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Arts & Entertainment

Review: 'Awake,' New TV Drama, Debuts Thursday Night on NBC

Stellar cast led by 'Lucius Malfoy' actor Jason Isaacs keeps us wide 'Awake'

The new midseason replacement drama "Awake," debuting Thursday night at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, features many acting heavyweights. 

They include the star of the show, Jason Isaacs, who in addition to being known for his portrayal of Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series, is a BAFTA award-winning actor. Cherry Jones (who plays therapist Dr. Evans) and B.D. Wong (who plays another therapist, Dr. Lee) have multiple Tony awards between them. Jones won an Emmy for her work playing the president of the United States on the TV show "24" and a Tony for her lead role in "The Heiress" at Lincoln Center. Wong is the only actor to have won all five of the major New York theater awards (for "M. Butterfly"). Between the three of them, we could almost sit through and enjoy a phone book reading.  

"Awake" is about "Mark Britten" played by Isaacs, who, after a disastrous car accident, has lost both his wife and son, but neither at the same time…What? He is in two worlds, leading two lives. When he is asleep, in one world, he is awake in the other, with his wife and son surviving in alternate realities.

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He is a homicide cop trying to solve crimes at the same time he attempts to hold onto any tenuous thread of his lives, and to help him do so, has different colored strings on his wrists, and a different therapist (Wong and Jones) in each reality.  

A cop show wouldn't be complete without a partner of color, and Steve Harris, Emmy-nominated for his role in "The Practice," plays him in one reality, while Wilmer Valderrama (of "That 70s Show") is his partner in the other.  

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Jason Isaacs Fan

Cinema Siren will have to plead bias on this one. I've been a drooling ogling fan of Jason Isaacs ever since 2000, when he played evil Colonel Tavington in "The Patriot."  My gallery ArtInsights represented the book and film art of Harry Potter at the Harry Potter panel we were both on at the San Diego Comic Convention in 2011.

When Jason Isaacs walked into the room, all Brit charm, humility, and crinkled-smiles, I squee'd like a teenager. We "Potter-heads" try to be loyal supporters of whatever the cast members from Harry Potter choose as their post-Potter paths. Given the size of the HP cast, that of course means expecting the best from most better-known British actors.  

As a sizable percentage of the characters he's played are villains, it's nice to see him as a good guy we can root for. He is equally believable as confused, grief-stricken Michael Britton in "Awake" as he is as the tortured aristocratic warlock and Harry Potter icon Lucius Malfoy.

His pitch-perfect, flawless American accent reminds me of why I get tired listening to anything starring Sam Worthington, who can't go two minutes without slipping into his Aussie drawl.     

"Awake": Great Acting, Fascinating Premise and Deep Poignancy

One basic problem with "Awake," is that his implosion seems inescapable and only a matter of time. It's a bit like watching the accident in which he lost his family, only in slow motion. Hopefully the tension can be sustained through whatever mental breakdown he is trundling toward.  

I do love the way his two therapists are pitted against each other from the beginning. Watching his struggle during his therapy sessions builds viewer compassion for him immediately. For this show to work, it is essential they are all asking themselves what they would do in the same position from the first show. 

The elevator pitch for this series should have been: "It's like "Inception," with bits of "In Treatment" and "Life on Mars," and like "Inception," it uses grief as a catalyst for the fractured existence he leads.  

Toward the end of the first episode, one of his partners, "Bird" Freeman (Steve Harris), asks him: "Remember when you thought 'solved' and 'fixed' were the same thing?" That's a great question for a TV show dealing with the repercussions of grief.

"Awake" has vast potential due to its heady mix of great acting, fascinating premise, and deep poignancy that's inherent in the storyline. How can we not root for a man who is just trying to keep the worlds together where his wife and child are both alive, even at the cost of his own sanity?

For me, or anyone who has lost someone close to them, it might become too difficult to watch him fall apart. But I want to root for him.  After years of hissing at him in Harry Potter, I'll commit to being on his team as he tries to keep his sanity together. He probably won't succeed, but  I, for one, want to see him try.   

About this column: Leslie Combemale, "Cinema Siren," is a movie lover and aficionado in Northern Virginia. Alongside Michael Barry, she owns ArtInsights, an animation and film art gallery in Reston Town Center. She has a background in film and art history. She often is invited to present at conventions such as the San Diego Comic Con, where she has been a panelist for "The Art of the Hollywood Movie Poster" and the Harry Potter Fandom discussion. See more of her reviews and interviews on www.artinsightsmagazine.com.

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