Aaron Stanford
Amanda Schull
Kirk Acevedo
Noah Bean

Developed by:
Terry Matalas
Travis Fickett

2015-
Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Syfy
TV-14

Outbreak stories are nothing new. We’ve been inundated with them for quite some time. Syfy’s “12 Monkeys” continues the tradition. It airs before another outbreak TV show on Syfy: “Helix.” Let’s not forget that zombie stories are outbreak stories now, as well. “The Planet of the Apes” reboot morphed that story into an outbreak story, too.

The point of all that is to say that you have to either bring something new to this crowded genre or present its common storylines via well-crafted beats – maybe both. “12 Monkeys,” based on the film of the same name that features Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis, does neither. It, thankfully, doesn’t replicate Terry Gilliam’s headache-inducing camerawork from the film; but it doesn’t improve the story, either. By the way, they pay homage to the writers of the film (David and Janet Peoples) via the name of the psychiatric hospital: J.D. Peoples Mental Hospital. That’s a cute nod to the film.

The actors in the TV show are committed; I commend them. Despite that, the writing just isn’t sharp enough. Many of the lines are just there for filler. They don’t reveal anything important or advance the story. It’s like the writers said, “OK, now it’s time for this character to say something so that we can justify this episode’s runtime.”

Despite that, the pilot isn’t bad; it’s just not compelling – neither is the second episode. This genre, at its best, is the very definition of compelling. The subject matter gets to the heart of our primal fear as humans: death. In this case, death isn’t peaceful. It’s violent and painful. If the writers can’t capitalize on that, then they need to go into another line of work.

“12 Monkeys” has potential, though. The story has interesting bits, and there are a few good moments: Lead character James Cole appearing in North Korea in 2006, for instance. (If you like time travel, this is the show for you.) Furthermore, the relationship between Cole and Dr. Cassandra Railly, who eventually decides to help Cole in his quest to prevent the outbreak from ever happening, reminds me of the relationship between Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor in “The Terminator.” That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Regardless, the brisk pace and earnest acting will cover the flawed writing for only so long. Plus, that combination makes many of the moments seem overblown, almost laughable. The pilot ends, unfortunately, on a particularly laughable and clichéd note.

The whole crazy-genius thing just doesn’t suit “12 Monkeys” the show as well as it suits “12 Monkeys” the movie. Again, the fault may lie with the writing. Since the second episode doesn’t improve on anything, I think I’ll bow out. It does air on Friday nights, though. …

No, I’m out.

Verdict: OK

About: (Source: 12monkeys)

By 2043, a virus has wiped out most of the world’s population. One time traveler, Cole, must journey to 2015 to stop the virus from ever happening.