- Network: CBS
- Series Premiere Date: Sep 23, 2011
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Critic Reviews
- Critic score
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There's no question that A Gifted Man is the network's best, most creatively successful effort in the past five years.
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Fifteen minutes into A Gifted Man, the performance of Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Ehle and Margo Martindale had completely won me over, and of all the pilots I've screened for fall, this is the one I most want to see more of.
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I want to be [hooked], because the actors are so charismatic. Remember Ehle with Colin Firth in PBS's 1995 "Pride & Prejudice"? But the New Agey ghost-as-conscience thing--done better with so much crazy verve in the hallucinatory "Eli Stone"--is strained by the end of the first episode
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The viewer are asked to digest a lot, but we're willing to bear with it and see if the subsequent episodes can strike the same supernatural-but-not-super-goofy note, retain the production values and keep us interested.
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The general integrity of the first episode offers some hope that it won't become a Procedure of the Week melodrama.
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Another preposterous television premise perhaps, but one that may be comforting to viewers looking for gentle escape with dash of uplift and hope.
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The writers of the series have left themselves plenty of possibilities to explore, and Mr. Wilson seems more than capable of carrying the show anyplace they choose to take it.
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A Gifted Man is solid enough, in fact, to make you forget it's a ghost story.
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A Gifted Man is certainly earnest, in a "Marcus Welby, M.D." kind of way. Post-sale tinkering also improved the pilot, with Anna becoming Holt's conscience in a way that better explains her presence, while extracting some humor from their only-he-sees-her encounters.
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The earnestness comes in pretty strong doses, but it might be good for what ails you.
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Thanks to all the talent, what could have been an incredibly hokey Ghost Whisperer retread has much more moody potential.
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It's all a bit edgier than you might imagine, and I'll be giving this another look--though it's probably not going to keep me home on Fridays.
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It's a show that wants to say something. Now it needs viewers who want to listen.
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Yes, it sounds insane (you can't have ghosts on CBS who don't help solve crimes) and like many of this season's pilots, it left me wondering how the show's premise could be sustained for more than a few episodes, much less multiple seasons. But it's an awfully pretty pilot.
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A Gifted Man won't kill any brain cells if you want to give it a try. But it's not all there yet with an unwieldy mix that also includes two life-threatening cases, a few scenes with Michael's frazzled sister, Christina (Julie Benz) and her problematic teen son and an attempted exorcism of sorts by a mystic named Anton (Pablo Schreiber).
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How about less ghost, more Margo? That might help A Gifted Man become better than very average.
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The problem is not the supernatural, it's the sanctimony.
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OK, OK, A Gifted Man, is not as bad as all that [Friendly-ghost mothers-in-law? Friendly-ghost proctologists? Friendly-ghost telephone solicitors?]. But it's not good, either.
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It's painful watching an actor as skilled as Wilson trying to force-feed credibility to a horrifically unbelievable moment and sadly failing. Things only get worse from here on.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 30 out of 45
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Mixed: 8 out of 45
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Negative: 7 out of 45
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Nov 12, 2011
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Feb 3, 2013
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Mar 15, 2012