By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
The FBI and CIA continue to make good fodder for the TV networks.
Mike Hale of the New York Times reports:
Did you know that the F.B.I. is your square dad and the C.I.A. is your hot mom? I didn’t either, until I watched two new midseason television series, NBC’s “The Enemy Within” and ABC’s “Whiskey Cavalier.”
They’re at opposite ends of the spectrum of network formulas: a scaremongering thriller about domestic terrorism (“Enemy”); and a globe-trotting romantic caper (“Whiskey”). But beneath the shootouts and chases they’re kind of the same show. A sad, honest man from the F.B.I. — a beta male despite his considerable physical skills — is forced to partner with a charismatic, rules-breaking woman from the C.I.A. Sparks fly, though perhaps not enough to light a fire.
Neither show engages directly with current political battles (through two episodes, anyway) — there’s no angry president accusing the intelligence agencies of deep-state plotting. “The Enemy Within,” however, eagerly taps into our continuing post-9/11 paranoia.
