Fall Preview: Life (NBC)

What is it about?
Life introduces us to detective Charlie Crews and the painful cobwebs of his imprisonment as he re-enters a world that's moved on without him. His appreciation for the details offers him up an unique insights into crime solving, and also reminds us of all the little things we take for granted.

Who's in it?
Damian Lewis, Sarah Shahi, Brooke Langton, Robin Weigert

What's good?
I don't know how to say this. I'm just gonna let it out. "Life" might be the first crime show I really like. It has everything it needs. A good lead, Sarah Shahi and Robin Weigert. What more can you want? The chemistry between Charlie and his partner was pretty good and the dialogues were funny. Also the camera work in the pilot episode was quite impressive and I like the style of the show. "Life" also isn't a typical procedural, because it looks like it is going to deal with Charlie's past and the circumstances that led to his imprisonment. So, there are definitely some serial elements mixed with the crime stuff.

What's bad?
Sometime they overdid the jokes. I mean, I got that Charlie is supposed to be a funny guy and I think we all know that he was in prison for the last couple of years and that he is not familiar with modern technology, but we don't need that to be thrown in our faces every couple of minutes. I almost got the feeling that the writers thought I was stupid and they wanted to remind me of that. Additionally, there was too little Robin Weigert for my taste. The woman is a hell of an actress and they should have made use of her. Instead she only got one little scene. I hope her screentime will increase considerably during the next few episodes.

What's the bottom line?
As much as I liked Life, I don't think the show will last that long. It has a murderous time slot and isn't really what I would call a crowd puller. Sure, crime shows proved to be a very successful format in the last couple of years, but there are always exceptions. And unfortunately, I think "Life" is one of them.