As cop dramas flood the TV landscape, less innovative ideas come out. The format that most writers go with is that of a super-cool team of good-looking plain clothes cops who go about town chasing the bad guys. Think NCIS, Blue Bloods and Hawaii Five-O.
In the cop teams there is usually a place for every member – the big, muscular guy, the hot chick every-one crushes on, the tech nerd and the chief of staff.
If you are tired of this trend then Legends is for you, the new crime drama premiering on Fox Crime tonight. Starring Sean Bean, the show is set around the affairs of FBI undercover personnel.
Bean stars as Martin Odum, a deep undercover cop attached to the FBI’s Deep Cover Operations (DCO). While he is an asset to the bureau, Odum is equally a liability to them, thanks to his troubled past.
The series is based on the book Legends: A Novel of Dissimulation by Robert Littell and sees Odum trying to solve cases that come to team.
In each episode we see Odum convincingly turn himself into someone else for the purposes of his undercover operation. Of interest is the fact that he is so good at impersonating criminals, sometimes he doesn’t know how to get out of character, making things uncomfortable for the rest of the team.
While that will have you looking forward to every episode, what will keep you addicted is the elaborate story behind Odum’s life before joining the FBI. With each case he solves, he learns that there is a lot about his past that he doesn’t know. Clues surface with each case and even some of the people he works with are in the know regarding who he really is, yet they are not at liberty to disclose this to him.
In his mind Odum, is a vet from the Iraqi war, but the facts prove otherwise. His shattered memory, thanks to a so-called car accident, makes it hard for him to recall his real identity.
It’s obvious the writers keep the answer to the question of whether he or those around him are correct to grow the story. Given that Legends has been commissioned for a second season, the plan worked.
If you are not a Bean fan then you might like the fact that Ali Larter is also part of the cast. Larter plays Crystal McGuire, an old flame of Odum’s who is also a colleague and his voice of reason.
If that does not impress you, then perhaps the inclusion of Morris Chestnut will. After a dismal run of the V TV series, Chestnut gets to save face on Legends. He plays Tony Rice, Odum’s unlikely partner who is a by-the-book cop. It is refreshing to see Chestnut play some-thing else other than the chick magnet roles we are accustomed to.
From a technical point of view, it is understandable why the show is of a high calibre because at the helm of it are executive producers Howard Gordon, who also produced Homeland and 24, Alex Cary (Homeland and Lie to Me) and Jonathan Levin (Charmed). This is a team that knows how to cultivate a TV series. Their signature cliffhangers are the show’s biggest strength and will be for a long time.
l Tune into Fox Crime (Dstv channel 126 and StarSat channel 132) tonight at 8.30pm.
THE MANY FACES OF SEAN BEAN
In the acting business, Sean Bean, like his character in Legends, is apparently known as an actor with the rare ability of snapping in and out of character instantaneously. As such, he’s been cast in a variety of roles over the years. Below are some of the roles in which we have seen him excel.
Boromir in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003): Bean portrayed an honourable character who believed in the might of his kingdom. It is here when Bean was said to easily flip from character to reality and vice-versa.
Odysseus in Troy (2004): Given that this project had Brad Pitt and Eric Bana in the lead roles, it was possible to miss Bean. Yet, the man rose to the occasion in the way he portrayed Odysseus.
Captain Marcus Rich in Flightplan (2005): Although not as charismatic as Denzel Washington, Captain Marcus Rich was a believable character. Here Bean is all cleaned up and appears comfortable in the pilot uniform and with aviation terminology.
John Ryder in The Hitcher (2007): While this was not his best movie, it showed Bean’s acting range. In this thriller, a hitch-hiker called John Ryder has fun killing people on a busy highway. The constant frown on Bean’s face helped him play a convincing serial killer.
For a man who has been acting since 1983, Bean has had enough time to prepare for the role of Martin Odum, making Legends a must-see this year.