USA Network has been one of the few networks producing great scripted television over the last several years. Popular shows such as Burn Notice, Monk, PSYCH, White Collar, and Royal Pains have all been on my list of shows to watch. Anytime USA announces a new series, I’m usually there to watch it and see how it turns out.
Covert Affairs centers around a young woman who is training to be a CIA agent. Played by the sexy Piper Perabo, our lead character Annie Walker is a well-traveled and has picked up a half-dozen languages or so. After a whirlwind romance with a man, the relationship ended badly. When she woke up, he was gone with a cryptic letter on his pillow, stating “the truth is complicated”, or something to that effect.
Still not entirely over the way her incredible romance ended, Annie has decided to put her language skills to some use and in the Pilot, we find her training at the CIA’s “farm.” She gets pulled out of a training mission and is whisked away to headquarters to be briefed on a mission. Her Russian language skills prove to be valuable to the agency and before she knows it, she’s neck-deep in a dangerous mission.
I have to give the writers a lot of credit for what they managed to pull off here in the pilot. First episodes rarely tell a good story and include enough information about the main characters to make them seem interesting. They hit it out of the park on Covert Affairs. There’s a lot of mystery and intrigue as to what happened with Annie’s flame. He appears to be a rogue agent of some kind and it’s got me hooked.
One of the few complaints I have about the pilot was the initial acting done by Christopher Gorham. He ends up pulling off a believable blind guy, but initially, his mannerisms were a little off. His head movements looked too much like what a ’sighted’ person would have. However, he definitely worked it out and by the end of the episode, he was totally believable.
Kari Matchett (Joan Campbell) and Peter Gallagher (Arthur Campbell) make for a heck of a couple on this show. They run their respective departments at the agency and also happen to be married. When the Campbells begin to argue over accusations of infidelity, it makes for a tense and awkward situation… especially when Joan learns Arthur likely isn’t having an affair. She had egg all over her face.
Some of the things I found interesting about the first episodes were the things you don’t normally think about when you think of the CIA. Awards are handed out, but you obviously can’t take them home because that would blow your cover. Dating within the agency is highly recommended to keep the circle of trust. They’re all quite logical.
Covert Affairs has something really interesting going and I hope that all of the mysteries aren’t solved right away. The mythology behind the series is intriguing, but not something I see lasting 5 seasons. I suspect it’ll turn stale soon after the first season, but I’d like to be proven wrong.
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