The Passage

Starring: Mark-Paul Gosselaar (10 episodes), Saniyya Sidney (10 episodes), Jamie McShane (10 episodes), Caroline Chikezie (10 episodes), Emmanuelle Chriqui (10 episodes), Brianne Howey (10 episodes), McKinley Belcher III (10 episodes), Henry Ian Cusick (10 episodes), Vincent Piazza (10 episodes), Kecia Lewis (7 episodes), Jason Fuchs (6 episodes), James Le Gros (6 episodes), Jennifer Ferrin (4 episodes), Alain Uy (4 episodes), M.C. Gainey (1 episode)
Directed by: Jason Ensler (4 episodes), Allison Liddi-Brown (1 episode), Jessica Lowrey (1 episode), Jeffrey Nachmanoff (1 episode)
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction
2019

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: American scientists conducting experiments on death row inmates accidentally create vampires instead of curing them of diseases. A young girl (Saniyya Sidney) could be the key to saving the world.

Review:
Tim: I was a massive fan of Justin Cronin's "The Passage" trilogy so I was simultaneously ecstatic and fearful when I heard Fox was adapting. I couldn't believe we were actually getting a series adaptation of those books. Although I prefer movies to television, Cronin's trilogy was such an epic story that it felt right to have it told in an episodic format. So, I was pinching myself that I'd finally get to see Wolgast, Amy, and everything else depicted on screen. On the other hand, though, I was quite worried. Cronin's series is dark and scary and I wasn't convinced that a network would be able to do it justice. Fox isn't my favorite television studio and I was very concerned that they were going to muck it up and I'd be disappointed. The reality is both better and worse than I hoped for.

On the one hand, this series is actually better than I expected it would be. I was so worried that they'd rush the story. I've seen this done so many times before- great books are ruined because too much is cut out. That shockingly isn't the case here. They wisely focused the first season on the first part of the book only. I suppose this is a SPOILER for the book, as well as the series. In the book, Cronin establishes these great characters that you learn to love and then shockingly jumps 90 years into the future! It was so jarring when I read the book, but I actually learned to love the new characters as much as the previous ones. It made for an inventive and brilliant approach to the story. This movie follows that similar path, as the entire first season is focused on that first part only. With 10 episodes, we get to know the characters and the story. We're given enough time to connect with the characters. In some ways, characters are highlighted even more in the series than the book. I thought Tim Fanning was a superior character in the series than in the book. I also thought some of the changes to the characters were brilliant. I loved the shift of Babcock from a male to a female character. That was such a great tweak that improved the overall story. I don't think Clark was in the books (or if he was, he's not very memorable), but I found him to be a fairly compelling character. This is all to say that there's a lot to like about the adaptation, both the things changed, as well as what remained the same. So far, so good.

Here's the problem. The series was always good, but never quite great. I found myself interested in the story and the characters but there was never a must-see quality to the series. With the book, I found myself compelled to turn the page, to read just a little bit more before bed. That was missing from the series. I liked it, I was entertained, but it was never good enough that I'd feel confident recommending it to anyone else (indeed, I've never suggested to anyone I know that they needed to watch it). It felt like a perfectly fine show, but it was missing anything truly exciting about it. It's not surprising that the series was cancelled after the first season. I felt mixed emotions at this news. Certainly, I was disappointed. I'll never get to see Peter, Alicia, Michael, or Sara depicted on the screen. We'll never get to see the crazy events of "The Twelve" or "The City of Mirrors". So, that makes me very sad. On the other hand, even though I liked "The Passage", I never loved the series. This mostly leaves me feeling disappointed and frustrated at Fox for indeed mucking it up.

I have to give Mark-Paul Gosselaar credit. He doesn't initially strike you as a worthy Brad Wolgast, but I thought he gave a solid performance. I never quite bought him in the role, but he put a lot of effort into it and was enjoyable more often than not. I don't have many vocal complaints about his performance. I thought Saniyya Sidney made a really strong Amy. I actually love the change in Amy's race. It added a nice dynamic to the series, while still retaining what made Amy such a compelling character. Sidney and Gosselaar work really well together. Jamie McShane was fantastic as Tim Fanning. He spends too much of the series just staring ahead in vampire form, but man, every time he was on screen, the episode was better. I love Henry Ian Cusick, but I can't say he was all that great as Lear. He was fine, but he never made that big of a impact. Vincent Piazza did some great work as Clark and Brianne Howley might not be a good actress, but she was memorable as Shauna Babcock. Caroline Chikezie was pretty bland and boring in her role. It was great seeing Emmanuelle Chriqui. The cast was fine, but it's hard to not feel like this was a B- cast in terms of talent. Still, more of them rose to the occasion than didn't.

I suppose I mostly feel thankful that this adaptation was made. I still think it would have made a killer R-rated film trilogy or cable/streaming show. I do fault Fox for making it too bloodless, too safe and networky. That's not what the books were about. Still, I kind of expected this to be so bad that I would be angry, but I never felt that. I wish it was better, but it was still a pretty decent series. It's just too bad it was abandoned after one season.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



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