On a TV Near You is Jeff Goldblum: A Review of "Raines"

Let's face the facts upfront that the actor Jeff Goldblum is kind of an odd guy. I am not saying that odd is a bad thing. I am willing to bet most people would say I am a bit of an odd guy as well. I am just saying he has a different way of speaking, moving and acting. When you look at Jeff Goldblum you do not necessarily see a man who has vanished into his character the way someone like, oh, William H. Macy does. You can tell it's Jeff because he talks the same way and has the same mannerisms every time.

So, Jeff has finally come to television in a new show on NBC called "Raines." You probably saw the commercials and reacted the way I did. "Oh jeez," you might have said, "another show with a guy who sees and talks to dead people and solves crimes." Well, it turns out that's only partially correct. If there is one thing, however, that I do have a hard time picturing Jeff Goldblum as it is that of a hard-nosed police detective who is willing to bend and nearly break a potential informant's arm for feeding him false information. Yeah, this guy was "The Fly" and spat acid on people but it's not the same as being a down-and-dirty detective in the big city.

The premise of the show is that Detective Raines is that hard-nosed and hard-edge police detective who is going through a bit of an emotional breakdown. Something very bad happened to him and his partner and he has had a bit of a break from reality. So, while he does indeed see dead people he is not like Jennifer Love Hewitt, Patricia Arquette or Haley Joel Osment in that he is not actually talking to ghosts. No, the dead people he sees are figments of is imagination. He knows this and they appear to him slightly different as he learns more about them. In a sense they are the personification of his intuitions. He talks to them but even he knows they aren't real and that, in a sense, he is talking to himself.

In this first episode he is trying to track down who murdered a young woman found dead by the side of the road. When he first imagines her she is a sweet girl-next-door type with a southern accent and sweet disposition. When he later learns she was a call girl he pictures her with thick make-up, poofed-out hair, smoking a cigarette and wearing a skanky cheerleader outfit. These figments do not know more or less than Raines does because, of course, they are just extensions of his own mind.

Wow, that is a complex plot that is hard to boil down into a nice, neat little package. However, it is a slightly sad thing that despite those conceits the show still doesn't feel entirely new. We have had "Monk" and we have had the "Lethal Weapon" movies and we have had numerous other forms of entertainment where the main character is a wounded and more than slightly off-his-rocker sleuth of one type or another. Whether it is obsessive-compulsive disorder or Raines having conversations with open and empty air the fact is it feels just a tad bit stale. We have seen this before, right?

Jeff Goldblum is such an engaging and likeable guy, though, that the show still manages to entertain. There was even a relatively nice surprise at the end that managed to surprise even me and I can usually spot things like that a mile away. There are some touching moments mixed with some hard-edged moments as Raines delves into the sleazy lives of prostitutes and blackmailers and pimps and the kind of people who manage motels where those types hang out.

Does this show have any staying power? I find it hard to believe it does. Maybe I am wrong and the show will find new and more entertaining ways to delve into this man's madness. However, even "Monk" was only entertaining, at least to me, for a couple of seasons. At some point you have to wonder when the nut job is going to get better or people are just going to want to stop working with him because his various psychoses are just such a pain in the ass.

I was very glad to see normally comedic actress Nicole Sullivan working again. For my money she was always the best thing about "Mad TV" and I have missed seeing her on anything even remotely good. Her guest shots on "Scrubs" do not count in my book. She is Raines' assistant here and she manages to steal her scenes and throw out a few good lines. I am kind of hoping she gets bigger roles and more to do in later shows.

One thing is for sure is that NBC debuted this on a Thursday in place of "ER." This move alone I must applaud. Never has there been a show (at least not since "Married...with Children") that has so out-stayed its welcome. "ER" has become this bloated, non-sensical mess over the past few seasons and it shows no sign of stopping. I am sorry but there is a better medical show on right before "ER" and it is on ABC and called "Grey's Anatomy." That show has better stories, better characters and better music.

So, if I have to choose I would prefer that NBC stick with "Raines" over "ER." Knowing NBC, however, I am betting that this show is just in that Thursday slot for its debut or maybe just a few weeks and will then get shuffled around amidst various "Law and Order" shows. It's too bad about that because I think "Raines" despite its flaws manages to fit in well with NBC's Thursday lineup and wish it would stay there.

"Raines" is a flawed show. It was, however, just the first episode. I think it may have places to explore and interesting things to show us. Can it maintain its entertainment value over the long-haul? I have my doubts. Crazy people are only entertaining for a while and you don't really want to snuggle up with someone who's crazy for very long. Of course, if Raines gets sane and stops seeing figments of his imagination then the show loses its premise so I guess they will have to keep him nuts.

I recommend giving "Raines" a shot just for Jeff Goldblum and Nicole Sullivan alone. I cannot guarantee you that you will love it enough to come back for more helpings but a taste won't hurt you. NBC is at least trying and I have greatly appreciated their other new show "The Black Donnellys" so I think we should encourage them to keep trying new things. They have to hit a solid out of the park at some point.