The first season of Awake has started on NBC starring Jason Isaacs. It plays on Thursday nights at 9PM ET. After only five episodes, I can officially say I am hooked. Jason Isaacs plays Michael Britten, a homicide detective living in two different realities. At the beginning of the season, Britten was in a car crash that literally split his life in two. To put it simply, in one reality his wife was killed in the car crash and in the other his son was killed in the car crash. These two realities allow him to spend a day with his wife, go to sleep, and wake up to spend a day with his son. He also sees a different psychologist in each reality, both telling him that his other life is a dream and a coping mechanism for the loss of his son/wife. It may sound complicated, but if you watch the first episode it all comes together seamlessly.
I give the show 4 out of 5 stars. It isn't my favorite show of all time (I do watch A LOT of TV), but it is probably one of favorite new shows this season. It isn't one of those shows that you can predict the turnout. Every show keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. The show is pretty clear about which reality he is currently in (i.e.: he will wake up next to his wife or bring his son to school; has two different partners in each life; has two different psychologists in each life). The complex storyline is part of what makes the story so appealing to me.
[Spoiler Alert]
As the season has progressed, the two realities sort to collide with each other as far as his homicide investigations are concerned. For example, in Episode 3 his son was kidnapped by an escaped convict he put in jail. I will keep names to a minimum since the storyline alone is confusing enough. The convict was accused of killing a drug dealer that had sold his son drugs leading to his eventual overdose. The man kidnaps his son so that Britten will help him prove his innocence. He secretly sets up a meet with the kidnapper to talk about the terms to get his son back. When they meet, the kidnapper tells him that his son is in the middle of a desert and will certainly die of dehydration if Isaac is unable to prove his innocence. The man claims to know who framed him for the murder, but as soon as he opens up his mouth to explain, he is shot twice is the chest by Britten's ex-partner who had helped him on the case. Unknowingly, Britten's partner had followed him to the scene and thought that the convict was assaulting Britten. Britten proclaims, "You killed my son."
Britten then hurries home with a brilliant plan in mind. He takes some sleeping meds and wakes up shortly after next to his wife. He then goes to visit the convict that kidnapped his son in jail (who is alive in this reality) and asks him about his place in the desert. The convict refuses to help him unless Britten is once again willing to prove his innocence. He goes on to say he has information proving that Britten's ex-partner (who shot the convict in the other reality) framed him for murder in order to steal money from the drug dealer that was killed. Britten rushes to the partner's house (secretly with a wire tap) and tells him that he knows everything. He convinces the partner that he will not tell anyone if he just receives his cut of what was taken from the drug dealer. The partner finally gives in and is arrested shortly after. Britten goes to sleep, wakes up in the other reality, and saves his son with only moments to spare.
So far, all of the episodes have been along these lines. The most interesting part is that the only people that know about his "dreams" (differing realities) are his wife, and his two psychologists. The psychologists keep trying to convince him that the other reality is not real, and they both do certain things that prove it (making it even more confusing). His bosses and partners have started to believe he is crazy due to his "psychic" ability (i.e.: seeing clues in one reality that help his cases in the other), and the weight of living two different lives is starting to weigh down on him. However, Britten sees the situation as a blessing rather than a curse. Check out the show and let me know what you guys think. It is one of my favorite new shows of the season, so I thought I would get the word out.
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