Kat with a K

Pilot Review: Lone Star

Lone Star premieres tonight on FOX. Should you tune in? I'm going to slightly surprise myself by saying yes. It's the story of a con man living a double life in the world of Texas oil. My main question going in to the pilot was pretty obvious: Could they make this guy doing all this horrible stuff into a sympathetic character about whom I wanted to watch a whole show?

Well . . . yes and no. I'm not entirely sold on Bob, the main character, although he's certainly charming - that's his whole game, really - and he does seem genuinely conflicted about his actions. He was basically forced into the life by his father, which seems like it's somewhat of a too easy out the show is trying to give him and the audience. "It's okay to like him! It's not his fault he's a horrible person!" I'm unconvinced, but he's interesting enough to make me want to see if and how he resolves these aspects of himself. And regardless of whether he winds up being a good guy, the mechanics of his double life make compelling television.

Aside from that main issue, the show it's solid: it's beautifully filmed, well-written at least most of the time (with a touch of heavy-handedness, but I'll forgive that in a pilot), and full of good performances. (Adrianne Palicki shines, as always.) The setting is very Texas, but manages not to seem fake. (So far as I know, it's all filmed in Texas, although not necessarily in the towns it says it's in.) And the music really stood out to me, which I didn't expect, but which is always a delightful characteristic of a show. Overall, I'll be watching this one, at least for a while.