Pilot

Good set-up for the episodes that follow. So who is Geoge Hodel, Fauna's grandfather, and why did his daughter give Fauna away as a baby to Jimmie Lee, a colored woman who would then become Fauna's 'mother' raising her as a colored girl. Now Fauna's going from home in Sparks, Nevada, to LA to find out truth about her background. Let's hope that cheers up her dejected demeanor. Still, it's that well-executed poignancy from actress Eisley that helps carry viewers forward.

That's one of the Pilot's two plot threads. The other involves Singletary, a roughly driven reporter who's also on someone's trail. That is, if he can survive his beatings and drug addiction, which is the action side of the episode. This thread is murkier than the other, but presumably the two will converge at some point. Though, at this point, they appear unrelated.

All in all, it's a compelling lead-in to the episodes that follows. The location photography enriches the scenes, especially that low altitude zoom over parts of the Nevada desert ending up at a suburban fence. There's a strong racial angle to the plot including Fauna's romance with a colored boy. So it's definitely a contemporary production. Anyway, I'll stay tuned to see how the unknowns unravel, as I expect most viewers will too.

The pilot has a languid pace but a sleazy pulpy look about it all.

The main standout is Chris Pine. A down on his luck tabloid journalist Jay Singletary reduced to taking shocking kiss and tell photos. He was once an army veteran, a respected journalist. Now a drug addicted sleazeball but something from his past that broke him might redeem him.

The main story is that of Pat (India Eisley.) The episode starts out with an older black lady Jimmy Lee fussing over a younger white girl. It turns out that the white girl is her daughter, living in early 1960s segregated Reno, Nevada. When Pat is walking home with her black boyfriend, he is pulled over by the cops and harassed until Pat discloses her racial identity.

When Pat discovers her true origin. That she is Fauna Hodel and her grandfather is some rich doctor out in Los Angeles. She had been adopted by Jimmy Lee and her then husband.

Director Patty Jenkins won plaudits for the movie version of Wonder Woman. She certainly hints at a darker aspect to this story. Jay is investigating a gruesome murder. Fauna's grandfather is throwing sleazy parties. Somewhere the two worlds are going to collide with Fauna in the middle of it.

If it was not for Pine, the pedestrian pace might had been the pilot's undoing. He even gets a chance to do some morbid humour in the morgue. The pilot serves the characters and sets up the plot.

This first episode was over as soon as it seemed to have started. This story is so intriguing that it will surely capture a significant viewing audience and be the main conversation at the company water cooler. For us baby boomers the 1960's were a magical yet simpler time. The producers have done an excellent job with recreating the Reno Nevada and Los Angeles city landscapes as well as the fashion styles of the 1960's era.

Mrs. Shullivan and I love a good old fashioned film noir/mystery and "I Am the Night" is simply top notch. A pretty young girl named Pat (India Eisley) is being raised by her mother Jimmy Lee (Golden Brooks) until she finds out her real name is Fauna Hodel and her birth mother and grandfather live in Los Angeles. So which 15 year old mixed race girl who seems to be an outcast at her high school by both whites and blacks would not want to seek out her family roots?

There is a somewhat sneaky paparazzi named Jay Singletary (Chris Pine) who knows how to get that money shot that no one else could get and although he comes across as a bit of a druggie loser, we also hear that at the young age of 18 he was writing award winning stories for a reputable U.S. newspaper.

So Fauna Hodel gets on a bus and is headed to LA to seek out her roots........she is not alone. Mrs. Shullivan and I can't wait for the next episode. What a great series.