" has been made into an insult by teens and adults have somehow convinced themselves that "queer" isn't. There's nothing whatsoever strange about the reluctance to come out on Lucas' part. And Philip's pretty stupid for not being able to do the math and figure out there's not going to be a gay set to hang with, because there's just not that many people at all, much less enough gay ones to make a refuge. 

The skeevy "FBI" Camilla is unbelievable, as is the notion that they were running Chris as a rogue informant. It's pretty likely that the real issue is that Warren Christie (the guy in the trunk) is law enforcement himself, probably better at it than nitwit Camilla, who seems to have confuse a badge with a license to be a raging diva. Helen's failed case is as boring as David Tennant's failed case in that series about the child getting killed. 

But nothing's perfect. At least the eyewitnesses have a reason to shut their mouths besides being assholes.

[peachmangosteen]

I didn't know anything about this show, but someone on my timeline was tweeting about it so I thought I'd give it a look.

I hate the drab look of it. I get what they're going for (@Lostinthehouse explained it well), but I just don't like looking at it. 

The actor playing the blonde haired boy is really bad, but he looks like Erik von Detten so that kinda endears him to me. The FBI agent and her sister are also pretty terrible, but unlike blonde kid I didn't really find them endearing in any way either.

It didn't particularly grab me, but I was intrigued enough that I will definitely watch at least one more ep.

On 10/21/2016 at 10:57 AM, sjohnson said:

It's pretty likely that the real issue is that Warren Christie (the guy in the trunk) is law enforcement himself ...

That's what I figure as well.

[Ohwell]

I just saw the rerun of this show today.  I agree it's drab and it reminds me of The Killing.  I hope the Sheriff doesn't turn into detective Sarah Linden on that show, who annoyed me to no end.  I'll give this show a couple more episodes to decide whether I'm in or out.   

[sjohnson]

Well, it was no surprise to find out Kane was LE, which for me comes under the "expected but anything else would have been questionable" category. Shooting an FBI informant makes no sense in his situation unless he has more to lose from exposure to the FBI than to gain from their protection...especially since he was just within a hair's-breadth of dying, saved almost by a miracle. The motive revealed is shockingly solid too. And they've got Todd's and Tracy's death fairly plausibly covered.

Lukas' (apparently the Law of Unusual Spellings To Avoid Confusion With REAL People is getting a some service?) and Philip's reactions, getting blitzed, then throwing up, is pretty appropriate for nitwits. The guy playing Lukas seems genuinely frantic, so much so that it seems a little odd the rather nondescript father inspires such feelings. Philip has forgotten Lukas saved his life pretty quickly though. Nonetheless, the murders have considerably upped the ante. 

Bella's story is a depressing parallel to Lukas/Philip. 

[Lilly77]

I am still really interested in seeing where this show is going.  I am so sick of the grey, washed out everything though, it detracts from the characters and the drama - and I'm quite used to the Scandinavian palette.  

I am really daunted by the way Lukas physically throws Philip around though.  In the first episode he pushed, shoved and punched him at various times and in this one he threw him hard against a wall.  I get that he is confused, doesn't want the gay relationship and is fighting himself, etc., but I just wince every time and it seems abusive.

The stakes really went up with Todd and Tracey's deaths.

[numbnut]

So the FBI agent's sister is a junkie bombmaker? Umm, 'kay. I'm just watching for Julianne and her deputy at this point (I still don't know their character names). They have great chemistry. With the exception of JN's husband, the other actors are pretty bad so I may have to bail.

[sjohnson]

The sister found the bomb while looking for the drug stash. My guess at this point is that hubby Chris, the FBI informant, was given the bomb by Camilla, the FBI sister. It's doubtful the plan was to assassinate anyone but an explosion seems like a convincing way to cover up the disappearance of a consignment of drugs. A little more interesting is the way the dialogue suggested it was Sita who was the dealmaker, the one responsible for selling the drugs provided and the one who hired the men to kill Kane. As her husband, Chris was her main man for actually doing the drug selling out on the street, hence the supply was in his physical possession. Helen may not have actually been under oath when she gave false information to the judge about Sita, thus not technically guilty of perjury, but quite aside from any possible professional repercussions, putting a player, which Sita might have been, back out on the streets without leverage on her, is dubious. Of course, judges really hate to acknowledge the very possibility of lying testimony from cops, as it is so often the basis of a case, so there's that in Helen's favor.

[WendyCR72]

Helen seeks help from Agent Kamilah Davis in tracking a potential witness. The boys skip school and head to a club in New York City that's not what Lukas expected.

[sjohnson]

Both pairs of lovers escape the obstacles put up by others and meet alone. Different results?

[sugarbaker design]

Wow, I thought Bella had a few more episodes of story, but I guess her father's quest for revenge (he won't believe it's a suicide anymore than the parents of those two teenagers think their kids died of an overdose.) will drive some plot.

I thought Kane's love for Bella was his raison d'etre, now that she's gone, what is his primary motivation?  Survival?

[Lilly77]

Bella's death was a surprise.  Kane is just so creepy, he'll probably be even more unhinged now.

Nice to see Lukas stop throwing Phillip around all the time and the boys actually talk, as limited as that was.

Interesting scene and character positioning when the school bus returned and then drove away, and Gabe and Lukas' dad were left staring at each other wondering where the boys were.  Are they going to be adversaries in this or trying to figure out what the boys are up to together?

[WendyCR72]

Ryan tries to shut down Helen's case. Helen and Gabe's marriage is tested when Philip reveals a deep secret. Lukas creates a scandal to bury gay rumors at school.

[kat165]

I'd really been looking forward to this show (love the setting & Julianne Nicholson) and enjoyed the first 2 eps for the most part. Do not like that head FBI agent and was bummed when they dragged him, the FBI and drugs into it. Dismayed to see the head FBI again in this ep and considered maybe giving up on this show. But then he killed Bella which was a nice twist I didn't see coming so I'm not giving up on this yet. He really is a bizarre character (sorry, I don't remember his name. I can barely stand his face). I like Helen's husband. And the setting, can't say enough about how gorgeous the setting is, especially that lake.

[Irlandesa]

On 11/1/2016 at 10:49 PM, kat165 said:

 Do not like that head FBI agent and was bummed when they dragged him, the FBI and drugs into it. Dismayed to see the head FBI again in this ep and considered maybe giving up on this show. But then he killed Bella which was a nice twist I didn't see coming so I'm not giving up on this yet. He really is a bizarre character (sorry, I don't remember his name. I can barely stand his face).

His name is Ryan Kane.  He'll be in the whole series since he's the fourth guy at the cabin.  I imagine the series will be about seeing whether or not Helen can figure that out before Ryan realizes he got the wrong kid.  I don't know if that's worthy of seven more episodes but so far I like the pace.  I don't even mind the gray overlay although I sometimes wish I could see the scenery without it. 

I wish I could binge this show.

[kat165]

Thanks, Irlandesa. I like the show, for the most part, too. I can't see how they can go beyond 1 season though. Is this a limited thing like Dig (which was awful) was?

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, kat165 said:

Thanks, Irlandesa. I like the show, for the most part, too. I can't see how they can go beyond 1 season though. Is this a limited thing like Dig (which was awful) was?

I could be wrong, but I thought I read that it would be like an anthology, so maybe different cases or whatever in each season? Assuming this goes past S1, anyway...

[Irlandesa]

8 hours ago, tvaddict44 said:

I don't mind the drab setting - good explanations above about the symbolism of them - but it is so dark.  I changed the picture mode on my TV and it got a little brighter, but no color.  Dia I just miss what the setting is for this show?  We were guessing Canada, maybe?  something reminded me of Red Road's location (except for no Native Americans) but we weren't sure.

It looks like it was filmed in Canada but I believe it's supposed to be set in Tivoli, NY.

[Irlandesa]

22 hours ago, kat165 said:

Thanks, Irlandesa. I like the show, for the most part, too. I can't see how they can go beyond 1 season though. Is this a limited thing like Dig (which was awful) was?

 

20 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

I could be wrong, but I thought I read that it would be like an anthology, so maybe different cases or whatever in each season? Assuming this goes past S1, anyway...

Yeah. I'm sorry I wasn't clear.  I guess I've reached a saturation point with British TV shows where I'm accidentally using "series" for season. I think he'll be around for this season but hopefully not into a second season. I have no problem with him as a villain but he has a shelf life.  I haven't read anything but I would hope that a second season would be a different case although I do hope we get to keep the main family/law enforcement.

[WendyCR72]

35 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

It looks like it was filmed in Canada but I believe it's supposed to be set in Tivoli, NY.

Or Buffalo? (I know Buffalo isn't this rural, but why would the pilot be named Buffalo '07 then?)

[Irlandesa]

27 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Or Buffalo? (I know Buffalo isn't this rural, but why would the pilot be named Buffalo '07 then?)

I think it's because Helen used to work in Buffalo.  The show keeps referencing her "hot shot" past in Buffalo and the Buffalo incident. Buffalo is a rather big town and the setting for this show is very rural.

[atlanticslide]

Yeah, it's definitely Tivoli - there have been several shots of the town sign as well as signs for Dutchess county, which is near NYC. They're also near enough to NYC to get there in a pretty short drive, while Buffalo is about 6 or 7 hours away. And I'm pretty sure the FBI woman (Kameela?) mentioned something happening in Buffalo in '07, hence the title.

[WendyCR72]

Well, whatever the case, while the show content is decent, the gray filter is really making it hard to watch. At least for me. A tiny bit of color won't kill you, show! (Hmm, bad unintentional pun there!)

[kat165]

I'd like to see a 2nd season also with the same main cast with a different murder. And excluding the FBI.

[sjohnson]

Agree about the color! To me, that's something the director does. And it's why I tend to think of the director as the person hired to screw up the script!

[NorthstarATL]

That was a cool twist, and I like how everything changed this episode. I had played around with the video player on my computer, and the first episode is actually really impressive with COLOR! I stuck around for the second, but it dragged too much. The third drew me back in. I thought, too, that Ryan/Bella were mirroring Lukas/Phillip, but then , in the end, Ryan was much more about guarding his secret than he was into Bella. That WILL pit her father against him, and potentially give Helen an ally on that front. The female FBI agent is also onto her sister, thanks to Helen.

  I don't blame Helen for not catching on to Phillip, as she's new to the parenting thing, as her listening to the audio book shows, and Phillip is secretive about two things, and the behavior of hiding something isn't going to be seen for what it is too easily.

  The Lucas actor didn't bug me quite as much in this one. Maybe because he had more to do than just freaking out all the time?

 Note to the boys: if you want to hide the coupling up, try to find another way to ride together than on that bike.

[sjohnson]

Not realizing that making a sex tape of someone without their knowledge is a crime as well as uncool? Parallels Sita framing her sister. You know why but...wow.

It occurs to me that the time stamp on Philip's internet footage of Lukas' stunts would prove he lied to Helen. I think Helen came close to realizing Philip/Lukas was a thing. If she puts it together, she'll confront Philip again. 

The thing is, I'm not sure why Ryan thinks he got the two people in the cabin. He didn't get a good look at Philip, true, and none at all of Lukas. But why does he think Tracy was the one who bopped him on the head? Why does he think Tommy and Tracy would be screwing in the Waldenbeck cabin? Most of all, why does he think Tommy wouldn't recognize him? If he realizes he may not have killed the right two people, he'll look at the Waldenbecks first and Helen's already found Lukas was there. Looking at Lukas means seeing Philip. 

[Kat]

Am I the only one who loved every single minute of this first episode? I'm willing to be in this minority.

[Kat]

I continue to love Phillip like my own child. Lukas too for that matter. I'm enjoying the acting and the storytelling. But boy was I skeeved out by Kane masturbating to Bella's surveillance footage. Ick!

[Kat]

5 hours ago, sjohnson said:

Not realizing that making a sex tape of someone without their knowledge is a crime as well as uncool? Parallels Sita framing her sister. You know why but...wow.

It occurs to me that the time stamp on Philip's internet footage of Lukas' stunts would prove he lied to Helen. I think Helen came close to realizing Philip/Lukas was a thing. If she puts it together, she'll confront Philip again. 

The thing is, I'm not sure why Ryan thinks he got the two people in the cabin. He didn't get a good look at Philip, true, and none at all of Lukas. But why does he think Tracy was the one who bopped him on the head? Why does he think Tommy and Tracy would be screwing in the Waldenbeck cabin? Most of all, why does he think Tommy wouldn't recognize him? If he realizes he may not have killed the right two people, he'll look at the Waldenbecks first and Helen's already found Lukas was there. Looking at Lukas means seeing Philip. 

I too am confused as to why Kane thinks Tracy hit him with the frying pan. I expect this detail will come up again soon.

[NorthstarATL]

Wow, those sisters are messed up! Sita was SO intent on setting Kami up that she went through all that and gave up the drugs, which were her only "leverage" in anything, JUST to pull it off!

  I STILL have trouble believing that a small town in the modern world would be so backward regarding gay issues, especially as close to the city as they are and with internet and all. I grew up in such a place, but it was in Northern Minnesota, and we had ONE TV Station, and it was in the Jurrasic Period, so I can relate on that level, and, yes, there were relationships like Lukas/Phillip. I like that the keeping-it-a-secret thing works, though, to mask the more dangerous secret, that they witnessed the killings. Helen might put two and two together, but it's also just as likely that she will assign any suspicions to the gay category and not examine them as closely as she might if Phillip wasn't actively hiding something important that she does know about.

   I'm still awaiting Bella's father's reaction to her death and what he does. He has her phone still IIRC.

[sugarbaker design]

On 11/8/2016 at 10:28 AM, NorthstarATL said:

I STILL have trouble believing that a small town in the modern world would be so backward regarding gay issues,

It's not the town Phillip is worrying about, it's his classmates.  There was video on ABC Eyewitness news last night of high school kids yelling "White power" in the halls of their high school.  When it comes to racism, homophobia, misogyny et al, teenagers can be the worst and most violent.

[NorthstarATL]

1 hour ago, sugarbaker design said:

It's not the town Phillip is worrying about, it's his classmates.  There was video on ABC Eyewitness news last night of high school kids yelling "White power" in the halls of their high school.  When it comes to racism, homophobia, misogyny et al, teenagers can be the worst and most violent.

Oh, I agree about teens. They're the worst. I just assumed that media had made some protected groups so untouchable that things would revert back to bullying for more specific differences, just as has always and probably will always be the case.

[WendyCR72]

Ryan interferes with an autopsy to stop Helen from getting closer to the truth. Philip deals with a surprise visit from his mom. Lukas struggles with anxiety about the murders.

[candall]

I'm out of DVR space because I've been all-election all-the-time for quite a while--is this show worth saving and bingeing? 

From the comments, it seems kind of doubtful, since I already have to venture into nearby Tinyville hoping I won't bump into any of those good ol' fashioned small-town values from, say, the '50's.

LMK

.

Edited November 12, 2016 by candall