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 V shows like "Black Sash" can only exist in a
world with networks like the WB and UPN. It's a teen-oriented martial arts show
with only the presence of movie veteran Russell Wong ("Romeo
Must Die") to break up the litany of young pretty faces played by
20-somethings faking it out as teens. In fact, the only character on "Black
Sash" that isn't drop dead gorgeous is Mako, who plays the resident wise
sage whose only purpose is to dispense advice to Wong, his ex-student, who in
turns dispense the wise advice to his own current students. And as per rule in
most shows nowadays, the minority face is represented by a Sassy Black Guy, who
is played by Ray J.
The premise of "Black Sash" is this: A former San
Francisco Narcotics cop (Wong) must rebuild his life after a 5-year stint in the
Hong Kong prison system. Wong's Tom Chang had gone to HK on an assignment to
infiltrate the Triads (the Chinese mob), but was instead set up by them. Five
years later, Tom is back in San Francisco and trying to put back the pieces. His
wife has re-married to a rich man who can afford to tie up Tom in litigation and
his daughter has no idea he's still alive. Worst, Tom isn't nearly as cool and
calm as he tells his students to be; by night he's working as a bounty hunter
for a shady bondsman with an English accent.
The pilot focuses mainly on Tom Chang, and the episode
gives us a good rundown of where Tom has been, where he currently is, and sets
the stage for where he'll be going. The show's real draw is its pretty faces
though. We learn that the fiery Tory (Melissa Peregrym) is still filled with
anger after the murder of her policeman father; that Allie (Sarah Carter) is a
naïve girl who joins the dojo to get the attention of Urban kid Bryan (Ray J);
and Trip (Corey Sevier) is a troubled kid with an abusive father.
Surprisingly the 40-minute long episode (sans commercial)
covers all of these grounds and solves them all by episode's end. The direction
by James Marshall is slick and breezy. The writing by series creator Robert Mark Kamen, known for a number of
martial arts movies including "The Karate Kid" and "Kiss
of the Dragon", is crisp and minimal. We get broad strokes of our main
characters, but that's to be expected in a pilot episode. After all, the only
purpose of a pilot is to introduce the characters. They have the rest of the
year (and seasons, depending on how the show fares in the ratings) to fill in
the blanks.
The real treat of "Black Sash" is seeing Russell
Wong back on TV in a starring role. (He was last here as the lead in another
martial arts show called "Vanishing Son".) The fact that Wong comes
first in the credits gives me hope he's not just going to be a background
character dispensing wise information about martial arts and life to his pretty
teen students. Which isn't to say I am opposed to seeing the kids get more
screentime. They will no doubt get their individual episodes, and if I know my
Teen TV Series Conventions, they will also start pairing up as couples. The
upcoming previews has already given away that the first pairing will be Trip and
Tory. Bryan and Allie is a given, although I don't know where that leaves the 5th
teen on the show, Nick Reed, who has yet to show up.
As a martial arts series, "Black Sash" has hope
if it stays close to Russell Wong's Tom Chang. To be honest, the teen characters
are just so generic that they're not really interesting. Melissa Peregrym will
probably become the show's number one draw with men because, let's face it,
she's drop dead gorgeous and has a body to die for. The girl has supermodel
looks and her bad girl image only adds to the mystique. And those abs! Oy vey.
It will be interesting to see how Tom goes about winning
back his wife and daughter. I liked that there is an edge to Tom, that at the
same time he's telling his students to let go of their anger, he's unable to let
go of his own failed past. There's a dichotomy there that needs further
exploration, and at some point Tom's students must realize that their teacher is
telling them to do what he says, not what he does. The show needs to continue
adding to this theme. Action-wise, there are plenty of fisticuffs, with Tom in
the middle of most of it. The kids mostly stick to dojo kung fu, while Tom takes
on the real bad guys in the streets.
Will I watch the next episode? Oh sure. If for nothing
else, then just to see if Melissa Peregrym can possibly get any hotter. (The
lovely Miss Melissa, in case you were wondering, is the brunette shown in the
pictures above. And trust me, the photo doesn't do her justice.)
My prediction: The show is blessed with one thing -- it's
on the WB network. As such, the show will be given greater leniency if it
doesn't perform well in the ratings. Networks like the WB and UPN have less to
lose if new shows don't perform well immediately. They can afford to wait. Most
of the time, anyway.
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