A Thrill Ride with DRIVE

Gentleman (and ladies) start your engines because you are in for one hell of a ride. This Sunday at 8/7c Fox premieres it’s new thrilling new drama, DRIVE. I’ve seen an advanced screener of the first hour of the 2 hour premiere episode and let me tell you, it’s a lot of fun. DRIVE is like “The Amazing Race”..on crack.DRIVE follows “seemingly” random people in the race of their lives…and perhaps for their lives. The contestants are participating in an illegal, underground cross-country road race in which the winner will receive $32 million dollars. While some sought out the race after hearing of the prize, others were…let’s just say “persuaded” to participate.

In the premiere episode we are introduced to some of the racers including:

Alex Tully (Nathan Fillion, “Firefly”), a gardener from Wisconsin who is one of those people persuaded into joining the race after being led to believe that winning the race means being reunited with his wife who has recently gone missing. Winston Salazar (Kevin Alejandro, “Ugly Betty”), a recent ex-con, abandoned in his childhood by his wealthy father who teams up with his brother Sean whom he just met. Wendy Patrakas (Melanie Lynskey, “Two and a Half Men”) a new mother who leaves her infant baby behind to not only run the race, but also run from her abusive husband. Corrina Wiles (Kristin Lehman, “Judging Amy”) a mysterious woman who teams up with a reluctant Alex after she stowed away in his car.

Other racers whose true back story has yet to be revealed include John Trimble (Dylan Baker) and his teenage daughter Violet (Emma Stone). Three friends from New Orleans, Ivy Chitty (Taryn Manning), Leigh Barnthouse (Rochelle Aytes) and Susan Chamblee (Michael Hyatt). Ellie Howe (Mircea Monroe) who is on the road with her boyfriend Rob Laird (Riley Smith) who recently returned from active duty in Iraq. And then there is Bill (or perhaps its Alan) played by Brian Bloom (and if you don’t know who Brian Bloom is then you clearly didn’t share your Tiger Bear years with me) who is on a different kind of race all together; he’s looking to get something back that was stolen from him…perhaps they key to winning the race.

As the race commences the contestants jump into their cars and jump on the highway guided only by the clues they receive via text message. Figure out the clue and meet at the rendezvous to continue with the race. The last team to arrive isn’t exactly “Philiminated” but they are faced with a penalty that has far reaching consequences.

The racers don’t know why they are racing, where they are racing to or just when this all will be over. But they do know that to keep up they just have to DRIVE.

DRIVE is thrilling and intense but with just enough humor that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. As I was watching I felt really caught up in the pacing of the show and really felt the intensity of the race. Now I’ve been pretty vocal about not being a fan of TV show pilots – they usually try to pack too much into one single episode. But while plenty happened in just the first hour of this pilot it didn’t feel forced or too heavy. Just a lot of fun.

So do I recommend DRIVE? Absolutely. Based on the pilot alone, DRIVE earns a Season Pass on my TiVo. Watch the 2-hour season premiere at 8/7c on Sunday and let me know what you think. DRIVE will premiere in it’s regular time period on Monday, April 16th at 8/7.