The story: a serial killer who, while in jail, gains a cult following of people willing to become serial killers and follow his every command. They break him out of jail and set out to capture his ex-wife and son, whom he loves. It is up to the ex-FBI agent (Kevin bacon) to come back and catch him.
Was it good?
No. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot to like about the show. Kevin Bacon is always interesting and James Purefoy, who plays escaped serial killer, is great. The idea of a cult of killers is interesting as well. The problem is that every acts incredibly stupid. The serial killer wants his ex-wife back, but his plan is basically just send people with guns to any place he might think. The FBI agents are also stupid. Seriously, they let the cult agents get the drop on them every episode. It's amazing how often it happens. These agents look less competent than Paul Blart, Mall Cop.
Unfortunately, while there is a lot of interesting elements in the set up, nothing is really explored. A cult of serial killers? Cool. But does it explore that? Not really. It's just a cult. Go with it. You get more insight into character in an episode of CRIMINAL MINDS. And for all the backstory about the characters (the FBI agent fell in love with the killer's ex-wife) there really isn't anything going on interesting there either. The way it is set up it is supposed to be a chess match, but there's nothing that either side is playing for. The killer wants his ex-wife back. Why? And how does he think he will get it? Again, there's an idea but it's just an empty one, a placeholder so you will watch people run around with guns. What does Kevin Bacon want? There's also no clear end game. Chess works because we know what the endgame is -- checkmate. You can guess from the FBI side it is capturing the bad guy, and yet there's almost nothing about locating him or capturing his people. And of course, there's the ex-wife who is at the center of it all and is as well developed of a character as a table lamp.
Maybe the show was exciting in its original run, with episodes spread out a week apart. But marathoning this show just makes all the empty, stupidity of it way too obvious.
*** AVOID ***
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