Season 1 Discussion

[Bort]

Quote

An antiquities expert and an art thief team up to catch a ruthless terrorist who funds his attacks through stolen treasure.

Debuts on CBS, May 21, 2019

[AnimeMania]

This is 13 episodes and has appearances by Anna Silk, the lead in Lost Girl.

Blood & Treasure Trailer

[CrazyDog]

This looks like silly summer fun. I'll probably check it out. The leads seem to have some decent chemistry. 

[TaraS1]

Not my kind of show at all, but I would never miss out on anything Alicia Coppola is in.  Been a huge, huge fan since her Another World days back in the early 90's.

[blackwing]

Looking forward to this.  I only know the lead guy, Matt Barr, from his role as Johnsie Hatfield on "Hatfields and McCoys" miniseries of several years ago.  He didn't strike me as a particularly good actor, but I am hoping this show is simply pure escapist fun.

The locations alone seem to make tuning in worth it.

[Bort]

5 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Looking forward to this.  I only know the lead guy, Matt Barr, from his role as Johnsie Hatfield on "Hatfields and McCoys" miniseries of several years ago.  He didn't strike me as a particularly good actor, but I am hoping this show is simply pure escapist fun.

Harper's Island! I think that was the first thing I saw Matt Barr in.

I'm in on this for the escapism and because the promos make it seem like Matt Barr will be shirtless a lot.

[emma675]

OMG, I loved Harper's Island! Scary, stupid, summer fun tv. I remember thinking he had such a big head on that show, lol! Literally, his head looked too big for his body; I think he had big hair causing it.

I'm excited for this, I hope it is a nice light summer show with lots of pretty people and locations. 

Edited May 21, 2019 by emma675d

[Netfoot]

So, do I want to watch this?

[Christina]

Well, I enjoyed it, which almost guarantees it will be bounced around on the schedule before being pulled only to air the remaining episodes in a batch long after anyone remembers what it was about. Everything I like gets screwed with by the networks and it makes it hard to give anything a chance. 

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Netfoot said:

So, do I want to watch this?

Quite a slog through the first 2 episodes. 

I guess a 2-part premiere means they're burning them off?
But maybe not; it was an actual 2-parter:
"The Curse of Cleopatra Part I" and "The Curse of Cleopatra Part II"

It was kind of a cross between Whiskey Cavalier and last summer's Hooten & the Lady.

I wish the female lead's Dad character had survived. 
Hmmm. I don't think we saw a body, and, "no body" on TV usually = Not Dead.

Con man Aiden Shaw is played by Michael James Shaw, who was also the awesome Agent Mike in Limitless. He's the best character in the show.

The rest is background noise.

Edited May 22, 2019 by shapeshifter

[rhys]

That seemed utterly awful.

[Driad]

Suggestion: trash this and move Whiskey Cavalier here.

[Ananayel]

Well, I wasn't expecting much - I like Barr well enough on Sleepy Hollow, but Katia Winter dragged that whole show down like a damn anchor. I'm still not over it. But then I saw the names Oded Fehr and James Callis, and thought that added like 30 points. And then - John Larroquette showed up, which added about 50 points, and THEN the name Javier Grillo-Marxuach appeared, which put it over the top. Still not over Middleman either.

Two hours was a lot, but I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought there were some funny bits, lots of action, great locations, and potential for twists. Like, who notified Farouk to veer off course when being tracked from the antique shop? Anyway, I'm in. There was so much scenery chewing there won't be any left over for Winter's character, which is fine by me. So maybe she can't eat this show too.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, Ananayel said:

Like, who notified Farouk to veer off course when being tracked from the antique shop?

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

I wish the female lead's Dad character had survived. 
Hmmm. I don't think we saw a body, and, "no body" on TV usually = Not Dead.

The theory that I had was the female lead's Dad character warned Farouk and faked his death.

The TV Series seemed incredibly basic.

Favorite line: They told me that a man come down from the sky and asked for me by name, imagine my disappointment.

Favorite scene: The motorcycle chase.

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, Ananayel said:

Oded Fehr and James Callis, . . . And then - John Larroquette showed up, . . . and THEN the name Javier Grillo-Marxuach appeared

Yeah, but still: No.

Should we take bets on whether they pull it before all the episodes have aired? Or do networks not do that anymore?

[Writing Wrongs]

This gives me Whisky Cavalier vibes and I had to drop that show after a couple of episodes. Why do show creators continue to think it's enjoyable for an audience to watch the leads of shows constantly bickering? We get it, "sexual tension", yay.

That's why shows like X-Files worked. Scully & Mulder disagreed, but they weren't continually arguing through the entire episodes.

[blackwing]

It wasn't great, but I enjoyed it a lot.  I would have liked it better if it wasn't a two hour premiere.  I have way too much backed up on my DVR and every time I see a two hour premiere I sigh.  I get that they are trying to squeeze this show into a summer timeframe, but still.

There were a lot of things that were implausible and I don't think either of the leads are good actors (love the English accent on the woman however) but there's enough here to keep me interested.  I love Indiana Jones, and this definitely has a lot of elements of that series.  

Love the fact that they went to so many different locales.  Wondering if these scenes were actually shot on location, if so, the budget for this show must be insane.

[Netfoot]

Wasn't terribly impressed, buy not too disappointed.

There was a lot going on; don't know how they would have fared with less than a double episode.  To be frank, I'm a little confused on some points.  Still, that's probably because I was doing something else at the same time.

I'll watch the next episode and see if I get sucked in some more.

[Ananayel]

This will probably be a one-and-done summer blow-off series, but I'll have fun with it along the way. Absolutely nothing about it was even remotely plausible, but that's not why I watch a summer escapist show. 

Yes, the father being a double-agent of some sort and no body found could go somewhere interesting for sure, if they go that route. I thought it also might have been the guy on the phone who sort of snuck off during the tracking that warned Farouk, but then he seemed so upset about it. But maybe, he wanted Farouk to detour into Libya so he could blow him up and start an incident for some other agenda, and was mad because it didn't happen.

[sempervivum]

12 hours ago, Ananayel said:

I like Barr well enough on Sleepy Hollow, but Katia Winter dragged that whole show down like a damn anchor.

That's why he looked familiar. He's even blander on this show, if that's possible. And I would never have id'd Katia Winter as 'Gwen' who looks plain and middle-aged, to me.

This was so 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'-derivative, but that's not a bad thing. Indy and Marion argued all through that, too, so I don't have a problem with these 2 leads fighting.

Locations were worth watching regardless of the plot.

[theschnauzers]

I’ve watched this show for Matt Barr, and yes, this show is intended to be summer escapism but I will be watching for Matt Barr.(And yes, last season he was the male lead in the CW’s Valor. It’s unfortunate he keeps getting cast in shows that are poorly written, as much comedies as light dramatic, but an actor has to work, and it is unfortunate that other than Hatfield’s & McCoys, everything he’s been in hasn’t been well written.

[Slider]

Loved it! I'm definitely in, and look forward to a bit of adventure.  Loved the locations, the cast, the historical references, the Vatican priest, etc.  I don't want to pick it apart (which is very unusual for me), I just want to sit back and enjoy.

[tennisgurl]

Kind of Whiskey Cavalier (SOB!) mixed with Indiana Jones, it seems like it could be a fun summer show. I love archaeology and seeing cool locations, and it has a pretty solid cast, so I think this could be a decently enjoyable romp. I like that they tried to integrate the different locations into the plot (like the poisoned chips at Monte Carlo and them hiding from Interpol in Vatican City) but I hope they slow down a lot in later episodes. They had to dump a ton of exposition on us and the two hours were WAY too long.

I know that the senseless lose of human life is awful, but I was most horrified by the pyramid and everything inside of it being blown up. Thousands of years those things stood, pillars to the achievements of our ancient ancestors, centuries of amazing history, all destroyed in an instant by some asshole. Justice for pyramids!

Its not an archaeology adventure movie without some Nazis! Maybe some of them will have found the Arch of the Covenant, and had to find the right chalice? Then find out that they choose...poorly.  

[hula-la]

7 hours ago, blackwing said:

Love the fact that they went to so many different locales.  Wondering if these scenes were actually shot on location, if so, the budget for this show must be insane.

I saw an Instagram post from Oded Fehr in which he said that he was filming in Montreal Canada. Quebec would give you that old world European charm at Canadian prices (the USD is worth $1.34 CAD right now).

[Rickster]

3 hours ago, hula-la said:

I saw an Instagram post from Oded Fehr in which he said that he was filming in Montreal Canada. Quebec would give you that old world European charm at Canadian prices (the USD is worth $1.34 CAD right now).

I used to live in Montreal, and I’m going to guess that the first two episodes were at least partially filmed on location in Rome. I could see Montreal standing in for some generic Euro cities in future episodes, also they could be doing studio work there.

I was curious how they did the scene in the Vatican room with all the murals. I doubt they got permission to film there, so was it a set or sone sort of green screen setup?

I liked this, but I do think the lead actor is too lightweight for the role.

[Irlandesa]

22 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

It was kind of a cross between Whiskey Cavalier and last summer's Hooten & the Lady.

I would rather have Hooten & The Lady back. I grew to quite enjoy that show.  Plus, it was at least somewhat procedural.  It looks like this season is going to be all about the Cleopatra thing in some way.  The current story isn't interesting enough to me to sustain itself over the course of a season long arc. 

Quote

Con man Aiden Shaw is played by Michael James Shaw, who was also the awesome Agent Mike in Limitless. He's the best character in the show.

The writers on this show were involved with Limitless, although I don't think they were show runners on that show.  Limitless had a so-so pilot but quickly became an extremely fun show.  Hopefully this show gets better too.

I'll probably stick around a while for Shaw's character.  And I like Alicia Coppola.  And Antonio Cupo (who was in one of my favorite Hallmark movies). 

[Reality police]

My favorite thing about the show was the priest and scenery. 

[Richness]

I wasn't expecting anything grandiose for this show, so I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It's great summer time escapism. It hasn't insulted my intelligence too much yet, though the super hacking USB chip came close. However, if I can endure a couple seasons of Salvation, I can handle this.

Even if this isn't filmed on location, it's gotta be ridiculously expensive to make it look as good as it does. Therefore, I really don't expect this show to last beyond one season. Gonna enjoy the ride while I can. I just hope it doesn't try to end on a cliffhanger.

[Mars477]

I don’t know why I expected historical accuracy, or even authenticity, from this show, but this was pretty awful even for Hollywood.  Why did the writers think that Cleopatra was Egyptian, or that she would be entombed in a pyramid?  The last pyramids in Egypt were built over a millennia and a half before she came to power.  And the Ptolemies were Greek, not Egyptian, with Ptolemy I being one of Alexander the Great’s generals who created a successor state in Egypt and the Levant upon Alexander’s death.  It’s like the only thing the writers know about Egypt is the story of Exodus bullshit and not a history that spanned three millennia.

[Rickster]

5 hours ago, Mars477 said:

I don’t know why I expected historical accuracy, or even authenticity, from this show, but this was pretty awful even for Hollywood.  Why did the writers think that Cleopatra was Egyptian, or that she would be entombed in a pyramid?  The last pyramids in Egypt were built over a millennia and a half before she came to power.  And the Ptolemies were Greek, not Egyptian, with Ptolemy I being one of Alexander the Great’s generals who created a successor state in Egypt and the Levant upon Alexander’s death.  It’s like the only thing the writers know about Egypt is the story of Exodus bullshit and not a history that spanned three millennia.

They DID point out in a conversation in the beginning that that the pyramids were built several thousand years before Antony and Cleopatra died and said that the bodies and sarcophagi were mysteriously moved into the pyramid a few hundred years ago (how they knew that I don't know).

It was wonky and it looks like they wanted to use the ancient Egyptian imagery and blow up a pyramid, while providing an explanation to keep those of us who know a bit more history from throwing things at the screen.

[mertensia]

This show would be a lot better if Oded was the Danny character.

[emma675]

Well, if I didn't expect this to be historically inaccurate, light summer fluff, I would be extremely irritated. The two main characters bugged me with the trite "oh, they argue and bicker constantly because they lurrrve each other" set up, but I really enjoyed the secondary characters. Shaw, the female archaeologist, Oded Fehr, the priest. I'll stick around for them and the pretty location shots. 

[Mars477]

3 hours ago, mertensia said:

This show would be a lot better if Oded was the Danny character.

A Middle Eastern person, be the main character?  Surely you jest!

[blackwing]

3 hours ago, mertensia said:

This show would be a lot better if Oded was the Danny character.

15 minutes ago, Mars477 said:

A Middle Eastern person, be the main character?  Surely you jest!

Well, the lead female character is supposed to be Egyptian (even if the actress is Hispanic... I think).  And Alicia Coppola, although Italian American, is playing a Hispanic character.

But I agree... of COURSE the show has to have the prettyboy blonde white guy be the lead actor.  Even if his acting skills are deficient.  "The Code" is suffering from the same issue... the blonde white guy is the lead actor and surrounded by various minorities as his sidekicks (Asian female as his direct report, black male as his good friend and opposing counsel, Middle Eastern male as his secretary).

Come to think of it, more than a few shows seem to have this casting framework.  Lead male is a white guy, lead or supporting females are minorities - "Elementary", "Agents of SHIELD", "Smallville", the "Dynasty" reboot... I'm sure there are more.

Are there any good examples of shows where the lead male is a minority and the lead female and/or supporting males are white?  Just curious.

I do agree that Matt Barr is part of the problem with this show... he's just not a very good actor.  Were it not for his blonde hair and blue eyes, I doubt he would get many roles.  He just doesn't seem very natural, everything seems forced.  Like he's trying too hard.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

I do agree that Matt Barr is part of the problem with this show... he's just not a very good actor.  Were it not for his blonde hair and blue eyes, I doubt he would get many roles.  He just doesn't seem very natural, everything seems forced.  Like he's trying too hard.

It might be that he is trying to play the character as straight laced, by the book CIA, who has never, ever cuts any corners. He would be much better if he was caught thinking about how to get out of his situations or showing some feelings when things aren't going his way or when certain characters are mentioned. I was a little upset when they blew up the pyramid, I couldn't imagine how someone who loves ancient artifacts would feel. I think the major problem with the show is all the characters seem not to love/care about ancient artifacts except for the professor and maybe the lead woman's dead father.

[Richness]

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

 I think the major problem with the show is all the characters seem not to love/care about ancient artifacts except for the professor and maybe the lead woman's dead father.

Well, during the shoot out at the black market auction, Danny caught the one vase from shattering to pieces when it fell off its display stand. (Or he may have purposely set it on the floor given it was on a wobbly stand; I don't recall.) Of course, he then used a Roman(?) shield as a shield to prevent him from being shot. Regardless, Danny's current job is returning stolen art to their rightful owners/countries. Not sure how one goes from FBI agent to that though.

[llongori]

6 hours ago, blackwing said:

Come to think of it, more than a few shows seem to have this casting framework.  Lead male is a white guy, lead or supporting females are minorities - "Elementary", "Agents of SHIELD", "Smallville", the "Dynasty" reboot... I'm sure there are more.

Are there any good examples of shows where the lead male is a minority and the lead female and/or supporting males are white?  Just curious.

SWAT reboot starring Shemar Moore has lots of supporting white guys.

[Cigale]

Shaw: ‘I’m gonna die of mummy cancer!’

[Dowel Jones]

They must have been doing their pushups and eating their Wheaties to be able to push that solid granite cover off of the sarcophagus. 

At least the writers had the good sense to at least mention the Raiders movies.

[tennisgurl]

On 5/23/2019 at 11:29 AM, AnimeMania said:

I think the major problem with the show is all the characters seem not to love/care about ancient artifacts except for the professor and maybe the lead woman's dead father.

It seems like maybe the main guy cares a little bit, and presumably the professor does, but maybe that will grow as the show goes on? Its at first just about the money and then its about the history and culture? Its a pretty common trope in these kinds of "adventures in history/archaeology" stories to compare people that want to use history for profit, and those who want it for the greater good and for knowledge.. You have the good guys who are trying to get the artifacts and knowledge for the love of history and want to put them in a museum for public viewing, and the bad guys who only care about history for the money and want to sell to evil rich private collectors. Or the Nazis. 

As a history lover, seeing that pyramid explode hurt my soul! 

Edited May 24, 2019 by tennisgurl

[Chaos Theory]

I hated Whiskey Caviler (sorry folks) so I wasn’t really expecting to like this but it was I like the leads which I didn’t in Whiskey which was half the problem.   The adventure aspect works for me.  Plus hi John Laroquette.   My money is on him being a villain.

Anyway looks like a fun show.  I am in for the ride.   

[sigmaforce86]

Finally saw the premier - I liked it.  Definitely they owe much to the Indiana Jones franchise but to me, and some may think this is weird, I feel like it's Indiana Jones meets Leverage (with little shades of The Mummy thrown in).  Danny is Nate, Lexi is Sophie and Parker rolled into one, Shaw is a little Hardison but with more comic relief and less computer age of the geek.  Might even say Gwen is a cross between Sterling and Nates ex Maggie.    Also I definitely enjoyed and want to see more of Father Chuck!   One way I knew I liked it was I actually remembered the characters names - for me at least it's pretty common to take multiple episodes to get to know a new show and I know if we're three or four in and I'm still saying things like "the blonde guy who finds stolen art" instead of Danny then I'm not invested in the show.   I'd call it so far so good and it does seem to work for a summer fun escapism type show

[Reality police]

14 hours ago, sigmaforce86 said:

Finally saw the premier - I liked it.  Definitely they owe much to the Indiana Jones franchise but to me, and some may think this is weird, I feel like it's Indiana Jones meets Leverage (with little shades of The Mummy thrown in).  Danny is Nate, Lexi is Sophie and Parker rolled into one, Shaw is a little Hardison but with more comic relief and less computer age of the geek.  Might even say Gwen is a cross between Sterling and Nates ex Maggie.    Also I definitely enjoyed and want to see more of Father Chuck!   One way I knew I liked it was I actually remembered the characters names - for me at least it's pretty common to take multiple episodes to get to know a new show and I know if we're three or four in and I'm still saying things like "the blonde guy who finds stolen art" instead of Danny then I'm not invested in the show.   I'd call it so far so good and it does seem to work for a summer fun escapism type show

Love the comparison to Leverage!

[mxc90]

It was nice of assassin to carry the anitdote for herself and extra for the three ( Hopefully, Farouk will not reward incompetance). But shouldn't the assassin be the first to drop instead of Shaw? She touched the chips first. Maybe the poison works faster on big men.

So are we going to have episodes of just chasing Farouk around the world, him slipping their grasp, until the last episode? I'll watch but I'm concerned for what else this show has to offer to fill episodes.

I can see Danny having a relationship with any of the 3 women.

Edited May 26, 2019 by mxc90

[Quilt Fairy]

I don't know where I got the impression that this show was going to be more reality based, with clues for the viewing audience to solve.  That must be a whole different show.  

Anyway, I did try to watch but it lost me by the time they blew up the pyramid.  What was that, 2 minutes in?  From the first few seconds I was all "That wouldn't happen",  "That's not how they do that",  "That's not how that works".  Then there was the scene at the art gallery in NYC and I'm "They'd be going through the courts or diplomatic channels, not some handshake deal. Not for a fucking Vermeer!"   I don't require real world accuracy in TV, really I don't, but this was just beyond ridiculous to me.  I lasted about 15 more minutes before I deleted it from the DVR. 

[shapeshifter]

On 5/25/2019 at 6:28 AM, sigmaforce86 said:

Also I definitely enjoyed and want to see more of Father Chuck! 

Just him.

If anyone's interested, the double header premiere is re-airing tonight during the first 2 prime time hours.

[Sandman]

On 5/22/2019 at 11:40 AM, sempervivum said:

This was so 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'-derivative, but that's not a bad thing.

I think the soundtrack actually quoted a Raiders of the Lost Ark theme in the 1942 sequence.

On the whole, I'd still rather have Deception back.

[thuganomics85]

I wasn't even aware of this show until I saw it on my social media feed recent and since I was kind of looking for my dumb summer fun show this year, I figured I'd give it a shot.  And... well, it seems to fit the bill more or less.  Very silly, cliched, and, yep, dumb, but I was entertained at least.

Personally, I loved Matt Barr ever since I saw him on the better than it should have been Harper's Island (another summer show!), where his character had the best of arc (starting out as the hatable frat boy, but actually become heroic at the end), and I thought he shined in it.  So, I'm glad to see him here, even if his character is a bit one note.  Granted, his character was also pretty one note on Sleepy Hollow, so maybe this is the best he can do.  First time seeing Sofia Pernas and she was fine too, but the role was also a walking cliche.  I can already tell I'm going to be bored with their "bickering, but still lusting after one another" antics.

My favorite were definitely Shaw; who seems to be set-up as fun "shades of grey" character and Farouk simply because he is Oded Fehr, and I could go on a paragraph long rant about how underrated he is and how he never seems to get roles worthy of him (including how freaking Once Upon a Time managed to bungle a perfect casting with him as Jafar.)  I guess I should be glad he's still working, at least.

I swear, I don't want to hate on her too much after all the criticism I gave her for Sleepy Hollow, but Katia Winter's character really seemed superfluous.  I felt like they could have given the majority of her lines to the Italian cop and nothing would have changed.

Yeah, John Larroquette is so going to be a bad guy.  They even had the "talking on the phone in a dark limo" scene!

The location shooting was top-notch, even if it apparently was all shot in Canada, which is impressive in its own way.  Of course, I knew they were filming in that country when I saw that Patrick Sabongui popped in for a minor role!  Can't wait to see which next Canadian mainstay actor pops up next.  I'm guessing Roger Cross or Hiro Kanagawa!

I'll give it a few more episodes to see if this ends up being a boring dud or a wacky, insanity trip.  I so hope its the latter!

[Ananayel]

Man, Katia Winter just isn't good. So bland, so very bland. I mean, I got as annoyed as anyone else with the Sleepy Hollow showrunner's clear-cut case of the screaming thigh-sweats for her, but it seems she does need a red wig and a corset to have any presence whatsoever.

Yay for more Father Chuck! Still enjoying it, and if I read the ratings for last week correctly, it was the third of the night, after NCIS and some finale of something. So I hope it can at least last the summer.

[AnimeMania]

Yes, Father Chuck steals the show with his Boston Red Sox jacket and his "Jesus is watching you" pantomime and you better stay off his bed! I didn't like Father Chuck's accent so I hope he dials it back a little. Who could make someone diving on a hand grenade boring? Why did they have someone translating for the prisoner when every other part of the interrogation was in English including the prisoner's answer was in flawless English.