The Blacklist

Hey folks. It has been a strange week. Working on my new video review has eaten up a lot of my time and for that, I apologize for not putting up some blogs. Today we foray into TV. I know, I know. You were expecting a cheesy Sci-Fi or a Horror film that would make you queasy from description but I thought I could find something unsettling in TV and I was right. This is The Blacklist.

Thinking a plug job. Thoughts?

FBI Special Agent Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone of Law & Order: LA, Blue Bloods, Robot Chicken, Welcome to the Jungle, The Blacklist and Family Games) starts her first day as a profiler. A day of significance for her as this marks all the hard work required as a young woman to be in such a position of authority... as it also marks the day a notorious man, Raymond Reddington(James Spader of Less than Zero,Mannequin, Jack's Back, Stargate, Wolf, Boston Legal, and Avengers: Age of Ultron) number 7 of the Most Wanted List wanders in the D.C. Branch to surrender himself to the FBI. This man has been in operation for 20 years, wining and dining some of the most elite, ruthless and unscrupulous people on the planet.

Deputy Director Harold Cooper (Harry Lennix of Dollhouse, Emily Owens, M.D.,Evidence, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, MacBeth Unhinged, Transformers: Robots in Disguise and The Blacklist) is feeling rather smug until he finds out that Reddington has a proposition for the FBI, his little black book. Names of the most powerful and vicious creatures that wear a flesh suit. No, no supernatural angle there. Human made monsters that profit of others' suffering through drugs, sex trade, espionage, terrorism and king making. The power behind the power. Those that lurk in the shadows but operate in plain sight. One of many catches is, he will only work with Elizabeth Keen.

According the records, that is 18 terabyes of porn. That's a lot.

Case worker Agent Resseler (Diego Klattenhoff of Falling Skies, Longmire, After Earth, Homeland, Radius and The Blacklist) has poured 5 years of his life into catching Red is a bit pissed when newcomer Keen is allowed to take point with Reddington. And yes we can all jump to the conclusion he's a dick or we can watch the series unfold itself and bring about a better picture as no one character on this series feels one or two dimensional.

A character that fascinates me outright is CIA Meera Malik (Parminder Nagra of Bend It like Beckham, ER, Ella Enchanted, Alcatraz, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Blacklist and Fortitude). With the look of someone's favorite aunt or cousin with the sharp mind and conviction of an Eastwood character, she comes off commanding, courageous, calculating and charismatic.

To that end, Red holds up his end but must be allowed to continue being the bad guy, moving around and behind the scenes or no one will trust him as a bad man. With much reluctance, The FBI has a substantial and costly "black site" pulling ops on the soil and in foreign countries along side the CIA as support. Now John and Jane tax payer would probably be extremely pissed when footed with that bill but cannot deny the effect it is having on the criminal and corporate empires around the globe.

I mean the implications of the CIA working in our backyard aside from being tactical or investigative is dicey at best. Surely the NSA alone are going to have problems with this.

Why is Red doing this? To level the playing field?   What is his interest in Keen?  Is the irony of her name just someone having fun with puns?

Starting in 2013, we are up to six seasons now. To be honest, I expected this to drag as many series starting this clever would normally do. That the writers can't keep my interests and I would be solely depended upon the development of the characters but seriously, watch Season 1 and draw your own conclusions. James Spader is in his element. Coming off as charming, witty, devious and crafty it brings something you rarely see in TV. A cop drama with a key criminal element.

I haven't seen writing like this executed well since The Wire or Burn Notice and you know they each had a few episodes that were hit or miss. I look forward to seeing this go further, taking us down the rabbit hole of darkness in the hopes of being able to see the light once more.

I know you drank my smoothie, Agent Kesseler.