NBC has been going out of its way to try and promote its newest fantasy/mystery/cop drama, Grimm. After seven episodes (all of which I've seen), I think I'm in a pretty decent position to render judgment on this undoubtedly unique show. So what do I think? Well, I'm still on the fence to be honest.
It's usually pretty evident when a show is good or bad at the outset. After watching the pilot, I was hopeful that I would warm up to the characters. The current situation presents a mixed bag of sorts, with many elements both good and bad. Let us carry out a dissection of sorts, shall we?
THE CAST
Call me old fashioned, but if a show has any hope of making it big on primetime TV, the main character needs to be likeable, and he should have a freakin' personality! Nick Burkhardt possesses neither of those qualities. David Giuntoli is wooden and completely unremarkable as the supposedly scary hunter of supernatural forces. If Grimm (the show) is going to brave the tide, we need to connect with the characters, and at the moment, I don't give a rat's ass if Nick Burkhardt gets mauled by a Jagerbar (that's Grimm speak for bear).
On the other end of the spectrum, let's talk about Monroe, the friendliest Blutbad (apparently call Wieder Blutbads because of their abstinence from eating humans, as opposed to normal Blutbads, who eat humans), in Portland, played by the talented Silas Weir Mitchell. The SOLE reason I tune in every week is to see if Monroe would get more screen time. His dialogue is sharp and witty in stark contrast to Nick, who could be speaking Croatian and it wouldn't make a difference.
A special mention for Sasha Roiz as Captain Renard. Having seen him in a wide variety of shows, it's good to finally see him cast as a regular character in this one. I know he was in Caprica, but I've never seen it, so there.
THE PREMISE
The idea is actually a unique one. With the fantasy genre having a rebirth of sorts, clubbing The Brothers Grimms' Fairy Tales with the modern day criminal procedural is a brilliant idea. But all brilliant ideas have to be implemented properly, and that's where this show is yet to score.
Bear with me on this. If Grimms are the alleged scourges of the supernatural world, shouldn't you expect them to have special abilities beyond just spotting the ugly mug of a well concealed monster? So Nick is basically a grown up Haley Joel Osment who can spot monsters instead of dead people. Remember the pilot where Nick's aunt had crazy wicked jujitsu moves?? Nick got his ass handed to him by a female Blutbad last week. Not very interesting to watch, folks.
The reason why shows like Supernatural (hell yeah!) have such a die hard fan base (myself included) is because the cast is brilliant, the stories are engaging and the entire package just works. I know we've only seen seven episodes, but I honestly don't see Grimm achieving cult status or even remotely heading in a similar direction. Not unless a few changes are made. The stories are interesting without a doubt, but a connection between the viewers and the characters needs to be established. And that hasn't happened yet.
Tidbits
- Clear something up for me. Is Wu (Reggie Lee) a sergeant or an officer?? The detectives called him Sgt. Wu in a previous episode (which makes him their superior), but he became Officer Wu in episode 7 (which makes him a rank below them). Either Wu got demoted big time or I'm missing something.
- Nick Burkhardt has done nothing remarkable or Grimm-like since he found out he was a Grimm. Chop off a few monster heads, dude. Do something to make me root for you!!
- Hey what did happen to Haley Joel Osment??
- Credit where credit is due. Love the monster faces. Check out the picture above!
Dexter and Hell On Wheels are on tomorrow night. 2011 should end with a bang. Right?
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