TV Review: Stephen King’s ‘Under the Dome’ Shows Promise on CBS

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CHICAGO – Stephen King’s “Under the Dome” would have likely been a standard mini-series back in the day when such a thing happened on the networks in iterations like “It,” “The Stand,” and “Storm of the Century.” In a time when network mini-series are a lost form, CBS has taken the daring move of turning King’s book into a fully-formed, 13-episode Summer series, with the door apparently open for more beyond this initial arc.

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

Will “Under the Dome” catch on with audiences looking for a warm weather alternative? I hate to say it but I don’t really know. There’s enough to like about the first episode but it was the only one sent for review and this is the kind of production that could fall into goofy plotting and silly dialogue soon. For now, I’m engaged, and more so then I thought I would be given CBS’s recent dramatic track record, but don’t yell at me in a month if it sucks.

Under the Dome
Photo credit: CBS

Talent behind the camera goes a long way to explaining why the series premiere of “Under the Dome” works. Director Niels Arden Oplev (the original “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) has a strong sense of pacing, hitting the ground quickly, which is essential for an hour of TV that has to hook viewers to a story that will take the next three months to resolve. Even more important is Brian K. Vaughan, the brilliant writer behind the must-read “Y the Last Man,” “Saga,” and several great chapters of “LOST” (he’s credited in some fashion — producer, story editor, writer — on 39 episodes). Oplev and Vaughan know how to craft a unique story such as King’s into something that works on network TV.

Under the Dome Photo credit: CBS

Chester’s Mill seems like a pretty average town. There are some political games being played and some dark secrets being held but the population seems relatively amiable. It’s the kind of place one wouldn’t mind stopping off for a meal on a road trip. And it becomes a place that’s impossible to traverse when a gigantic dome falls from the sky, cutting off its residents from the rest of society. How the residents respond to their forced isolation and why they’ve been chosen to be a real-life replica of “The Simpsons Movie” will be the focus of the first season of “Under the Dome.”

Mike Vogel (“Cloverfield”) plays the proposed anti-hero of the piece, a veteran nicknamed Barbie who clearly holds some dark secrets, which investigative reporter Julia Shumway (Rachelle Lefevre, appearing later this week in “White House Down”) may discover. Joe (Colin Ford) and Angie McCalister (Britt Robertson of “Life Unexpected”) are forced to deal with the fact that their parents are on the other side of the dome. Big Jim (Dean Norris of “Breaking Bad”) seems ready to use the isolation to wrest power from Chief of Police Duke Perkins (Jeff Fahey). Other characters include a strong-willed Deputy (Natalie Martinez), a group trying to travel through town, and a pair at the radio station who first realize they’re cut off.

“Under the Dome” is instantly darker than CBS drama viewers may expect (although those who know Vaughan’s material will expect). Let’s just say that when dome meets cow, things get kind of bloody. While the premiere has the power of the concept to play with and the introduction to over a dozen characters, it’s impossible to say for sure how the show proceeds from here in terms of quality. I have high hopes. The cast is strong, the pacing is tight, the dialogue is efficient without being silly, and the show ends on an interesting enough note to get people to tune in next week.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]