Fox’s ‘The Finder’: Loony in a good way
The series debuting tonight has a boat-load of goofy, old-fashioned charm.
Some TV series don't merit the full 21-gun salute when they launch. But their debut may be worth firing a few shots into the ceiling over.
That's the case with The Finder which premieres tonight at 9 p.m. on Fox29. It's a lighthearted adventure hour that doesn't take itself – or anything else for that matter – too seriously.
It's also thoroughly enjoyable, as long as you accept it on its own silly terms. The Finder harkens back to '70s TV fare, when the aim was to keep you planted in your Barcalounger, mildly amused.
Our title character is the very loosely wrapped Walter Sherman (Geoff Stults of 7th Heaven). He's a decorated military hero who sustained a head wound that left him a full string section and a conductor short of an orchestra.
But he's a sweet guy. Imagine Mad Dog Murdock from The A-Team with a leading man's physique.
Here's the thing. Walter may be damaged goods but he has this freakish ability to find anything – human, vegetable or mineral.
His logic and methods may not be conventional – or even comprehensible – but you can't argue with the results. In the first minutes of tonight's debut, for instance, he uses a crazy robot contraption to recover John Fogerty's favorite guitar.
It's a wonder Walter goes to these extraordinarily convoluted lengths seeing as how his faithful sidekick Leo is played by mammoth Michael Clark Duncan (The Green Mile).
The guy could just go around banging heads together until he finds what Walter is looking for.
Walter's office/home/business is a flea-trap bar in the remotest stretch of the Florida Keys. And though he has no legal standing, he seems to have a sexy US Marshal (Mercedes Masohn) personally assigned to him.
Hey somebody has to brandish a gun since Walter refuses to do it.
The first rule of shows like this is don't examine the logic too closely. Or the evidence. Or the plots. Just kick back and enjoy. If you've been looking for old-time easy-on-the-brain TV enjoyment, pilgrim, you've just found it.
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