Director: Ed Bianchi
Cast: Austin Nichols (John Monad), Rebecca DeMornay (Cissy Yost), Bruce Greenwood (Mitch Yost), Luke Perry (Linc Stark), Keala Kennelly (Kai), Brian Van Holt (Butchie Yost), Jim Beaver (Vietnam Joe), Greyson Fletcher (Shaun Yost), Ed O'Neill (Bill Jacks), Paul Ben-Victor (Palaka), Emily Rose (Cass), Dayton Callie (Freddie) & Chandra West (Tina Blake)
Tina Blake, Shaun Yost's estranged mother, arrives to see the son she abandoned, and John helps Cass with "her work"...At the moment, I just don't care about the Yost family. That's quite a problem because they're the linchpin of John From Cincinnati. Mitch (Bruce Greenwood) is bitter and disloyal to his wife; Cissy (Rebecca DeMornay) is highly-strung and annoying; Butchie (Brian Van Holt) is amiable, but maddening; while Shaun (Greyson Fletcher) is as stiff as one of his surfboards.
His Visit, Day Four introduces another member of the family, albeit estranged and hated, in the shapely form of Tina Blake (Chandra West). Tina has roared into town in a sin-red sports car to see her son, Shaun, who she abandoned to Cissy and Mitch 14 years ago. To say there is some bad blood between her and the Yost's is an understatement. In particular, Cissy spends most of the episode scowling in her kitchen, spitting venom and brandishing a handgun.
Tina is a welcome presence in the show -- and not just for salacious reasons (although that tight jeans certainly help.) The show needs more relatable people, to sit alongside Dr Smith, as the annoying Yost's and the weird peripheral characters are beginning to make my eyes glaze over. Tina fits the bill. She's a supposedly manipulative and cold-hearted scarlet woman, who's been working as a porn star (shades of Mary Magdalene?). Her storyline also connects with talent scout Linc (Luke Perry); another character badly in need of firm direction
The frustrating thing about all "intellectual" mystery shows is that you're never quite sure if the weird ambiance and strange events will have some huge pay-off later on. At the moment, I can pick at dozens of bugbears about John From Cincinnati, but these may be put to rest by a future episode. I hope so. But, we're five episodes in, so I'm perfectly entitled to feel some sense of illumination... and I'm not. It's just willfully bizarre and frustratingly cluttered by over-written dialogue.
Steve Hawk's script doesn't contain any paranormal events, that usually help make the show easier to swallow. As such, it's down to the characters and story to carry the episode... and it fails. The acting is fine from the main cast, but there's just nothing here to sink your teeth into. The Tina/Butchie subplot isn't bad, but it just goes nowhere and fizzles out by the end.
Episode 5 also contains the show's first truly boring John subplot, as he spouts cryptic messages whilst trying to help Cass with a film project -- this involves her filming him at a street festival. His advice for her to "work here, Cass", back at her hotel room, seems like an instruction she should heed (similar to his "see God, Kai" awhile back) -- so there's the vague hint that John is setting people up as part of some masterplan. But that's just a guess. I'm getting desperate to crowbar some kind of sense into this show now, however desperate it might sound...
Posthumous Review
Written: 19July 2007
HBO
