‘The Blacklist’ season 1 premiere review: NBC, James Spader off to great start
NBC was not messing around when it came to their fall schedule this year. They realized that they had a major hit on their hands here, and stuck “The Blacklist” right after their season 5 premiere of “The Voice” in hopes that strong ratings would follow. While we do not quite know if that is going to happen just yet, we are at least thrilled to report that it is off to a great start thanks mostly to a performance by James Spader as Raymond Reddington, a dangerous and feared criminal who turns himself in to authorities. Why? He claims that he wants to help take down some deadly criminals.
By the time the episode was over, we were thrilled; the show is like a combination of “White Collar,” “Covert Affairs,” and “The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo.” Seriously. It’s intense, well-acted, and it looks like every week, there will be a new dangerous criminal to lock away.
The mystery of the show for now surrounds just what the connection is between Red and Megan Boone’s Elizabeth Keen. The obvious guess to make here is that they are surely related, but for whatever reason, Red has took a shine to her. He sees her as someone that can help him despite her being a rookie, and in turn, he can help her. He already did tonight by proving that there was a part of her life that she did not know about. (That was a little bit of a stretch, but this is TV, after all.)
The easy assumption to make here is that the best is yet to come, since the majority of the show right now is stuffed full of “I don’t know” answers. It’s hard to say whether or not this is going to be a procedural from here on out; we don’t necessarily mind if it is, but the show does need to maintain a certain level of long-term storytelling in the process. Other network shows have proven this can work effectively; even “Scandal” has done it at times. Also, it needs to keep all of their cases fresh, that way Reddington remains as unpredictable as he was here.
Do you plan on watching more of “The Blacklist,” and do you agree with our take that this is one of Fall TV’s best shows? Be sure to share your thoughts below!
Photo: NBC