The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/421281
The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, November 21, 2014 18 By Lydia Peever TV Media S till faces lit by the glow of computer monitors fire up our imaginations in tech-heavy dramas. They pore over hours of videotape off-screen while we get to see the end result. Heroes zoom in on the culprit. Grainy video clears and there he is, that's who did it, and our team saves the day. We often wonder just how that technology works; if it even exists. Enter "Scorpion." Not only is this fledgling se- ries based loosely on the story of founder and CEO of Scorpi- on Computer Services Walter O'Brien — played here by Elyes Gable ("Game of Thrones," "Body of Proof") — it develops and uses the technology writers usually only dream about. Thankfully for fans of the hacker-haven series, CBS re- cently called for nine more epi- sodes of "Scorpion," giving it a coveted full-season episode or- der. The show has beaten the odds, battling mixed reviews from TV critics and having to beat a path through a busy Monday night time-slot. Going up against "Monday Night Football" and shows such as Fox's "Sleepy Hollow," fans still stick around. Catch a new episode of "Scorpion" airing Monday, Nov. 24, on CBS. It came as a bit of a happy accident for the eye network, which can now herald "Scor- pion" as one of its highest- rated dramas in the all-impor- tant 18-49 demographic, and the second-highest-rated new series in the same cate- gory this fall behind ABC's "How To Get Away With Mur- der." When you do the math, it ranks No. 2 overall for new fall series in total viewers, av- eraging 15.2 million people. (CBS's "NCIS: New Orleans" leads the way, averaging 18.2 million viewers.) "This is just one of those quintessential 'Big 10' shows for us," CBS Prime-time Senior Executive Vice-President Kelly Kahl said to "The Wrap" about the new series. "Big viewer number, terrific demographic numbers, male/female appeal — it's a balanced show that gets a big audience, and it touches all the bases. It's just an unqualified success." Early in the game, the se- ries offered a surprise cross- over with Linda Hunt's ("Car- nivàle," "The Practice") iconic character Henrietta "Hetty" Lange. She paid a visit not far from her far more law-and- order style world on "NCIS: Los Angeles." That's a step in the right direction for a fledg- ling series to have honoured guests so soon. All familiar faces are not fleeting. Robert Patrick plays the hard-case boss that any hardcore action fan should recognize. After morphing from molten metal as T-1000 in the paradigm smashing 1991 film "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," he has also had big-screen roles in "The Faculty" (1998) and "Ladder 49" (2004), as well as small- screen roles in "True Blood," "The X-Files" and "From Dusk Til Dawn." "It's a great script, that's the number one thing. I try to do things, television-wise, that have strong scripts," Pat- rick said to "ShowBizJunkies" at the 2014 San Diego Comic- Con. "I'm a curmudgeon. I've been saying I'm kind of like Lou Grant in 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show.' He's got a heart of gold, and he wants these guys to be successful, but they try his patience." Like all of the cast, Patrick says good things of the real- life genius the series is based on. "The thing I like about [O'Brien] is he's really trying to do stuff to help people, and this show is rooted in that. This is not evil. This guy has a brilliant mind and he's allowing us to utilize his in- telligence for the betterment of mankind." Between the hard-case boss and the lovable if not awkward geeks lies the bridge personality on the show: the relatable waitress from the local diner. Paige Dineen (Katharine McPhee, "Smash") was recruited by the tech company to teach a little something about hu- man interaction and keep them grounded. "It's not like I thought it was this flawless, perfect show," McPhee told the "L.A. Times." "But I just loved ev- eryone there so much. It was flawed, but it all felt special." This sort of reflects how her character feels about her new co-workers. She irons out their quirks and does what a waitress does best, with a combination of patience and attention to detail. Our televisions are no strangers to crack teams of hackers saving the world or goofy geeks yucking it up over hot beverages. Fresh off a full-season episode order from CBS, "Scorpion" contin- ues to power through Mon- day nights as one of the eye network's highest-rated dra- mas in the coveted 18-49 de- mographic. Catch a new epi- sode of this hacker haven se- ries airing Monday, Nov. 24, on CBS. Elyes Gabel stars in "Scorpion" 'Scorpion' stings The geeks shall inherit the Earth in CBS' new drama Featurestory