Posted by Dustin on 03.01.2012 at 9:12 pm

NBC’s new show “Awake” premiers tonight. As with “Smash,” I watched the premier earlier. If you haven’t seen the commercials, the show is about a detective (played by Jason Isaacs of “Harry Potter” fame) who is involved in a car crash with his son and wife in the car. Isaacs plays Michael, who in one world only his wife lived, and in the other only his son did. He alternates between them when he goes to sleep in one, and wakes up in the other. In both worlds he’s a detective, but has different partners. In both worlds he has two different psychiatrists who take a different approach to his “delusion” that there is another world. In both worlds there is a case to be solved as well.

I enjoyed the show. However with “Grimm” already on the same network, and what looks to be a few more paranormal pilots out there for next season, I’m wondering if this is going to quickly become the new it thing for every network to do. You know what I mean, “the medical shows,” then “the law shows,” then “the detective shows.” Is the market next year going to be saturated with these shows?

The show left some big questions, aside from the main one . . . “Is Michael making this up?” If he is, which world is in his mind? Or do both worlds exist, and is he really jumping between the two? Can his family be merged then? We don’t know how the car accident happened, but some hints were dropped in one of the worlds that he may have been drunk. I definitely enjoyed the twist with the cases in both worlds somehow being connected. It seems to be that Michael isn’t nuts, and there are two, connected worlds. Solving the case in one world is the key to solving it in the other world.

So did you watch? Did you enjoy it, or did it not keep you “Awake?”

Spoilers for the next episode to follow!

THE LITTLE GUY – March 8th

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? – LAURA INNES (‘ER,’ ‘THE EVENT’) GUEST STARS — Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) continues to deal with his parallel versions of reality. In one world he’s looking for ways to reconnect with his son, Rex (Dylan Minnette), by offering him some normalcy while they deal with his mother’s death. In the other, Britten works to understand the emotions that his grieving wife, Hannah (Laura Allen) is going through. Meanwhile, a witness in the murder of a homeless man tells Britten and his rookie partner, Vega (Wilmer Valderamma) that a “small guy” was spotted at the scene of the crime. When that clue crosses over into the case Britten is working on in his other reality, Bird (Steve Harris), is confused by his partner’s sudden interest in the height of the suspects they are investigating. Meanwhile, Britten’s captain, (guest star Laura Innes) shows growing concern over his behavior. Later, the events surrounding the fateful accident that changed Britten’s life come into question and throughout, Dr. Lee (BD Wong) and Dr. Evans (Cherry Jones) continue to present their dueling theories on Britton’s condition.