A Preview of the New NBC Show "Raines"

Many new television are now making their debut. I guess, they are called mid season replacements. I don't mind. I am sick of repeats and it seems like we are having more and more of them with each year. I am also sick of reality television. Don't get me wrong, there is one or two of them that isn't that bad. (I loved Nashville Star and Big Brother for example). But over all I am sick of them. Real life is reality. When I am done for the day, ready to curl up in front of my television I want to be entertained. Watching people make fools of themselves for money and or fifthteen minutes of fame, doesn't always do it for me.

Well last night my husband and I watched the first episode of a new show called Raines. It was actually the second showing of it. It first aired on Thursday night, but I wanted to see that new show on ABC ( October Road).

For those of you who didn't see the scenes or the show itself, the basic premise of the show is that the lead star is a detective, who works for a police force. He is back from a leave of absence. There was an accident. During an incident, he accidentally shot his partner in the head during a shoot out, no it wasn't his fault. He was not blame for the shooting.

Of course, none of that was what captured my attention. What captured my attention was the beginning of the show where the star character is doing the narration. He speaks about how he always wanted to be a writer, a mystery writer. Then he went on to discuss how most mystery novels started and then he describe his current case. It was as glamorous as those mystery novels. The victim was killed in an ordinary lot, she wasn't dressed fancy, she looked like a normal, every day girl. I was hooked.

Being a writer, all of this narrative stuff had me intrigued. I thought maybe this show would be different.

Then the detective (Rianes) began investigating the murder. Now came the interesting plot turn. Raines could see vision of the murdered victim. But wait, she wasn't a ghost. She was a figment of his own imagination. This was something new.

Each time we saw her, she was different. As Raines learned more about the deceased his image of her would change. Just like our images of people changes once we learn more about them.

She also could not help him solve her murder. Yes, she would talk to him. She even told him in the beginning that she would leave once he found out who killed her. But remember she wasn't a real ghost. She was a figment of his imagination.

Why was he seeing her? Was it because he was quirky? Was it because he had a wild imagination? Or did he harbor feelings of guilt over what happened to his partner in the early shoot out we did not see?

The case progressed. We even saw him talking to his ex partner. But wait, wasn't he shot in the head? Yes, he, too was a figment of Raines imagination. But this figment tries to explain to Raines why he is seeing these images, that it could be his over active imagination and the writer inside of him taking over and that it could be a good thing. It is a good thing because detectives are suppose to get to know their victims.

Will this show succeed? Who knows.

I liked the upcoming scenes for it.

By the way, Raines was played by Jeff Goldblum. I personally thought he played the character well. I also liked that this show wasn't fast pace or glitzy like so many detective/crime shows are today. It kind of reminded me of the great detective shows of the past.

Raines airs on NBC. It began airing during ER's time slot on Thursdays at 10 for two weeks and then its original slot will be Friday at 9 starting on March 30. You can also watch downloads of it, full length versions on nbc.com. They have each episode in 11 minute clips, of course you have to put up with some ads first.

If you get the chance to watch it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.