"Drive"

[prisonermonkeys]

Well, I know this series hasn't started yet - it's still eleven days away in America - and there's no word as to whether it will be picked up here in Australia, but I don't care. The series' premise appeals to me not just as a person, but as a car fanatic, and with Tim Minear behind the wheel (geddit?) as producer, it looks to be shaping up well. The plot goes something like this ...

There is an urban legend of an illegal cross-country road race. The prize: thirty-two million dollars. Sometimes people die during it. Other times they die because of it. But this isn't like The Fast and the Furious. Every contestant has a reason for being in the race, and not all of them are in it of their own free will. As an added twist, none of the contestants know who they are racing against.

So it definately has potential as well as some great actors, including Nathan Fillion of Firefly/Serenity fame, Dylan Baker from the upcoming Spiderman 3 and Kristin Lehman from Prison Break and The Chronicles of Riddick.

Thoughts?

 

[FoolKiller]

Didn't Tim Minear also do some work on Firefly?

Anyway, I saw this first advertised back around November/December and saw Nathan Fillion in the ad. I immediately marked it on my calendar.

My fear is that Fox has a habit of killing good shows, one starring Nathan Fillion comes to mind, and with this one starting in April I fear it is getting set up. The question is, will I see the pilot first, or will it be the last episode they air before they cancel the show <cough> Firefly <cough>?

 

[prisonermonkeys]

The more challenging question is "Is it worth watching?"

 

[V1P3R]

Only reason I'm checking this show out is it has Nathon and it's about cars but coming from FOX I don't expect too much. I missed the premere unfortunately but I found it on bitorrent. I heart bittorent.

Didn't Tim Minear also do some work on Firefly?

Yep

 

[a6m5]

I caught some of the first hour, then most of the second hour, last night. I thought it was OK. Did I miss another episode tonight?

 

[FoolKiller]

Well, I missed the premiere Sunday and then Monday night I was kind of confused about the stories and characters and ended up falling asleep.

Monday Fox's online streaming feed wasn't working. Hopefully it will be fine tonight and I can catch up.

 

[FoolKiller]

This will be spoilerish

OK, I watched all three hours on their MySpace page last night. Fox has the worst of the online viewing systems, by the way. Everyone else lets me do fullscreen HD while Fox's was only maybe a total of half of my screen's surface area at 1280x1024.

Poor online service aside, I really like this show. I'll admit it took a while for it to get into its stride as we met characters, but at least a lot of it was while they were driving instead of pre-race.

Nathan Fillion's character, Alex Tully, is definitely my favorite character. Tim Minear must have played a role in this casting because it is almost like this is what I would imagine Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly) would be like if he lived on Earth today. He obviously has a past, is loyal to those who give him good reason, isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers, and only kills when it is necessary.

I think the character will become much more interesting now that he is out of his old Ford pick-up and in his 77 Challenger, which he really knows how to drive. The little smile that began to form as he blasted past everyone else was perfect.

Now, the question is: who is running this race and what happens to the people they have taken if the racer loses/dies? Corinna wasn't killed, so would Alex's best chance of saving his wife be dying in the race? After seeing him drive the Challenger I think his best chance is winning, but it was just a thought.

And did anyone else notice that the actor for the transgender character, Susan Chamblee, is not listed in the opening credits (Michael Hyatt)? Are they hoping to make that a shocking revelation later on or avoiding creating buzz and controversy? At the shuttle launch I thought it seemed that she and her friend (Leigh) were out of the race, but the actress that plays Leigh is still listed in the opening credits of the next episode.

 

[V1P3R]

probably spoils, but who cares...

oh god.. This is like Bullrun but the only difference is they don't have as exotic cars but the characters can probably drive their ****tyer cars better than the people in Bullrun ever could. A brand new mom gives birth and then proceeds to take it on this race??? Give me a ****ing break. :sigh: Why do they always rip off original ideas but make them tastesless? I couldn't even finish the first episode.

 

[Solid Fro]

That Challenger he is driving is sex on wheels.

 

[FoolKiller]

And did anyone else notice that the actor for the transgender character, Susan Chamblee, is not listed in the opening credits (Michael Hyatt)? Are they hoping to make that a shocking revelation later on or avoiding creating buzz and controversy? At the shuttle launch I thought it seemed that she and her friend (Leigh) were out of the race, but the actress that plays Leigh is still listed in the opening credits of the next episode.

Well, that question is answered.

oh god.. This is like Bullrun but the only difference is they don't have as exotic cars but the characters can probably drive their ****tyer cars better than the people in Bullrun ever could.

Bullrun? You must mean Cannonball Run, since that is what Bullrun is ripping off. And from what I have seen in both of those, neither had people getting killed, shooting each other's tires out, or having family members taken hostage as an incentive to race.

Wait, are you talking about the actual Bullrun race or that horrid reality TV show on Spike? Either way, it's a ripoff of Cannoball Run, right down to the exotics. At least Drive has normal-ish people in everyday cars (think mini-van).

A brand new mom gives birth and then proceeds to take it on this race??? Give me a ****ing break. :sigh:

Sounds like someone should have finished the first episode. The kid isn't with her. And when you do see the kid, he looks a bit older than newborn. I think the birth scene was to set up her plotline of the abussive husband.

Why do they always rip off original ideas but make them tastesless?

Dunno, ask the Bullrun guys. In all honesty, the idea of an illegal cross-country race hasn't been original since the 60s. That doesn't make the idea any less fun. Really, how do you know they didn't think of a cross-country race idea, THEN realize it will look like it was a ripoff, and try to make it different from all the others with a secretive Kaiser Soze like criminal syndicate and life or death odds?

That Challenger he is driving is sex on wheels.

Definitely. I normally don't like Challengers, but they never look that sweet either. How come TV/movie cars always look ten times better than any real-life counterpart?

 

[DaveS1138]

Well.... I was really starting to enjoy this show. I have been a fan of Nathan Fillion since Firefly but Fox have just cancelled Drive after only showing 4 episodes.

Looks like if its not some reality TV crap than fox just dont want to show it

 

[TopHat]

They cancel it because it ONLY had 6 million viewers..... Way to go FOX, king of the crappy reality TV shows like "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader" and "American Idol" feh.

 

[Dave A]

Why don't the guys who make these series like Firefly, series that are actually good, not just pitch them to a different network, since all I ever here is "Fox cancelled this good show, and that one". If thats the case, then why are producers pitching good ideas to Fox. I haven't seen any of Drive, but I have seen Firefly and that was good entertainment imo, and I know it has quie a fan base even after just that single short series it did. I see no sense in what Fox do to shows. From what I've heared, it would seem that 24 is pretty much the exception to the rule, because Fox never cancelled that and 24's very good. Though they didn't let the TV series of LA Confidential get beyond the pilot, which I haven't seen, but I've heared the pilot was good too. Though if that went ahead, 24 probably would never have happened, at least not with Keifer in it.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

The problem with re-making "Firefly" is that while FOX cancelled it, they still own the rights to it. If any more episodes were made in the 'Verse, FOX would be the one to braodcast them, something which they're not going to do any time soon. The creators tried to convince UPN to buy the rights from FOX in much the same way they did with Buffy and then authorise more episodes to be made. Buffy succeeded because it was a long-running series, yet "Firefly" had only made 14 episodes so to take it would be a huge risk. One possible solution that was talked about would be to either produce episodes in a DVD format and send them directly to fans who sign up for it, or to create a series of telemovies that circumvent FOX's licence. However, I'm not sure how it would work, given the events of Serenity (though knowing Joss Whedon, he's bound to come up wth something).

I guess the same would apply for "Drive". FOX might have booted it, but they still have the licence for it.

 

[FoolKiller]

Well, that was fun while it lasted. Honestly, Tim Minear and Nathan Fillion need to quit working with Fox. I had very little hope when I saw the show was starting in late April. That doesn't even count as a mid-season replacement. I did think it would get more than two weeks though.

As for how Firefly could go on after events in Serenity; Serenity is obviously a good amount of time after the final Firefly episode. Any continuation of Firefly would likely be between the final episode and Serenity. That's assuming that is how Joss Whedon would want to do it. If he wanted to pick up right after Serenity it could be done, but something would definitely be missing.

Drive won't have the Firefly effect mainly because it was killed too soon.

On the bright side, we now have House three nights a week. I don't watch it but for those who do.... If you are showing reruns of one show twice a week and funding your network on one massively popular reality show and one popular suspense/drama is that really a good thing? Well, I guess The Simpsons help a good deal as well.

What kills me is that this is the network that gave both Family Guy and American Dad a second chance.

 

[V1P3R]

What kills me is that this is the network that gave both Family Guy and American Dad a second chance.

With the new seasons of South Park... I don't even bother with fox.