Article published April 14, 2007
TELEVISION REVIEW
Fox hoping to rev up ratings with race drama
By MIKE KELLY
SPECIAL TO THE BLADE
Would you force another driver off the road for, say, $10,000?
Of course you wouldn't - or at least I hope not.
Well, what about $100,000? Or $1 million?
OK, how about $32 million? And as an added incentive, we won't kill you.
Fox will be dropping the flag Sunday night on a fast-paced new drama series called Drive, which follows a disparate group of strangers who find themselves competing in a secret and illegal cross-country road race. The top prize is rumored to be $32 million, but there are all kinds of dark undertones that imply there's much more to this mysterious competition than money.
Like maybe if you lose, you or someone you love will die.Some of those competing are in the race because they want to be; others were coerced. But none know who's running the competition, where the finish line is, or what they might find if and when they get there.
The competitors are from all around the country. Nebraska landscaper Alex Tully's wife has been kidnapped, and he's convinced that the race will lead him to her. Wendy Patrakas, a new mother from Ohio, is running from her abusive husband. Winston Salazar, a convict who has been suddenly released from a Maryland prison, teams up with the preppy half-brother from Florida whom he's just met.
All of these and more are summoned to the starting line in Key West by a phone call from the cryptic Mr. Bright, who identifies himself as the "race liaison." When he's less than forthcoming about race details, one of the participants threatens him, but the bald-headed little man stands his ground.
"Beating me to death would be grounds for immediate disqualification [from the race]," he explains.
Though none of the competitors knows where the race is headed, there are checkpoints along the way, and it quickly becomes evident that it's not a good idea to be the last to arrive at a checkpoint. When the last-place finisher at Checkpoint No. 1 rolls up, Mr. Bright is there to break the bad news.
"You have earned a penalty," he deadpans, pulling out a gun.
The series, which was created by Tim Minear, executive producer of cult favorites Firefly and Wonderfalls, kicks off with a two-hour premiere Sunday at 8 p.m., followed by another episode at the show's regular 8 p.m. slot on Monday.
As might be expected, the pilot episode includes plenty of racing scenes, in which competitors' vehicles weave in and out of traffic and occasionally bash into each other. The race sequences are nothing short of amazing, with the camera's perspective shifting seamlessly from the open road to the interior of a fast-moving vehicle, then sliding out a side window and into another vehicle.
In a conference call with TV critics, Minear explained that the impressive driving footage was created through a combination of stunt drivers and digital special effects. "We're taking our … live action cars out onto highway and such and shooting the logistical interplay between the actual vehicles," he said. "And then … we are going onto green-screen stages [where a background is electronically inserted behind the actors]."
Helping to bring such big-screen production values to television is the same special-effects studio that created the racing scenes in the Will Ferrell movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Fox is taking something of a risk with Drive. It's another one of those "serialized" dramas - ones in which a season-long story thread evolves from one episode to the next, rather than wrapping things up neatly at the end of each weekly installment. Viewers must make a commitment to shows like this; if they miss an episode or two, their interest in the series is likely to vanish.
Serialized dramas have had mixed results. Some, like 24, Lost, and Prison Break, have done very well, leading to a whole batch of new ones. In fact, one of the current season's best new series, Heroes, is a serialized drama, but then again, so were also-rans like Heist, Smith, and Kidnapped.
Minear professes not to be worried about viewers tuning in and out, comparing his new series to, of all things, The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
"You could tune into any episode of that show and you would understand what the relationships were in her home life or at her office," he said, "and you didn't need to see previous episodes to really understand how those dynamics worked.
"And I always try to do that, no matter what show it is I'm writing."
Based on its debut episode, Drive is a bit confusing, with a large cast of characters and a lot of unanswered questions. But it's also quite a thrill ride, a tire-squealing, fender-bending mix of The Amazing Race (but without Rob and Amber) The Cannonball Run (but without Burt Reynolds), and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (but without Spencer Tracy or Sid Caesar).
But there's a much more sinister side to the whole thing, too, with desperate contestants willing to do whatever they have to in order to beat out their competition.
At this point, at least, it seems to be worth going along for the ride.
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