Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoilers

[Aragorn]

New jobs are tough -- especially when your new employer is the CIA. Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) is fluent in six languages, has traveled the world and is besting her fellow CIA trainees in every test. But that doesn't explain why she's suddenly summoned by CIA headquarters to report for active duty as a field operative one month before her training is over. She doesn't know there may be something -- or someone -- from her past that her CIA bosses are really after.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLkMN6K0as0[/yt]

Spoiler: 1x01: "Pilot"

Pulled out of her CIA training, Annie Walker is thrust into the centre of the agency, under the assumption that it is due to her advanced linguistic skills.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

I'll check it out and be back tomorrow to chime in. I really hope it's good. This summer has been very disappointing for TV (Futurama being the only bright spot).

 

[Aragorn]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

Well Piper Perabo's backside sure looks nice in a bikini, that's for sure.

Was surprised how much actual show there was during their limited commercial interruptions until I looked at the runtime and realized they had allotted 76 minutes for it.

The show has potential, but I'm not sure how good they'll be at the spy mission of the week. But at the same time their mythology arc seems thin to do every week.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

Bummer. For some reason I thought this was on Wednesday night.

 

[Iasius]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

I liked it. It didn't blow me away or anything, but I think the show has potential.

I'm not too intrigued by the mysterious boyfriend/spy/whatever angle yet. However I will give the writers the benefit of the doubt that they can pull it off.

 

[Christopher]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

This was pretty good. It's got a lot in common with Alias, but in a lighter, less angsty way. Piper Perabo is appealing and effective. Annie is inexperienced and learning, but very competent and adaptable, an effective lead.

I'm surprised I actually like Christopher Gorham here, since I didn't care for him in Jake 2.0. Maybe it's that his character is a lot more appealing. However, like most sighted actors playing blind people, he's overdoing the "Hey, I'm staring off into space because I'm blind, see?" thing.

The subplot about the two married CIA bosses with the wife suspecting the husband of cheating was a tedious distraction. And of course there's a big mystery arc that will be gradually uncovered. It bugs me that in the climax, Annie couldn't save herself but needed the mystery man to swoop in and save her. And apparently the real reason the CIA called her up early out of training and assigned her to this branch is as a lure to draw this guy in, which kind of undermines her. But I guess the idea is that she'll prove herself to be more than that.

Awful lot of product placement here. At least it wasn't too blatant, with the brand names being used in contexts and ways that people would actually use them in.

Is this actually shot in DC?

 

[Kestra]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

I sat through the whole thing but there was nothing appealing about it for me. I found the main character annoying, the side characters uninteresting at best, and extremely annoyed by the boyfriend/love interest/big mystery plot that was entirely predictable and unoriginal. If that's going to be the backbone of the show, forget it.

I don't mind things being ridiculous if they're at least entertaining, but this failed to even hit that for me.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

Eh, I won't be sticking with it. I like Christopher Gorham, but I should know by now that USA doesn't make the type of shows that's ever going to interest me.

There's not enough sense of urgency. We know why Jack Bauer works for CTU. Piper (cripes I can't even remember the character's name - never a good sign) joined the CIA because she got dumped by her boyfriend. Meh. Maybe people do join the CIA because of stuff like that (a truly terrifying thought) but a fictional character's motive needs to have more oomph than the stuff that ordinary boring people do in their stupid, scattered, aimless lives.

I thought I'd give this show a couple episodes but honestly I couldn't make it through the premiere. Gave up about at the 1-hour mark.

And what's up with not being able to record the show on my DVR? It just turned up black (so I watched live, which gives me hives ). I've heard USA blocks their signal from DVR recorders, but since I don't care for their style of show anyway, I've never really encountered this before now. Since I'm unlikely to remember to watch a show that my DVR isn't helping me to remember exists, it's doubtful I'd be following it anyway.

Awful lot of product placement here. At least it wasn't too blatant, with the brand names being used in contexts and ways that people would actually use them in.

The Starbucks in the CIA was one of my favorite parts of the episode. Another bad sign when product placement is a highlight of the show.

 

[Aragorn]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

I've never had a problem recording USA shows onto DVR. In fact, I have the opposite problem for that network. I set all my shows to only record new episodes, but it also records all the times they re-air the episodes.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

Maybe I should give my DVR a good hard kick. I got it thru Comcast, would that make any diff?

I have the record-every-frakkin-airing problem, too. I just avoid recording shows by typing in the name.

 

[sojourner]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

Yep, soon as I saw the commercials I thought "Alias Lite". It was a fairly fluffy show. Agreed with Christopher on most points, though I like Gorham.

Christopher - you should checkout Burn Notice. It's been slowly morphing into an extended Hyundai commercial over the last season.

 

[Iasius]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

Christopher - you should checkout Burn Notice. It's been slowly morphing into an extended Hyundai commercial over the last season.

I noticed that the usual theme on Burn Notice seems to be "bad guys drive Mercs or BMWs." It's really quite common, not just on Burn Notice.

 

[sojourner]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

^Sure, that's common, but on Burn Notice the Hyundai Genesis has become another character and not in a good Enterprise/General Lee sort of way.

 

[Chris_Johnston]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

It bugs me that in the climax, Annie couldn't save herself but needed the mystery man to swoop in and save her.

Yah, that was bothersome to me as well.

Also, all the musical montages reminded me of all the complaints about Stargate Universe & Defying Gravity being too much like Grey's Anatomy.
I got the impression this was "Burn Notice for Chicks", or a show that belongs on Lifetime.

 

[Kestra]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

Eh, I won't be sticking with it. I like Christopher Gorham, but I should know by now that USA doesn't make the type of shows that's ever going to interest me.

See, USA does make shows that interest me and this one fell way short. I could tell it was probably going to based on the previews but I thought I'd give it a chance anyway. Oh well.

And what's up with not being able to record the show on my DVR? It just turned up black (so I watched live, which gives me hives ). I've heard USA blocks their signal from DVR recorders, but since I don't care for their style of show anyway, I've never really encountered this before now. Since I'm unlikely to remember to watch a show that my DVR isn't helping me to remember exists, it's doubtful I'd be following it anyway.

I was able to record this show and whatever came before it ... was it White Collar? But I've been having problems just within the past month or so if I'm watching an episode of Law and Order SVU and want to pause it, it won't let me. And it won't let me just record the rest, etc. I'm not sure exactly what programs they are doing this for, but it's happened enough times that I know they're doing something (as I haven't had an issue on any other channels).

It bugs me that in the climax, Annie couldn't save herself but needed the mystery man to swoop in and save her.

Yah, that was bothersome to me as well.

Also, all the musical montages reminded me of all the complaints about Stargate Universe & Defying Gravity being too much like Grey's Anatomy.
I got the impression this was "Burn Notice for Chicks", or a show that belongs on Lifetime.

Yeah, now that you mention that it does really bug me that she needed her boyfriend to come save her at the end. I get that she's a bumbling newbie idiot and all, but if her strengths are just acting like a hooker, this isn't going to be very impressive. And for the record, I'm a chick and I definitely prefer Burn Notice.

 

[sojourner]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

^Then again, as a trainee agent she did hold her own for quite a while in a fight with an experienced assassin. I actually would have had more issues if she had been able to beat him.

 

[Data Holmes]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

Eh, I won't be sticking with it. I like Christopher Gorham, but I should know by now that USA doesn't make the type of shows that's ever going to interest me.

There's not enough sense of urgency. We know why Jack Bauer works for CTU. Piper (cripes I can't even remember the character's name - never a good sign) joined the CIA because she got dumped by her boyfriend. Meh. Maybe people do join the CIA because of stuff like that (a truly terrifying thought) but a fictional character's motive needs to have more oomph than the stuff that ordinary boring people do in their stupid, scattered, aimless lives.

I thought I'd give this show a couple episodes but honestly I couldn't make it through the premiere. Gave up about at the 1-hour mark.

And what's up with not being able to record the show on my DVR? It just turned up black (so I watched live, which gives me hives ). I've heard USA blocks their signal from DVR recorders, but since I don't care for their style of show anyway, I've never really encountered this before now. Since I'm unlikely to remember to watch a show that my DVR isn't helping me to remember exists, it's doubtful I'd be following it anyway.

Awful lot of product placement here. At least it wasn't too blatant, with the brand names being used in contexts and ways that people would actually use them in.

The Starbucks in the CIA was one of my favorite parts of the episode. Another bad sign when product placement is a highlight of the show.

You do realize that there really is a Starbucks inside of the CIA, and that the staff really do need to go through a CIA level background check in order to get jobs there?

Starbucks was on of the first to be allowed to open a store inside the CIA. If my memory is correct the CIA went for it because a high number of staff were stopping at one which was near Langley and they felt it was a security risk.


It's apparently the single busiest Starbucks location in the US and has been dubbed the "stealth Starbucks" by people who work in Starbucks corporate because it doesn't appear on the companies store locations maps.

 

[Christopher]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

^Then again, as a trainee agent she did hold her own for quite a while in a fight with an experienced assassin. I actually would have had more issues if she had been able to beat him.

In that particular context, sure. But that's getting the cause and effect backward. It's not like the writers were documenting something that actually happened and had no choice but to go that way. They chose to have the action unfold that way in order to achieve a result they conceived. So structuring it that way, so that the character this show is supposed to be about ends up needing a Big Strong Man to swoop in and save her at the climactic moment of her own pilot episode, is very strange. They could've just as easily had the Mysterious Ex save her in a way that let the bad guy get away, then had her recover and resume the chase and finally take him down in some other context, say, by shooting him in the leg.

See, my objection isn't to having Annie be vulnerable. My confusion is that they'd make her fail at that specific moment, the final defeat of the villain in her own pilot episode. A pilot is supposed to be representative of the series to come. It's supposed to sell us on the hero as someone worthy of our attention. So it just doesn't seem right to have her drop the ball at the climactic moment. If she'd faltered and needed help at any other moment in any other episode, fine. But to deprive her of a win in the pilot to her own show? That's just weird. It'd be like having "Encounter at Farpoint" end by having Picard admit he can't solve the problem without Q fixing things for him. Having him beg Q for help a season and a half later in "Q Who," after he's proven himself time and again, is one thing. But having him need someone else's help at the climax of the pilot episode would've undermined him and left us wondering if he had what it took to be a hero.

 

[Aragorn]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

The most memorable thing about the episode:

 

[Othello]

Re: Covert Affairs (Piper Perabo, new USA series) - Discussion & Spoil

i really enjoyed it. I'll be stickigng with it to be sure. I always caution people to stick with a show for a while after a pilot as pilots, heck even an entire 1st season, can be an unreliable barometer of what is to come. Hell, the entire 1st season of Star Trek TNG is WRETCHEDLY bad. I mean horrendus. Thank goodness fans stuck around though as it became great.