Dress Down Friday (on Sunday) | Special Focus “Drive” New Fox TV Show

I almost missed doing a my post of random links from around the web this week, but had a little spare time in between church and lunch today to get this out. This is great because I have a special edition today with a focus on a show I am particularly excited about.

As you know, I don’t get that into watching TV; I tend to avoid it at all costs. If I watch TV, it’s usually in the form of a rented or purchased DVD so I can avoid commercials and watch at my own leisure, but tonight I have made concrete plans to sit down and watch two hours of quality television programming. The reason I am so interested in it is because I recently made friends with the show’s creator Ben Queen. Ben is a great guy, and after having him explain a bit of the concept I was instantly interested.

Collider.com explains the show’s premise like this,

The event in DRIVE is an illegal, underground cross-country road race. Some of the racers have been coerced into joining “The Race???; others have sought out The Race themselves, hearing rumors of the $32-million prize. Each has a reason to compete. And each must win.

The apparent “main??? racer in DRIVE is Alex Tully (Nathan Fillion, “Firefly,??? “Slither???). Fillion is likeable as the “everyman’ that can be heroic and funny. Alex is forced to race in an effort to find his missing wife. Early on Alex is teamed up with stowaway Corinna Wiles (Kristin Lehman) who has someone following her that is trying to kill her. The chemistry between them works well.

And if the story sounds a little far-fetched, just consider the premise of Lost.

Boston Herald explains,

Sure, a series about a top-secret, $32 million, cross-country road race sounds a little silly, but so did a show about a plane that crashes on a mysterious island. Give Fox’s “Drive??? (debuting Sunday night at 8 on WFXT, Ch. 25) a chance. You may find yourself hooked. Nathan Fillion (“Firefly???) stars.

And finally, another reason to watch the show is because Ben has family in Canton Ohio (my hometown), and takesthe story right through Cuyahoga Falls. So Ohio plays a pretty good-sized role in the show. In any case, if you got some time tonight tune in at 8pm and watch not only a personal friend, and Ohio, but also because the show is going to be packed with suspense, drama and humor.

Oh and BTW, no it’s not one big commercial for Ford and other car companies with embedded advertising like the New York Times has suggested. Every show will have its haters. But it would have been nice if they would have done a little research so as to see just how far off they were (an interview might have helped). In fact, they should have just asked: the show is receiving no money from any car company and Ben hates product placement and the show avoids it at all costs.

Episode 1 & 2 air tonight

Episode 3 airs tomorrow – Monday night at 8pm.

You can watch the trailer here.
And you can see the opening sequence here.

Technorati Tags: Ben Queen, Drive Fox TV Show, Fox Television, TV Review