Fall TV: Undercovers

So, what's with all the spy shows? I mean, I like them and all, but is there nothing else to make a show about?

Undercovers is the latest from J.J. Abrams, which most people probably see as a positive but I approach with huge skepticism. Abrams has proved to be good coming up with concepts that are great in the beginning but are hard to sustain and tend to devolve into total crap, e.g. Felicity, Alias, Lost (partially). Maybe he should stick with movies or something?

Anyway, the first season of Alias was pretty fantastic, so I thought maybe at least Undercovers would be good for a little while. But from watching the pilot, this seems to be a totally different kind of show. The two stars, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kojoe (such exotic names!), are ridiculously attractive as married couple Steven and Samantha Bloom, former CIA operatives who are brought back into the spy game after having left to become caterers, of all things.

There's style and action and all that you expect from a J.J. Abrams-direction spy show but it's missing...consequence. There are just no stakes. I get the impression that there isn't going to be too much of an ongoing storyline outside of their relationship and that week-to-week it'll just be fun missions while trying to maintain their cover. I wouldn't want any crazy and stupid mythology like Alias had, but I need a little something more than just pretty people jetting off around the world to banter and fight the bad guys.