“Backstrom,” a new terrible new hourlong about an obnoxious Portland police detective, was adapted by Hart Hanson (creator of “Bones” and its short-lived spin-off “The Finder”) from the acclaimed novels by Swedish author Leif G.W. Persson.
It stars the great Rainn Wilson, in his first series role since masterfully portraying Dwight Schrute on “The Office,” and the great Dennis Haysbert, who was fantastic as U.S. Senator/President David Palmer on 81 episodes of “24.”
I liked both the “Bones” and “Finder” pilots, so I’m left to ponder what went so terribly wrong with tonight’s awful first episode of “Backstrom,” which does not come close to approximating the wit and charm I associate with Hanson’s earlier efforts. Instead it comes off as a clumsy crime knock-off of Fox’s “House.”
The bottom line? Were Backstrom a funnier jerk, he’d be much more tolerable. Hanson and Wilson both know how to make great comedy, but they may not know how to do it together.
I am compelled to point out that in the very first scene Backstrom’s doctor is portrayed by Rizwan Manji, who played “the Dwight Schrute role” in NBC’s dreadful sitcom “Outsourced.”
... It's the title character who's the show's big problem. … House was not only witty with his insults, but more often than not was accurate in how he described his colleagues, even if it was in the least polite manner possible. Backstrom's more in the Archie Bunker mold: crude, reactionary, and often wrong in his assumptions about the people he works with. It's a take on this kind of character with a high degree of difficulty in the year 2015, that might not work even with the perfect actor in the role. And Wilson, though he's capable of playing a much wider variety of roles than Dwight Schrute, never convincingly sells Backstrom as a person who exists even in this heightened, darkly comic universe.
... It's as if a collection of cop cliches, anti-hero ideas and grouchy-genius concepts were put in a blender and garnished with some attempts at humor, many of which don't quite land. …
... the show is so underwhelming that not many people will want to stick around to puzzle it out. At a time when so many excellent, imaginative crime shows abound, it’s almost insulting that Fox would squander energy, talent and money on this one. … The detective is a self-loathing slob with a bad attitude and poor health, but a good mind. The crimes he solves are formulaic and predictable. The real mystery is why Fox wanted to broadcast “Backstrom.”
... The mechanics of the cases (again, par for the genre) might squeak or grind here or there, but "Backstrom" really stumbles only when it strains too hard for seriousness — and it is not a fatal fall, in any case.…
Grade: C ... The comedy that’s supposed to flow naturally (Hanson calls the genre “crimedy”) seems stuck on the page, and, despite Wilson’s best efforts to lend the character dimension, Detective Backstrom is not as delightfully, darkly complicated as other cloudy-day antiheroes played by Hugh Laurie on “House M.D.” or even Greg Kinnear on last year’s short-lived “Rake.” …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... As procedurals trying to follow in the footsteps of "House" go, Fox's "Backstrom" is not a bad facsimile. But it's still a copy. For some viewers, this will prove comforting; for others, it will be reason enough to skip it as a "been there, watched that" series. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... Rainn Wilson can carry a series, just not this one, as written. That doesn’t mean it’s a complete mess, but there are significant credibility problems on several levels that need to be addressed to build effectively on Wilson’s likability. …
... a tired story poorly told. … If we’re going to be backed into one of TV’s moral corners, where an awful person is helping mankind, then he and his show ought to be a little more dazzling.
... As beloved as Mr. Wilson is from “The Office,” as it is written the character of the curmudgeon Backstrom doesn’t seem trenchant enough to be memorably offensive or socially tart. Yet if enough viewers pray long enough for his evolution, they may be rewarded by taking other pleasures from the show. …
... The problem is that Rainn Wilson is not Hugh Laurie — and that's not only a large problem; it's an unsolvable one. … Wilson might be worth watching in another show, depending on whether his style works for you. But together in Backstrom? Sorry, but no.
... this is the sort of meat-and-potatoes drama that doesn’t feel distinctive enough to do much more than tread water …
9 p.m. Thursday. Fox.
