September 21, 2010

TV: Lone Star (Fox, Mon 9)

Bob Allen (James Wolk) is a con man. He's got a girlfriend, Lindsay (Eloise Mumford), in Midland, who he's using to fleece everyone in town (including her parents) by selling shares in nonexistent oil wells. He's also got a wife, Cat (Adrienne Palicki), in Houston, and is scheming to eventually work his way into her father's oil company and take it for all it's worth.

As if dueling women in his life aren't enough, Bob's got dueling father figures to cope with. His father, John (David Keith), is the con man who taught him all the basics, and looks forward to cashing in along with Bob when these cons pay off; his father-in-law, Clint (Jon Voight), is a successful oil man who actually trusts Bob enough to offer him the position he's been working to get.

The problem is that Bob is tired of being a con man; he wants something "real," and thinks that he might be capable of being genuinely good at the job Clint has offered him. But John is horrified at the thought that Bob might actually turn to honest work.

And even if John were willing to play along -- Bob invites him to move in with him and Kat -- Bob's got a bigger problem. He doesn't want to give up either of his two lives, because he is in love with both Kat and Lindsey.

This isn't an awful show, but it feels like it would work better as a miniseries. It's hard to see how long Bob can keep juggling both lives and both cons without something collapsing around him. Furthermore, the appeal of a good con man story (at least for me) is in watching the charming rogue get away with the con; I don't quite see where the fun is in watching a con man try to figure out how to go straight.

On the plus side, James Wolk is a strong presence in the starring role, full of charm and sexy as hell. He's going to be a huge star when he lands in the right show, but I don't think this is it.

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