It is very easy to get carried away by the popular and highly rated TV shows and movies such that a person would not realise there are equally fantastic ones out there but they just did not get their deserved ratings.
There are many reasons why some TV shows are underrated, such as the cast, reviews by popular critics, low PR vis-à-vis low media coverage, and so on. Over the years, I have watched some shows that should have been popular and given notable awards. Instead, they are relegated to the background and overshadowed by some other shows that cannot hold a candle to the underrated shows.
I'll discuss two of my favourite underrated TV shows.
Fringe (2008–2013)
Have you watched X-Files before? Well, I have glimpsed some episodes and I can tell you, they share some similarities —paranormal and weird cases! This thrilling show is a neat combination of sci-fi, mystery, action, comedy and drama.
This Fox series is about a secret branch of the FBI tasked with investigating fringe science and the paranormal cases in the US. The group of FBI agents in this division work closely together to solve science/paranormal cases. In the course of their investigation, they discovered the existence of alternate universes where their doppelgängers lived which was fascinating. The team is faced with the threat of the universes colliding into one another thus leading to a form of apocalypse.
This show is superb in my view and every episode created a strong liking for more. It ran for five seasons and concluded satisfactorily in 2013. The cast's performance is great and their chemistry is strong. The character development is smooth. The visual effects are stunning and the paranormal cases astounding.
Ever since I watched this show, I've had great respect for the writers —J.J. Abrams and Alex Kurtzman. They captured the reality of life and science in this show. Viewers expected that this TV series would garner a lot of reviews and awards. Sadly, it did not.
Despite the average rating, this series developed a strong following that could be described as a cult. It triggered some comic series, an AR game and novels.
Intelligence (2014)
This is another severely underrated TV show that ran for only one season. Intelligence is a cyber-themed action series about a government operative who had a one of a kind microchip implanted in his brain.
This operation was a success due to the character's rare genetic disorder that enabled the chip to sit well in his brain. This chip gave the US government agency access to intelligence files all over the world to fight cases of cyber terrorism. This operative was like an experiment that worked perfectly while the villain of the series tried to develop his own microchip intelligence operative.
This one-season series is made up of thirteen episodes and is one of the best cyber films that I have watched so far. The mix of sci-fi, cyber tech and espionage are spectacular. This series had a lot of potential but sadly it was cancelled after the first season due to low ratings.
In my opinion, the acting was excellent. I particularly liked the main character, Gabriel Vaughn, played by Josh Holloway. His intelligence, aided by the chip, of course, made him remarkable. I enjoyed the tension created between him and his handler, Riley Neal, who portrayed a strong female lead. Each episode was better and the suspense was thrilling.
This is one series I wish the producers did not cancel. I wanted to see the characters develop and it would have gathered more audience later on. Intelligence was never given a chance.
This is my entry to the CineTV Contest #14 - Favourite Underrated TV Shows. To participate, just click on the link and it will take you straight to the post. The deadline is May 17th.
Thank you for visiting my blog.