Minority Report: Episode 2 – Mr. Nice Guy

I’m no pre-cog but after watching the 2nd Episode of the Fox-TV series Minority Report, I can clearly see the demise of the show.

Basically it is set up as a two character crime solving/crime prevention team. Dash is never happy with his lot, and Lara Vega is always pushing him off to the side. Of course there are other characters like the police techie, Akeela, who waves her hands and images appear, and the insufferable Lt. Blake, played by Wilmer Valderrama, who is constantly one-upping Vega and at the same time he’s obviously trying to spark, or is it re-spark some interest from Vega.

On Dash’s side of the street we have his brother Arthur and who can be described as simply oozing slickness. For him there’s a price that he wants in order to help. As he says – I no longer work for free.

Arthur & Agatha

Then toss in the sister Agatha – who we have no clue about. Some times she’s not even real – which we discover when Dash is talking to her and suddenly we see that she’s just a hologram.

This week’s crime was the future murder of girl who would be picked up in a new high-tech disco. Once upon a time, places like these were called meat markets. Here, you hand over a bit of DNA by licking a card, which is then run through a machine, and in seconds a bracelet pops out. Sort of a mood ring type of gizmo designed and built to target a hookup candidate.

So after the techies waved their hands and got some visual clues – I had trouble throughout trying to decifer what it was they were seeing, but the solid clue was a pair ruby-red slippers, sorry that’s not correct. Silver was the color – you now the kind of ladies platform shoes that elevate the woman wearing them a full three inches. Arthur was called upon by Lara to divulge the name.

So they had the name and they knew the place – but they just had no clue about the identity of the killer. Somehow a likely candidate was brought into play. A sleaze-bag, and arrogant writer of how to pickup women books. There’s your set up.

This show has shoe-horned itself into such a narrow corner. Vega is sexy and wears revealing clothes but she has little to no chemistry with Dash. Dash lacks style, wit, charm and charisma. He’s closer to being a tall nerd than anything else. And beyond that he seems to be borderline depressed most of the time. Arthur has his own agenda. As does the mysterious Agatha.

Personally I think the show grinds to a halt every time Lt. Blake appears. Valderrama does a fine job of making us dislike the character, but what is his value in the story? He does nothing to solve crimes, and he takes credit for the work that other people do. He is simply a negative presence.

I think this show has begun an irreversible downward spiral. Unfortunately for us, as American television goes, in the main, they’re all in for a format which I’ll call crime of the week with a new villain or suspect and victims regularly.

Watching Akeela wave her hands, Lt. Blake strut around, and Dash cringing or delivering cries of wanting to do more, are not going to keep this show off life-support. Meagan Good as Lara Vega is certainly attractive , but she can’t do much within this format.

I think seven episodes being aired is the outside limit. This show simply can’t command your attention any longer than that. So I don’t see this being picked up for early 2016 which as you know, is TV’s second season.