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Undercovers Season 1 Episode 1

Pilot

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7.6

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 9/22/10

Two married, retired spooks - Steven and Samantha Bloom, are reinstated when a close friend of theirs goes missing.

Fan Episode Reviews (4)

J.J. took a massive risk whipping together a pilot with no real sense of direction, nothing to propel us into the next episode, mainly banking on the deliciousness of his two leads to keep us watching.moreless

5.5

By MovieMark, Oct 20, 2010

Undercovers contains plenty of Alias' familiar trappings, but fails to reel you in the same way JJ's previous juggernaut spy series managed to, or any of his previous shows for that matter. It's a slickly produced pilot filled with money shots galore, yet there's no reason to really stick with it. It felt like a solid stand-alone episode of Alias that had been lost for a few years and thrown onto the airwaves for a once-off spy-caper that manages to tick every generic box under the sun but never quite aims to smash these boxes to smithereens. Solid, oh-so-sexy leads do well with the script (that tries a little too hard at times), however it was Leo who managed to pique my interest throughout; he came across as the kind of cocky, love to hate him, badass spy with the heart of gold. He was the only character that seemed to spring to life and one that felt very natural within this spy world, unlike the rest of the cast. It's still early days yet though, the series could very well surprise me. Still, with so many other top-notch programmes hitting our screens this fall, JJ took a massive risk whipping together a pilot with no real sense of direction, nothing to propel us into the next episode, mainly banking on the deliciousness of his two leads to keep us watching. Not good enough, Mr Abrams.

I will stick this out for a few more episodes out of my fandom for all things Abrams - he's a master at inventing fantastic, believable worlds, with some stunning character work to boot.moreless
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Quite uneven....

6.0

By skostur082591, Oct 20, 2010

Undercovers was likely made following the success of the Burn Notice type spy shows that are beginning to dominate television. And with someone like JJ Abrams in the producer chair, there weren't many things working against Undercovers. Yet, the show doesn't seem to know exactly where it wants to go. There were moments of drama and fun, seen in the very first chase scene and at the formal party, but then there is the silly, no check that, overly ridiculous elements that erode the show. Starting off is the silly partner of Bill Hoyt, who is so stupid and silly he doesn't even seem like a real person; rather he's there just for laughs, and none of his gags work. None. Then there's the smart alec spy who the couple saves at the end who is the now typical cranky spy. Don't you think some spies may be more serious about their own jobs? And what was with that one scene with the couple's superior in his underwear on the cell phone? Watch the episode again, that was in there. Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kodjoe do a fine job as the spy couple, but it may not be enough to save this show, sadly.moreless
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Hart-to-Hart CIA style. If Abrams can reboot a franchise like Star Trek I'm waiting to see what he can do with husband/wife spy team. I'm looking for good things here, though the pilot was less than perfect.moreless

7.0

By Knightshade03, Oct 10, 2010

A little awkward might be the best way to describe the pilot. Steve and Samantha Bloom are ex-CIA agents who basically threw it all away for love and are now barely surviving as caterers. Enter Carlton Shaw, a Company Man who asks them to basically get over themselves and get back to being CIA agents, which is what they're good at (great at if you follow the sycophant agent assigned to them). And they're mission is to find an old friend of theirs (old boyfriend of Samantha).

While the premise is fine the execution was a bit less than stellar. Somehow I just didn't buy the "tension" between the couple as they went back in the field and she was reluctant to admit that she had dated the guy they're rescuing.

However, there were some strong points. Gerald McRaney gave a great performance as their handler and even help set up a bigger mystery: "Do they know the real reason they're being asked?" "Not a clue."

Kodjoe and Mbatha-Raw do give some strong performances here and there, such as the dinner party, the fight scenes, and the car scene. All very strong but some of the other humor falls flat or feels forced especially the banter of dealing with an "ex" or comments dealing with past missions. I think part of the problem there is you get the feeling of why even worry about the past? I mean, seriously, here are 2 people who - using a Superman analogy - BOTH stepped into the chamber to give up their super lives and live normal lives. So some guy comes along and offers you the green crystal. Big deal, you've been "normal" for 5 years does the past REALLY matter that much? No! And that's why the drugging of the past, with respect to their relationship doesn't work. This show has a lot of potential. The fight scenes were nice, we know they're capable (5 shots to the chest at that distance, nice grouping!), and as a couple I think a lot of fun can be had but they need to break out and roll with it. The comedy needs to stay relevant and in the present and as the past comes up, neither side need give it a second thought because when you give up a promising spy career for a crappy catering business, you already said "I love you" in ways that can't be measured. No Jealousy allowed because there's obviously no room for it.moreless
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The Blooms are in

10

By Longfellow74, Oct 10, 2010

The Blooms are called to duty and decide to help Carlton find Leo Nash and agent that went missing. This is exciting. A couple that is both spies that travel all over the world to complete missions. In this episode they travel to Madrid, Paris, and Moscow. They are well versed in languages, fighting skills, covert arts; weapons know how, sexspionage and have some of the top notch technology that I have found out about for the first time watching they did a Vascular ID to Identify Leo. This is great. They have been granted access to whatever they need and accommodations they ask for. They have a double life while working on their missions so they are multi tasking and they are in the dark about why they have been active to work in the mission. You can tell that there are a lot of story lines starting in this episode. I loved it and looking forward to seeing moremoreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Boris Kodjoe	Steven Bloom
Gugu Mbatha-Raw	Samantha Bloom
Jessica Parker Kennedy	Lizzy
Carter MacIntyre	Leo Nash
Gerald McRaney	Carlton Shaw
Ben Schwartz	Bill Hoyt

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NOTES (3)
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- International Show Titles:
  Czech Republic: Mr. & Mrs. Bloom
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- International Episode Titles:
  Czech Republic: Nový začátek (New Beginning)
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- Original International Air Dates:
  Canada: September 22, 2010 on Citytv
  Czech Republic: July 16, 2012 on TV Nova
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