8A - Monday, January 28, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com TV REVIEW Intense 'The Following lacks final destination Kevin Bacon sizzles in serial killer thriller By RADHIKA MENON Daily Arts Writer TV has never been afraid of serial killers. Most notably, Showtime's "Dexter" and CBS's "Criminal Minds" explore B the inner work- ings of these flawed mur- derers. Dex- Following ter Morgan is Pilot America's most beloved serial Mondays at 9 p.m. killer (if that FOX sort of thing is even possible), and the cast of "Criminal Minds" repeatedly walks us through a day in the life of solving these types of crimes. What's distinct about these two shows is that they openly take on the perspec- tive of either the criminal or the detective - never both - with little room between the lines. FOX's "The Following" takes aim at this middle ground, per- sonifying both ex-FBI Agent Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon, "Mys- tic River") and psychopathic seri- al killer Dr. Joe Carroll (James Purefoy, "Resident Evil"). The new dark drama focuses on Eng- lish-professor-turned-murderer Carroll's ability to create a net- work of followers from the con- fines of his prison cell using the Internet. Using these new pawns, he escapes from jail, setting alco- holic Hardy back on his trail. What's most interesting about the premise is the actual con- struction of Carroll's followers, all of them ready to sacrifice 4 THIS is happening James Murphy lit up Pontiac A "Give me Bacon or give me death" their lives for his cause. There isn't much time spent figuring out the how and why of their involvement, but the ambiguity is intriguing and will hopefully be explored in later episodes. At a first glance, "The Fol- lowing" is incredibly smart in throwing off viewers from guessing what comes next. Periphery characters are shown to be wholly replaceable, which is both a strength and a weak- ness: While it shows the truly ruthless attitude of Carroll, it also detracts from creating a set of accountable secondary characters. Those who populate Carroll and Hardy's world seem to have their days numbered - but maybe that's the underlying point. Yet, the ability to surprise the audience with both plot and character motives is no doubt the show's greatest asset, and is one that is called upon time and time again. The show is incredibly fast- paced and entertaining, moving through each storyline swiftly in order to set all of the pieces in motion. Bacon lives up to the hype of his first notable network television role, showing restraint in Hardy's persistence. Purefoy easily embodies the cruel and calculating serial killer, mak- ing Carroll relatable enough to add dimension. Together, Bacon and Purefoy rightfully carry the show - their few scenes togeth- er are excitingly charged and intense. Still, "The Following" feels incredibly one-dimensional; beyond the literal good-guy- bad-guy chase, there are not many other moving pieces. The characters - though made dynamic through the fantastic performances - don'thave much meat on their bones. There's a backstory of the two men shar- ing a lover, but it doesn't add much to Hardy's determination or Carroll's murderous ways. The whole episode seems to be building toward one moment; one unaccomplished goal of Car- roll's before he was hauled off to the joint the first time. But that moment comes and goes within the hour, leavingthe trajectory of the "The Following" somewhat unclear. The show itself has its moments, but none with such a distinct destination. Overall, "The Following" is immensely gripping and well- acted; if nothing else, you should get excited for Kevin Bacon on your television every week. By ANDREW ECKHOUS Daily Arts Writer Pontiac is a peculiar place to see James Murphy, the ex-lead- er of our dearly departed LCD Soundsystem. The city is well- known - among high schoolers, at least - for its 18-and-under club nights and men with copious amounts of hair gel. James Mur- phy, au contraire, is a style icon whose former band's final gig was at Madison Square Garden. Maybe that's why he took almost five hours to set up his turntables. The barrage of no-name open- ers wasn't particularly offensive, and the crowd was too drunk to care - except for the ennui-laden hipster chick.in front of me, she seemed miserable. But when it hit midnight, people started getting a little antsy. Finally, at 12:40, we got our first glimpse of Murphy. The crowd - which was a head- scratching combination of Ponti- ac locals, intoxicated parents and chambray-clad yuppies - had been danc-" ing along First seen on unper- -the filter turbed for a few hours at this point, but found its second wind upon see- ing the man with the fantastic beard set up four -four! - turn- tables. As a child of the digital DJ revolution, I was astonished that someone could have the manual dexterity and timing to sync up everything by hand, but James Murphy is simply a product of a more noble time. I could actually watch him select records for the hour-and-a-half set he played, and his choices were damn-near flawless. He may believe that he's "losing his edge," but I didn't see any hint of that. a Murphy's underground pedi- gree was on full burn as he played deep tracks from all sorts of funk, soul, rap and early elec- tronic records. His set seemed like something that would've been played in the underground clubs where Murphy developed his skills. No huge bass drops, no house beats, just live sampling and a crowd that would've been stopped in their tracks had they been able to stop dancing. - The original version of this article was published online on The Filter, theDailyArtsblog,onJan.27. 4 a 0 4 Hail to the convenience. Introducing University of Michigan checking accounts from Flagstar Bank. Open a new University of Michigan checking account- we have three to choose from. While you're at it, select which type of card you want to show the world. xI Visit a branch today. (800) 642-0039 flagstar.com/umich Flagstar, Bank An Official Partner of Michigan Athletics This card is issued by Flagstar Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.SA. Inc. Member FDIC : 4