Raines

Raines is a seven-episode American police procedural television show starring Jeff Goldblum as a police detective who communicates with the victims whose murders he is investigating. Created by Graham Yost, the series was short-lived, airing in spring 2007 and garnering mixed reviews.

This article is about the television show. For other uses, see Raines (disambiguation).

Raines
GenrePolice procedural
Written byGraham Yost
Directed byFrank Darabont
Starring
No. of episodes7 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerPreston Fischer
Production locationLos Angeles
Release
Original releaseMarch 15 (2007-03-15) –
April 27, 2007 (2007-04-27)

Premise

Michael Raines (Goldblum) is a police detective who investigates murders. With the series premiere, Raines is returning to work after recovering from a shootout[1] that killed his partner,[2] Charlie Lincoln (Malik Yoba). Over the course of each episode, Raines involuntarily hallucinates the victims, whom he speaks to and uses as sounding boards for his case; as Raines learns more about the dead, the apparitions he sees change duly.[3] Once Raines solves their murders, the hallucinations disappear.[2] Creator and executive producer Graham Yost found the analogous premise of Raines in his own creative process: "I spend time alone in a room, thinking of characters and interacting with them. And I'll talk a dialogue in my head."[4]

Variety categorized the show as "a throwback to the 1970s — a single-lead detective show that neatly wraps up whodunit each hour."[3]

Episodes

Zap2it shows that seven episodes of Raines aired from March 15 – April 27, 2007.[5]

No.TitleRatingOriginal air date
1"Pilot"TV-14March 15, 2007 (2007-03-15)
2"Meet Juan Doe"TV-PGMarch 22, 2007 (2007-03-22)
3"Reconstructing Alice"TV-PGMarch 30, 2007 (2007-03-30)
4"Stone Dead"TV-PGApril 6, 2007 (2007-04-06)
5"5th Step"TV-14April 13, 2007 (2007-04-13)
6"Inner Child"TV-14April 20, 2007 (2007-04-20)
7"Closure"TV-14April 27, 2007 (2007-04-27)

Production

Raines was filmed in Los Angeles by NBC Universal Television Studio. Graham Yost was the executive producer, joined by Félix Enríquez Alcalá and Fred Golan. Preston Fischer produced while Frank Darabont was credited with directing.[3] NBC ceased production after seven episodes.[1]

Cast
Jeff Goldblum (2007)
Malik Yoba (2010)
Madeleine Stowe (2008)

Yost cast Jeff Goldblum as Michael Raines, homicide detective[1] and Raymond Chandler fan who, like Chandler's Philip Marlowe, "hides a tender heart beneath cynical gibes and sarcastic asides."[2] Media Life called the choice ideal, what with Goldblum's "unconventional looks, mannerisms and vocal style."[1] Malik Yoba was cast as Charlie Lincoln,[2] Raines' partner who died before the show began; whereas he once kept his eccentric partner grounded, now Raines hallucinates his presence and continues to rely on his assistance.[6] Madeleine Stowe plays Dr. Samantha Kohl, a psychiatrist unenviably tasked with helping Raines cope with the loss of his partner and subsequent hallucinations.[7]

Rounding out Raines' cast are:[3]

Release and cancellation

On December 21, 2006, Australia's Network 10 secured the rights to broadcast Raines (and Friday Night Lights) in that nation.[8] Raines was a mid-season replacement for NBC that premiered in the US[7] at 10 p.m. on March 15, 2007.[3] Raines was cancelled; in an interview after-the-fact, Goldbloom only reflected that he was fortunate to have had the opportunity, especially as it led to his starring role in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.[9]

Reception

David Bianculli broadly praised Raines, calling for NBC to renew the brand-new show after having seen only two episodes.[10] Media Life's Andrew Lyons called Raines a fresh injection of film noir sensibilities into the world of "Bruckheimer quick cuts". Comparing Raines to characters played by Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum, Lyons called Yost's take successful.[1] For the New York Post, Raines was the only standout among the 2007 mid-season replacements that otherwise "overflow[ed] with […] horrible writing, amateurish acting and plot lines that stink up the joint." Linda Stasi described this cream of that crop as an amalgamation of other lasting serials such as Columbo, Medium, and Monk.[7] Invoking those same shows, USA Today's Robert Bianco was pleased with the Goldblum vehicle, further lauding Yost's "fascination with the beauty and peculiarity of Los Angeles. This is Raymond Chandler for the Age of Therapy."[11]

Brian Lowry of Variety called Raines unremarkable in its field, with only Jeff Goldblum to distinguish it, conceding that his analysis also fit the popular shows House (with Hugh Laurie) and Monk (with Tony Shalhoub). Lowry appreciated Raines eschewing mysticism in favor of Raines' acknowledged hallucinations.[3] The Toronto Star's Vinay Menon similarly called Goldblum the show's driver, but that the performance "sometimes feels locked inside the wrong car."[12] Though the San Francisco Chronicle anticipated a quick cancellation for Raines for its predictability, pandering, and mediocrity, reviewer Tim Goodman nonetheless called it an "enjoyable time waster", praising Goldblum and the show's "crisp, darkly saturated visual style".[6] Alessandra Stanley thought Raines was an overly slavish homage to 1986's The Singing Detective; while she was uncertain about the hallucination gimmick—noting that most television detectives have been strong men with faults (e.g. Kojak with his lollipop or Ironside in his wheelchair)—Stanley felt Raines was trying to be too much and was muddled therefor. She did recommend allowing Goldblum's new vehicle to find its feet, though, much like House, Boston Legal, and Shark did.[2]

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret News found Raines to simply be a boring, "fairly standard detective show" that cribbed from other, more-successful programs like The Sopranos.[4] Ellen Gray wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer that the well-trod hallucinating character trope only served to make Raines an unappealing character to audiences, and this failing central tenet of the show doomed it from the start.[13]

References
  1. Lyons, Andrew (March 14, 2007). "'Raines,' noir copper with a head case". Media Life. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2019. New NBC drama takes chances and makes them work
  2. Stanley, Alessandra (March 15, 2007). "With Voices in His Head, a Detective Gets to Work". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on June 5, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  3. Lowry, Brian (March 9, 2007). "Raines". Variety. ISSN 0042-2738. OCLC 810134503. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019. A crime procedural tweaked with the slimmest of gimmicks, 'Raines' largely boils down to one's appreciation of star Jeff Goldblum, who occupies center stage in practically every scene. Relative to riskier dramas, it seems a reasonably safe bet, though it's hardly the sort of series people will rush home to see.
  4. Pierce, Scott D. (March 14, 2007). "Scott D. Pierce: 'Raines' misses mark". Deseret News. ISSN 0745-4724. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  5. "Full episode and TV Listings". Zap2it. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  6. Goodman, Tim (March 14, 2007). "REVIEW / 2 new dramas mine the same old territory". Hearst Communications. Frank Vega. ISSN 1932-8672. OCLC 8812614. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2020. Two new dramas on Thursday night all but guarantee themselves a brief stay on the schedule thanks to predictable formulas, audience pandering and, in one case, seriously annoying the ghost of Kurt Cobain.
  7. Stasi, Linda (March 14, 2007). "Ghost Squad". New York Post. ISSN 1090-3321. Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  8. Devlin, Darren (December 22, 2006). "Ten wins Grand Finals flip". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2020. THE toss of a coin yesterday delivered three of the next five AFL Grand Finals to Channel 10.
  9. Goldblum, Jeff. "Back in Time with Jeff Goldblum for Law & Order: Criminal Intent". The Deadbolt (Interview). Interviewed by Troy Rogers. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  10. Bianculli, David (March 15, 2007). "Goldblum has great new haunts". Daily News. OCLC 9541172. Archived from the original on August 22, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  11. Bianco, Robert (March 14, 2007). "Goldblum keeps 'Raines' grounded". USA Today. ISSN 0734-7456. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2020. Strange Raines.
  12. Menon, Vinay (March 15, 2007). "Is Jeff Goldblum talking to me?". Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. OCLC 137342540. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  13. Gray, Ellen (March 14, 2007). "'Raines' doesn't measure up to 'Medium'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. ISSN 0885-6613. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
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