5/13/15

Should We Go to Wayward Pines?

Tomorrow night (May 14th) on Fox you can see M. Night Shyamalan's Wayward Pines.  Okay, it is not really his story and it is not clear if he directs more than the pilot episode, but his name is attached to the show, be it a good or bad thing given his past performance. And in a time of TV pilots popping up like dandelions on an ignored lawn, you need a hook. Mr. Shyamalan is that if nothing else.

Fox has put together this summary of the shows:

Imagine the perfect American town, beautiful homes, manicured lawns, children playing safely in the streets...Now imagine never being able to leave. You have no communication with the outside world. You think you’re going insane. You must be in Wayward Pines.

Based on Blake Crouch's international bestselling series of books and brought to life by suspenseful storyteller M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense,” “Signs”), WAYWARD PINES is the 10-episode, intense psychological thriller evocative of the classic hit “Twin Peaks.”

Secret Service Agent ETHAN BURKE (Academy Award nominee Matt Dillon, “Crash,” “City of Ghosts”) drives to the bucolic town of Wayward Pines, ID, searching for two missing federal agents. One of the best Secret Service agents in the Seattle office, he’s the man who knew missing agent KATE HEWSON (Carla Gugino, “Watchmen,” “Entourage”) better than anyone. They were more than partners; their relationship nearly destroyed Ethan’s marriage.

Everything changes when a truck slams into his car…and he wakes up in the Wayward Pines Hospital, with the intense and unpredictable NURSE PAM (Academy Award and Emmy Award winner Melissa Leo, “The Fighter,” “Treme”) at his bedside. It soon appears that Pam is more interested in harming than healing. She and Ethan grow into deadly rivals, and her role in the town proves much deeper than anyone realizes.

Among the other residents Ethan meets are the mysterious DR. JENKINS (Emmy Award nominee Toby Jones, “The Girl,” the “Harry Potter” franchise), the psychiatrist who treats him at Wayward Pines Hospital;  toymaker HAROLD BALLINGER (Reed Diamond, “24,” “Much Ado About Nothing”); BEVERLY (Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee Juliette Lewis, “Hysterical Blindness,” “Cape Fear”), a bartender who is as wary of Wayward Pines as he is; and SHERIFF ARNOLD POPE (Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard, “Crash,” “Hustle & Flow”), who takes offense at a Secret Service agent showing up on his turf.

Meanwhile, Ethan’s boss, ADAM HASSLER (Tim Griffin, “Prime Suspect”), attempts to update Ethan’s wife, THERESA BURKE (Shannyn Sossamon, “40 Days and 40 Nights,” “How to Make It in America”) with the latest news. After arriving in Wayward Pines, Theresa and Ethan enroll their teenage son, BEN (Charlie Tahan, “Charlie St. Cloud”), in the town’s only school, where his teacher, MEGAN FISHER (guest star Hope Davis “Allegiance,” “In Treatment”), provides key information about the town’s origins. But Ethan’s continuing investigation only turns up more and more questions, and each one leads him to the most important question of all: What’s wrong with Wayward Pines?

I guess my question is: What's unique about Wayward Pines?  Can't leave town? I saw that recently in Under the Dome and Once Upon a Time.  A Federal agent seems to be caught in a weird town? I saw that in Haven? And that is just the top of the list. The only thing I haven't seen is Matt Dillon in a TV series, and the pull of Matt may counteract the push of Mr. Shyamalan. I will give it a try, yet I have a feeling the Dillon dude is selling déjà vu.

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