Review: 'Blindspot'

If they gave an Emmy for the television show that best manages to be both simplistic and overly complicated, then the new NBC drama BLINDSPOT would win in a landslide. It's a procedural show that might be stylish and fast-paced. But it also has a back-.story you couldn't figure out with a white board and a whole container of multi-colored markers

You've likely already seen the ads for BLINDSPOT, which spell out the basic premise of the show. A naked woman (Jaimie Alexander) is found in a bag in the middle of Times Square. Her body is covered with tattoos, including on her back that includes the name of FBI Agent Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton). And since this is television, Weller ends up in charge of the task force that investigates the Jane Doe. And it isn't long before he decides that each of her tattoos has to do with some an upcoming crime. And hey, wouldn't that be a useful way for the FBI to solve some crimes?

BLINDSPOT is a stylishly-produced series and the pilot moves along at a jaunty and efficient pace. But there is so much about the show that just seems to be slapped into the script in order to make it easier for everyone involved to get to the "crime of the week" format that seems to be the future of the show. Very little of the premise makes sense and while creator Martin Gero might have an ultimate game plan in mind that ties everything together, it's hard to imagine the explanation is going to have the slightest thing in common with real world behavior.

I don't hate BLINDSPOT and I'll keep watching to see how things shake out as the season progresses. But based on the first episode, the show is still a straight-forward crime-solving procedural. It's just wrapped around a premise that makes THE BLACKLIST looks like Shakespeare.