Mind Games

The premise of the show sounded REALLY amazing to me- Leverage with a bit of The Mentalist, House of Lies and a few other elements taken from other TV Shows- I was in for a good ride... I was mistaken.

The pilot was fairly decent. Introduced the brothers and a bit of the back story to get the viewers interested in the characters themselves. It was very loud and chaotic but not too much that it would make the show seem completely unwatchable.... and then I watched the second episode, well, part of it at least; I don't think I can finish it.

There is just TOO much chaos. The eccentric and bipolar brother is just completely out there, very loud and obnoxious to the point where you start to feel embarrassed for the rest of the cast. It's completely ridiculous! So much broken glass, unorganized schemes that go nowhere because one of the brothers completely ruins it and all in all, just a bunch of chaos.

I'd stay away from this one. I'm going to try to finish the second episode but I doubt I'll make it through it.

This show has a lot of great potential! I'm liking it more and more as the stories and cases become more personal for the characters. BUT, I am so sad that Claire (Wynn Everett) appears to have left on tonight's show (the 3rd episode). I love her role on the show, and it's fun to see how she interacts with Carl (Steve Zahn's character). It seems like there is a chance that she could come back at some point with the way it was left, so I hope that she does! Her character was smart, witty, sensitive, and light-hearted, which was a much-needed addition to the cast. I'm guessing that her reason for leaving for Florida was just an excuse to get away from her dishonest ex-husband (I don't blame her!). But, she seems to care too much about how the business is truly helping people to be able to stay away for long.

This show has all the elements required to be a very successful show. Great Actors, Great Concept, Excellent interaction between the entire ensemble. The problem is that it's missing one very important thing. Great Writing. In order to write for a Bi-polar, Manic personality there has to be a balance in the characters behavior. Here we seem to be only seeing the lead character in his most whacked out Manic state. And it's always only a question of time before he flips out into a full blown episode at just the wrong moment. Destroying an investors office, making a huge scene at a party that embarrasses his client. In order for this show to work it needs to change quickly. The Manic episodes need to be in their office while working with his brother and their team. While actually out pulling off one of their jobs the Manic behavior can only manifest in ways that HELP them succeed. We want to see great capers like Mission Impossible or Leverage or any of the other great TV series of this genre. Tension about them getting caught is good. Tension about how the main character is going to screw things up is bad.

Like Christian Slater. REALLY like Steve Zahn. So I tried this for about halfway through the pilot, and found Zahn's character especially so manic, so loud, so annoying, I had to shut it off. If I had to watch his character every week, I think I'd start pulling the wings off butterflies, or something. Fairly weak writing, as well. Decent premise, truly annoying execution. There are too many good series on TV right now to make room for this one. I've known bipolar people before, had a close friend for years who was afflicted with it, but never experienced anyone like this. Too manic, and so grating. Sorry to repeat myself, but had to fill up ten lines; in short - PASS ON THIS ONE!

I was a fan but this last episode about guns was super annoying! Why does there always have to be someone's political agenda shoved in my face?! I seriously liked this show but I'm not watching again I get enough politics in my life. I don't want to think about politics or have someone's emotional views about gun control shoved down my throat while I'm just trying to relax and to be entertained by a t.v. Show. Talk about mind games! Couldn't you have tried to be more subtle about it sheesh! And what is all this malarkey about my review needing to be ten lines? I just want to say my piece and be done for real! Abc I'm done with you! Be warned it's all propaganda!