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Scorpion Anticipation

David T. Cole

By David T. Cole
in Scorpion [V]

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aradia22

aradia22

So I heard about this ages ago as "Kat McPhee got a new pilot where she plays a waitress." I think my longing for a new Leverage makes me like this one a little more than I should. This does not seem like it's going to be the next Leverage. It's more... somewhere between Burn Notice and Mind Games. I'm willing to see how it goes though would it kill them to have more diversity? 

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Kromm

Kromm

(edited)

Kat McPhee is still trying to make that acting thing work out?

 

That said, she seems harmless here, and although the premise sounds like a bag of cliches, that preview actually makes it seem potentially pretty entertaining.

 

The waitress' continued participation is of course inherently dicey, and I'm sure the show will have to leap through hoops to justify it, but whatever.  It's one of those kinds of conceits we have to accept with shows like this.

 

Speaking of McPhee, to nobody's surprise:  'American Idol' Finalist Katharine McPhee Files for Divorce

Edited by Kromm
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aradia22

aradia22

Ideally she would just be like Kiffany on Dead Like Me, popping in and out in a very minor role, but obviously this thing with her son signals a bigger role. I can see the "magical autism" being eye-roll worthy. 

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MrsRafaelBarba

MrsRafaelBarba

I like Elyes Gabel, still miss Rikaro on Game of Thrones.

 

He was wasted on ABC's Body of Proof and in World War Z.

 

The fate of his character in the latter, was truly FACEPALM worthy.

 

With that said, Scorpion looks awful.

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tv echo

tv echo

(edited)

I think I'll pass after watching that trailer.  So "a tactical team made up of the smartest people on the planet" is comprised of people who all sound like English-speaking Americans and who all look like young people under or about age 30?  At least make it a tactical team made up of the smartest people in the U.S. - still unrealistic, but less ethnocentric.  And where's Stephen Hawking?

 

Better that Kat Mcphee plays a waitress than a genius.  Anyone else tired of the trope of the average-intelligence, pretty girl being the romantic interest for the somewhat nerdy, genius guy (Chuck, Big Bang Theory)?  Actually, this show is like a mixture of The Big Bang Theory, Leverage and Touch.

Edited by tv echo
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Linderhill

Linderhill

I saw the previews for this at the movies this weekend and no where did it invoke any Leverage vibes.  Especially when they foisted McPhee in there who, of course, has a genius kid.  Definitely eye roll worthy.  I was thinking more of a Eureka vibe without the charm.  

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Zahdii

Zahdii

That was painful.  These actors don't seem to have any bond at all.

 

Just in the first frame, I had to laugh at the body language.  Guy on the left has his legs tightly crossed, guarding behavior with the arms, and not a very pleasant expression on his face.  Then there's the pillow on the couch between him and the woman next to him.

 

The woman is also sitting in a more tight fashion, but at least she's leaning forward a bit and looking at the man on the left, and has an encouraging expression on her face.

 

The guy on the right has the crossed legs, but not tightly crossed.  But his arms are crossed across his chest in the classic defensive position, and he's looking at the guy on the left with a very serious expression.

 

Then the interview begins with the interviewer being kind of intense and squirrely, almost hyper alert to every move the actors made.  The actors don't seem to have a good fit together.  The guy on the right was texting or reading his email at first, but then he put his phone away and kind of had to lead the interview.  I think he wasn't really joking when he said that his character had the lowest IQ but was the smartest guy in the room, and it made him like the Lou Grant character on Mary Tyler Moore.  Of course no one else got the reference, and he had to say that his character was kind of a grumpy curmudgeon.

 

The woman in the middle seemed to come off as if she had to have to search for nice things to say about the young actor who played her son, as much as she tried to play it off as if he really considered her to be a mom-figure, I thought she wasn't connecting with the boy in real life.  She also didn't have the slightest clue as to the theme song of the show - "Rock You Like a Hurricane" by the Scorpions.  It's been on my playlist for years.

 

It was all very awkward and I hope the show is better than this interview.

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Kromm

Kromm

(edited)

That was painful.  These actors don't seem to have any bond at all.

 

Just in the first frame, I had to laugh at the body language.  Guy on the left has his legs tightly crossed, guarding behavior with the arms, and not a very pleasant expression on his face.  Then there's the pillow on the couch between him and the woman next to him.

 

The woman is also sitting in a more tight fashion, but at least she's leaning forward a bit and looking at the man on the left, and has an encouraging expression on her face.

That saga of the pillow doesn't match what I saw.  It was on Kat McPhee's lap, not between the actors.  It clearly had a position of honor because it was one of those Comicon promo giveaways (it has the fancy TVLine logo from the interviewer's website on it) and she was hugging it.  Robert Patrick had one too, but it was shoved under his ass (I guess he cares less about offending the interviewer, so he used the pillow for one of it's actual intended uses).  You actually see the pillow wind up between McPhee and the younger actor, because we see her put it down when she starts to speak (I think she realizes she'd look like a doofus speaking with a big pillow on her lap).  So the pillow is not there as some barrier they placed because they were uncomfortable.  It's there because Robert Patrick has his right leg tucked up into the gap on that side already (and also is a little fatter--taking more space up anyway), and also Kat McPhee is right handed.... and one or all of those things made her put it down on her right side.  

 

It's kinda a "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" explanation.

 

As for the younger actor (apparently his name is Elyes Gabel), I think his body language doesn't represent any particular uncomfortableness with having a pair of shiny waxed actress legs next to him, I think it may be more a combo of him not being comfortable with big American style press tours and the kind of public scrutiny he's no doubt under there.  He's also both British as well as (it appears from his look) Indian/Asian, and both of those have body language that's probably going to be a big contrast with a Robert Patrick-style "sprawled all over the couch" approach.  Kat McPhee in the middle is trying to pull of that mysterious "look like a lady" thing (which was impossible with the pillow on her lap). Her lack of things to say about the kid is a bit lame sounding, I admit, but I guess we'll have to wait to see if that translates to her looking totally ridiculous playing the kid's mom or not.

 

For me the biggest offense is Kat McPhee not knowing the Scorpions song.  Normally I wouldn't expect that kind of knowledge from some random actress, but her career started with her claiming to be a singer.

Edited by Kromm
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cynic

cynic

(edited)

Saw the pilot screening at Comic Con. It was fun. Mind you, there were parts that were just ridiculous and the whole thing suffered from pilot-itus (heavy-handed writing, obvious character intros, tons of exposition), but I like the premise and the cast and am willing to give it time to gel. And at least it's ridiculous in a fun way. I really could have done without the Katherine McPhee character and the "the group of geniuses really need a person of average-intelligence to show them the way" trope though.

Edited by cynic
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Just Here

Just Here

Not really looking forward to this because none of the characters, especially the female ones, really grab my attention (based on the extended promo).

 

So, I understand that this was based on a real person -- see Scorpion: How an Irish genius saved the world (The Irish Times) -- and I'm not sure of the back stories of the various hackers...  But, wow, it seems like they missed some opportunities for drama/tension.  Instead of an all-good "corporate" hacking team, have at least one hacker be some sort of hacktivist and perhaps another be a freelance mercenary hacker (just in it for the money) with one or both only working for this team due to an "It Takes a Thief" arrangement (either work for the government or go to jail). Thus, there could be some tension in the team, instead of a "Yes, Boss"* mentality which seems like what the show has, and tension between the team and the government (or at least to a greater degree). Plus, the back stories of these characters could be springboards for season-long or series-long plot arcs.

 

*I get the feeling that this series is going to be very Walter-centric, rather than a bit more ensemble in nature. Which given how this series came to be, with having the real life "Scorpion" involved, probably was inevitable.

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Trini

Trini

So with all CBS procedurals, there's the Smarty-pants Know-it-all who makes everyone else look dumb at their jobs. So, on this show there's four of those characters? Pass.

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tessaray

tessaray

(edited)

I was hoping the show would be a cross of Numb3rs and Leverage.  I guess not on the Leverage, but if it is half as entertaining as Numb3rs, I'll give it a chance.  (Although unless they sideline the kid, I probably won't stick around too long.)

Edited by tessaray
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Zahdii

Zahdii

I was hoping the show would be a cross of Numb3rs and Leverage.  I guess not on the Leverage, but if it is half as entertaining as Numb3rs, I'll give it a chance.  (Although unless they sideline the kid, I probably won't stick around too long.)

 

I would also like the cross of Numb3rs and Leverage, but I don't want the kid to be a clone of that kid from 'Touch'.  If he is, I'm probably out, because the Touch kid was obnoxious to the extreme.

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tessaray

tessaray

 

I don't want the kid to be a clone of that kid from 'Touch'.  If he is, I'm probably out, because the Touch kid was obnoxious to the extreme.

 

I have never seen Touch but kids rarely work well in network tv series.  Once Upon a Time is one of the few exceptions that I can think of and there - only just.  

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topanga

topanga

I think I'll pass after watching that trailer.  So "a tactical team made up of the smartest people on the planet" is comprised of people who all sound like English-speaking Americans and who all look like young people under or about age 30?  At least make it a tactical team made up of the smartest people in the U.S. - still unrealistic, but less ethnocentric

 

This is my big gripe with the show, and probably why I won't watch it. Even if you don't believe in diversity for diversity's sake, it's quite arrogant to state that the smartest people on the planet are all American. And that they live in Los Angeles.

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