Rubicon

I have finished watching the first season of Rubicon, and I am in love with the show. I am in love with the atmosphere, the tension, the amazing subtle and effective writing. Let's start from the beginning...

The Pilot of Rubicon is a very good opening, although flawed. You can immediately tell that this is a show more worried about telling a good story than action, which is all to good, yet is also backtracks on itself. The Pilot is the one that opens a mystery, and for the first few episodes it might seem like the show has nowhere to go, but keep in mind that it is a very carefully paced show. By episode 5 I was hooked. From then on, the show gets better and better, leading up to amazing story lines, and not just having to do with the overall mystery. The last four episodes of the season are masterful, as perfect as television can get. There might be a problem in that many viewers after 2 or 3 episodes might decide to give up on it simply because of the slow pace, and if that is the case then what a shame.

Another thing that has to be noted about Rubicon is the great cast. James Badge Dale is very effective and a great lead, and Miranda Richardon does great in her limited screen time. Lauren Hodges as Tanya is the best of the females, carefully portraying a confused and misguided analyst who is not sure what her life should be. Arliss Howard and Michael Cristofer are the best in the series, for the fact that they are two of the most interesting and intriguing characters in TV in years. They masterfully play their characters to the highest order.

Along with the great writing and acting, we have the great cinematography, which is the quality of the best films out there. It is on par with AMC'S other great series, Mad Men. Ultimately, Rubicon stands as one of the strongest shows I have seen in years, but it's slow pace, while completely refreshing to me, will give it a harder time to find a larger audience, which will then be the reason for it's demise. If that's the case, then we have a great mini-series, and the last scene plays perfectly for that, leaving viewers in a state of desperation.

One of the best TV series I have seen. It is a mystery to me why AMC, after presenting breakthrough series after series, killed this smart one off after one season. It has much in common and perhaps the writers took inspiration from (and referenced) Three Days of the Condor, a great '70s spy movie. I guess AMC (and most network TV channels) think that a show has to start out with death, high action, or someone yelling "Stat!". This is a quiet, thoughtful show, which fits the characterizations and near docudrama script perfectly. I loved it and I miss not seeing more, after watching the one and only season. The main thing here is character development, in and out of the office, although the bulk of the story is all about the spying. It did start to take a slower turn in the middle episodes, perhaps a change in some key production area, and it broke the flow a bit. Even so, that is the very worst I can say about it, and that only lasted 2-3 episodes and I was so invested by then it didn't matter. Even though just one season, there are 13 45min episodes that are very worth watching and the story arc is as complete as it can be while leaving room for more in case it was renewed, so it is worth watching as a 13 episode mini-series.

The intricate plot of RUBICON tells the story of a complex conspiracy. Therefore, and very differently from most other shows of this kind, it has courageously chosen to be complex itself. The story lines, the characters with their intricate relationships and histories, are told in a great depth. Lives of people include boring or uneventful moments, yet in RUBICON, as in real life, those moments are not cut away, on the contrary, they are narrated at their full extend. And as in real life, as insignificant they might be, there is always some reference to the characters profiles and what they might do - or not do - next. If you look for an action packed spy story, RUBICON is probably the wrong show for you. But if you want to get into intelligence reality as it "really" might be, than this is a great series to watch. At episode 12 now, I have enjoyed every second of it and do hope that AMC does not let it die at the end of season one. Well done.

I can see why many people would find this show hard to get into. The trailer for the show and the first episode appeared as though a deep, fast moving intelligence arena or encryption conspiracy was being presented. After the second and third episodes the energy appears gone and you're left wondering what the point is.

However, given the nature of the subject matter the above is probably a good thing. The patient are rewarded by the details of the stories taking shape slowly and connecting. The brilliant performances - and they are brilliant, because every single actor/ess is believable as a real character, probably so much so that the apparent dullness of daily life in the show put a lot of viewers off - quickly subdue the watcher into thinking that many characters are bit players. But given time, each one has more depth and cracks than are at first apparent. I believe this will turn into something very different - where every character is important and has a role to play. In a slow burning show like this, time is what is needed.

Having said that, I am only one or two episodes into being caught by the show. And it is still just a show. If the writers behind it cannot climax the tendrils of interests properly, it will fall heavily on its face. I would like to see this run, however, as it has the potential to not simply hit the tension-and-reset button between seasons, but be an engaging and truly thought provoking medium for many situations we find ourselves in.

"connect the dots, work the dots" "keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer" "find out who he sits and moves with" - FWIW. anyway - I for one applaud these folks for the slow pace a lot of folks have a problem with - we are bombarded with half hour or hour shows where the formula is presented - "all is relatively quiet, then chaos erupts, then there is a mad scramble to put Humpty back together,and in the last 45 seconds Humpty is restored, followed by a communal sigh of relief" - (break for commercials, then trailers, a swell of music, roll credits, on to the next predictable time waster) also i like the critic who opined that this is the "anti 24" - so what if Rubicon doesn't have the guns blazing and mouth breathing - been there, seen that. hope the powers that be don't cancel this show because of the current low ratings, but won't be surprised if they do.