The Following

I have been watching the television series, The Following. It has left me with some mixed emotions. At first it was disturbing. The acting is okay and the writing is average. I’m still not sure about the writers or what they are thinking but that’s the way it is. The series is about a serial killer and stars Kevin Bacon, who seems to have been around since the beginning of television and is pretty much in every movie you could imagine.

 

In the series, Bacon is a retired FBI agent named Ryan Hardy. He is pitted against his nemesis, serial killer Joe Carroll. Carroll has killed 14 women and the count, keeps adding up. Carroll is played by James Purefoy, who is a Lit Professor gone bad.

 

Bacon, to add to the dilemma, had an affair with Carroll’s wife after they were divorced and while Carroll was serving time in prison. Now Carroll has two good reasons to hate Bacon; Bacon put him in prison and is banging Carroll’s wife, but Bacon really does love her. That will be a problem down the road.

 

Unfortunately, for everyone, Carroll has a minion of followers, who helps Carroll escape and takes him to a beautiful compound, where more of his followers are waiting.  My advice is that if you want to kill someone, do it on this show because the FBI and police are really inept. They can’t stop Carroll or save anyone, even themselves. So, be a killer, because your victim(s), a number of agents and cops will die. You, the killer will live and continue to kill, and the series will be watched by people with blood lust in their hearts and numbed brains.

 

As for Bacon, who is out of retirement and has a pace maker (spoiler alert)…just kidding. He will be captured a few times by Carroll’s followers, tied up and shocked enough to have kept the entire Pittsburgh area with power for a week. And amazingly, he survives…duh!

 

If a normal person sits back and thinks about this series like I have been doing, I am spending most of my time realizing, no matter how this is plotted out and acted, it is just plain fanciful. I’m tired of seeing evil triumph every Monday night as the body count piles up.

 

As for Bacon, kill him now, and get this dumb series over with. My Las Vegas bet is on Carroll to keep killing and the series will be renewed, since the ratings are sky high. Whatever else, find something better to do or watch on Monday nights…or just hang in there for  the return of Monday Night Football. Hope does spring eternal