Awake

[LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE]

Awake (formerly titled REM^[1]) is a fantasy crime drama television series that will air on NBC starring Jason Isaacs.^[2] On May 16, 2011, NBC announced that the show would serve as a midseason replacement during the 2011…quot;12 television season.^[3] The series premiered on March 1, 2012 and will air Thursdays at 10:00 pm (Eastern).^[4] The pilot was made available on Hulu, YouTube and iTunes on February 16, 2012.^[5]

^Plot

^{Police detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) is newly returned to work after being in a car crash along with his wife Hannah (Laura Allen) and his son Rex (Dylan Minnette). After the crash Britten discovers that every time he goes to sleep he switches between two realities, one in which his wife died in the crash and one in which his son died. In the reality where his wife is alive he is partnered with rookie Efrem Vega (Wilmer Valderrama) and is seeing a confrontational department-recommended psychiatrist Dr. Lee (B.D. Wong). His wife has redecorated the house and begins pushing him to move in an apparent effort to move past their son's death. In the reality in which his son is alive, Britten maintains his long time partner Isaiah "Bird" Freeman (Steve Harris) and sees a more nurturing psychologist, Dr. Evans (Cherry Jones). His son, previously a football player, has recently returned to playing tennis, and is coached by Hannah's former doubles partner Tara (Michaela McManus). Britten remains unsure which of the two realities, if either, is real, and begins to worry he is losing his sanity when details begin to cross over between the two.[6]}

^Cast

^{To differentiate between the two realities, Britten wears different colored rubber bands in each reality: a red one, for the one in which his wife is alive, and a green one, for the one in which his son is alive. Scenes in the "red" reality use warm tones, while scenes in the "green" reality use cool ones.}

^{Both realitiesMichael Britten (Jason Isaacs), a police detective living in two realities"Red" reality"Green" realityDetective Efrem Vega (Wilmer Valderrama), Britten's partnerDetective Isaiah "Bird" Freeman (Steve Harris), Britten's partnerDr. John Lee (B. D. Wong), Britten's therapistDr. Judith Evans (Cherry Jones), Britten's therapistHannah Britten (Laura Allen), Britten's wife, who survived the accidentRex Britten (Dylan Minnette), Britten's son, who survived the accidentTara (Michaela McManus) Rex's tennis coach, to whom his father is attracted}

^Production

^{Awake was created by Lone Star creator Kyle Killen. The series showrunner is 24 and Homeland writer Howard Gordon. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse director David Slade executive produced and directed the pilot episode.[1]}

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedSeason premiereSeason finale113^[7]March 1, 2012 (2012-03-01)^[4]TBANo.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProduction

codeU.S. viewers

(million)1"Pilot"David SladeKyle KillenFebruary 16, 2012 (2012-02-16) (Online)^[5]

March 1, 2012 (2012-03-01) (NBC)1ATR79N/AAfter a car accident, Detective Michael Britten experiences two dueling realities, one where his wife was killed and another in which his son's life was claimed. He handles a case involving a kidnapped girl in one reality while he handles a murder in another. 2"The Little Guy"^[8]Kyle KillenMarch 8, 2012 (2012-03-08)N/AA witness in the murder of a homeless man tells Britten and his rookie partner, Vega that a "small guy" was spotted at the scene of the crime. When that clue crosses over into the case Britten is working on in his other reality, Bird is confused by his partner's sudden interest in the height of the suspects they are investigating. Meanwhile, Britten's captain, (Laura Innes) shows growing concern over his behavior. 3"Guilty"^[7]Howard Gordon & Evan KatzMarch 15, 2012 (2012-03-15)N/ARex is kidnapped by an escaped convict Michael arrested 10 years ago; an investigation in Michael's other reality gets in the way of an event honoring his deceased son; clues from both realities lead to Michael's sanity being questioned. 4"Oregon"^[7]Lisa ZwerlingMarch 22, 2012 (2012-03-22)N/AWhen his tracking methods are questioned, Detective Britten becomes a suspect in his own case; Hannah considers moving to Oregon to continue school; the doctors think Britten could stop his dreams by moving out of Los Angeles.

Reception

Critical response

In June 2011, Awake was one of eight honorees in the "Most Exciting New Series" category at the Critics' Choice Television Awards, voted by journalists who had seen the pilots.^[9] Awake has received positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the show received an average score of 74, based on 27 reviews, which indicates "Generally favorable reviews".^[10] Movie and TV review website The Filtered Lens raved that the pilot was gripping and thought provoking while also praising Jason Isaacs in the lead role.^[11]

[LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE]

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Detective Michael Britten

Jason Isaacs as Detective Michael Britten - Michael Britten is a family man and is involved in a car accident with his wife and son. In one reality, his wife died in the car accident but his son survived. When he closes his eyes to sleep he wakes up in the other reality where his his son died in the accident and his wife survived instead. Michael has had to bury both his wife and his son, but in separate realities.

Michael Britten does his best to keep his 2 realities straight by colour coding them. Green is Rex's favourite colour so that's the colour of wristband he wears for Rex's reality. He wears a red wristband in Hannah's reality.

Michael is also a Police Detective and continues to work to support what's left of his family, in both realities. However, his Police Partners differ in each reality along with the crimes he is investigating. However, there is overlap between the realities and the clues in one reality can help solve the crimes in the other reality.

In light of his recent emotional loss he is seeing a Psychologist in both realities. He has explained the situation to each Shrink and they both are adamant that the reality they exist in, is the real world. They both believe that the other reality is a figment of his imagination, created to help him cope with the loss of his son or wife. They believe the other reality is a dream world and does not exist.

Michael has no intention of "getting better" if it means losing his son or his wife on a permanent basis. The long term effects of not having proper sleep may end up taking a toll and they could impact on his sanity.

Jason Isaacs will no doubt look familiar as he is a seasoned actor. He played Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter movies over the last decade. He has also played a Michael before in the form of Michael Caffee in the TV series Brotherhood.

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Hannah Britten

Laura Allen plays Hannah Britten, wife of Michael Britten and mother of Rex Britten.

Hannah is alive in the Red reality and is dead in the Green Reality.

Hannah is decorating the house to overcome the loss of her son. She is trying to imagine a life without Rex and is doing her best to move on. She is angry with Michael as he keeps telling her that he sees Rex in the other reality.

Hannah wants to move house and escape the memories. She also feels that they should have another child.

Laura Allen has also had a lot of time on TV starting with her breakout role on All My Children as Laura Kirk. She was also Lily Moore Tyler in the 4400, which she went on to play for about 3 years. However, I remember her mostly from Dirt where she played a drug addicted celebrity called Julia Mallory. More recently Laura Allen played Katie Nichols in the Terriers TV series.

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Rex Britten

Dylan Minnette plays Rex Britten, son to Hannah and Michael Britten.

Rex is alive in the Green reality and is dead in the Red reality.

Rex is finding it hard to cope with the loss of his mother. He was closer to Hannah than to Michael and decides to quit football and return to playing tennis. He feels closer to this mother when he plays tennis as she taught his how to play and she was a really good tennis player.

As Rex struggles to confide in his Dad, he reaches out to his Tennis Coach, Tara.

Tara and Hannah were good friends when they were younger and they both played tennis together. Tara could be a potential love interest for Rex's Dad in the future.

Dylan Minnette has been acting from a young age and his first noticable role was as the younger version of Michael Scofield from Prison Break. He then went on to play Clay Norman in the TV series Saving Grace, for nearly 3 years.

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Dr. John Lee

B. D. Wong plays Dr. John Lee, Michael Britten's Psychologist in the Red reality.

Dr. Lee is adamant that Michael is using the 2 realities to cope with the loss of his son. He also believes that Michael had been drinking the night of the accident and that Michael feels responsible for the death of his son. By creating a reality where his son is alive means Michael doesn't have to feel guilty any more, as to him Rex is still alive.

Dr. Lee tries to get Michael to drop one of the realities with no success. He worries what the long terms effects will be on Michaels sanity if he continues to try and operate in 2 worlds.

B. D. Wong has been in a number of movies and TV series from Father of The Bride, to Jurassic Park and had a long standing role as Dr. George Huang in Law and Order, which went on for nearly 10 years.

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Dr. Judith Evans

Cherry Jones plays Dr. Judith Evans, Michaels Psychologist in the Green reality.

She plays the same role as Dr. Lee but in the other reality. She has very similar thoughts and ideas as Dr. Lee and tries her best to help Michael comes to terms with the loss of his wife.

Cherry Jones most recent popular role was as President Alison Taylor on 24. Before that she has appeared in numerous films, such as Ocean's Twelve, The Village, Signs and Erin Brochovich.

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Detective Efrem Vega

Wilma Valderrama as Detective Efrem Vega.

Efrem Vega exists in both realities. In the Red reality he is the new partner of Detective Britten. He thinks Det. Britten asks for him to be promoted but he quickly realises Det. Britten thinks he needs to be babysat and is wasting his time. The truth is Michaels normal partner, Bird, is being moved so the Chief can keep an eye on Michael. Those higher up don't believe everything is ok with Det. Britten and want an impartial party to give them insight into Michaels state of mind.

In the Green reality, Vega is still a Police Officer.

Wilma Valderrama goes way back to That '70s Show. He was Fez and appeared in over 200 episodes. Since then he appeared in a number of movies and TV series, with his most noticable appearance as Manny in the TV series Handy Manny.

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Detective Isaiah Freeman aka Bird

Steve Harris plays the role of Detective Isaiah Freeman but more commonly known as Bird.

Bird and Britten have been long standing partners and know each other well.

They work cases together and Bird starts to see Michael doing things that makes him worry that perhaps Michael isn't ready to come back to work.

Steve Harris crops up all over the place but is well remembered as Eugene Young, a lawyer from The Practice.

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Tara the Tennis Coach

Michaela McManus is Tara the Tennis Coach.

Tara and Hannah played tennis together when they were younger. Tara is now coaching Hannah's son Rex.

Hannah was a tennis professional but never made it to the big leagues.

Michaela McManus is recognisable from her more recent role as the werewolf Jules from the TV series Vampire Diaries. Before that she played Kim Greylek on Law and Order for a season. Here first major recurring TV series role was as Lyndsey Strauss from One Tree Hill.

[Socio]

The pilot was little boring. I will watch second episode which is probable tommorow, but Im rather not fascinated by this one so far.

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