Sputtering to the Finish

The two most interesting pilots of the 2012-2013 TV season were its most high concept. In the fall, it was "Last Resort." The show had a fascinating premise, great performances, and was really gripping. It also led the immediate question, where does the show go from here?

The following 12 episodes before it got cancelled failed to live up to that promise. You might have said that it was because it had to be cut short due to being cancelled, but really I think there was no way to sustain that pilot over a series.

In the winter, that hot pilot was "The Following." The show again had an interesting premise, great performances, and an engrossing pilot. And, again, one had to wonder — where does it go from here. On Monday night, after 15 episodes, the answer was clear — this is a high concept that would be great for a movie but falls apart as a weekly series.

The difference? "The Following" rode strong opening ratings and decent, albeit declining, ratings throughout the first half of its first season to a second season pick up. Logically, it would have worked better if the show would have wrapped up the story involving Joe Carroll, which was going no where fast, and picked up a totally new story with Kevin Bacon and a couple fellow detectives hunting a new killer.

But that's not the way it appears to be going. Carroll may or may not be dead — I'm leaning toward not — and several of the followers are still floating about. So what does season two hold? More plot stalling, more grimmacing, and more Edgar Allan Poe cult. Great...

This is the problem with high concept shows. We all want these high concepts. We want something out of the ordinary. We want something extraordinary. But for that kind of show to work, it has to go past the pilot. Both "Last Resort" and "The Following" had excellent pilots. But neither show lived up to its potential.