The concept of new Fox series “Touch,” will live or die based on whether people are willing to suspend their disbelief.
“Touch” can be tough because of the many simultaneous storylines that can reveal too much at once, allowing the viewer to infer the plot’s connection to another occurring at the same time.
Ten-year-old Jake Bohm (David Mazouz), a misdiagnosed autistic boy, sees intricate mathematical connections between people, and it’s his task is to put them back together again. Each week, the show will tell additional new stories, but at the center of “Touch” is the story of Jake and his father.
Martin (Kiefer Sutherland), the father, struggles to raise his mute son and to make ends meet, even a decade after his wife died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Martin realizes the peculiarity of his son, and his investigations lead him to Arthur Teller (Danny Glover), who tells him that his son’s capabilities are sort of an “air traffic controller” between all this interconnectivity.
If viewers let it slide that a cell phone containing the only photos of a father’s recently deceased daughter can travel all the way to the Middle East, then it makes for easier programming to digest.
For the sake of maintaining the surprise, a sampling of the plot points that occur in the first episode include two men having an altercation outside a gas station, an Irish man recording a video of a girl singing karaoke, a boy developing a fixation with the number 318 and others. This represents only a smidgen of all the activity.
Sutherland and Mazouz are exceptional in their roles. Mazouz, whose lines in the beginning are mostly confined to an internal monologue, creates an unspoken otherworldliness and genius for Jake.
Sutherland brings a quiet exasperation and daily drudgery to Martin, a man who genuinely loves his son, but is resigned to the fact that he cannot fully get through to him.
This role is light years away from the actor’s previous television role on “24” as rogue agent Jack Bauer hunting down terrorists. Yet, he again proves to be a versatile actor when he’s away from playing cops and robbers.
The series can be compared to similar vignette stories such as the film, “Crash,” but “Touch” takes its concept from much older material. During an interview with British late-night host Jonathan Ross, Sutherland said that the show actually takes its inspiration from the ancient Chinese fable of the “The Red Thread.” The show represents a modern reworking of that tale.
It’s a juggling act trying to make all these elements of the show fit together without it swimming in superfluous sentimentality. To the credit of series creator and writer Tim Kring (“Crossing Jordan,” “Heroes”), the show pulls it off. Kring’s main task is now to write out a series that keeps the suspense of the show going.
“Touch” airs Thursdays on Fox at 8 p.m.
Reach the reporter at tccoste1@asu.edu
Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook. Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press email newsletter.
