TV Review – The Blacklist

September 24th, 2013 | POSTED BY Nick Ahlers

What separates an homage from blatant theft? A knowing (if not literal) wink to the camera? A “thank you” credit wedged between key grips and craft services? Maybe a thumbs up from Mr. Jonathan Demme himself would do the trick, but for the time being, I’m watching you, The Blacklist. I’m watching you like a damn hawk.

Fresh off his uneven stint as Robert California in what is widely considered to be The Office‘s worst season, James Spader seems right at home as Raymond “Red” Reddington, a sleazy charmer who also happens to top the FBI’s Most Wanted fugitives list. The show wastes no time, opening the series with Red’s voluntary surrender at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. The direction of the scene is so reminiscent of John Doe’s arrest in Se7en that you may begin to wonder why they didn’t just call the series “See What We Did Here?”

Red has been off the grid for over two decades, but comes out of hiding to declare his interest in assisting the FBI in taking down well-known terrorist Ranko Zamani, a man they all presumed long dead. The catch is, he refuses to speak to anyone but Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone, Step Up Revolution), a rookie profiler who has just jumped into one hell of a first day on the job. There appears to be no rhyme or reason for this insisted pairing, but The Blacklist clearly prides itself on playing close to the vest. Red informs Keen of a terrorist plot to kidnap a U.S. General’s daughter and gives her key pieces of information in exchange for seemingly inconsequential details of her upbringing (presumably after a delicious meal of liver and fava beans).

I’m unfamiliar with Boone’s previous work, but her no-nonsense portrayal of Keen strikes a nice counterbalance with Spader. He chews up scenery like we haven’t seen since his heyday and scores some big laughs. Given the grisliness on display in various scenes, though, that jarring shift in tone becomes something of a hindrance. (I almost wonder if the screener I saw contains scenes that were cut from the aired version, as the brutality seems pretty risky for NBC, 10pm time slot or no.) The pacing overall is downright frenetic. Joe Carnahan directs and is in full-on A-Team mode. The number of setpieces squeezed into a mere 45 minutes is admirable, if not exactly compelling. How many times can we see a bomb with a helpful digital countdown clock before we’ve had enough?

Oh, we haven’t even touched on the very high concept that gives this show legs yet, have we? See, Zamani is just the first of many offenders Red has on his “blacklist.” His ties to the underworld have provided him key information on the whereabouts and intentions of a whole slew of baddies, terrorists and otherwise. (In other words: “JOHN DOE HAS THE UPPER HAND!”) He will work with Keen and only Keen to take them down. But why? A juicy concept if ever there was one, and a twist towards the end gives us an inkling of where it will go from here.

Sometimes silly, always bombastic. Compelling on its own grandiose terms. Count me in for another week.

Final Grade: B