How I Would Save AMC'S 'Rubicon' or "Damn....It Had So Much Promise"

"That Glee Club will never find me in this bar...."

 When AMC started 'Rubicon' over the summer with a special online look at the one-hour premier I was as excited as everyone else. AMC has already proven it knows how t make quality TV with it's critical and fan-favorite series' 'Mad Men' and 'Breaking Bad'. These two shows have demonstrated the cable network's ability to tell quality stories using complex characters, each show has a unique visual style and stellar casts. For all purposes both of these shows are home-runs. 

I went into the pilot of 'Rubicon' with no knowledge of the series, I hadn't read even a one-line description of the premise. All I knew what that AMC made good TV and all I expect was that this new series would, at least, meet if not raise the bar already set. It didn't. 

Right out of the gate there were problems with this new series. The pilot alone took me two viewing to get through. Sure there were intriguing moments but it was very slow. Worse than the pacing was the tone of the show, deadly serious. It's as if we're to believe none of these characters have ever cracked a joke before because I don't think I saw one smile or light moment in the whole first hour. 

Obviously the high-paranoia, everything-is-a-conspiracy-style-plot doesn't leave much room for spit takes and knee-slappers but a little bit of levity would've been the first step in the right direction to bringing a new audience into this very stoic world of Government-employed, Think-Tank workers. 

In the pilot episode we meet Will Travers an intelligence analyst for a think-tank called, API, who is still dealing with the loss of his wife and daughter in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Will discovers a hidden code in crossword puzzles around the country that tie into a secret society that may have a heavy hand in orchestrating world events on a grand scale. I say "may have" because, ten episodes into season 1, and the answer is just as muddled as it was in the premiere. 

As a series-long LOST fan I'm accustomed and totally okay with not have all (or ANY) of the answers up front. I'm generous with TV, especially new shows, and as long as you keep me invested in the people I'll stick through muddle plot details and over-worked conspiracy stories. Rubicon has only succeeded in making one character worth watching, Kale Ingram (played by the spectacular Arliss Howard). 

Kale Ingram is one of Will Traver's supervisors at API, an enigmatic man who speaks in whispered puzzles, is the most appealing and humanized character on the series. He has a live-in boyfriend whom we've been shown he adores, if only because he's so easy to keep in the dark (when you work at API you can't tell anyone what you really do...mysterious, isn't it?). 

So, with all the bits and pieces that are good and bad, how can we save this show? With a few MINOR adjustments I think this could be one of the best show's on TV so I'm going to list them and maybe, someone out there will know a Rubicon writer and pass along this list of suggestions. Or else we can just debate it here. 

1. MORE KALE - This one should be hard to accomplish. Write this guy more scenes and give him more business. It seems like the writers are already onto this gem in their cast, as this most recent episode spent a lot of time with Kale. They're on the right path but they can do more. Kale has recently been helping Will (or at least it seems this way, he could also be working against him) and should continue to do so. Since one of the major faults of this show is that the stakes are unclear, let's start by making our heroes a little clearer. I'm not saying there should be distinctive Good and Evil characters, this show works well in the grey-areas, but it wouldn't hurt to make Kale as definite friend of Will Travers and his ongoing investigation.  Perhaps add some danger to the show by having Kale tell Will everything he knows and agree to help him, in secret, take down API only to have him lose his live-in boyfriend in a tragic accident similar to the one that started Will's investigation (the mysterious death of Will's father-in-law is what begins the series). 
2. ANSWER QUESTIONS AND ASK NEW ONES - This was the one major flaw LOST seemed to have, it constantly asked new questions before it gave satisfying answers to the old ones. Rubicon doesn't do either. In the ten episodes I've seen, we have learned almost NOTHING worth-while about the over-all conspiracy, it's players, it's pawns or it's purpose. This is a bad move. The audience isn't going to stick around just because you keep a carrot on a stick in front of them. The characters will keep asses in the seats but for a show about conspiracy, you need to have lots of conspiring. Let us in on the plan. Show some of your cards and then think up new mysteries to tease us with. By episode 5 we should know exactly what the Crossword Puzzle Hiding Men hope to achieve.  By episode 10 we should know, without question, what Will is going up against. If we knew how high a mountain he has to climb we might be more inclined to stick around and watch him try to climb it. 
3. MORE CONSPIRACY THEORIES - The crossword puzzle thing was cool. So are all the hidden four-leaf clovers people keep finding at random, that somehow tie into the large conspiracy. I would love to continue telling you about the cool little bits of intrigue on this series but it stops there. It shouldn't. Wrap the the xword puzzle and the clovers by episode 6 and then introduce us to something new. Maybe there are hidden messages on TV or in a prominent Gossip rag. If this show gave us more little details to investigate with Will perhaps it wouldn't feel like we've spent the last 10 episodes treading water. 
4.  COMEDY WORKS TO INCREASE TENSION - As I said at the beginning of this piece a little levity goes a long way. If we could see some of these characters out of their work element, or even a bit happier at work, it would help to not only humanize them but increase the tension of the quiet serious scenes just enough to keep the show out of the feet-dragging pace it's been slogging along at. They tried this with light banter amongst Will's team but, for whatever reason, this falls flat and seems forced. Maybe it's because we know so little about these characters outside of the four-industrial green colored walls they work behind it's hard to tell what's meant to be sarcastic and what's meant to be serious. Which leads me to my final suggestion...
5. LET THE SUPPORTING CAST BREATH- We've gotten a little bit of info about each of the supporting characters but not enough information. If a bit more time was spent on each of these characters throughout the ten episodes that have aired, we could be more invested in their personal lives and therefore care more about what happens to them professionally. 

What's past is past and there's nothing we can do but I have no doubt that this show will get a second season and hopefully the creators will look back on the complaints the first season has received and search for ways to fix it. These 5 suggestions are a great place to start. I'm hoping for the best because there are many things about this show I like and with a few tweaks it could be as strong as my other favorite, quietly brooding series, DAMAGES. 

Am I way off base? Do you love Rubicon? Hate it? Share your thoughts below.