CRITIQUE OF NEW FOX SERIES (TOUCH)/1/26/12

1/26/12

New Fox Series (TOUCH)

Similarities to my life:

When I lived in the Philippines (Clark AFB) I use to sneak off and climb the very tall metal Power towers. My parents or siblings never knew. Only a few friends at that time came along but would not climb them. I was 9 years old when this started. I remember how free I felt and had no fear of falling. I would climb higher and higher each visit. My friend would yell at me to come down that I was going to fall etc. It never crossed my mind. Then the Military police or what was called the Air Police back then started monitoring the area and put it off limits so I ceased doing this. I found an exceptionally tall tree. Don't really recall picking up any signals. But it was exciting.

The kid(Jake) in the story is 10 years old and climbs a cell tower to get the phone numbers etc. He was Born Oct. 26th/ my Birthday is Oct. 22nd. I have never gone mute. Actually I was quite a talker. With myself and whoever would listen. No strangers back then. Not so open anymore. The difference between Jake and myself. I have been an active vivid dreamer since I was very young. I was hoping they would have worked this into the storyline.

I have kept journals with numbers and impressions etc. for many years. That led to patterns of repetition that have led to the predictions with results and lotto wins as well. Ask anyone who really knows me. I carry a notepad and make chronic notes on everything that hits me right. I find things (such as the (318) badge by the headstone) all the time that do lead to results. Then I put all those notes in some order in a larger journal as Jake carried. My stuff is much easier to understand and can be done by anyone. I don't write that small either. Danny Glover sets the tone that there may be a handful of gifted children etc. I realize that is for dramatic effect.

 Interesting that they used the Lotto in this Pilot episode and showed the Fireman putting the tickets on the wall and using the numbers connected to the (911) event. You should see all my tickets. Numerous.

Where the series could tire quickly. Too much preaching. Who doesn't know all these metaphysical cliches by now. Oprah drove those home. But I do like the stats Jake quotes. Things that have been in so many movies and TV shows of late. (Everything happens for a reason, no accidents etc. Your destiny. Your path. Were all connected etc.) Week after week we are going to get the same thing. Jake connects with a phone number and Kiefer saves the day following a series of smaller events and then the cliches kick in. Same formula used by Michael Landon in (Highway to Heaven)/ Also in (Touched by an Angel)/ (Medium)/ and the 70's series (Kung Fu). And many others. (Ghost Whisperer) is another.

I like Danny Glover, but his character has been done over so many times in other Series. He delivers the info perfectly, but why make him an outcast type. It's why I like CBS (Person of Interest). Much more realistic and more than likely the technology used in the series ala (Minority Report) will be incorporated into our lives sooner than later, and better Characters. For sure Michael Emerson is interesting and Jim Caviezel is perfect for this role. The whole supporting cast is great in this series. Another movie that delivered the metaphysical message through story and action was (Forrest Gump). No references to metaphysical quotes or spirituality. The same with (Cast Away) and (The Shawshank Redemption). So well done with no preaching.

As much as I would like to see (Touch) succeed, and I love this subject matter, I feel it could fail after four or five episodes.  So many other people may like it because they do not experience life like this on a routine basis as I do daily. I would have gone a different direction if this was my series. Make it much more unpredictable and reveal more about the hidden patterns with action versus  preachy dialog, But maybe they will do this. All the actors do a fine job. They have the makings of a hit show if they break the formulaic pattern. They need to show the many different aspects of synchronicity. Not just the phone numbers. That sets the tone. But they need to do something else.

What do you think if you watched it????