Manifest - First episode

For us, this was just the beginning… - Michaela

Manifest, the new fantasy/police/thriller series made for the NBC network has started airing. Let's just be straight to the point. Is this show anything good?

So, what is Manifest about? Well, it's actually quite simple. 190 people board a plane, on their way they experience heavy turbulence but shortly after that they arrive safely at their destination. But then it turns out something is wrong. Five and a half years have passed since they boarded the plane.

The series manages to portray this anomaly brilliantly. It appears as if everything is normal, until the plane lands and dozens of police cars and ambulances are waiting for them. Everyone is scanned, questioned and checked out. How can something like this happen?

As the episode progresses, increasingly strange events start to occur. Slowly, but steadily a lot more questions arise. It appears that all passengers seem to be troubled by something. (I keep this vague on purpose, so won't end up spoiling anything).

I must admit that this first episode made me wonder. Imagine this, you arrive home and all of a sudden you're told that nearly six years have passed! Have people died? Is your beloved still there? Do you even still have a home? I can keep these questions coming. These are all questions that the main characters of Manifest have to deal with. Now that we're talking about the actors, how are they performing? (What a wonderful way to go from one topic to the next)

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Our main character is Michaela Stone (Melissa Roxburgh, Valor). She's a young cop, engaged and she causes quite a big accident (This may sound quite unusual, but it's explicitly mentioned in the episode so I decided to add it!). She's one of the passengers of this notorious flight. Melissa portrays her character just fine. The chemistry between all the characters could be a bit better, but it's only the first episode so I'm able to live with that.

We've also got Josh Dallas (Once Upon A Time) who portrays the older brother, Ben Stone. He is best known as Prince Charming from the fairy tale series on ABC, where he portrays an over-the-top loving husband. He does the same thing here. At least, it appears to be like that in the beginning of this episode. Once it progresses, we'll start to become aware that his character is a bit more rough around the edges. Interesting!

Apart from that, the camera work in this pilot is just fine. The special effects, in particular at the ending, are a bit awkward, so that portion of this show could definitely use some improvement.

I've taken everything into account and I'm quite positive about the show. It's a good start and it could definitely be a great addition to your to-watch list. There's one 'but', though. If they turn this show into a 'case of the week' kind of series, then they've got a problem. This is known as a procedural show and if this show becomes like that, then that'll take away all the excitement. If that were the case, I wouldn't recommend Manifest.

But for now:

An 8.0!