Wed 16 Nov 2011
A TV Series Review by Michael Shonk: COVERT AFFAIRS (2010 – )
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV mysteries[11] Comments
COVERT AFFAIRS. USA Network. Premiered July 13, 2010. Created by Chris Ord and Matt Corman. Cast: Piper Perabo as Annie, Christopher Gorham as Auggie, Kari Matchett as Joan, Peter Gallagher as Arthur, Anne Dudek as Danielle, Sendhil Ramamurthy as Jai.
In cable television’s version of hide and seek, cable networks take a series’ season and divide it up into two parts. Covert Affairs, the land of the pretty spies, returned November 1st for Part Two of its Second season.
This is not Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but more like Man from UNCLE meets Charlie’s Angels. The plots are simple, the twists predictable, the characters have detailed backstories but little personal depth, and if it wasn’t for the eye candy of the cast and locations there would be no reason to pay any attention to what is on the TV screen. But so what?
The series never tries to be more than fantasy and escapism. Logic and believability play minor roles versus emotional melodrama and TV style action (lots of chases and property damage). This is how we dream our life as a spy, beautiful, traveling the world, beating up bad guys by day, romance by night, saving the world and looking so good doing it.
Annie joined the CIA to escape a bad ending to a vacation love affair (apparently the CIA has assumed the role previously filled by the French Foreign Legion). She quickly moved up in the ranks because the guy she was in love with was a rogue spy wanted by the CIA and who kept dropping by to save her life. This season she is on her own, still screwing up, but with Auggie’s help, always saving the world at the end.
Auggie works at the monitoring station in CIA’s headquarters, blind from a mission gone wrong that still haunts him (giving him a vulnerable sensitive side), capable of doing anything James Bond could including bedding any woman (Auggie’s women have a better survival rate).
Unfortunately, episodes usually focus more on the relationship melodrama than on the action and story. Annie gets emotionally involved quickly with someone during the mission. Auggie hovers over her like a big brother. Annie’s boss, Joan deals with marital stress caused by a lack of trust between her and Arthur, her husband and CIA boss. Jai has to live in the shadow of his successful father and shady retired CIA boss. Danielle is there to dump family guilt on Annie who is busy saving the world.
Toss in the required chases, Auggie taking off his shirt, romance for Annie or Auggie, and there is not a lot of time left for the actual mission.
Covert Affairs is a typical USA Network series, a wannabe MTM Production of the 80s (Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, Remington Steele) wanting to feature the characters at work and their personal lives. But the MTM shows focused on the premise of the show. Even in romantic mystery Remington Steele Laura’s family and Remington’s past never interrupted the mystery.
Covert Affairs is 70s style escapism but with mundane “real life” problems shoved into every episode. Who dreams about saving the world only to be interrupted by your sister reminding you about your niece’s school art show? Putting peanut butter in my chocolate tastes great, but putting family melodrama in my fantasy ruins all the fun.
November 16th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
The problem with TV mysteries is that they only have so much time to cram all these elements in. Now, with novels, the author gets a lot more leeway in the time allowed for those real life problems and relationship dramas, plus the cool chases and escapism.
November 16th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
You are right. As the amount of commercials increases and the time for story decreases the harder it is to tell a decent mystery with the depth of a book.
But I find mystery escapism to work better with the speed of television than in a book where the reader has time to notice the logic flaws. Have you ever read a car chase?
November 16th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
I watched only the first episode of the series, and I thought it was interesting enough to keep watching. But talk about commercials? I couldn’t watch another show telecast “live” if you paid me. (Though everyone has a price, I suppose, including me.) So when I saw the DVD set for the first season at a good price, I bought it, and I’m sure I’ll even watch it someday.
But what I don’t understand is why cable shows have to be an hour long (before commercials), just like the networks. Maybe if shows like COVERT AFFAIRS could have 90 minute time slots and 60 to 70 minutes of running time, they could tell decent stories. Or start out at 40 to 50 minutes, and if they’re successful, crank up to longer shows. (Or like TCM, run their programs like movies at whatever length they happen to be, with interesting filler in between, if programs have to start on the hour or half hour.)
I’m assuming, of course, and probably not for good cause, that any extra running time would not consist of watching airplanes land and take off, or automobiles driving from one location to another.
November 16th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Watched it once and saw its future. USA shows are cookie cutter shows. Too light and not enough good writing or charm to sustain that.
November 16th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Well, let’s say, that with all that big money behind it, it does’nt DREAM to compare to ’77 Sunset Strip’, or the likes.
When you read that good and well loved shows are cancelled, and cheap ‘real life shows’ put on instead, where they only have to pay some low-lives a couple o’ hundred bucks,then you see whee it is all going.
The Doc
November 16th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
I forgot to add you can watch this series at Hulu and IMDb for free.
#3. Steve, I don’t know why the Big 4 Networks abandoned the 90 minute format. Lifetime and TNT are trying to bring back the TV-Movie of the week format. If they succeed we might see a return to it.
#4. Patty, you are right USA series are all the same. Each network seems to have a style, like all CBS detective shows seem alike. USA reminds me of the old NBC light dramas of the past. TNT shows tend to remind me of the straight lack of humor CBS shows of the past. Each formula has their fans. I like the USA style if they stayed with the action and left the family sitcom out of it.
#5. Doc, I watch less and less TV. I usually watch shows online so I can watch whatever I am in the mood for and from any era. PERSON OF INTEREST is the only new series I don’t miss. FRINGE has gotten boring but there is hope. PRIME SUSPECT was a series that died too soon because it took a couple of episodes to dump the remake part and find its own identity. The networks are experimenting with some good shows as even CBS knows the audience is getting tired of more of the same old cop shows.
It will get worse as the sitcom will be taking back the 9-10pm (E) time slots next season, and the cable networks such as USA have plans to add sitcoms to their lineup (a better place for their work/home series themes).
November 16th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
WOOOOOOOOO -sitcom. “§$&%&§&$%&$&
We get a lot of those from the States, and as you, I watch less and less TV , just the occasional rerun of the things I loved on TV from yesteryear.
Watching idiots being bullied by their wives, and having to lie about what they’re REALLY doing with their buddies and having to beg for sex….
It is like boys in the mostly overweight bodies of men.
Who likes those shows?
Well ,as I use the net more and more, and read books, as I have done all my life ,I don’t care too much.
The Doc
November 16th, 2011 at 8:47 pm
I agree with the common sentiment here that Covert Affairs — even though it is from a producer I admire (Doug Liman) — is pretty light stuff. Cable HAS provided us with some excellent spy shows, though, including “Homeland,” currently on Showtime (no commercials!) with Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, and Mandy Patinkin, and also “Archer,” which admittedly is an animated spy spoof, but a darn good one (the Paley Center recently hosted a bizarre panel discussion with the creator, Adam Reed, and members of the voice cast, which you can read about on our website). Also, I was a huge admirer of AMC’s expertly crafted “Rubicon,” which aired last season, though I may have been the only person in America watching it.
November 17th, 2011 at 7:58 am
Well, it’s not great but we watch it. At least they’ve written out the annoying sister for the most part this season. She only had an obligatory 5 minutes (or less) appearance to guilt her anyway.
Our question (besides the way Joan dresses for work at the CIA) is, why is Annie always the only one who is unarmed?
Steve, HBO and Showtime do seem to do that with their hour long dramas (Sopranos, Treme, Homeland), where a show could be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour (or, occasionally, longer).
We don’t buy the DVD but we do DVR everything, even if just to turn it on at twenty past the hour to fast forward the commercials.
November 17th, 2011 at 10:34 am
When COVERT AFFAIRS began AMC was showing the spy drama RUBICON, I watched and enjoyed both for very different reasons.
Jeff, I share your joy with the reduction of the sister and nieces parts. I never could accept anyone as gorgeous and independent as Annie would live with her sister’s family and not on her own. This year’s safe house is much more in character. I found it interesting Annie was willing to show Auggie (who wouldn’t let her tell him) where she lives and not her sister (even if it left her niece emotionally scarred for life).
November 17th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
David’s comment #8 makes a good point that it is not always the showrunners or production people who should get blamed for some aspects of a TV series. The mix of work and home is required by the network. BURN NOTICE made the best use of that requirement once they sent the brother away. IN PLAIN SIGHT is the worse.