Intelligence seems part Chuck part Bionic Woman and a whole lot of ‘haven’t I seen this before?’ but that may not be a bad thing.
Gabriel Vaughn (Josh Holloway, Lost) is a highly skilled ex-Delta Force operative who has a chip implanted into his brain that allows him to access the world’s global information grid thanks to the government.
In the pilot’s opening sequence we see just a snippet of what Gabriel can do when he breaks into a secure facility without knowing the code. This sets off an alarm which results in him being caught and having to escape using some pretty cool fighting techniques.
After not following his mission brief and using his abilities to try and track down someone from his past, he is assigned ex-secret service agent Riley Neal, (Meghan Ory, Once Upon a Time) to protect him from bad guys and from himself at the insistence of the Director of the US Cyber Command, Lillian Strand (Marg Helgenberger, CSI). Strand lets us know that Gabriel was part of an operation called Clockwork and it’s clear that show will keep referring to it through out the series
The pilot, after using the first 15 minutes to set up the characters, then moves into case of the week territory when Shenendoah Cassidy (John Billingsley, True Blood), the neuroscientist responsible for creating the microchip that was implanted in Gabriel’s brain, has been kidnapped and it’s up to Gabriel and Riley to rescue him.
Josh Holloway is the perfect choice to play Gabriel who can be described as reckless, unpredictable and insubordinate. It is because of Holloway’s charms that the series works and its premise doesn’t come off as gimmicky as he can safely go from action hero to human when discussing the character’s past. Meghan Ory plays the role of handler with ease and serves as a character the audience can us as their guide as the pilot progresses and everything is explained about Gabriel and his abilities.
The only downside to the pilot was how Gabriel’s abilities were introduced as it was a little confusing to follow but the scene is important and gives the series its premise.
The show is an enjoyable ride if you leave your intelligence at the door.
3 stars
Intellignce begins 9 PM Wednesday on Seven.
