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46 reviews in total

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71 out of 100 people found the following review useful:
Wow, 16 July 2010

Author: George Bailey from United States

When I saw who the producers are, I must admit, I felt some trepidation. The Borne Trilogy was good (no self-respecting film lover could deny it), but hardly TV series material. All my trepidation flew out of the window less than five minutes into the pilot. I'm not an easy judge to please, but I must say, I'm hooked.

The characterization was fabulous. The writers laid the strong foundation of the friendship/confidant relationship that few shows have managed to convey, and it's just the pilot. I can't wait to see how it's built up. The last time I saw such a thing, it was in BONES, and that was in the middle of the first season.

Piper Perabo plays a smart, overachieving spy missing the stop-digging-yourself-into-a- hole complex. Her character is balanced by a great performance by Christopher Gorham as Auggie, your friendly neighborhood blind tech-guy, a comforting voice in the madness of the "Agency". To top off the show, you have their boss, a preoccupied career woman used to having to find her own way in a job traditionally held by men: Joan Campbell, played by Kari Matchett.

For those of you thinking it's just another ALIAS, you've got another thing coming, just as I did. The only things it's got in common with J. J. Abrams' hit show is the CIA and strong woman lead. It has the action of all the best action films of the decade and the reasonably- subtle humor of BURN NOTICE and CHUCK.

COVERT AFFAIRS is in it for the long-run. I don't plan on missing a moment of it. If it's canceled, it'll prove to be as big a mistake as canceling FIREFLY. Watch it. You won't regret it.

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29 out of 46 people found the following review useful:
Great!!!, 1 September 2010

Author: Amandita1 from United States

Love, love, love Covert Affairs. Finally a TV show with strong female characters. Every week I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see what will happen next. Love the cast- they really did a great job choosing these actors. I want to be Annie! She is intelligent, strong, and gets the job done. I also like the type of boss Joan is- she keeps it together and then reveals that she is thinking what we want her to think and she does the right thing. I also like that the character of Auggie is a blind ex-soldier. Yes he is blind, but it is amazing how he approaches it. I am not sure what the future hold for this show, but I would definitely like it to continue on.

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31 out of 53 people found the following review useful:
Lacking in all areas, 19 July 2010

Author: DeadnotSleeping from Studio City, CA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I really had hoped that this show would be as well done and fun as the recent USA slate (Royal Pains, White Collar,etc) but this show was mediocre at best and just plain bad at worst.

The bloated pilot was all set-up. All of this could have been done in the first half hour so we could get to the meat of the series, Instead we had 75 minutes of boredom and rehashing of spy movie and TV scenes.

Piper Perabo's Annie is as uninteresting as they come. The reason to take her out of training a and swear her into the CIA a month early is ridiculous. With all those pretty and young agents around, not one of them could speak Russian and play a prostitute? Really? I doubt that.

Christopher Gorham, who is always fin to watch, is doing his best imitation of "Mother" (David Strathairn)from the film Sneakers. Kari Matchett is wasted in the role of Annie's boss who is so insecure about her marriage that she uses illegal wiretaps to eavesdrop on her fellow CIA higher-up husband (Peter Gallagher). Hardly original.

Sorry USA, this is a dud. Unless there are major changes in the rest of the series I can't see any reason to watch. We've seen it all before - when it was done better.

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23 out of 39 people found the following review useful:
Great new show, 24 August 2010

Author: max843 from United States

Great new show - good writing, excellent casting. Especially Oded Fehr - like to see more of him.

Just to comment on the criticism of the actor playing the blind operative - my mother was totally blind the final 21 years of her life (she lived to 92). No one knew, including some family members. She moved around without help as did her eyes - just like the character Augie - and showed expression as do many persons who become blind later in life. As I'm sure could be the case with some persons blind from birth.

I really appreciate this show's awareness of the fact that there are other languages and countries beyond America - something we need more of.

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30 out of 53 people found the following review useful:
A disappointment, 17 July 2010

Author: joshburk from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I am a huge fan of USA's original programming. They have a great working model: a character-focused premise with interesting story lines. Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Psyche, Monk -- all great shows, some of my favorites. Unfortunately, "Covert Affairs" fails to live up to its predecessors.

There is nothing unique or new about the set-up of this show. Piper is a talented spy who is brand new to the CIA. She's not a double agent. She's not a spy burned. She doesn't have fake psychic powers or anything. She seems "special," but the audience is never really sure why.

For the pilot, the story kind of plotted along without much reason. It was slow. It was silly. It completely lost my interest. (To be fair, I only watched half the pilot, because I couldn't stomach more.) Expecting so much more from this network, "Covert Affairs" was more than anything a disappointment.

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42 out of 77 people found the following review useful:
Best Spy Show since Alias, 19 July 2010

Author: Sherri_A_Miller from Bradenton, Florida

A fresh new spy drama ala Alias, but with a lead that is more the girl next door. This character is a lovable, soft family girl that seamlessly switches to a hard core savvy linguist and spy. The CIA leaders, staff and sidekicks are also very dynamic characters. Her family members are wonderful and validate the secret life persona.

The story line carries enough mystery, romance, drama, and action to keep the whole family interested. If the writing, directing and acting continue to hit high marks, this is a show to watch. It has the potential to be around for a long time. Enjoyable, fast-paced exciting entertainment.

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12 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
Better Than Expected, 13 August 2010

Author: wrm006-1 from United States

USA is my favorite network. Of the networks 7 shows, I watch 5 of them (Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, White Collar, and now Covert Affairs). When I first heard about Covert Affairs, I didn't think it'd be good. I figured I'd still give it a chance though, and it turned out to be good. Though it's my least favorite of the 5, it's still a show that I plan on following through out it's run. The characters are great, though I wish they'd get the supporting characters involved more. I know it's based around Annie but I think the other characters should have more to do than help her from the head quarters. Anyway, there's my little review.

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17 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
good atmosphere, ridiculous storyline, 14 July 2010

Author: MonsieurMS from Phila, PA USA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The good news is that this was appealing in terms of actors and characters and relationships. But the storyline and plotting--ridiculous. To some extent it is another example of Hollywood chutzpah--petite blonde takes on most dangerous killer in the world. Right. In real life, he just puts a bullet in her head in the restaurant kitchen. And 1st day agent winds up violating rules and going off on her own? And why doesn't she just tell her boss about the clues in the first place? Right--it's Hollywood and every boss is stupid. It's hard to ignore the gaping holes in the pilot episode, but for all that it was still fun.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
A Great Show That Entertains - 8/10, 11 January 2013

Author: Dear Boss Reviews by NaV from Influx Magazine - dearboss@influxmagazine.com

Storyline: Annie Walker joins the CIA thinking it's all her choice but there are forces at work behind the scenes. We join Annie, played to perfection by Piper Perabo (Looper, Imagine Me & You) Aggie, Joan and Jai in weekly adventures which are a great way to pass 45 minutes.

Acting: I became a fan of Piper Perabo after seeing her in 'Imagine Me & You' and think she is good taking the lead in this. Christopher Gorham who plays Auggie, her blind co-worker manages to play a blind person well enough but I'm not familiar with his work. Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes) plays an important role in this as he provides us with tension to keep this show interesting.

Direction: I have watched season 1+2 straight through and up to now it's been led just fine. I can't see anyone winning anything but we can hope.

Production: So far it's been standard all the way except for some sloppy, lazy writing which can't help with keeping this show on air. This has more been at the end of season 2 so perhaps there are things going on behind the scenes. Who knows. They do visit good locations and when they do they use everything to there advantage like local talent.

Conclusion: I am really enjoying this show but hope season 3's writing is better. A really good show with a good cast. As long as the stories remain interesting then I'll no doubt stay hooked. Recommended.

Score: 8/10

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23 out of 43 people found the following review useful:
Like Alias, only less stupid, 13 September 2010

Author: tile46 from United States

This show is turning out to be what I wanted Alias to be. The similarities can't be missed really. Strong female spy with big doe eyes and a b cup, wandering around in skimpy outfits somehow kicking ass in spike heals (this always bothers me so much. I spend so much of female led action shows just staring at the foot where in dismay) but also managing family and home, occasionally crumbling in the arms of a strong scruffy man. But unlike Alias this show avoids some pitfalls.

A. It doesn't over do it. Yes super spies are cool. Of course they don't exist but there is a limit to how much we can take as an audience before we go, "Alright that's just stupid." This show manages to juggle really high stakes life or death situations with some of the more tedious but still interesting aspects of being a spy. No prophecies. No ridiculous pseudo-science.

B. Real people. The problem with JJ Abrahms that this avoids is that people watch shows to watch real people do extraordinary things. But it's nice to know they're real people every now and then. The main character messes up. She looses fights. She does dumb things. She is laughed at for making obvious mistakes. It makes her human.

C. Augie. I can't stress enough that if you don't like this show at first, wait until Augie shows up. He sold it for me. He is a really talented actor and with out a doubt the most interesting and fleshed out character in the show. I only wish he had more screen time.

So if you watched Alias, but sometime around second season starting shouting at the TV, "Why are you doing this JJ!? What did we ever do to deserve this!?" then this is your show. And for now it's mine. Let's share it.

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