"If you want to make something that lasts, you gotta make it with your own two hands," Jon Voight's character, oil tycoon Clint Thatcher, says in the pilot episode of the new Fox series "Lone Star." While that logic may work in the show's world, fiction unfortunately does not always mirror reality.
It's undeniable that "Lone Star," which centers on con man Bob Allen (James Wolk) and the double life he leads, had an intriguing and promising series premiere.
Wolk is perfectly cast as the slick Texas scam artist torn between his money−making schemes and going straight, the supporting cast — which includes Voight and "Friday Night Lights" favorite Adrianne Palicki — shines and the plot seems to find a good balance between soapy melodrama and real−life stakes.
But there's a little problem that seems like it will prevent creator Kyle Killen's well−crafted drama from being something that lasts: ratings.
Only 4.1 million viewers tuned in last Monday despite a prime−time slot after "House," which has led Killen to start a fan campaign, stating, "For us to survive we're going to have to pull off a minor miracle."
Ignoring, for the moment, the show's precarious future, let's just consider that "Lone Star" has all the makings of a great series. The pilot begins with Bob and girlfriend Lindsay (Eloise Mumford) living a happy life together in the quiet town of Midland, Texas.
Bob is in the oil business and seems to be making a lot of people very happy and very rich. He travels frequently for business, but his stop in Houston turns out to be quite permanent — he lives a double life there with wife Cat Thatcher (Palicki).
Bob is, in fact, a con artist, trained by his father John (David Keith) to get close to his various "targets" and cheat them out of millions of dollars. But right when he scores his biggest con yet — getting a job at Cat's father's oil company so he can steal from the inside — he starts having second thoughts, realizing that he might be happier living "normal" lives with his two loves.
In a television environment so overwhelmingly populated by generic police, legal and medical dramas, "Lone Star" inspires hope, showing signs that innovation and creativity can still exist on broadcast networks, even if the content may be more suitable for cable (where a show with 4.1 million viewers would be considered a hit).
The series immediately establishes its own voice, and pilot director Marc Web — of "(500) Days of Summer" (2009) fame — creates an introspective feel that allows the audience to connect with Bob, despite his lying, unfaithful ways.
The key to successfully having a con man as your main character is in the casting, and Wolk's portrayal of Bob is pitch−perfect. Even though we see him cheating countless innocent investors — including Lindsay's parents — out of their hard−earned money, when he says he is in love with both women in his life, we believe him.
Wolk sells Bob's moral dilemma, and it is easy to see how the people on both sides of his double identity care about him.
All praise considered, the pilot certainly was not perfect. It was a little too convenient that Bob would start reconsidering his line of work just as his long con started paying off, and some of the soapy elements — Bob's argument with his father when he reveals his change of heart; his fight with Lindsay's old flame — were a little too on the nose. One scene in particular, drawing a parallel between Bob and John's relationship with that of a convenience store clerk and his own capitalizing father, was eye−rollingly unsubtle.
Overall, "Lone Star" is ambitious and well−executed, and it's a shame it seems destined to suffer a premature death while this season's less deserving new shows such as "Outsourced" and "$#*! My Dad Says" live on.
The biggest concern with this type of soap−opera, serialized show is that it wouldn't be able to play out for 22 episodes, let alone multiple seasons, but it at least deserves a chance to fail on its own terms rather than be subjected to cancellation based on ratings alone.
With the caveat that one of the best new pilots of the season may also be its first casualty, watch "Lone Star" tonight, if only to see what audiences will soon be missing.
