Full disclosure: I wasn’t much impressed after my first viewing of ABC’s new drama Mind Games a couple of months ago.
I reviewed it again last week and, surprisingly, changed my mind. I don’t usually do that.
Maybe Mind Games was playing mind games with me.
See for yourself when the series premieres at 9 p.m. Tuesday. It has some intriguing performances by actors you know and a dandy supporting cast that most should find appealing.
Mind games are what brothers Clark (Steve Zahn, Treme) and Ross Edwards (Christian Slater, Heathers) are up to in the series. That plus a dollop of con-artistry and a dash of Jedi mind tricks.
To quote Obi-Wan Kenobi, “The Force can have a strong influence on the weak-minded.” The Force, or a scientific version of it, is what the Edwardses are trying to turn into a new business as the series gets underway.
Edwards and Associates offers services based on the belief that people’s decisions can be influenced by mere suggestion.
“We change people’s minds without them knowing we did it,” Clark says.
Complications: Both men are deeply flawed. Ross is an incorrigible con artist, and Clark is a bipolar genius. He frequently bounces off the walls. Or rearranges furniture. Or both at the same time.
Clark is a world-renowned expert in the fields of human behavior, psychology and motivation. He had a brilliant academic career underway at the university that came crashing down when the dean discovered Clark’s affair with a 22-year-old undergraduate.
Clark is madly in love, but the student has since vanished and won’t answer his desperate calls or messages.
Meanwhile, Clark is trying hard to focus his energy on Ross’ new business. To keep his edge, Clark has quit taking his medication.
Ross is the family planner and schemer. He also just got out of minimum-security prison after a two-year stint for fraud.
Ross is divorced and an inveterate ladies’ man (those facts are probably related). He’s frequently ethically challenged, confusing honesty with opportunism.
Ross oozes energy and confidence, but his tactics can be questionable and his strategies borderline illegal.
The associates:
Latrell Griffin (Cedric Sanders) is a talented, but overly serious, young man from the mean streets. Ross sees business potential in him.
Miles Hood (Gregory Marcel) is a geeky trust-fund baby and promising behavioral psychology graduate student. He has Clark’s flair for science and Ross’ general disregard for ethics.
Sam Gordon (Jaime Ray Newman) is an ex-con whom Ross met during his court-mandated group therapy and rehabilitation sessions. Sam’s abilities to read people and improvise will serve her well on the team.
Megan Shane (Megalyn Echikunwoke) is a beautiful young actress who proves to be an invaluable asset to the team when they need her acting ability to help turn a scientific scheme into real-world results.
Beth Scott (Katherine Cunningham) is Clark’s former student, with whom he had the affair. Beth claims to still be in love with Clark, but Ross wonders if she can handle a long-term relationship with his manic brother.
Bottom line: With their diverse staff to help, the Edwards brothers will use the real science of psychology, human motivation and manipulation to offer clients an alternative to their fates. But Clark and Ross each believes he knows best what makes people tick. They can’t both be right.
At the recent TV critics winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif., series creator and writer Kyle Killen (Awake, Lone Star) noted the series is based on real firms who offer similar services to politicians and corporations wanting to sell themselves to the public.
“In a weird way this show is about a group of people who are really under qualified to play God, but they’ve set up a business where they do just that,” Killen said. “In terms of the likability of these characters, these are brothers who would like to connect. These are people whose general ambition is to help people.” The downside?
“One of the consequences of doing things without people knowing is they feel manipulated when they figure it out,” Killen says.
At the end of the first episode, viewers will learn of a major manipulation by Ross that will have a major dramatic impact as the series goes along.
There will be 12 episodes in the first season. If enough viewers are along for the ride, there will be a Season 2 and Slater can forget the ratings slide that doomed his last series, Fox’s Breaking In.
Note: Mind Games replaces Killer Women, which is leaving the field two weeks early due to anemic ratings.
TV Week, Pages 85 on 02/23/2014