IR TV Review: REBEL (“Pilot”) [ABC]

Katey Sagal knows how to make an entrance. From the opening scene of "Rebel" there is the aspect of a crusader, which shouldn't be surprising when one sees that Erin Brockovich herself is one of the creative powerhouses behind the series. After Gemma on "Sons Of Anarchy", Sagal knows what she wants and it seems championed this story specifically. While in the pilot her actual position with a certain law firm is a little bit flimsy, it is more about helping those in need but using a different kind of force to do it. This is like "The Equalizer" without violence where it is about matching wits. Sagal's Annie (aka Rebel) is not without her flaws of course, which is what made Julia Robert's version of Erin work. While this is not Erin's story, there are some correlations. Sagal sees and embraces Rebel's flaws which also double as her strengths. She has multiple exes, multiple children and can be blindsided like anyone else but she always stays focused to a fault.

It helps that there are some interesting actors that aren't seen so much on TV at least recently like Andy Garcia (who retains some fire at times that we haven't seen in a while) as well as John Corbett surrounding her. There is history of course with each and every character in her orbit which is hinted at in the pilot but that likely will be revealed as the story goes along. One of the cooler aspects is some periphery characters in the form of a kick-ass aunt but also an undercover or at least in-cahoots cop that helps them in their "quests" per se. The only thing is that the story seems to point to season-wide case which, while acceptable, is not as cool as a would be "case of the week" with Sagal's Rebel. That way it could live on in ways like Olivia Benson. But the story is going to be what it is but with strong characters there are infinite possibilities. B

By Tim Wassberg