02.00 The Listener
The Listener. Episode 3. "A Voice In The Dark" Kidnapped girl.
The stories are still pretty lame, but I still really like this show. Besides it reminds me of shows like Early Edition and The Pretender and most of the stories on them were pretty lame, too. And I loved those shows, particularly The Pretender.
There are other reasons to watch:
Craig Olejnik is a great leading man. He sells the idea of hearing people's thoughts and he's very likable and sympathetic. He's got that whole wounded dove thing going on, yet he's Alpha Male enough to carry to mild action sequences.
Toby Logan is a great lead character. His power is cool and the show doesn't overuse it. In fact, they underuse it and - when you think about it - it has very little impact on the stories. In this episode, the power is used to kick start the tale but after that it is of no use. The audience at home knows who the real bad guy is long before Toby cottons on to it. But, powers aside, I like the guy. His messed up love life, desire to help/save people and his mysterious past make him worth watching on a weekly basis.
Ennis Esmer is a great sidekick. Very likable and funny. He should get more screen time. At the end of this third episode Toby tells him his secret and this will hopefully increase his involvement in future stories. It's a good move. Also, it makes sense that Toby would have someone to talk to. He's needs a confidant so that the audience can hear his thoughts (ironically). This episode was just a lot of silly running around. Toby wandered around Toronto. Spied the mysterious street kid and chased after him. Only to lose him and return with a clue. This happened, what, three times in the hour. Hopefully future stories will avoid such idiotic storytelling by giving Toby somebody to share his thoughts with.
Lisa Marcos is crazy hot. And, whatever flaws the show may have, they are doing a great job of writing this particular character. Both Listener and Castle have paired the hero with intelligent female detectives who seem capable of solving crimes without the help of the lead guy. Too often shows fall into the trap of making the hero 'special' by making everyone around him dumb. So, I really like the approach of making both leads smart/special.
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