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The Handler
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Posted by: Grappik

I was just curious to see what you guys and gals thought of The Handler.

I liked it. I have always liked the "authorities go undercover to catch the bad guys" shows. This one was well done, I thought. I especially liked the "training". Suspenseful!

-Grappik

Posted by: bareyb

Well. Not sure yet... There were some plot loopholes that you could drive a truck through, but beyond that it was okay. I'll admit the training exercise did take me by surprise, and that's not easy to do anymore (I watch way too much TV and was an aspiring screen writer for awhile). I'll give it another few weeks...

Posted by: Grappik

Where were the loopholes? I honestly can't think of any. However, I am tired, so that doesn't mean I won't agree with them when they are pointed out to me.

That, and I am dense. :confused:

Posted by: bareyb

quote:
Originally posted by Grappik
Where were the loopholes? I honestly can't think of any. However, I am tired, so that doesn't mean I won't agree with them when they are pointed out to me.

That, and I am dense. :confused:

Just stupid silly stuff that didn't make sense. Like the girl leaving her cup of money sitting on the sidewalk after she had sat in the cold all night to get a few bucks... Like anyone is going to buy that homeless person is going to walk away and leave their money sitting on the sidewalk...

The Wife of the FBI "Sergei" who was pissed off enough at him to file for Divorce only to have his BOSS (ostensibly a co-conspirator in their breakup) talk her into a "weekend" get together in all of two minutes. Just because he asked.

Then let's talk about leaving a Woman rookie all alone all night on the street in a dangerous neighborhood without any backup or surveillance... Anyone who has watched any amount of cop shows know they NEVER do that... Turns out they didn't, but still the rookie would surely have know it was a setup...

They also never did tie up the loose end as to how that crash really happened. Unless of course, he simply just "fell asleep" at the wheel? If so, that's really weak writing. I would have thought he got found out and was killed and drugs would show up in the autopsy... Maybe they did and I was getting a coke from the fridge and forgot to hit the pause button, but if not, I thought that was rather a weak plot line.

There were other things, but I can't think of them right now. I just know I kept getting distracted by inconsistencies that were bad enough to suspend my suspension of disbelief for moments. Not a good thing IMO... Still it was "okay" I thought and I will give it a couple more weeks.

Posted by: Grappik

Possible spoiler(s) below. Please don't read any more if you don't want to take the chance.

quote:
Like the girl leaving her cup of money sitting on the sidewalk after she had sat in the cold all night to get a few bucks... Like anyone is going to buy that homeless person is going to walk away and leave their money sitting on the sidewalk...

Well, the way I took it was that:

Her character was not supposed to be all that "street smart". Making him let his guard down.
She was building up trust with him. Making him believe he was trustworthy enough to her that she would leave her stuff out for him to watch.

quote:
The Wife of the FBI "Sergei" who was pissed off enough at him to file for Divorce only to have his BOSS (ostensibly a co-conspirator in their breakup) talk her into a "weekend" get together in all of two minutes. Just because he asked.

Well, I preferred this method as opposed to making it a 10-15 minute dramatic scene that could have been summed up the way it was. Also, we don't know the extent of their relationship. She was probably still very in love with her husband, and was filing for divorce because she felt at that time that she had no other way to get her point across and get her husband's attention.

quote:
They also never did tie up the loose end as to how that crash really happened. Unless of course, he simply just "fell asleep" at the wheel? If so, that's really weak writing. I would have thought he got found out and was killed and drugs would show up in the autopsy... Maybe they did and I was getting a coke from the fridge and forgot to hit the pause button, but if not, I thought that was rather a weak plot line.

You didn't miss anything. It appears that it honestly was just an accident. I have been lurking on this forum for quite some time, and I see so many people talking about not being able to suspend their disbelief. Now, a script actually does something that could very well happen, and it is considered "weak". I thought it was a decent idea to do it this way, it just goes to show you that not everything that happens has to have some really creative explanation behind it.

I realize that this was your opinion, and just because I don't agree with it does not mean that it's not valid. So, please don't take my comments in the wrong way.

-Grappik

Posted by: holee

I'm not sold on the show yet. It seems like the premise is that there are a bunch of mildly competent people who need someone to always save them. Oh, and he happens to be a super-saint.

I mean if every member in his team did their job well, then there would be no show.

Posted by: hookbill

I gave it an SP, yeah I caught the bit about leaving her money cup on the street too. I think it will get better, I'm going to give it a chance.

Posted by: JTAnderson

I was kicking myself after it was over. I saw Hill Harper's name in the opening credits. There he was as the dope dealer. I still couldn't put 2 and 2 together and they surprised me.

Posted by: cpalma

I wasn't overly impressed with the SP but am willing to give a chance (if only to see Joe Pantoliano). I think it definitely has room for improvement and I am willing to let it catch up.

The newer female undercover cop (the one that played the "cousin" to the missing/dead girl). She patted herself on the back so much I wanted to slap her. She can get annoying really quickly.

I liked everyone else though and it looks like there could be interesting backstory/future story with the brother that just got out of jail.

Posted by: TreborPugly

quote:
Originally posted by holee
I'm not sold on the show yet. It seems like the premise is that there are a bunch of mildly competent people who need someone to always save them. Oh, and he happens to be a super-saint.

I mean if every member in his team did their job well, then there would be no show.

No, the premise lets them have different undercover situations every show, with interesting crimes to discover, interesting characters to portray. And as a Handler, he'll deal with many different undercover people, giving us some variablilty in the cast too.

I'm hoping however, that their targets aren't always guilty.

Treb.

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

My only problem with it is that it packed in as much introductory stuff as you would normally see in the first month of a new show. I suspect that once it settles down and just tells the stories, it will be fine, but the first hour was WAY too busy and cluttered to be as enjoyable as it should have been.

Posted by: coldtoes

I thought this was the best of the new shows I've seen (Karen Sisco still unwatched, though). Not that that's saying a lot, but it was the first one I've watched where I haven't had a laundry list of things they'll need to fix to keep me watching after the first few episodes. So its SP is staying put, for now.

Posted by: spartanstew

quote:
Originally posted by Grappik

You didn't miss anything. It appears that it honestly was just an accident. I have been lurking on this forum for quite some time, and I see so many people talking about not being able to suspend their disbelief. Now, a script actually does something that could very well happen, and it is considered "weak". I thought it was a decent idea to do it this way, it just goes to show you that not everything that happens has to have some really creative explanation behind it.

The previews for this show were among the worst I've ever seen (Joe walking into the shot wearing his stupid hat and vest and staring at the camera), so i was reluctant about it, but because I like Joey Pants I thought I'd give it a shot. Overall, I thought it was pretty good and will keep watching for now.

Regarding the accident, I had a different view. I thought that when they were getting into the car there were two women. The accident revealed that the undercover guy and his mistress were dead, with no mention of the other female. i took this to mean that it was definately foul play and that perhaps this particular story line would be continued in another episode.

Stew

Posted by: rasheed

I think the quieter style of the show is closer to Boomtown than maybe other types of crime drama.

I thought it was nice, but wish they wouldn't stick it with everything else on Friday night. I think for many people, by Friday, they've seen enough crime dramas for the week to just be too tired. I think this is why it took me two weeks before I could get to the pilot.

Rasheed

Posted by: pjhartman

The more I watched (okay, only two episodes thus far) it has reminded me of last fall's UC: Undercover.

Posted by: ClutchBrake

I think spartanstew hit the nail on the head regarding the car crash. We haven't seen the last of that thread. I didn't think it was supposed to be over yet.

As for the wife, there were two things. Number one, I felt part of the divorce was to get his attention. Number two, regarding Joey Pants being able to talk her into meeting with her husband, I felt there was definitely a deeper relationship between them than him just being her husband's boss.

Posted by: Hoffer

I watched the first 15 minutes of the show and deleted it. I'd rather watch Joey Pants play a mob guy. :)

Posted by: GDG76

The second episode ruined this show for me.

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
Isn't the guy's cover blown now? All three of the bank robbers know who he is. Also, they never really tied up the storyline with the guy in Florida about his wife and kids - why he got them a Florida identity with him instead of seperately. And the only thing more fake than the undercover "rocker" were the real "gang" themselves. Blech

I really had high hopes cause I love Joey Pants. oh well.

drew

Posted by: phone1

I'd compare this to "Nash Bridges." Lots of action, thin plot. Characters might turn out to be likeable. Joey needs a buddy/partner. We'll see...