Drive

“Everything has meaning. There are no accidents.” — Susan Chamblee

Up to the halfway point of the episode, I was originally going to complain that the episode wasn’t living up to the standards of the previous ones. Boy, was I wrong. The first half was exposition that set up major events to come in this and future episodes. Where to begin? How about the Jump Start? I couldn’t understand why everyone had no idea where they were going based on the clues considering that the location was shown on the map in the film. Of course, rewatching that scene revealed something that I missed the first time — rather than representing their actual location (considering they were in Georgia and the map was of Colorado), it was just an example of how the Jump Start works. My concern here is that if it confused me (because I wasn’t paying attention), what about how it would affect the casual viewer who tunes in? Then again, I’m not the brightest bulb in the box, heh. Anyway, I hope we get to see more of these types of variations in the future. (FYI: the Jump Start seems to be loosely borrowed from The Amazing Race’s Fast Forward clue, except with less crime involved.)

I do like how Tully was singled out as the driver that would receive the chance to jump ahead. I recall posters commenting on how Tully’s last leg didn’t seem as impressive because there were other drivers already at the drive-in theater leg. Mr. Smith states that the Jump Start will be awarded to the person with the “most improved overall ranking” — that person being Tully. Apparently, Tully and the Tully-mobile (did anyone settle on a name yet?) did indeed jump farther ahead than any of us had realized.

There was also some debate about whether Tully had a criminal past. As it turns out, it is revealed that he was the driver in past bank holdups. Kathryn was the one who changed Tully, which helps explain why he is so very desperate to get her back (besides the fact that she is his wife). If Tully wins The Race, I hope that he doesn’t end up reverting to his old ways because of all the various things the Consortium is making him do. Maybe this is another way the various members of the organization influence The Race, which brings me to…

Susan and Leigh just can’t win, even with a confirmation from Above that “you will win The Race, Leigh.” Their partner, Ivy, jumped ship (car) and shot out their tires; the garage had no replacement tires; the Preston’s drive-through screwed up their order (another Preston’s reference), and more. They end up coming into last place at the drive-in theater, only to be informed by Mr. Smith that they were eliminated. When they picked up Rob and Ellie’s phone from the side of the road, I couldn’t believe that it would be that easy to get back into The Race. Leigh even says, “They are going to take this (phone) away, too,” and how right she was. Obviously, that accident was caused by the Consortium, but my question is simply: “Why?” Was it because they took the phone? Are all “eliminated” contestants killed off, or some other reason? Maybe the only characters killed off are those not in the opening credits. If so, then John Trimble’s days are numbered. I did enjoy the hit-and-run accident. OK, that didn’t sound right. I mean, I enjoyed the way the scene played out. Although not as impressive as Corinna’s parents' crash, it had its moments. Some of the visual effects were not as effective as I would have liked.
Before we found out that Sean was shot, I thought it would have been ironic if the security guard’s gun discharging would have hit someone. Sean is in the opening credits, so no worries to any Sean fans out there.

Wendy’s child is in a safe house, but I’m still a little hazy on the details. There appear to be many children in the house and although the caretaker, played by Cindy Williams, informs Wendy that she cannot keep her son there anymore because of possible people spying on the house, shouldn’t the caretaker be more concerned that the entire house’s occupants will be found out? To clarify my meaning, if Wendy is attempting to hide her son from her husband and then her husband locates what he thinks is the safe house, wouldn’t it be in the husband’s best interest to contact the authorities and shut it down?

What’s the deal with Rob’s commander dressed in camo, lounging on the edge of his desk (instead of behind it) when Rob is finally able to call in? Is that regulation garb when working in the office? We now know what is going on with Rob and his wife. I think that if he fully explained that his wife had deleted everything and that they are newlyweds, I think his superiors might be lenient. Then again, maybe not.

Browncoat alert: Tully’s Jump Start requires that he and his teammates rob a bank of a safety deposit box. This is not the first time that Nathan has had to rob a “vault,” the kicker being that the cell-phone message even states, “in the vault.” Am I reaching? Probably.

Vroom!

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“Truth is death…. You got to lie like your life depends on it.” — Violent Trimble to her father

Alex Tully: “Who are you?”
Officer Poole Impersonator: “No, that’s not the question. The question is, ‘Who are you?’”

After last night’s episode I seriously need to rethink what is going on in The Race and how the participants were selected. It appears that almost everyone in the episode is hiding some sort of secret, which only adds to my confusion….

Winston Salazar claims he was innocent of the crime he was put away for. Obviously he is going to say that to his brother with whom he is trying to bond, but is he serious? Even as the bounty hunter was driving away he was encouraging his brother to get to the next leg of The Race. He seemed pretty resigned to the fact that he was being taken away. I’m not quite sure what to make of him at this time, except to say that he likes women who drive fast cars and is easily tricked by said women and their cars. His car has a criminal ownership lineage? That’s interesting. What would be even more interesting is if the car was used in past races.

Rob and Ellie Laird’s relationship was fleshed out a bit more. As revealed from the previous episode, Ellie has been deleting the voicemails on Rob’s cell phone in regard to his being AWOL. After they had their argument on the side of the road and she told him the reason why she wanted to be in The Race, I kept wondering in the back of my mind if she was actually being serious or lying again to him. I’m sort of fuzzy on whether or not he is even aware that he is AWOL. The voicemails and their deletion make it appear as though he doesn’t realize it and yet the preview for future episodes made it sound like he does know. I’m confused! One would think that having someone on the run from the military (knowingly or not) would bring undue attention to The Race itself.

It was already revealed in the previous episode that John Trimble is terminal and is keeping that piece of information from his daughter, Violet. What is even more revealing is that he actually is a great liar. Any guesses as to what Violet and her friend, Sophie, did that night a year ago?

It would seem that Ivy is lying to herself as to her self-importance for being selected to be in the race, almost like Wendy is lying to herself about the infant car seat (and the toy baby doll from the previous episodes). Then again, maybe the car seat and toy are reminders as to why she is in the race in the first place. Why is that again? I bet that when Wendy firmly told Ivy about the car seat, Ivy was probably thinking, “Where is that gun?”

Mr. Alex Tully, the “landscaper from Nebraska,” seems to have a few secrets up his sleeve, doesn’t he? Who exactly is Alex Tully? What we knew before this episode aired was his current occupation, where he resides and that his wife was kidnapped by The Race organizers to coerce him into competing. What we discovered last night was that he was the getaway driver in a bank robbery and that his “first love” was a ’72 Dodge Challenger (side note: Yay! I did not imagine that picture of him standing in front of a car). How much of what the cop impersonator said about his past was actually true? The best part to me was the reveal of the fake interrogation room, which just unified the overall theme of the episode itself.

For my fellow Browncoats: after hearing Tully and the cop impersonator go back and forth about “the real Alex Tully,” how many were reminded of the Firefly episode “War Stories”?
— “The real Alex Tully never left his partners behind… and you don’t want to meet the real Alex Tully.”

Final thoughts:

It was a very pleasant surprise to see Richard Brooks back again. For some reason I thought he was just going to be in the pilot. It was also nice to have Katie Finneran join the cast. Zoic should be commended on the special effects work they have done so far. I especially enjoyed Tully’s race down the highway near the end of the episode. How many people screamed, “Noooo!” at their TV when the episode ended just as the film was about to begin? This is the second episode where the fictional restaurant chain, Preston’s, made an appearance.

I am not sure if this has been mentioned anywhere else, but the organization behind The Race seems to be called the “Consortium” (according to the Fox press info I’ve read through).

Based upon what happened to Tully in this episode, my theory is that the various members of the Consortium are in some way wagering among themselves over the outcome of the race. They were the ones who handpicked the contestants and are allowed to “help” the racers along in one manner or another (example: Tully’s Challenger). So, besides racing against the other drivers, they may also have to deal with ringers and sabotage from the Consortium itself. Sound good?

Side note: the answers to my questions in yesterday’s (4/15) blog are located on page 3 of the same day's blog thread.

Zoom zoom!

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"For as long as there have been cars, there has been 'The Race.'"
— Mr. Bright

Drive is the latest project from Tim Minear. Who exactly is Tim Minear? He was a coproducer and writer for Angel and Firefly. He also was the creative force behind the series Wonderfalls and The Inside. With the exception of Angel, all have aired on the Fox network and all were cancelled before their time. Cancelled? Sadly, yes. Yet, even though they were only broadcast for a short period of time, fan communities for his shows developed, later to be heartbroken over their cancellation.

So here we have Tim creating yet another show for the network that likes to cancel his series. Is Tim a glutton for punishment? Is this show even worth your time? How will it appeal to the fans of his other series?

At first I thought the concept behind Drive wouldn’t, well, drive — take The Gumball Rally and The Amazing Race, sprinkle some Deathrace 2000 and Season 7 into the mix and voila!

Huh?

This was the same reaction I had when I heard what the Firefly and Wonderfalls concepts would be (cowboys in space and talking wax animals). What are the creators of these shows smoking? Of course, much to my pleasant surprise, the two shows I mentioned turned out to be among the most original series on TV at the time. After watching the pilot, I have the same opinion about Drive.

Although there is an ensemble cast, the show seems to concentrate on Alex Tully, played by Nathan Fillion, who discovers that his wife has gone missing or has possibly been kidnapped. He receives a cryptic message on a cell phone to immediately head to Florida (he lives in Nebraska) in regards to his wife. Of course, he arrives late for the meeting, held in, of all places, a conference room in a hotel. As all the attendees file out, Tully confronts the speaker of the conference, Mr. Bright, and discovers the reason why he has driven all the way there: He has been selected to participate in an illegal, secret cross-country road race with the winning prize being $32 million. It’s also suggested that some (maybe all) participants may have special incentives for getting to the end: in this case, Tully finding his wife. From there the race is on, and the participants speed off.

What made the pilot interesting were the interactions between the various contestants and the reasons why they are in the race. Besides Tully’s, the story lines that stand out to me (so far) are the ones involving Corinna Wiles, the stowaway on Tully’s truck who is on the run from a thug working for the race organizers, and Wendy Patrakas, the quirky mother who just gave birth five days earlier and seems to be running from her husband. At the end of the first hour, I wasn’t too wrapped up in the plots involving the two Salazar brothers, the three Hurricane Katrina survivors (note: this fact isn’t exactly made clear in the first two hours), the AWOL Army dude and his girlfriend, or the father and daughter duo. Based on what happened in the second hour and what was shown in the preview for the next episode, it looks as if all of these story lines may intermingle throughout the series, helping with the character development.

At the end of the first hour, I was struggling with the concept of the “race” and how’s it’s officiated. A few examples: Wendy is released from jail by someone impersonating her husband and working for the race organizers; Corrina stole a flash drive with data about the race; and when Tully reaches the end of the first leg, he isn’t disqualified. By the end of the second hour, it did make more sense and yet there was just enough mystery surrounding it to keep me questioning.

Some lingering questions, ruminations and observations that I still have (in no particular order):

— The race organizers seem to have insiders everywhere, and I can imagine (based on the quote at the beginning) a weird, fictional, secret society (think Illuminati) actually runs the race. Instead of trying to take over the world (or whatever the secret society's goal), their real secret is to run this race ever since the concept of racing for competition was thought up. Heh.

— Where is Wendy’s baby? Did she hide it on purpose or do the race organizers kidnap it like Tully’s wife? What is the deal with her husband? Maybe she is hiding the baby from him? From her attempting to get away from the cop that pulled her over, to her being arrested and in the police station, Wendy is just adorable.

— I wasn’t quite sure if the race folks did actually kidnap Tully’s wife, Alex. She was seen leaving with a man, not in distress, but then again, there appeared to be a struggle in his house. At one point I thought that Corrina was the one responsible in some sort of plot twist. As it turns out, the race powers-that-be are behind the kidnapping. Tully must have been kicking himself for not realizing that Alex was in the freaking truck that he got a ride in.

— Penalties? Wendy got a nice surprise when she arrived in last place at the end of the first leg. One wonders what would have happened if she did, in fact, kill the other contestant. Also, in Corrina’s flashback, we discover that she was kidnapped and her parents were killed trying to win the race (sort of the same sitch that Tully is in). Does Tully have to actually win the race or just get to the finish line? Yes, the missing flyer Mr. Bright shows Tully has “win” printed on it. But is that just incentive to get him to participate?

— Not sure about anyone else, but when I heard the father reasoning out what the clue “Jupiter” meant, I could not help but think of Lost fans (myself included) trying to reason out all the hidden meanings within that show.

— Ugh! The rollover car crash and deaths of Corrina’s parents was probably one of the most vivid and original displays that I’ve witnessed on broadcast TV.

— Besides a picture of Tully and his wife, did anyone else see a picture of Tully posing in front of a race/sports car? A classic bit of Nathan (aka Captain Reynolds) humor when he attempts to steal the car and, after an impressive start, it breaks down. Hey! How to the heck do they keep their phones charged? Purists may cringe, but I loved the remixed version of The Doors' "Roadhouse Blues."

As you can see, I really loved the two-hour pilot and can’t wait to see the next episode. Thankfully we only have to wait one day. Hopefully, Tim Minear will be able to break with tradition and have a series that isn’t cancelled. Here’s hoping! Go break a leg, Tim. Errr. Go get a flat tire?

Some humorous dialogue spoken by Nathan Fillion, whose delivery is dead-on:
(Tully on the phone)
“Where the hell are you?”
“Uhh, I’m driving.”

(Tully, again on the phone and after his car gets bumped/rear-ended)
"'K, got to go. Kisses!"

“How do cheat in a game that has no rules?”
“I don’t know. I missed the orientation.”

Finally, Angel, Firefly, and Wondefalls fans have not been forgotten! Besides the creative talent working behind the scenes (example: the company, Zoic, is responsible for the special effects), the two-hour pilot had at least five appearances of former cast members from these series that I personally spotted. Here are the main ones: Nathan Fillion; Amy Acker; and Richard Brooks, the actor who played our favorite bounty hunter, Mr. Jubal Early (if you close your eyes, his dialogue sounded 100 percent like Early’s… in fact, his character’s name is Detective Ehrle). Can you list the other two actors and which shows they appeared in? There was also one obvious visual reference to one of those shows. What was it? Hint: a similar reference was included in the pilot episode of The Inside. Anyone else notice something that I missed?