Episode two of Minority Report continues on the “fish out of water” theme (or more accurately the “precog out of the milk bath” theme). Mr. Nice Guy sees Dash working on another case with Lara Vega. By the end of the episode, Arthur seems to be on board with illegally helping Det. Vega. This series is pretty much a “vision of the week” set-up with episode two being a woman’s murder seen in flashes by Dash.
Mr. Nice Guy starts with Lara (Meagan Good) and her boss Blake (Wilmer Valderrama) taking part in a training exercise. The two show just how they work together, Vega ignoring Blake and him calling her out on it. While they are no longer partners, Blake was promoted, they still act like they are.
Dash (Stark Sands) still desperately wants to be a cop and solve crimes. The precog sees Vega as his partner. Agatha (Laura Regan) warns Dash about his actions and Arthur (Nick Zano) tells him he is being naive. Ignoring both of them Dash continues working with Vega. The precog’s old caretaker Wally (Daniel London) helps Dash in his quest to be a “good guy” and stop murders in the city.
The flashes that Dash see in his vision are traced to a single’s club. Lara and Dash check it out and at the club some comic scenes ensue. While the show focusses on Dash’s lack of social skills, it also relates some amusing dialogue. Vega moans about the lack of romance in the world, Her mother, she says, tells of the interaction “back in the day” where people actually communicated. They sent texts and pictures, Lara marvels at how that must have been.
Lara and Dash refuse to use Arthur initially and end up casing the wrong suspect.Arthur gets the names and more facts than Dash. Tyson Cole, an author, something that is a rarity in the future apparently, is the man they believe will kill the woman seen in Dash’s vision. The writer, who specializes in dating etiquette and pick up techniques is followed by them until they realize that the visions Dash had were misleading.
While all the clubbing is going on, Blake volunteers his section and personnel to the new Hawk Eye program, the replacement for Precrimes. As the duo struggle to avoid being found out by Vega’s boss Blake, they realize that the murderer is the bartender at the singles club.
The two arrive to save the woman just in the nick of time. Before the end credits roll, Vega has enlisted the services of Arthur. With two precogs helping, more information will be available. Since the two siblings can gather more inclusive data, future cases will be, presumably, easier to solve.
Thus far, Minority Report is moving slowly forward with its story arc. The characters are likable enough but so far not too overly dimensional. Vega is attractive, assertive and interesting. She is not, however, too deep. Dash is focussed on how much he does not know versus what he can do.
FOX have brought their Philip K. Dick series to the small screen and the series may work over the long run. However, the network counting on the film adaptation connection to provide an instant fanbase may turn out to be overly hopeful. There is none of the tension from the film, or the big names, and the series lacks the feeling of Dick’s bleak dystopian world from the short story.
Minority Report airs Mondays on FOX. This one may not make it past the first season but time will tell whether the series can or will find its feet. One thing that might help would be more Laura Regan and this may eventually happen. Until then tune in and see what happens next with the “freewheeling” precog.
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