Lone Star: The Best New Show You Aren’t Watching 

This show is in very real danger of being cancelled. Here are some reasons you and everyone you know needs to tune in right now:

The actors:

James Wolk as Robert/Bob Allen. This is a very difficult role to pull off. He’s a liar and a cheat but he’s got to get us to care about him and invest in his future (just like those people he’s bilking in Midland). He convinced me. I’m with him.

Adrianne Palicki as Cat Thatcher. I’ve loved her since she was on Friday Night Lights (and I can’t forget Supernatural) and I’ve been waiting for her to find another great TV role. I think this is it. It’s got great potential and she can do a lot with it. I would love to see her get more screen time.

Eloise Mumford as Lindsay Holloway. You may have seen her guest star on Mercy and L&O: SVU or on the stage. She’s new to me but I like her. I can imagine why Bob finds her so hard to leave behind.

David Keith as John Allen. If he looks familiar he’s been in a number of movies. You might know him from An Officer and a Gentleman, U-571, or Firestarter.  His television credits include The Class and CSI: Miami.

Jon Voight as Clint Thatcher. If you don’t know anything about this man you’ve been living under a rock. Jon Voight (Oscar winner and Emmy-nominated) is a power house and I’m glad he’s back on television.

The story:

Who doesn’t like a story about daddy issues? Lost made an entire (and brilliant) series out of those conflicts. Here, the tension between Bob and his father is palpable at times. John sees his son as a cash cow – and that’s exactly what Bob’s been up until now. He’s impressed by how good Bob is. Bob, on the other hand, wants to get out of the life and be normal. He’s tired of looking over his shoulder and being on-the-run. Bob wants to settle down but he’s going to have to fight his father tooth and nail to do it.

Why do we love the anti-hero? Because even though they’re doing something legally or morally reprehensible, there is something about them that makes us care. Some recent examples are: The Sopranos’ Tony Soprano, Mad Men’s Don Draper, and Sons of Anarchy’s Jax Teller. For me, Bob Allen ranks among them.

Is polygamy really such a big deal? Hell yes. We don’t have a Big Love situation here. The sister wives will not know about each other, at least if Bob can help it. He claims he’s in love with two people and I believe him. Does that make it ok for him to be married to both of them? No. Is it acceptable for him to cheat on the women he claims to love? No. Does it make for great drama and a potential disaster? Absolutely.

We’ve all heard the rumors. We all know the ratings weren’t good. If there is little or no improvement on the ratings, I’d love to see one of the following things happen:

• Postpone until later in the season and relaunch it after an established hit series.

• Move it to FX. This is the type of show that does very well on cable.

Extras:

Lone Star creator Kyle Killen talks about his inspiration for the series.

Mark Deklin talks about the series.

Check out clip heaven, including videos of the publicity shoot and all the actors talking about their characters and motivations.

I hope you’ll watch episode two, “One in Every Family.” It airs on Fox on Monday, Sept. 27^th at 9 pm Eastern/Pacific.