We are about to become a nation of rubberneckers. In a good way.
Expect fender-benders, threats, reprisals, betrayals, thrills and an overarching mystery when the utterly compelling “Drive” careens onto the small screen.
Fox’s latest entry in the serialized drama field, a sort of “Amazing Race” merged with “Lost,” deserves our attention.
The fuel-injected, testosterone-heavy “Drive” kicks into gear Sunday with a two-hour premiere, 7-9 p.m. on KDVR-Channel 31.
Road rage has never held so much potential for character development.
“Drive” is a fast and brutal thriller – the network calls it an “action soap” – built around a curious, illegal, underground cross-country road race. (Pop-culture mavens of a certain age will recall the real-life outlaw races of the 1970s that inspired such movies as “Cannonball Run.”)
The hour does for drama what “Amazing Race” did for reality TV: tweak the form in clever ways to make it more about personality than motion. Of course the journey is more important than the destination. Slowly, we learn about each of the characters gathered for various reasons to participate in the race (with the promise of millions of dollars in reward).
Some are in it for the money; others hope to start new lives. Alex Tully (Nathan Fillion of “Firefly”) hopes to find his kidnapped wife. New mom Wendy Patakris (Melanie Lynskey) seeks an escape from her violent husband. John Trimble (Dylan Baker) is a scientist intent on showing his teenage daughter that he’s not as dull as she thinks.
Mr. Bright (Charles Martin Smith) is the race liaison who gives the participants instructions and divulges nothing about the race benefactors. The group doesn’t know exactly who they’re racing against or why; we glimpse rival drivers and passengers in the first hour but won’t get to know them for some time.
Alliances form, rivalries play out. Through it all, the director’s photographic challenge is to keep the driving scenes interesting. Motion never overtakes character, but the digitally enhanced visuals are particularly noteworthy.
Talking to critics, the actors and producers acknowledged the restricted acting range when seated behind a steering wheel. It’s all about creating a sense of urgency.
In fact, much of the death-defying action is shot using a stationary “green screen” behind the actors on a stage.
Creator Tim Minear joked that, “What we’ve discovered is that, because of technology, we can actually create a cross-country road race and shoot it all in Santa Clarita.”
Seriousy, director Greg Yaitanes said a “signature visual” of the show will involve constant “car-to-car work” never before seen on TV or film.
Minear said the look is achieved through a combination of live-action roadwork with the vehicles and green- screen stage work. “Every time you go up into a car and you see a performer, they’re actually on a green-screen stage,” he said.
The background isn’t just rear-screen projections, but 360-degree plates.
“They put cameras all the way around a camera car on the highway,” Minear said. “When they do the background, they’re able to move anywhere in a virtual environment. And this way, you can go into a car. You can go around and see what’s in front of the person. You can move across into moving traffic and then into another car, and it’s another car on a green-screen stage.
“It’s all very technical.”
From the starting line the producers have a clear grip on the central mythology. Perhaps “Drive” will be easier to sustain than the metaphysically loaded “Lost.” “Drive” is a more literal drama, tied to a road race, located in knowable physical spaces, even if the impetus is unknown.
The pilot suggests the story is well tuned and the characters calibrated to go the distance. Unlike “Lost,” if the characters get lost on “Drive” they can pull over and ask directions. (At least the women can.)
Questions about how subsequent seasons might be structured (New cast? New race, same characters?) suggest the pilot might be intriguing enough to warrant a continuation. The producers should wish for that problem.
For now, it’s pedal to the metal for the first leg. Even without polar bears, “Drive” will be a white-knuckle ride.
TV critic Joanne Ostrow can be reached at 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com.
