Crash - Starz - TV Review
"Crash". based on the Oscar winning film of the same name, revolves in a structure of redemption and perceptions of honor. As the second season opens, Dennis Hopper's character returns to LA focused on maintaining his sobriety but also longing to track down the person responsible for his daughter's death.
The inherent dichotomy of the series, especially in the first two advance episodes, is built to interact the structure of several interweaving experiences meant to serve one major storyline. While this is admirable, the stories involved do not come across as overtly dramatic or if, in irony, any way stylized. A hustler runs a trick, because of his own shortcomings, on his girlfriend. A billionaire has a born again moment feeling as if he was touched by God. A man who had utterly destroyed his wife emotionally asks for a second chance. These all form into a caricature that if placed well can be inherently visceral and mythic but, as is, doesn't really excite. Maybe the restart of this season is meant to burn slowly (and having not seen the first season, that might be the case). However with a no-holds-barred angle within Starz, the boundary even in these first two episodes ("You Set The Scene" & "Always See Your Face") always needs to be pushed. "Sons Of Anarchy" is pushing the levels further and further while still being on basic cable. The ante seems like it needs to upped.
The intro of the second season is twirled with The Doors' "Turn Out The Lights" that gave the show rhythm. It needs to find more of that, either with a confrontation of some sort (which may be coming) or simply an inherent conflict. Eric Roberts joins the cast here as a billionaire who has a new relationship with life but the angle is overplayed without showing a true chicanery behind this thought or a real acting challenge. A man like this thinks the same despite any falsehoods. The key is to create the paradox of that. "Crash" inherently needs to rip its heart open and show its intensity leading through the second season. Out of 5. I give it a 2.