What I’m Watching: Undercovers

Undercovers: Season 1, Episode 8 “Crashed” (B)

Knowing that a show has been cancelled can really take the fun out of watching it. If the show is truly good or just on the verge of getting good, it’s a semi-melancholy, semi-joyous occasion. In this case, however, this show just really isn’t there yet, and while it’s somewhat on the cusp of achieving awesomeness, it’s not going to get there since it’s not going to have the chance. Having Alan Dale step in as the man in charge of everything (a role he’s played at some point or another on “Lost,” “Entourage,” “NCIS,” “24,” “Ugly Betty,” “The X-Files,” and “The O.C.”) is a step in the right direction, but the episode as a whole just doesn’t feel quite right. I guess reading about how Television Without Pity thought Hoyt was one of the most annoying characters on television has prejudiced me to start thinking that too, and I have a hard time believing that he’s such a skilled field agent based on the way he carries and talks about himself. This episode felt in some ways like “Alias,” especially due to the music, yet it was never quite as exciting. The stakes are certainly infinitely higher than they are on “No Ordinary Family,” but there’s still something missing. Lizzy’s world also seems so distant and inconsequential, and then there’s the case of the frequently disappearing Leo Nash, who only seems to pop up when he’s needed to enhance the storyline rather than actually be helpful when there’s a dangerous mission to be undertaken. We should have at least two more episodes of this show, if not five (amounting to a total of thirteen), so hopefully this show can come close to fulfilling its potential in the little time it has left.