A quick review of tonight’s “Under the Dome” – most likely my last on the subject – coming up just as soon as I know about the Sherman Anti-Trust Act…
Yup, I think we’ve reached That’s It For Me! territory with this show. Episode 2 was a big misstep, but one the show could have recovered from. “Manhunt,” though, continued all the stupid things from last week and added more. There’s absolutely zero urgency from any of these people to figure out how they’re going to survive inside this thing with limited supplies of food and water. There’s barely any urgency about finding ways out, for that matter, except from characters who are crazy and/or chained underground in a bomb shelter. The dome seemingly makes people crazy – which thus far is just an excuse for contrived, clumsy melodrama designed to distract both the citizens and the audience from the actual problems created by the dome – so I suppose it’s possible it’s also pacified everyone into a “Don’t worry, be happy, crack a joke about the dwindling bacon supply” attitude, but there’s been no suggestion that’s the case. The characters are either bland (Deputy Linda, Julia, Joe), cartoonishly evil (Junior, this new jerk Carter) or played by an actor who deserves much, much better material (Big Jim).
Once upon a time, I might be more forgiving of a summer series, but there are too many things piled up on my list of shows I’d like to catch up on to bother with more of this. If the show magically improves three episodes from now, send up a flare, but I’m not waiting for it – especially since the strong ratings are going to disincentivize CBS and the creative team from thinking anything needs fixing.
What did everybody else think?