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This is a mini-review of SYFY's airing on the rejected pilot for "Three Inches." I'll probably make an extended review of this for my nerdly blog later, but some thoughts...
My two cents/sense: This was a decent show. At a normal hour length, this would probably be a sit-down-with-a-bowl-of-popcorn show that you look forward to every week. The characters were all likable and identifiable, but not necessarily falling into tropes or stereotypes. When I first read the description of the Human Smell, I have to say that the little actor that they picked to play him was not at all what I was expecting (the boy is downright adorable). The supporting cast were able to put a lot of depth and realism with their characters without a lot of screentime apiece.
Walter is a dork without being a complete spaz or over-the-top nerdly. He's intelligent, resourceful, and adorable. And his mother (played by one of my favourite character actresses, Andrea Martin) is just fantastic. She hits the right amount of nurturing with the right amount of hilarity.
James gave a lot of realism to a very unrealistic character, and when you get down to it, Troy Hamilton is a man who is trying to build paternal relationships with those on his team because he lacks an actual relationship with his son (all the while, Brandon is looking for daddy's approval and jealous because he's not "special").
Tess is also a great character. She appears to be the lone wolf sort, standoffish, but she's more than willing to reach out, trust, and make connections.
The special effects were great for such a limited budget, but they were a tad under-used (not that I want George Lucas special effects burning out my retinas). However, there's a certain realism to everyone's abilities, and I like that; they didn't really need special effects. Everything could almost be done with practical effects, and that makes the show really strike a chord with me. For Tess, it requires the other actors to be happy, sad, etc. Walter, practical effects for motion. Annaka, practical effects for a different voice. 30 seconds into the future guy, actor fakes a migraine and post editing effects for the actual vision. The Human Smell, other actors pretend to be near vomiting (you don't really need the pore effect). Bug guy, you can have real bugs (but preferably not. This is the one that would require the most SFX, I think). THIS is how you do superpowers on a budget AND make them work to the best advantage. Real people with relatively limited yet still usable powers. That is pretty effing cool in my book.
My one complaint is that Brandon looks too old to be Troy's son. Okay, I guess if Troy fathered a child at 19 or 20, then he could have a child Brandon's on-screen age, but visually, it doesn't look right. In reality, James Marsters is almost 50 and has a teenaged son, but on screen, Troy looks to be in his mid-to-late thirties/early forties and to have a son that's supposedly pushing thirty? That just doesn't mesh well visually.
Also, I thought Troy Hamilton's dog would be cuter. That's nit-picky, but I digress... It was still cute though.
With shows like the Big Bang Theory so popular, I could see Three Inches being viable, but you know what? Three Inches is too watchable of a show to be on SYFY; it's almost too good for SYFY, especially with the video quality being so bright and crisp. This show belongs on a network like USA (after all, their shows are character-reliant and -driven; they don't make their shows so that the rest of the world can mock them for poor special effects and dredging up has-been mall divas to "act" in their upteenth sequel to Crocoshark or whatever).
My two cents/sense: This was a decent show. At a normal hour length, this would probably be a sit-down-with-a-bowl-of-popcorn show that you look forward to every week. The characters were all likable and identifiable, but not necessarily falling into tropes or stereotypes. When I first read the description of the Human Smell, I have to say that the little actor that they picked to play him was not at all what I was expecting (the boy is downright adorable). The supporting cast were able to put a lot of depth and realism with their characters without a lot of screentime apiece.
Walter is a dork without being a complete spaz or over-the-top nerdly. He's intelligent, resourceful, and adorable. And his mother (played by one of my favourite character actresses, Andrea Martin) is just fantastic. She hits the right amount of nurturing with the right amount of hilarity.
James gave a lot of realism to a very unrealistic character, and when you get down to it, Troy Hamilton is a man who is trying to build paternal relationships with those on his team because he lacks an actual relationship with his son (all the while, Brandon is looking for daddy's approval and jealous because he's not "special").
Tess is also a great character. She appears to be the lone wolf sort, standoffish, but she's more than willing to reach out, trust, and make connections.
The special effects were great for such a limited budget, but they were a tad under-used (not that I want George Lucas special effects burning out my retinas). However, there's a certain realism to everyone's abilities, and I like that; they didn't really need special effects. Everything could almost be done with practical effects, and that makes the show really strike a chord with me. For Tess, it requires the other actors to be happy, sad, etc. Walter, practical effects for motion. Annaka, practical effects for a different voice. 30 seconds into the future guy, actor fakes a migraine and post editing effects for the actual vision. The Human Smell, other actors pretend to be near vomiting (you don't really need the pore effect). Bug guy, you can have real bugs (but preferably not. This is the one that would require the most SFX, I think). THIS is how you do superpowers on a budget AND make them work to the best advantage. Real people with relatively limited yet still usable powers. That is pretty effing cool in my book.
My one complaint is that Brandon looks too old to be Troy's son. Okay, I guess if Troy fathered a child at 19 or 20, then he could have a child Brandon's on-screen age, but visually, it doesn't look right. In reality, James Marsters is almost 50 and has a teenaged son, but on screen, Troy looks to be in his mid-to-late thirties/early forties and to have a son that's supposedly pushing thirty? That just doesn't mesh well visually.
Also, I thought Troy Hamilton's dog would be cuter. That's nit-picky, but I digress... It was still cute though.
With shows like the Big Bang Theory so popular, I could see Three Inches being viable, but you know what? Three Inches is too watchable of a show to be on SYFY; it's almost too good for SYFY, especially with the video quality being so bright and crisp. This show belongs on a network like USA (after all, their shows are character-reliant and -driven; they don't make their shows so that the rest of the world can mock them for poor special effects and dredging up has-been mall divas to "act" in their upteenth sequel to Crocoshark or whatever).
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I want James in a strong show. One that will give him the reviews he deserves. James has real talent. The guest spots he has done since Buffy/Angel haven't showcased him. Only Torchwood and Smallville were roles that he shined in the way only he can.
Three Inches could have been better, but it was quite good as it was. I did enjoy it. I keep hoping James will get a show on FX, TNT or one of the cable channels. There he could eat up a script and show how good he really is.
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We also lost the opportunity to see James in Venetian Heat ("A movie with a serious exploration of a married man realizing he's a homosexual with the deadly consequences of prejudice? No one would want to see that!" Boom! A few years later, Brokeback Mountain. *head-desk*). It could have been James getting the accolades that Heath Ledger got!
It's going to take someone building a pilot vehicle specifically for James to get a show off the ground. When the ratings go up on every show that he guest stars in, why do they keep killing his characters? And why don't networks understand his drawing power? *is sad*