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Talk Back: USA's Covert Affairs Series Premiere

While I reviewed the 90-minute pilot for USA's newest series, Covert Affairs, yesterday, now that the series premiere has aired, I'm curious to hear what you thought of it.

What did you think of Piper Perabo and Chris Gorham? Was Anne Dudek sadly wasted in her role as Annie's clueless older sister? Did you like the relationship between the married spies played by Peter Gallagher and Kari Matchett? Did the series strike you as a tad bit too much like Alias, only without the Rambaldi devices and Jennifer Garner? (Though Perabo clearly seemed to be channeling Garner's Sydney Bristow here.)

What did you think of Covert Affairs' combination of kick-ass action and playful humor? Did you buy Auggie's role within the agency? Did you think that the set-up Danielle arranged for Annie was way too unbelievable? Was it ever even plausible that Annie was yanked from the Farm strictly for her linguistic skills?

And, most importantly, will you tune in again next week?

Talk back here.

Next week on Covert Affairs ("Walter's Walk"), Annie is forced to work on low-key cases until she is tipped off about a clandestine IRA cell operating within the US.

Comments

My cable box cut out about 15 minutes into the show, and I'm not really that upset about it. I might try to catch this online or on demand. It was okay, but I suspect I needed to see more of it make a judgement.
Anonymous said…
It was OK. Not great but not terrible. Seemed like they wanted to ripoff ALIAS though.
Mazza said…
I won't be watching again. I thought it was painful. Piper Perabo was so obviously trying to imitate jennifer Garner and she failed.

No thanks, USA! I'll stick with Psych and White Collar.
Harrison said…
So far, White Collar is the only USA show that I've been able to stomach (and it's more for the banter between Neal and Peter than for interesting stories or top notch writing).

Covert Affairs was bland and slightly ridiculous. Sure, Alias got ridiculous at the end but at least it got off to a much better start! And I'll take Jennifer Garner over Piper Perabo any day!
Jen said…
Having never watched Alias, I enjoyed it thoroughly without any of the baggage of comparing the show with a previous iteration.

I though Piper Perabo was fun and extremely capable and likable. The supporting cast enjoyable, especially Christopher Gorham, who I've enjoyed in pretty much everything (even Harper's Island). It's a fun series of the type that USA does very well.

My only query: Are there any female writers on the staff? Because I noticed a few lines that any woman would have immediately corrected as inaccurate (i.e. Auggie saying Annie was wearing kitten heels when those Loubs were clearly stilettos)
Page48 said…
@Jen, I thought CA was pretty enjoyable (and hope it gets better with age), but do yourself the ultimate favour and rent, buy or steal "Alias" (and whatever you do, DO NOT wait for it to come out on Blu-Ray because I suspect you will be old and drooling on your nightie by the time that happens)

While CA might do until the next "Alias" comes along, it really stacks up against "Alias" the way black and white TV stacks up against colour.
Summer said…
I thought Covert Affairs was disappointing. I was prepared not to love it, but they honestly gave us no backstory or setup and no reason for that. Annie and Auggie were fine, and I think they will improve, but Matchett and Gallagher as the husband/wife team leaders for the DPD was just wasted time. I like the brief insight into why Annie was plucked from training for this mission (hint: not just language skills but an ex!), and I thought the action scenes and Annie's tenacity to get the data she got, lost, and then had to creatively reaquire were awesome.

In short, it felt like a James Cameron book. You like it, you get hooked and read it in one setting, then 30 minutes later you can't remember many specifics (like Chinese food). I will definitely give it another try but was not wowed. My advice to the show - dump Matchett QUICKLY! Gallagher will be stronger without her and so will the show.
Unknown said…
I really disliked Alias (HATED the Rambaldi stuff) and enjoyed the pilot of CA much more. I understand why some people are having trouble not comparing the two though--I was never able to see Alias as anything more than a subpar La Femme Nikita ripoff.
Unknown said…
Yes, Alias had more in common with La Femme Nikita. I don't think Covert Affairs is trying to emulate Alias at all. As Jace said, CA is a frothy dramedy that USA does well.

My (limited) understanding of the FBI and CIA is that they desperately need linguistic experts, especially in the Middle Eastern areas. Of course, dropping Annie into the field immediately seems unlikely.

I also liked that CA made Auggie blind. I know nothing about the real-life efficacy of blind people in a highly-technical environment, but I like the idea of a TV show representing a blind person as eminently capable in that area.

If one wants to pick nits though, it's far more unbelievable that CA's CIA would be operating in the United States--something that's strictly forbidden. (And, despite the claims of crackpot conspiracy theorists, they don't.)

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