I am definitely a big fan of spy and adventure books and films (I reviewed CBS’ Intelligence this year as well). Right now, I’m reading the latest in Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series, The Heist, and having a hard time putting it down to get anything else done. So that preference may color my feelings about TNT’s new show Legends, which had its second episode today, but on its own, it’s actually a pretty decent show.
A seemingly ordinary family is kidnapped by Russian-speaking thugs dressed as policemen. The crime comes to the attention of the Deep Cover Operations (DCO) team, via the FBI: why would this require such a level of worry? Because the father is actually a former Russian chemist, who defected when he realized that not only was he making a highly toxic chemical weapon for the Russian military, but that they were selling it on the black market as well. DCO is called in when it is determined that the likely target is in the US. The former chemist has been forced to resume his chemical-cooking when the kidnappers threaten the lives of his wife and child.
Martin is having trouble, though he denies it, reintegrating after his Lincoln Dittmann legend is blown. He signs a check to his wife as Dittman; signs into the DCO registry as Dittmann; he has a dish-breaking argument with his wife in front of their young son, Aiden. The staff psychiatrist wants him to stop evading her questions and acting like everything is just fine. Crystal, his controller, thinks he needs some time off – a long amount of time off – but Nelson, the DCO’s director, says they need Martin to help them solve this kidnapping and avert the disaster before he takes a leave.
And Martin is still reeling from the questions that the hooded man asked him – who is he? Is “Martin Odum” just another legend? He approaches a tranportation security officer, Tony Rice (Morris Chestnut), and asks for any information they have on the hooded man, who was killed on the subway platform. A former Marine, the man had been classified as disturbed, but Martin has the feeling that he knew too much to have created the story of not knowing who he was from a deranged mind. Rice learns that Martin was seen with the man on the platform, and had taken a book from him – and is now suspicious of Martin and requests permission to have him tailed. Permission is strongly denied – but where would the story go from there? Rice goes ahead and assembles a team to shadow Martin. Rogue much? A transpo security guy, against orders, following a deep cover op? I see trouble in the future.
To find the kidnapped family, and stop the potential chemical weapon attack, Troy, a member of the DCO team, uses his “legend” as a money man to contact his Russian informant. They’re able to bring both Crystal, as Troy’s accountant, and Martin, posing as the group’s muscle, into the informant’s bar and get the name of someone they learn was involved in the attack. Troy and Crystal meet the suspect, Crystal boosts his phone and takes it into the bathroom to dump the information on it, and avoids being in the room when Troy, his informant and the suspect are all gunned down. Martin rushes upstairs, kills the attackers and gets Crystal out of the building.
At that point, they’ve lost the trail, and decide that they must reactivate one of Martin’s deep cover legends – Dante Auerbach, arms dealer. Will he succeed? The story continues next week.
Sean Bean is terrific in this part – his quiet tone carries a threat, and the dead man’s questions have made Martin begin to have doubts about himself. Is it possible that everything he believes about himself is, in reality, just a legend? And Steve Harris, as DCO Director Nelson Gates, holds up his end well. But I’m having trouble, so far, with Ali Larter’s character, Martin’s controller Crystal McGuire. So far, in just two episodes, her undercover roles have included a stripper and an over-sexed mob accountant. Is that all this supposedly intelligent operative can do, play stereotypical cootchie roles? And Tina Majorino, as the young tech wizard Maggie, has a disturbingly odd hairstyle in this episode – and her role seems to consist of creating digital information in minutes, which would take any real tech wizard hours, if not days to create, and to run into meetings saying, “Look! I just found this!” Legends needs to start taking its women seriously if it wants to succeed. I hope that next week we don’t see Crystal playing a hooker, or any more of the rat on Maggie’s head (to be fair, maybe I’m out of touch with hairstyles among 20-something professional women).
But overall, the show is fun, the story is interesting, and Bean can – so far – hold it together, both the show and his character’s personality. And when it begins to crack – the personality, not the show – I suspect it will only be more interesting.
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Watch full episodes of Legends
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