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Fox’s Touch preview

Posted by under *like, Television |

When I saw Tim Kring’s name attached to the new Fox series Touch, bad memories of NBC’s Heroes came to mind. While that series fizzled after a strong start, Touch started with a far stronger premiere in a special preview airing of the pilot last night. The 13-episode season won’t begin until March 19th (and I imagine they’ll replay the pilot on March 18th) so I made sure to tune in as I’ve really missed seeing Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer each week. 

Spoilers for Fox’s new series Touch will follow.

Sutherland’s return to television is just one of many good things this show brings to the screen. Seeing him play a concerned father with an everyday job is a nice change of pace. I particularly liked that he took a punch at one point and didn’t respond by hooking the guy to a car battery. Sutherland gets a lot of room to talk in the pilot as his silent son drives much of the action, and although there are a few moments where it seems he’s about to start chewing the scenery, the shifting focus of the story helped prevent it.

Touch is visually striking and looked great with some incredibly vibrant colors and interesting camera work. The opening credits are even gorgeous, but the music chosen for the show’s theme is underwhelming. The rest of the episode is well scored, and the music playing as we’re told exactly what Sutherland’s son Jake is capable of (featuring a great appearance by Danny Glover) added a real sense of tension and eeriness. It also signaled the moment the show seemed to turn into 24. Then nothing happened and it was perfect. If this is the kind of world saving we’re going to see each week this show will be amazing. 

Giant explosions and 24-style threats could be on the horizon, but for now I’m very happy with what I saw. There are some compelling personal stories that fit in very nicely with the larger concept of the show. It reminds me in some ways of a cosmic / metaphysical version of Crash. I love the global storytelling and the idea of cellular phones as the connecting point. I also love math and as you’ll see from that link, it’s all connected. I’ll certainly be watching when the show officially starts on March 19th, 2012.

“We are all interconnected. Our lives are invisibly tied to those whose destinies touch ours.”
Watch the full episode now on Hulu.com.
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