The Listener (Who-Also-Sees) gets a review

I watched the pilot of “The Listener” the other night. At first glance it seemed to be a Canadian rip-off of “Medium” and “Ghost Whisperer” et al, a telepathic paramedic solves crimes. Yawn. But, to be honest, I don’t really care if an idea is a rip-off if they do a good job. Are the characters complex and fascinating? Are the relationships moving and true? Are the jokes funny? Although I am NOT a fan of procedurals, far preferring episodic tv that has a chance to go places, I’ve swallowed plenty of procedural yada yada in pursuit of a good character arc. So, when I saw ads for this one, I knew I would tune in, despite the distinct feeling of deja vu. And the main guy was appealing, you know, except for the goofy hair. I can forgive goofy hair. Hell, I live it. But bottom-line, the show threatened to be a derivative rerun of a last year’s leftovers, but I was willing to let it retread if it did it well. Hey, sometimes hash is better than the steak it was made from, you know?

But I hated it.

(And then changed my mind. Wait for it.)

First, it seemed to me, in watching pilot, that they barely used the telepathy angle, pulling it out sporadically, and only when it was convenient for the plot—but letting it drop when it would have solved things nicely (as in: wtf? why didn’t he just LISTEN TO HER THOUGHTS right there? That sort of thing). I hate that stuff.

Second (and this is a bit petty, I’ll admit) although the show is “the LISTENer” he apparently SEES stuff, too. He’s not a telepath, he’s a psychic, people. I mean, I get that Allison Dubois of “Medium” sees things, so I guess focusing on the hearing angle differentiates the show. A little. But it bugged me every time he got a vision. I wanted him to Listen. I wanted Brand Consistency.

Third—and most distracting to me—there was this dumb-ass “detective” with 20 pounds of hair-products in her perfect, long ringlets (it would take no less than an hour to get hair like that, and we all know how much spare time for grooming your average detective has), not to mention her low-cut, skin-tight, red tank-top and push-up bra ensemble. You could have completely cut all of her scenes and it wouldn’t have changed anything. Except for the boobs, which Paul said were important in their own right, but I maintain have nothing to do with detecting, nor listening, so they ought not to have been so prominently displayed. I, apparently, want gritty realism in my telepathic paramedic shows, and big boobed, ringlet tossing detectives just don’t fit in with that model. I have to draw the line somewhere.

I mean, I knew going in that it was going to be your basic “paranormal abilities force a nice, normal person towards greatness by making them save someone’s life every week” story, but I got SO ANNOYED. I don’t know why—who cares, right? Another crappy tv show, so what. But it pissed me off. Why does that stuff get made?

It’s just, I wanted very much to like it, and it failed me.

Fast forward a week and I noticed my dvr had captured the next couple of eps. Blame it on my new novel which is refusing to get jumpstarted, leaving me with a free hour in the evening. Or blame it on my being worried about the aforementioned Allison Dubois, who will be in a coma ALL SUMMER until the season premier in the fall (her husband Joe must be out of his mind with worry! and her poor girls!). Or blame the end of “Sarah Connor Chronicles,” and “Battlestar Gallactica,” and “Dollhouse” (can you believe that got a second season? I’m so psyched.). Factor in how much I’m jonesing for some sci-fi, paranormal, get-my-freak-on tv, but whatever was the reason, I watched it. Both eps, actually.

They were pretty good.

Huh?

Okay, first, the skanky detective put on some regular clothes and a pony tail—she still didn’t have anything to do but say “What are you doing here?” and, “How could you know that?” and, “Why should I believe you?” Her purpose is to scowl and scoff, but okay, I guess can tolerate her now. Barely.

Second, it appeared that the way they portray Toby the Telepath’s ability, whatever it is, is either constantly in creative flux, because it’s different every time, OR (and I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt here for a few more eps and assume that they meant to to that) it’s evolving. Maybe they’ve got some momentum here, some forward arc on the ability angle, and my patience will pay off…? Anyway, I’m willing to give a pass on the Listener-Who-Also-Sees mess.

But third, and the real turn for me, was the best-friend. Oz (a total rip off of Cool-Best-Friend-Name but at least he’s Turkish, so maybe it’s short for something ethnic) has some awesome people writing his lines! He had several very funny monologues—not just lines now, but whole paragraphs—delivered perfectly by Ennis Esmer, that had me chuckling out loud and tapping the rewind button. I find I really like him and his relationship with Mr. Telepath, lots of chemistry there. Heck, I’ll call it a full on bromance—and hey, I got to use that word! I’m so happy.

The show still has problems for me. For example, too much on the puzzle of the week and not enough about the ability that seems to be changing…maybe? It’s too vague—if Toby the Telepath is having a seismic shift in this ability he has been suppressing, for the most part, his whole life, then I want to be hearing more about that. And the pacing has problems at times—things get rushed that should have more space, if-you-ask-me. Also, I don’t know why they keep putting him in these girly sweaters with deep v-necks—maybe manly guys in Canada wear these things?

Still, despite the girlie shirts, I find I’m suddenly grooving on this show that I severely dissed, just a few days ago. Weird. Am I just desperate for paranormal entertainment? Because you know, I may want some realism in my tv, but I need some tv in my reality. Because reality, what with it’s alarming lack of superpowers, can be so disappointing.

Or maybe it’s just Craig Olejnik’s beautiful eyes, featured prominently, and in close up, in every ep.

I’m not complaining about that, by the way.

(Although, it being “The Listener” shouldn’t they be prominently featuring close-ups of his EARS? Maybe I should be thanking the producers for being a bit fuzzy on the whole listening/seeing thing and let it go. His eyes are worth it.)

Just goes to show, can’t judge a show by the pilot.

ETA 8/1/2009: Although NBC took “The Listener” off the air before the last five eps shows, you can see them on Hulu.com, at least for now. I’ve seen them, and I thought they were great. The last six eps really came together—they finally figured out what to do with the telepathy. The show continues to air in Canada, where it is produced, and is doing well there, so there is hope for a second season. Cross your fingers!