Awake
Awake may not be particularly hidden having just finished on both Sky Atlantic over here and NBC in the States, but the show has already formed a cult fanbase following its cancellation.
Awake gives us the tale of LAPD detective Michael Britten (the always brilliant Jason Isaacs), whose life is permanently changed by a horrific car crash involving him, his wife and his teenage son. After waking from the smash, Britten’s world is torn to shreds, with him suddenly beginning to live in two realities. In one, his wife survived the crash, in the other, his teenage son has.
We follow Michael as he tries to get on his regular life and solve murders all while he tries to figure out what’s happened to him and grasp on to the ability to keep seeing both of his loved ones.
While the duel realities may sound confusing, the actual show makes this duality incredibly simple with very little effort. Having Britten wear a different coloured wristband for each reality, have the camera have a different coloured filter and giving him different partners makes what could be a headache into simplicity itself.
While many lesser shows would have played on the confusing nature of the situation, Awake simply made Britten smarter than the usual main character, letting him be comfortable and in somewhat in control of his mental situation.
Rarely panicked, Michael's motivation was simple. He wanted both his wife and son still with him. If it meant his sanity in return, it was a price worth paying.
There was only one problem with Awake, and it was a big one for the big-wigs at ABC: ratings. Awake never drew in the crowds from the very start, with its potentially confusing premise seeming to put people off jumping in to the show.
With only 6.24 million tuning in for the premiere, dropping to just over two million by episode twelve, NBC simply weren’t in the mood to give the show the second series it so very clearly deserved.
The show may not have attracted huge viewing ratings, but was universally praised by critics, with the shows alternative grasp of the tired old police procedural genre being picked up on hugely, with Reuter’s Tim Molloy even calling it "best new show of the season” when it came out earlier this year.
Jason Isaacs and the rest of the cast were also deservedly praised, with Todd VanDerWerff from the A.V. Club calling their performance “delicate and almost perfect”, with Isaacs also heavily praised by Time’s James Poniewozik who called him “utterly compelling”.
Thankfully, the show’s creators and writers were able to sniff out the rumours that Awake wasn’t coming back and purposefully made the show’s finale just that. A fantastic send off to the show, both closing doors and opening new ones in the way Awake did so brilliantly.
Wonderfully acted, brilliantly cerebral, and outstandingly paced, Awake was unfortunately just a bit too clever for its own good.
While the show is still awaiting a full home release, it’s worth hunting down on Netflix and giving your best hello to Jason Isaacs.
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith
Tagged in Jason Isaacs TV Hidden Gems