Hostages

Pilot: The 2 best thing about this new CBS drama is the premise and Toni Collette. Think of this at a network neutered version of "Homeland", i.e. without the violence, the grit or the subversion. The bad guys who, so far, aren't really that bad, and the good guys (or girl, in both cases) who's a strong, independent bitch. However, count on them to always have annoying children. The premise itself is the hook, but how can this lead to beyond 15 episodes is as good a guess as anybody's. Even "Under The Dome" is going on to Season 2! Collette is amazing to watch, and her eyes are powerful and emotional. She's one of the few actors who can really convey emotions with a look, although not many looks thus far (but, hey!, she was in "United States of Tara"), and it's kind of cute when her Aussie accent slips out. McDermott bores me, as he did in "American Horror Story". He has always been looking/acting the same ever since "The Practice". He and everybody else was just so poorly executed and written. So far, I am not that intrigued into his motive, but rather, what may be interesting is to see how the story develops, as it looks like Stockholm Syndrome or reverse Stockholm (if such a thing exist) may develop between the people in the house. Will stick around a bit and see whether I end up giving up on this like I did "Under The Dome".

Episode #2, "Invisible Leash": And the narrative continues. I can see this as a short-order series (13 eps) but what will season 2 be like? The star of the show is Toni Collette, and her subtle facial/eye expressions are a wonder to behold. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast cannot hold up to her. It would have been better if they split the POV with a few scenes from the investigators' side. The cold opening was great, however, if this was on cable, it would had been better, and perhaps even more realistic. Although, kudos to the creative team for trying to address that point. The dynamics of the captors are way more interesting than the family's. And other than Collette's "Ellen", everybody else is still rather bland. Tate Donovan's affair storyline is sucking the life out of the show just like Ted's in "Nashville".

Episode #3, "Power of Persuasion": This show is getting slightly contrived and the never ending cycle of mysteries and conspiracies which is supposed to entrap us is already turning into a bore. Toni Collette and the whole concept of whether she will kill the President are the only reasons worth watching for in this show. Otherwise, it really is quite a drag.

Episode #4, "2.45PM": Seriously this serialised drama is just going round and round in such a formulaic manner that one would think this was a procedural. Gosh...if I only I could just forward it along to the end. This would make a good binge series. But at least the children here are actually less annoying than most others.