![Cast of CBS drama \"Ransom\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/234\/2017\/02\/MV5BOWExMmRhMWItYmUyMi00MjYzLTk5ODQtMTdkZmU3MWZmMjcyL2ltYWdlL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjYwNDA2MDE@._V1_UY268_CR00182268_AL_.jpg\")
<\/a>Due to the limited amount of television shows I can record, my DVR didn\u2019t start recording \u201cRansom,\u201d a new CBS drama, until the fourth episode, \u201cJoe,\u201d which aired Jan. 28. But I was traveling and when I got home I had three, then four episodes to watch. Wow. I\u2019m impressed.
\nThe drama revolves around the character of a former FBI agent, Eric Beaumont (Luke Roberts) who leads a team of crisis and hostage negotiators that private citizens and governments call in as a last resort.<\/p>\n
It sounds like a run of-the-mill procedural but it does something only one other show in recent memory, USA\u2019s too short-lived two-season (2011-2012) legal drama \u201cFairly Legal,\u201d has done. The premise is to negotiate resolutions to conflict and completely avoid violence. The Ransom team operates in \u201cthe dark shadows\u201d where dialing 911 could have lethal consequences.<\/p>\n
Beaumont\u2019s mantra is that everything he does, he does to preserve life, to save lives. The only line he will not cross, the only thing he cares about, is human life. He is deliberate and composed. He gets inside the heads of his opponents, armed with information, psychology, and reason and with the confidence of his convictions. He is highly collaborative and a team player and leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cRansom\u201d is the complete opposite of \u201cPerson of Interest\u201d though the calm demeanors and good looks of the lead actors, Roberts and Jim Caviezel, are similar. \u201cPerson of Interest,\u201d however, is about as violent as network television gets.
\nOn another note, the lead heroes of these shows are the usual suspects: white males. Yet the core cast of \u201cRansom\u201d is highly diverse; \u201cPerson of Interest\u201d is less so, probably because \u201cRansom\u201d was produced for diverse audiences from the get-go. It is a co-production of CBS, Canada\u2019s Global TV, France\u2019s TFI and Germany\u2019s RTL channels.<\/p>\n
Episode six, entitled \u201cThe Enemy Within,\u201d was timely. A mixed race young woman believes that the mixing of races is a terrible mistake, though she declares herself not to be a racist. She has set a cataclysmic event in place. Beaumont challenges her sources, such as the ideas of white supremacy advocate Richard Spencer and Nicholas Wade, author of the controversial 2014 book Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History.<\/p>\n
I have heard Spencer\u2019s name in recent months as white supremacy and white privilege are often in the news since the Trump campaign began (Spencer got pushed in the crowd at the inauguration and the story was covered by several outlets), but Wade is new to me. As pro-social television goes, this is an intelligent program that is connected to current issues and reaches a high level of infotainment.<\/p>\n
While I think that Beaumont\u2019s empathetic demeanor is attractive, as a character he\u2019s going to have to show some flaws so the show can develop.<\/p>\n
Yet ratings for \u201cRansom\u201d are low, and I think that\u2019s a shame. Maybe CBS should move it from Saturday night. We finally get a smart primetime television show that has all the required ingredients for compelling drama \u2014 except for car chases and violence \u2014 and we don\u2019t watch it.<\/p>\n
As an audience, are we not smart enough to appreciate a show like \u201cRansom?\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the best show you aren\u2019t watching. Don\u2019t let it go.<\/p>\n
For more visit the National Catholic Reporter<\/a><\/p>\n