'The Following' Series Premiere Review

Virginia Central Penitentiary...  We watch a prison guard leave the prison in his Jeep, and subsequently discover a bunch of dead prison guards inside.  This, was Joe Carroll (James Purefoy), smoothly making his prison escape, calm as ever.

We later learn that Carroll is a purveyor of art and he likes to believe that he turns his victims into "art."

Ryan Hardy's (Kevin Bacon), an ex-FBI agent, is called in by the FBI.  He brought him to justice single-handedly and is the expert on this man.  

We switch to Sarah Fuller's home (Maggie Grace), when various law enforcement agencies converge on her house to take her into protective custody.  She was Joe Carrol's last & failed victim.

We then quick switch to Claire Matthews (Natalie Zea) who happens to be Carrol's ex wife, as cops look to question and protect her.

Back to the jail, we watch Hardy meet more of the team that are investigating the escape including one Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore).

They all learn that Carrol managed to get himself internet access while in prison, and with that, has generated groupies, fans, or if you will, a following.

While at the prison, these groupies start to show up and the police intend to interview them... until one of them stands up and skewers her own brain through the eye.

And that was the first fifteen program minutes of The Following.

-


Kevin Bacon is Ryan Hardy, and Hardy has his issues.  An apparent drinker but apparently an intuitive cop.  But as an FBI agent, apparently he didn't work well with others.  Carroll, a scholastic criminal genius up against the man who knows him best, who understands the man and Bacon is the "flawed hero" in this story.

The rest of the cast is loaded with familiar faces besides Bacon.  Purefoy (John Carter, Solomon Kane), Ashmore (Smallville), and Zea (Justified).

But the list of names is such a minor part of this show, because the story starts out fairly intense, and just develops into something that manages to actually escalate the intensity through out the episode.

There are already some great twists and spins just within this premiere episode of The Following, and it's named justly.

I so much want to say more about the episode and how and when these crazy twists pop up, but to experience this episode without being spoiled is part of the enjoyment of this experience.

-

The Following is created by Kevin Williamson, and though the name may not seem familiar, his work most definitely is... Dawson's Creek, The Secret Circle, and The Vampire Diaries.

-

If the premiere episode is any indication of of what to expect from this police procedural, the rest of the season of The Following will be pretty damn good entertainment and Fox will have a hit on their hands.

-