Last Sunday night ABC aired the premiere of a new series about
dead people coming back to life – and for once, not as zombies. Co-produced
by Brad Pitt (of the zombie movie World
War Z), Resurrection poses
a serious question and an intriguing premise: how does each of us deal with the
loss of a loved one, and how would we respond if they returned to us?
Resurrection begins
with the inexplicable appearance in a Chinese rice paddy of eight-year-old Jacob,
who drowned 32 years earlier in his hometown of Arcadia, Missouri but who has not
aged a day and has no memory of anything since. His return home to his parents,
now 60, throws all his family members into emotional turmoil as they wrestle in
personal ways with this… miracle? Fraud? Delusion?
The show is based on the book The
Returned by Jason Mott, inspired by the French TV series Les Revenants (a version which Slate
deems vastly better), and bears a loose resemblance to The 4400, a series in which missing persons reappear years and even
decades later – un-aged, confused, and remembering nothing of the time of their
disappearance.
But unlike that show, and unlike the lighthearted sci-fi thrill ride of
J.J. Abrams’ and Alfonso Cuaron’s Believe which airs this Sunday night, Resurrection uses
its supernatural
premise as a starting point for a somber examination of the human drama
of love, loss, and family relationships. Based on the first episode, what
novelist Mott says of his book seems to hold true for the series as well: “The
novel is about loss, and the many different ways we respond to it.”
By the end of the first episode, Jacob is not the only one
“returned.” The series will go on to follow the residents of Arcadia,
whose lives are upended when more and more loved ones return from the dead, mysteriously
un-aged and amnesiac since their deaths. Whether or not the show will answer
the most obvious questions – How did
these people come back to life? Why
did they come back? Where were they all this time? Why do they reappear in
random spots around the world? – remains to be seen. The book itself apparently
doesn’t resolve these mysteries, taking a more character-driven focus, and if
that proves to be true of the series as well, it could frustrate and drive away
viewers expecting answers. It doesn’t help the show’s chances that it is
scheduled against the heavily promoted reboot of Cosmos and AMC’s The Walking Dead, the No. 1 show in
prime time.
The Boston Herald gives the premiere a
thumbs-up and states that “Resurrection
does something few dramas do today — it gives its characters breathing room to
absorb and react to the fantastic in their lives, rather than forcing them to
run from one plot point to another.” I don’t entirely agree, since there is a conventional mystery subplot that detracts
from the more compelling supernatural one. And the premiere suffered from some odd
plot choices, including moments that seemed significant and may or may not be
explained in subsequent episodes (why, for example, did the nurse not initially
detect a heartbeat in the boy?). It also desperately needs a leavening dose of
humor.
The upsides: the premise raises
interesting spiritual and philosophical questions; it has an emotionally powerful
hook to which everyone can relate, because we have all lost someone; characters
of faith, like a young pastor who had been Jacob’s boyhood friend, are taken
seriously and depicted respectfully; and it’s a well-acted family show, with
emotional intensity but no sex, violence, or foul language. If the series has
time to find an audience, it could prove to be uniquely thought-provoking
entertainment.
(This article originally appeared here on Acculturated, 3/13/14)