Under the lens takes a deep look at films & television by focusing in on one or two particular areas that helped to define it for better or for worse. Spoilers will be included in this review.
This review is for the part 1 & 2 Pilot episode.
Blood & Treasure is a new summer television show by CBS, a throwback program it seeks to capture the magic of such pictures as Romancing the Stone, Indiana Jones, Casablanca, and other archaeological themed content. The show is framed as an adventure thriller with comedic elements, the basic storyline follows the characters of Lexi Vaziri a master thief and her on again off again lover Danny McNamara, who is a former FBI agent. They are hot on the trail of Karim Farouk, a ruthless terrorist who is selling black market artifacts to fund terrorism. As the plot unfolds we find out that Farouk is seeking to reunite the sarcophagus of Anthony and Cleopatra (For an unknown reason, however, a “Curse” is mentioned) that was stolen by the Nazi’s in the last days of WWII.
Under The Lens: Mystery and genre
Mystery: At its core Blood and Treasure is a mystery thriller, with the plot using cliffhangers and action set pieces to move the story along. I was not too excited for the program when I thought it was all about terrorism and stolen artifacts, however, it is so much more than that and the mystery of Anthony and Cleopatra has added a very interesting plot about a rather unexplored area of archeological history. The plot hands out just enough of the mystery to keep on interested and guessing about what is coming next!
Genre: I love the genre of “30s Serials” this was a series of shorts that played in front of a picture at the theater. The shorts were high adventure and thrilling action, it was these shorts that inspired Indiana Jones decades later. Blood and Treasure take this idea and runs with it, it never takes itself to seriously and often winks at the audience. Giving the viewer action and chases with high stakes.
Highlights
The actors are clearly having a lot of fun in the roles they are playing and this makes the show all the more enjoyable.
The program is a globe-trotting adventure, and thus locations are always changing.
There is a lot of plots and characters so the show never gets bogged down on one plot.
Something to think about
Do you think the “30s Serials” style of filming worked for this series? Why or why not?
Conclusion
There is not a lot of archaeologically themed shows on right now, and having a globe-trotting adventure is a great pastime for the summer. In addition, the show is lead by two attractive actors that have chemistry and clearly enjoy the roles they are playing. Its fast pace, interesting story, and cliff hangers will leave you wanting more. Being a pilot there are a few things I will point out, some of the actors are still feeling out their roles, and being a pilot there is a lot of plot exposition, I expect all these things to be worked out by the next episode or two, so I would not say these are reasons to not watch. If you are looking for a fun summer pastime, Blood and Treasure delivers in spades.
Check out the trailer!