Double O Section is a blog for news and reviews of all things espionage–-movies, books, comics, TV shows, DVDs, and everything else.
Nov 8, 2015
Agent X Premieres Tonight on TNT
TNT's new spy series Agent X premieres tonight at 9/8c. (The 2-hour premiere is then repeated at midnight if you missed that; I know I'm getting this reminder up a bit late.) Jeff Hephner stars as an elite secret agent reporting directly to the Vice President, played by Sharon Stone. The great Gerald McRaney also stars... as the VP's butler! (Er... Chief Steward.) And if those aren't enough names in the cast for you, James Earl Jones guest stars in the premiere! But for many spy fans, the biggest name of all involved with this show isn't an actor. It's comics legend Jim Steranko, of Nick Fury fame, who returned to the spy genre to design some promos for the show. (Read about that and see some of his artwork here.) Sadly his contributions don't appear in the title sequence of the premiere, but they can be seen in ad bumpers. And glimpsed in the promo above. Watch the trailer, or check out a 15-minute clip from the premiere below. Personally, I'm loving the unrepentantly silly, fantastic tone, which is more in the vein of Alias or The Man From U.N.C.L.E. than Homeland or The Sandbaggers, making Agent X a nice alternative to all of today's excellent serious spy shows.
Agent X was silly fun. Surprisingly, Sharon Stone brought a little bit of weight to what is truly a wacky concept. It's worth keeping on the DVR and I'm interested in seeing what they do with the credits in the regular episodes.
ReplyDeleteThe real shocker is Legends. I had enjoyed the first season and its concept of a three episode arc. It seemed to be taking a page from 24, but improving it by shortening the arcs.
When it was announced to be coming back but with significant changes I was extremely worried that meant dumbing it down.
I am really happy to find the opposite is the case. Not only is the story more complicated, with flashbacks and forwards happening all over the place, it also looks great.
The producers are taking full advantage of being overseas and filming in some great locations in London and Prague. The show is able to offer a look you don't see on many other US made basic cable shows. I can't recommend it enough.