Dave’s 3-Word Review:
Something actually original?
When I was looking into the Fall Lineup for 2015 TV, I ran into a ton of TV shows that I added to my watch list purely for the title alone, and Quantico was one of them. I never saw a poster and never read a plot analysis…for some reason the only thing that popped in my head when reading the title was quarantine and that the show was going to be about some kind of nasty outbreak…its not, and I’m actually glad because we already have a lot of those anyway. No, this is a pretty unique show, which really shocks me, but at the same time, it does fall victim to some of ABC’s typical drama structures – flashbacks…or is it flashforwards?
Quantico refers to a training school for the FBI…it acts as a specialist college where people get to learn how to be FBI and how to operate in sticky situations. Don’t get fooled, it’s just the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Anyway, it holds an elite and might I say diverse team of students ready for action. The show then skips forward to show us a major terrorist attack that one of the main characters finds themselves smack dab in the middle of – being framed for the actual attack. All we have to go off of is that someone in her FBI class was the one responsible…but we don’t know who.
Final Verdict: Watch It.
Explanation: This show is fun and especially unique. I’ve never seen a show like this before in general, and I have never seen the FBI portrayed like this on TV either…it’s always the same thing with the FBI…this is new and I welcome it. It also does a really good job at being true to diversity. Whether that means race, religion, or orientation…it’s around the map in this show…which really helps it create that level of mystery that works so well. Every character could be guilty, as I’m sure it probably set out for from the start. A few other shows are good at playing that entire “clue” suspects game. Scream comes to mind. I remember them saying something about each character had to play out the scene twice, once normally and once as the killer – I’d bet they are doing something similar here as well.
Like I said though, it does fall victim to some of ABC’s age-old TV structures and takes specific insistance on making flashbacks or flashforwards a part of the plot. Made famous probably in LOST and expanded in FlashForward, How to Get Away with Murder, and now Quantico. I get it, ABC…they are a good tool in making something interesting, but you know what else would make it interesting? Not using that tool once in a while. Another probably I could see this show having is the other problem ABC sometimes has – making things turn a little sour with that certain soap opera feel. If they do that, I’ll be pretty disappointed. The show started off with a bang, and I hope they can keep that same consistency.
So yeah, if you can check this show out, I’d at least say you should give it a shot. At the bare minimum it’s a new tv show about the FBI that’s not a procedural cop drama, has a seasonal arc, and is all-around…original and exciting. That’s worth a watch, don’t you think? Tell me what you think below!
Dave Examines TV 