Manifest First Impressions

“The problem, ladies and gentlemen, is your plane departed Montego Bay, Jamaica on April 7th 2013. Today is November 4th 2018.”

I almost let Manifest fly on by (PUN!) without stopping to take a look at it, but I’m glad that I did. Based upon what I had seen of the promotional material, I suspected the show may suffer from being what I’d call a singular-incident story, the type of narrative constructed entirely around a singular event. When a series limits itself with such a central concept, it can face trouble taking off (More PUN!!!). However, Manifest appears to be aware of the pitfalls that would come from limiting the show’s premise to a simple, if interesting, “What if…?” scenario, and it has responded by including a feature that may provide the series with direction moving forward. It’s still a little difficult to determine what type of show Manifest will be, but there is a clear sign of a sustainable narrative device. If I have a primary concern regarding the show, it would be that the advertisements are placing all the emphasis on the missing flight aspect. They should be focusing on how the underlying supernatural forces that caused the delay continue to affect those who were on the flight. Unfortunately, the opportunity to make a first impression may have already set sail (…pun?). Many joked that Manifest was secretly the spiritual successor to Lost, “Found,” but it turns out that’s selling it short. As it so happens, Manifest has some fun ideas that will probably have me coming back for a few episodes, at least.

The premise, if you aren’t already aware, involves a plane that takes off from Jamaica on April 7, 2013 and lands on November 4, 2018 with none of its passengers having aged a day. This is a solid premise for a single Twilight Zone episode, but not much of a concept to build a series around. The issue, as is the case with many singular-incident stories, is once you work your way through the drama from the incident’s fallout you don’t have much left to work with, unless that incident serves to have reaching consequences. Manifest’s main character is Michaela Stone, played by Melissa Roxburgh, a police officer who was vacationing with her family when she, her brother, and her nephew decided to take a later flight in exchange for travel vouchers resulting in them ending up part of the bizarre occurrence. Once you know the basic premise, what follows is fairly predictable. The passengers arrive to find that parents have died, children have grown, and lovers have moved on. It’s all foreseeable, but well executed. The drama from this event is effective, even if it is clearly a limited well for the show to draw from. That’s where the psychic, precognitive abilities appear to come in.

The production quality for the show is solid. There is some questionable effects work that shows up at the tail end of the episode, but it isn’t a significant problem. The cinematography is well executed. The scene before the flight is warm and intimate, emphasizing the connections the family shares, while the episode that follows is cold and focuses on the spaces that have grown in between. There is some narration from Michaela that bookends the episode, and it does come a bit too close to being overwrought due to lines like “This was just the beginning.” Still, there is an indication that there was a conscious entity behind this occurrence, and I’m tentatively curious about how the show will move forward with this mystery. It can be tricky to properly land (Back to PUN!) a conclusion to a supernatural/sci-fi mystery, so the journey may prove more enjoyable than the destination, assuming the program gets the opportunity to reach it in the first place. The actors all do solid jobs here. Still, there are a handful of moments that don’t feel completely natural, like when a medical researcher tries to appeal to her boss’s humanity. The scene makes sense, but just barely crosses the line into saccharine territory. Regardless, by blending a peculiar mystery with the drama from a unusual crisis, Manifest succeeds in constructing an experience that is, by and large, entertaining and novel.

Before I wrap up, a few Notes and Nitpicks:

• Although he’s only in one scene, the pilot does feature Jim True-Frost as a priest. I’m always glad to see him in something, and, when considering the two Monday shows that had a The Wire alumni in their pilot, Manifest beats out Magnum P.I. handily when it comes to entertainment value.
• Due to the episodes being named after flight related terms (i.e. Reentry, Turbulence), having the pilot episode be named Pilot actually succeeds in coming off as original instead of lazy. I can’t help but applaud that.
• I’m still not sure how overt the supernatural elements will be in this show. Will it be a subtle background element that serves to direct events like in early Twin Peaks, or will it be more overt… like later Twin Peaks?