I am – Hercules!!
A new live-action Cartoon Network drama from writer Paul Dini (“Batman: Mask of the Phantasm,” “Lost”), “Tower Prep” combines elements of “X-Men” and “The Prisoner” to tell the tale of teens knocked unconscious and relocated to a mysterious school for the gifted.
Don’t expect a lot of powerful optic blasts or phasing through walls. The four teens at the center of the drama boast more subtle abilities: one is very persuasive, one is very perceptive, one is an expert mimic, and the last is exceedingly good at avoiding blows. They all want out.
The school grounds are surrounded by both a forest and a Berlin-size wall. The facility’s outskirts are not patrolled by balloon-like rovers but by what might be aliens or ninjas or robots or alien ninja robots. The kids never learn the location of their school (though a scene late in the first episode suggests they’re very far from home indeed), which appears to be overseen by what may be a trio of sentient iPads in a big transparent bubble. Nor do the kids get to learn their teachers’ real names.
Though it’s on in primetime, this is a TV-PG Cartoon Network endeavor rather than a TV-MA Adult Swim effort like “The Venture Bros.,” so do try to manage expectations with regard to romance, violence and gore.
The “Prep” premise is more intriguing, at least in the pilot, than the main characters, who are initially drawn a bit too sketchily to generate an extraordinary amount of rooting interest. The “Prep” pilot is certainly better than AMC’s far pricier “Prisoner” remake, though I don’t think I found it as compelling as I did the first episode of NBC’s vaguely similar “Persons Unknown.” (My profound disillusionment with “Persons” arrived post-pilot.)
Ain’t It Cool mastermind Harry Knowles, who has seen more of this series than I, tells me “Tower Prep” gets very good indeed.
The Los Angeles Times says:
… at the very least, right away, 100 times more fun than AMC's 2009 reimagining of "The Prisoner," and also 100 times less pretentious. … a modest production that nevertheless generates a good bit of energy and benefits from sympathetic casting, decent dialogue and keeping things ambiguous. It should resonate with any child, or former child, who has ever been told, "We're only doing this for your own good," or felt himself to be a lonely weirdo caught between the unquestioning herd and the bullying elites. Which is to say, me, you, and just about everybody.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… wastes a lot of time with aimless Ian but the program eventually kicks into gear when Ian finds three friends who are also confused and trying to escape from the school, whose location remains a mystery even as the first episode ends. … ends on an intriguing note and the show offers reason for young viewers to come back for more, which is exactly what a pilot episode should do.
Variety says:
High-school students often feel like prisoners anyway, so there's something inherently clever about the premise … the show harbors enough mystery to invite further visits, and even with minimal production values ought to possess some appeal beyond just kids to older siblings and parents, provided they can be lured behind the gates. … It's too early to declare victory just yet, of course, but "Tower Prep" appears to have the right lesson plan for the task at hand. And based simply on the needs of a network still getting its feet wet in a new genre, the show passes its first test with flying colors.
8 p.m. Tuesday. Cartoon Network
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