Alphas

[Emperor]

Did “The Cape” and “No Ordinary Family” not satisfy your craving for post-“Heroes” superhero TV adventure?

 

A new Syfy hourlong from screenwriters Zak Penn (“Elektra,” “Fantastic Four,” “Incredible Hulk,” “X-Men: The Last Stand”) and Michael Karnow (“House of Buggin’”), “Alphas” stars David Strathairn (“Good Night, And Good Luck”) as a scientist who brings together humans with superpowers:

 

* Malik Yoba (“New York Undercover”) plays Bill Harken, an FBI agent who uses adrenaline to give himself increased strength, speed and immunity from pain.

 

* Laura Mennell (“Watchmen”) plays Nina Theroux, who’s so hot she can seduce people into doing her bidding.

 

* Azita Ghanizada (“General Hospital”) plays Rachel Pirzad, who can increase any of her basic senses at the expense of the others.

 

* Ryan Cartwright (“Mad Men”) plays Gary Bell, an autistic savant who can watch TV without a TV and listen to cell phone transmissions without a cell phone.

 

* Warren Christie (“Happy”) plays Cameron Hicks, whose mind is unusually well connected to his body.

 

It feels even more like X-Men than even the very X-Men-like “Heroes,” and its pilot is better than those offered by ABC’s “No Ordinary Family” and NBC’s “The Cape.”

 

While I can’t say I found any of the “Alphas” characters terribly compelling or the superpowers credible, the pilot at least is paced well enough to stem boredom.

 

I think my favorite thing here is the quirky performance from “Battlestar Galactica” vet Callum Keith Rennie, who plays the disdainful Pentagon official who oversees Rosen’s Alphas project.

 

Speaking of Rennie, I say if we exclude anything Cylon-related “Alphas” is the best Syfy pilot in some time. So it’s stronger than “Eureka,” “Haven,” “Warehouse 13” and “Sanctuary” if that’s any measure.

 

HitFix says:

 

… Ultimately, I was more drawn in by the team's interactions than I was by either aspect of the plot, but that's probably better for the show's long-term viability. …

 

AOL says:

 

… hits some notes too hard and lacks a certain subtlety, yet there's potential in this tale, especially if it delves into the psychological cost of being extraordinary. The least interesting thing that 'Alphas' could do would be to devolve into a superhero-flavored police procedural, which is one obvious way the show could go. …

 

The New York Times says:

 

… an uneasy hybrid: a science-fiction action series that also wants to be a heart-tugging law-and-order procedural … The closest analogue, however, is probably the recently canceled “No Ordinary Family,” which, like “Alphas,” wanted to make a point of its characters’ essential ordinariness. That’s one way to engage an audience, but in the absence of strong writing or really distinctive performances, it can also be a route to inconsequentiality.… feels like the beta version.

 

The Los Angeles Times says:

 

… a fresh take on an old premise, a sit-up-and-take-notice show that, while not the fanboy catnip "Battlestar Galactica" once was, should bring many more eyeballs to the struggling network. …

 

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

 

… not-so-boldly goes where many series have gone before. …

 

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

 

… Monday's premiere finds the misfits trying to figure out how a prisoner was murdered with a bullet from a high-powered rifle in his forehead, despite being in a locked room with no weapons. The solution may challenge credibility, but it is inventively engaging and a good way of establishing the tone for the 12-episode season. …

 

The Boston Herald says:

 

… The premiere drops enough intriguing hints about the players’ pasts without distracting from the main plot. …

 

Variety says:

 

… give "Alphas" high marks for effort and ingenuity, demonstrating a TV show needn't provide major pyrotechnics or a reinvented wheel to lay the groundwork for solid summer entertainment where the characters, somewhat refreshingly, are only sort-of super.