An amiable and imaginative new Fox hourlong from “Bones” mastermind Hart Hanson, “The Finder” follows a Iraq War vet whose explosion-damaged brain now allows him to find anyone or anything on the planet.
Tonight’s episode got a couple of big laughs out of me. It’s been a while since a network hourlong pilot did that.
Played by Geoff Stultz (“October Road,” “Happy Town”), The Finder works out of a bar in the Florda keys called the Ends of the Earth, which seems to have few to no customers and an enormous underground vault.
The bar is owned by The Finder’s massive lawyer, Leo Knox, played by “Green Mile” behemoth Michael Clarke Duncan.
The show feels kind of like Elmore Leonard crossed with Batman. In the pilot The Finder, who may be the world’s greatest detective, tangles with a half-naked yacht-dwelling villainess surrounded by oddly and identically attired henchmen.
The Finder swaps a lot of favors (and apparently a lot of body fluids) with a hot Sisco-ish deputy marshal played by Swedish actress Mercedes Masöhn. And he acts as surrogate uncle to a hot blonde teenager named Willa Monday (blonde 17-year-old newcomer Maddie Hasson), who works at Leo’s bar as a condition of her probation.
Adding to the cool? John Fogerty, who wrote the show’s theme, turns up in person early on in the pilot to perform “Fortunate Son.”
... The show may be composed of easily recognized elements from other shows -- it could be described as a breezy combination of "House" and "Burn Notice" -- but that didn't stop me from appreciating its escapist charms. ...
... if the various kinks work themselves out, “The Finder” will at the least be a medium-strength entry in the increasingly crowded field of comedy-dramas featuring eccentric characters. ...
... despite the strength of its parts, the whole feels very nascent and shaky, like a newborn colt separated from its mother. On its feet, yes, but with no real defense save its good looks. ...
... In the premiere, the procedural part of the show — the case of a pilot who disappeared — feels convoluted, rushed and ultimately unsatisfying. But Stults is a lot of fun to watch, and the show’s flippant tone makes for a nice break from Serious Television. ...
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... not sophisticated TV but it does have its charms, mostly stemming from star Geoff Stults. He makes Walter a slightly off, scruffy straight-arrow -- a good guy with quirks. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... needs to find compelling character interplay. In the first episode, it's frustratingly MIA.
… The cast members already has a nice chemistry and appear able to handle that spectrum. Fans of quirky procedurals will likely find “The Finder’’ a dependable way to lose an hour.
... Stults has the makings of an appealing procedural hero (even if his powers remain largely unexplained and seem to make no sense), and he already has amusing screen chemistry with Duncan. In future episodes, when it's no longer necessary to spell out his problems and motivations, the show may be able to relax into the kind of easy weekly entertainment you can find an hour earlier on Bones. ...
... mostly resembles a bland variation on the sort of light blue-sky show with which USA network has enjoyed so much success. Frankly, the quirky private-eye motif plays like a less-compelling version of "Human Target" …
9 p.m. Thursday. Fox.
