mieguy

Season 1 of the Syndicate Series (or Season 2 if you count the Original Series) is quite a surprise. It has an actor relatively unknown to the audience and a story sounding like Team Knight Rider which was not a very successful series (ended after one Season). So what you can expect? Jeff Kaake does a great acting Job here. His only major role before he started being the main actor in Viper was in Space Rangers. But i think he is perfect for the role as the new Viper driver. Jeff shows Coolness and Superiority in one place, but can be a good partner as well.

The more disappointing part is the plot. All stories are refreshing and not standard Hollywood plots. But the writers didn't make much of their good ideas. We see too often episodes with 40 minutes of talking and 5 minutes of action. That would be okay but the talking doesn't seem to drive the story forward. Car chases get boring in some episodes because of the lack of traffic.

But there are also Exceptions. We see street racing with classic muscle cars ("Breakdown on Thunder Road"), a man with super powers going mad ("Manhunt") and a chase between two Vipers in "Wheelman". These stories may not sound refreshing but thats what maybe makes them better than the other episodes.

From all episodes of this season "Shutdown" might be the best. In Germany this was broadcast in a 2-hour pilot together with "Winner Take All" and it literally blows the audience away. We see an explosion of 16 Chrysler Corporation cars, the Defender is blown up and the story is also mind-blowing. What else does it need?

So my overall review is that there are ups and downs but the better episodes are so overwhelming that you easily forget about the bad episodes. I would watch them again.