First impressions of E-Ring

[cpmaz]

Didn't see this show when it first aired, but I caught a rerun of the pilot on USA...

I thought it was well-shot, had decent action (neither a surprise from Jerry Bruckheimer) with lousy writing and poor acting.

This may tick off the women here, but Benjamin Bratt CANNOT act worth a d@mn. His range goes from earnest self-righteousness to self-righteous earnestness. Same as his work on Law and Order.

I love Dennis Hopper as an actor, but he is wrong for the role of an upper-echelon military officer, even a maverick one.

Aunjanue Ellis as Sgt. Pierce is alright, but she can't overcome the failings of the show, especially from a supporting role.

The writing, to be charitable, was cheesy propaganda. It was cliched and simplistic and way too reliant on using jargon to establish credibility. Didn't work.

This show was marketed as a military version of West Wing, but WW has great writing, sharp dialogue, credible plots, and characters with depth (i.e. - the good guys aren't saints, and the bad guys aren't purely evil).

Outlook: Unless there are massive improvements in the scripts and the acting, E-Ring will be one of the first shows of the season to get yanked.

[ghostwriter]

I saw the show last week and liked it ok. I really like Dennis Hopper. I'll probably give it one more try.