Detective dramas have been a staple of network primetime for decades and with a recent influx in supernatural shows, here comes a fresh take on the cop genre. “Awake” takes the classic police procedural and gives it a unique twist. An intricate story, amazing acting and gripping suspense are woven together into this new fantasy drama from NBC.
Following a car accident, Detective Michael Britten, played by British actor Jason Isaacs (best known for his role as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films), is stuck between two realities. All of the incidents leading up to the accident are unknown to Britten but whenever he goes to sleep, he switches from one reality to the other. In one reality his wife Hannah, played by Laura Allen ("Terriers"), survived the crash, but their son did not. In the other reality, the opposite is true.
When Britten goes to sleep. he leaves the reality with his wife and wakes up in the reality with his son. In each, he is teamed up with a different detective. In the reality with Hannah, his partner is Efrem Vega, played by Wilmer Valderrama ("That 70's Show"), and in the other, his partner is Isaiah Freeman, Steve Harris of "The Practice." In each reality, Britten is also going to a psychiatrist to help him deal with his respective losses. In Hannah's reality, he is seeing the confrontational Dr. Lee (BD Wong, "Law and Order: SVU"), and in Rex's reality, the nurturing psychologist Dr. Evans (Cherry Jones, "24"). Each day, Britten deals with the self-doubt as to which world is real and who he will need to let go of to return to a normal life.
Warm and dark tones allow an easy transition between the two different realities. Two crime scenes are explored simultaneously, so this editing technique helps. Warm tones appear with the life in which Hannah is alive, whereas dark tones are used when Rex is alive. His life with Hannah is a bit strange because it seems as though she is coping with their son’s death in a positive way, by painting and redecorating the house. The dark tones represent the strain that Hannah’s death has put on Micheal’s already rough relationship with Rex. Both realities become increasingly stressful, but Micheal finds a way to cope since clues from one reality can help him solve crimes in the other.
Isaacs is accompanied by a cast of exceptional television actors, which allows the story to be much more believable. Isaacs shows great range when confronted with many unique situations. He becomes increasingly rattled and upset in his therapy sessions with Dr. Lee. When Efrem thanks Michael for helping him get promoted to detective, Michael ignores his appreciation, remarking, “I didn’t request anyone. If you got promoted it has nothing to do with me,” which allows a peek into how detached he has become from those around him.
Aside from the change in color, the show does nothing to push the viewer’s opinion one way or another as to which is the true reality.
Even the characters in each reality try to prove to Michael why their world is real and the other is not. Dr. Evans has Michael pick up a copy of the Constitution and read directly from it. Her reasoning is that if this is a dream, how he could know the Constitution word for word without having memorized it.
This complex storyline has its pros and cons. The obvious tension rising from trying to decipher which reality is real is an extremely entertaining perk. But how long can viewers stick around until their emotions are no longer being played? How long can a mentally unstable detective be allowed in the field? Hopefully, Michael will make a decision before he gets put into the loony bin.
“Awake” airs Thursdays at 9pm on NBC, and all episodes are available online at: NBC.com, Hulu.com and on iTunes
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