To preface this review, I believe it is necessary for me to say that I was sold on this show from the moment I saw Piper Perabo was headlining. That said, I may be a bit biased in that I could watch her washing dishes for an hour and I’d be happy. In all seriousness, however, USA’s newest show Covert Affairs comes through as a breezy but energized spy thriller that is essentially “Alias Light.”
Piper Perabo stars as Annie Walker, a recent CIA inductee who is thrown into the fray swiftly and nowhere near painlessly. Despite her fledgeling status, Annie is quick on her feet and shockingly resourceful, not to mention stunningly gorgeous, as Piper never fails to be. My biggest disappointment came from the love scenes between Annie and a mystery man in the first few minutes of the show. After Piper’s jaw-droppingly intense performance in one of my favorite LGBT films ever, Lost and Delirious and her second lesbian turn in Imagine Me and You, I was kind of hoping for a similar pattern. No such luck, but nevertheless, Piper rocks a pantsuit.
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As far as plot goes, the pilot focuses on Annie’s first mission to help take down a Russian assassin. There’s a lot of technical talk, but it’s the action that keeps things interesting. Just when it seems that a dialogue scene is rambling on too long, a car chase begins or a shoot out is commenced. Those scenes especially are impressively shot and gripping enough to keep my eyes glued to the screen. It’s strongest, however, when Piper’s simply kicking bad-guy ass. Producers should definitely amp that up in its upcoming episodes. Christopher Gorham of Ugly Betty famemakes for a rather pleasant sidekick as a blind fellow CIA agent with “aw shucks!” charm, but a subplot about a failing marriage between older CIA agents played by Anne Dudek and Peter Gallagher simply detracts from the high energy tone. I hope to see it pick up the pace soon, but if not at least I’ll know when it’s a good time for a popcorn break.
All in all, if you enjoy a hot girl taking charge and a good action scene, check out Covert Affairs Tuesday on USA. As previously mentioned, similarities to Alias cannot be avoided (the two shows are almost laughably similar), but as they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and this formula is definitely still going strong. Now that the basics have been established, I’m eager to see what Covert Affairs has in mind, and I see no reason why you shouldn’t also.
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