Pilot Review: The Gifted

The Gifted (FOX)
Premiered October 2 at 9pm

Maybe I need to pay attention more when I sit down to watch pilots because I was completely caught off guard that a show which, in its first few minutes, seemed like a random series about people with abilities, turned out to be connected to the X-Men. This is now the second show currently airing on television to tangentially feature the famous superhero team while focusing on mutants. “Legion” was my favorite show on television this past season, and while this one doesn’t compare since it’s not even close to on the same level, I am moderately intrigued. I got excited as soon as I recognized Amy Acker, recently of “Person of Interest,” who I can’t believe is now being cast as the mother of teenagers, and Stephen Moyer from “True Blood,” who is nine years older than her, as the father. Those two have some seriously good fantasy/sci-fi pedigree, and I like the way that this episode played out, with a lawyer whose job it is to go after mutants finding out that both of his children are mutants. He didn’t waste any time in calling up the people he knew who could help, and that portal helped spirit everyone to safety except for him. The powers are pretty cool, starting with Lauren’s ability to create a wall of sorts and ending with Andy crumbling the sentinels in pursuit with his hands. I also liked the music at the start and at the end, though I remember being mocked by a friend years ago after commenting on the quality of the music in a pilot since that suggested the rest wasn’t of quality. That’s not the case here, though I’m still not completely sold on this show’s concept, but I do look forward to giving it another shot.

How will it work as a series? Obviously, Moyer is a lead member of the cast and doesn’t die, but he’s probably going to be confined to an underground jail cell somewhere while his wife goes on the run with the children and the other mutants. There’s going to have to be a team formed in addition to them just being on the run for this show to remain worth watching.
How long will it last? It seems that this show has gone over pretty well with critics, which was hardly a given considering the number of Marvel shows on the air at this point. The ratings were solid as well, so while it’s early to celebrate, I’d say that this one is looking good at the moment.

Pilot grade: B+