Pilot Review: Person of Interest

Person of Interest (CBS)
Premiered September 22 at 9pm

One of this fall's most anticipated shows comes from the mind of J.J. Abrams, the man who created "Lost" and enthralled audiences for six years with an intricate web of mysteries, false positives, and red herrings. Abrams' last effort, "Undercovers," failed quickly despite being quite entertaining, and now he's back one year later with something that's considerably more like his former series like "Lost" and "Alias." In "Person of Interest," miscellaneous rich guy Finch, played by Michael Emerson, near and dear to the hearts of all "Lost" fans, recruits Jim Caviezel's Reese to help him track down names on a list and prevent crimes from occurring. It's much more "Wanted" than "Minority Report," and neither Finch nor Reese possess much in the way of social skills, making their interactions with each other and outsiders a challenge. Also along for the ride are two police officers, one a go-get-'em straight arrow played by Taraji P. Henson, and the other a crooked cop portrayed by Kevin Chapman from "Brotherhood," both destined to interface with Reese in different ways. The plot setup is murky enough to allow for considerable variation from week to week in terms of what Finch's technology can and can't do, and it's definitely dense enough to create confusion and frustration for fans along the way. The extensive camera frames are somewhat tiresome and unfocused, but I imagine their relevance will become greater as the show continues. Emerson can narrate the hell out of anything, so his screen presence is welcome. Caviezel could stand to be a bit more emotive, but there's no arguing that he's impressive in the fight scenes where he takes down multiple adversaries in a flat minute, displaying a pension for shooting people in the leg similar to that of the Terminator in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." The show could well work, but it's going to need a bit of tweaking to get specific soon and avoid the fate of AMC's quickly-axed "Rubicon."

How will it work as a series? All that's clear at this point is that Reese will be tasked with investigating a particular person each week after a name is given to him by Finch, with Henson's Detective Carter presumably coming closer to identifying him as time progresses. It's a standard procedural setup, in one sense, but also considerably more fantasy-oriented thanks to this computer-generated list of social security numbers, giving it an additional edge.
How long will it last? The pilot did well enough in its first airing, coming close to the ratings earned by former time slot occupier "CSI." It should do better than "Undercovers," but other mythology shows like "The Event" and "Flash Forward" have crashed and burned during their first seasons, so it's still too soon to tell, though I'd give this one a chance.

Pilot grade: B-