This is a unique year for television. Sixteen new shows have debuted across the major networks, making this season very busy. "Undercovers" is one of these shows, and I'd been looking forward to it. But now that the first three episodes are out of the way, there's a problem. "Undercovers" falls apart because it doesn't seem to know what it wants to do. Here's what I feel demonstrates this underlying flaw in what could be a great show.
1). The catering service angle and the attached characters need to go. Here, Stephen and Samantha Bloom act like they belong in a sitcom. Everything is a setup for some profanely banal gag, and all of the story lines involved with this setting are extremely inconsequential. Too top it all off, none of this is remotely amusing. In short, this setting hinders by taking away from both how the show is marketed and what the audience wants—intrigue and action. Just get rid of this backdrop and focus solely on the Blooms as special operatives coming out of retirement.
2). The action needs to be amped up. "Hawaii Five-0" is the highest rated new show this season. A large part of that is because it delivers on the action front. Sadly, despite being a show about specialized intelligence operatives, "Undercovers" doesn't really have memorable action. To be what they are, it seems the Blooms would likely have received a high level of training in weapons handling, demolitions, close quarters combat, evasive driving, infiltration, and surveillance. But we don't see that here. What we get is this: Steven punches some random guy in the face, and the dude falls out cold; and Samantha chases someone down, tackling him to the ground at gunpoint. It's not all that interesting. Maybe Kodjoe and Raw could do some more, in-depth training with the onset fight choreographer and weapons handler to give these scenes a bit more oomph.
3). The characters need to feel more in line with the darker backbone of the show. The Blooms really do feel as though they were lifted from a UPN sitcom, and that just doesn't feel right giving what they used to do for a living. They should skew a little darker in their outlooks and interactions. "Chuck" is a comedy/action hybrid that shows how seasoned spies are going to be a little different from the rest of us. Since "Undercovers" supposedly has a harder edged premise, it should really start getting with the program. Make the Blooms more imposing and give them a penchant for gallows humor. As for their pal, Leo Nash, he's little more than a "shagged your wife" plot device. His character and this show could probably be better served by him being graduated from a third wheel to something else.
4). Boris Kodjoe is, admittedly, not a bad looking guy, and I could easily find myself watching Gugu Mbatha Raw do whatever she wants to do (be it on NBC or the BBC). However, this show simply has too many gorgeous people in it. Gerald McRaney and Ben Schwartz look like real people living in a real world. But too many of the supporting players look like models. Too many of the guest stars look like models. Too many of the extras look like models. Due to this, "Undercovers" feels like a graduate of the "Baywatch" school of casting. The show drastically needs regular looking and unattractive folks, because we do exist. Balancing us with the model types would base this show firmly in the reality the audience lives in, and make the Blooms seem even more dynamic to boot. Also, Kodjoe looks waaay too streamlined to possibly blend in anywhere on Earth. Have him grow his hair out somewhat and maybe gain a five o'clock shadow to lend something of an average guy vibe, and cut him down a bit.
All of this can be done pretty easily. Maybe Leo could make a serious play for Samantha. Steven and Leo might then get in a very brutal confrontation, resulting in gunplay. It's possible that Leo could escape the injured Bloom and then rat the Bloom's out to enemies. Then, while the Blooms are being sequestered at a base, the bad guys could possibly have their home and business bombed. Faced with the utter demise of their civilian lives, the Blooms might then escape their protective detail to locate Leo and find out who else was involved—and make them pay dearly for it.
This would eliminate the bothersome characters and plot threads introduced by the catering service, since it and the people who work there would be no more. The action would get a serious shot in the arm as the Blooms search would lead them headfirst into some pretty heavy situations. The Blooms would come off as being more intense and proactive, instead of blasé and reactive, since their goal would be retribution. Even Leo would get the boost he needs to become a character of at least some depth. This, combined with a greater eye for realism in casting, would make "Undercovers" as interesting to me as it first sounded when in development.
I'd like to see "Undercovers", at the very least, remain on the air long enough to find its groove. But seeing how competitive this T.V. season is, I realize it may not. However, should it get a full season commitment, I hope that someone reading this finds one or two of these suggestions to have some merit (since IMDb is public domain, you never know who reads these posts). As the show is now, I can only give it a five. That's pretty generous seeing as how the first three episodes have one major thing in common—putting me to sleep.
1). The catering service angle and the attached characters need to go. Here, Stephen and Samantha Bloom act like they belong in a sitcom. Everything is a setup for some profanely banal gag, and all of the story lines involved with this setting are extremely inconsequential. Too top it all off, none of this is remotely amusing. In short, this setting hinders by taking away from both how the show is marketed and what the audience wants—intrigue and action. Just get rid of this backdrop and focus solely on the Blooms as special operatives coming out of retirement.
2). The action needs to be amped up. "Hawaii Five-0" is the highest rated new show this season. A large part of that is because it delivers on the action front. Sadly, despite being a show about specialized intelligence operatives, "Undercovers" doesn't really have memorable action. To be what they are, it seems the Blooms would likely have received a high level of training in weapons handling, demolitions, close quarters combat, evasive driving, infiltration, and surveillance. But we don't see that here. What we get is this: Steven punches some random guy in the face, and the dude falls out cold; and Samantha chases someone down, tackling him to the ground at gunpoint. It's not all that interesting. Maybe Kodjoe and Raw could do some more, in-depth training with the onset fight choreographer and weapons handler to give these scenes a bit more oomph.
3). The characters need to feel more in line with the darker backbone of the show. The Blooms really do feel as though they were lifted from a UPN sitcom, and that just doesn't feel right giving what they used to do for a living. They should skew a little darker in their outlooks and interactions. "Chuck" is a comedy/action hybrid that shows how seasoned spies are going to be a little different from the rest of us. Since "Undercovers" supposedly has a harder edged premise, it should really start getting with the program. Make the Blooms more imposing and give them a penchant for gallows humor. As for their pal, Leo Nash, he's little more than a "shagged your wife" plot device. His character and this show could probably be better served by him being graduated from a third wheel to something else.
4). Boris Kodjoe is, admittedly, not a bad looking guy, and I could easily find myself watching Gugu Mbatha Raw do whatever she wants to do (be it on NBC or the BBC). However, this show simply has too many gorgeous people in it. Gerald McRaney and Ben Schwartz look like real people living in a real world. But too many of the supporting players look like models. Too many of the guest stars look like models. Too many of the extras look like models. Due to this, "Undercovers" feels like a graduate of the "Baywatch" school of casting. The show drastically needs regular looking and unattractive folks, because we do exist. Balancing us with the model types would base this show firmly in the reality the audience lives in, and make the Blooms seem even more dynamic to boot. Also, Kodjoe looks waaay too streamlined to possibly blend in anywhere on Earth. Have him grow his hair out somewhat and maybe gain a five o'clock shadow to lend something of an average guy vibe, and cut him down a bit.
All of this can be done pretty easily. Maybe Leo could make a serious play for Samantha. Steven and Leo might then get in a very brutal confrontation, resulting in gunplay. It's possible that Leo could escape the injured Bloom and then rat the Bloom's out to enemies. Then, while the Blooms are being sequestered at a base, the bad guys could possibly have their home and business bombed. Faced with the utter demise of their civilian lives, the Blooms might then escape their protective detail to locate Leo and find out who else was involved—and make them pay dearly for it.
This would eliminate the bothersome characters and plot threads introduced by the catering service, since it and the people who work there would be no more. The action would get a serious shot in the arm as the Blooms search would lead them headfirst into some pretty heavy situations. The Blooms would come off as being more intense and proactive, instead of blasé and reactive, since their goal would be retribution. Even Leo would get the boost he needs to become a character of at least some depth. This, combined with a greater eye for realism in casting, would make "Undercovers" as interesting to me as it first sounded when in development.
I'd like to see "Undercovers", at the very least, remain on the air long enough to find its groove. But seeing how competitive this T.V. season is, I realize it may not. However, should it get a full season commitment, I hope that someone reading this finds one or two of these suggestions to have some merit (since IMDb is public domain, you never know who reads these posts). As the show is now, I can only give it a five. That's pretty generous seeing as how the first three episodes have one major thing in common—putting me to sleep.
