3 out of 5

Created by: Matt Nix

covers season 1

Legion had style and proved its comic roots through entrenched references, but was also indulgent in attempted intelligentsia to the point of being occasionally frustrating to watch.  The recent Runaways handled an ensemble cast well, but sort of bumbled the action side of things.  Agents of SHIELD has turned into a solid espionage / sci-fi action show, but has been purposefully so far removed from Marvel cinematic continuity as to essentially function as a standalone concept.  The Netflix shows are a particular breed of “grounded” moodiness, and the DC TV-verse is bright and colorful and nerdy and often fun… but also the worst offender of obnoxiously soapy tropes.

Comics are all over TV.  And yet, it hasn’t felt like we’ve exactly nailed the formula of weekly familiarity a book like X-Men can offer: the right balance of camp, action, drama, and importantly – continuity and world-building.  I’ve definitely liked some of the shows I mentioned, I just mean to say that none has fooled me into feeling like I’m seeing an actual comic book, for better or worse.

The Gifted does.

Which, I chuckle, means it’s not an amazing show, in the same way that 99% of Marvel and DCs output isn’t all that great, beholden as it is to the mix of concepts I listed above.  But its this adherence we rely on that makes for a particular experience, akin to the way long-running procedural shows have a formula which often wiggles its way into our popcorn-entertainment-loving hearts.

But (he backpedals), part of the key beyond just replicating an experience – what makes Gifted’s averageness a really solid mark of, like, quality averageness – is in the way it properly adapts that to its medium.  So the opening build up to revealing our lead teens as mutants gives the characters an emotional grounding to expand upon; the developing understanding of powers and additions of other mutants to their jolly crew makes the threat of the equally evolving, mutie-hunting, tech savvy Sentinel Services an actual challenge, and not just a plot roadblock.  These values together equate to a well-paced on-the-run sensation for the entire season.

And there are surprises that work on both a comics wink level and just as good ol’ regular plotting, with engaging (and wisely shot to be mostly practical) action sequences and, though repetitive, non eye-rolly dialogue.

As stated: solid.

But you also know the downsides to formula, be it TV or comics: characters tend to fall into a particular shade of good guy, bad guy, troublemaker, do-gooder, etc., which makes it pretty easy to call how any given dynamic will play out.  Romantic subplots are the bane of everything, but will never go away.  People will flip flop sides or allegiances based on whatever the hot topic of the week is.  When The Gifted gets down to the brass tacks of human parents learning to see their mutant childrens’ point of view, and to this family working with the X-Men tasked mutant underground against the vendetta-guided baddies, the show is ace entertainment, granted just enough seriousness to not undermine events while definitely avoiding Netflix gloominess.

And there’s more to come!  Marvel has been somewhat freely approaching their TV properties with a ‘whatever sticks’ mentality, while DC has mostly cozied up to their CW shtick.  Out of all the things that have stuck, if the comic-to-show frenzy continues, I’d vote for The Gifted to be the main template to follow.  It ain’t art, per se, but that’s sort of exactly what I’m looking for.