Patriot

It’s [the] weird but human moments that propel Patriot, created by Steven Conrad (“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”), even as it keeps the spy-thriller plot simmering.

Each hour has a drag to it, one that feels hypnotically weird and is interrupted by spasmodic bursts of violence and disarming farce. All of that lends an aura of honesty to this story of life inside the world of intelligence might. ... A taste worth acquiring.

At its best, the series is wholly original in its pursuit of telling a dramatic espionage story while leavening it with inspired doses of quirk and a refreshing, even lovely look at existential crises. It is, all told, a hugely ambitious undertaking that probably won't get the attention it deserves, and that's a real shame.

Comparing Patriot, a 10-episode series available Friday on Amazon, to three of the most distinctive series on television [“Mr. Robot,” “Fargo” and “The Americans”] is overselling it, but not by a drastic amount.

It’s less an action drama than a droll, often gleefully random comedy about deception, family, and the complexity of the human personality. It sets a distinct narrative path for itself but then departs from it early and often. Over time the digressions don’t just subsume the show’s main plot, they become the main source of its specialness.

There are laughs aplenty in Patriot, but they're delivered at the mellifluous pace of old whiskey rather than the slam-bang of a Belushian beer can crushed against the forehead.

None of the episodes are quite as clean as the premiere, either, but they’re also clearly building toward something.

Wonderfully loopy.

It’s fitfully funny, occasionally sad, and fond of long digressions that seemingly have nothing to do with anything--but might be the whole point.

It is more diverting than suspenseful, less a roller-coaster ride than a scenic railway.

Trying too hard to play it ultracool, Patriot’s first few episodes are overloaded with distractions and flourishes; the show takes its own sweet (but enjoyable) time to find its stride. And viewers are running low these days on that kind of patience, even if Patriot is worth indulging.

It’s fun in individual moments, but frustrating overall.

Every time Patriot feels like it’s going to click into its rhythm and start working consistently (such as in some interesting background for Smith’s character in episode three), it derails itself with a wild tonal shift. And, most damagingly, Dorman’s flat performance doesn’t serve as the bridge from the show’s espionage elements to its comedy beats.

[Writer-director Steve Conrad] tries all kinds of ways to dodge genre expectations and come up with something distinctive. His ambition is consistent, even when his success rate isn’t.