Windfall Worth Picking Up?

I decided to give NBC's summer show Windfall a chance. I don't usually watch shows in the summer, because they have a tendency to end up cancelled (unless they are reality shows, or air on USA/TNT). But the concept intrigued me (20 people share a $300 million lottery ticket) and the cast had a decent pedigree (Boomtown alums Lana Parilla and Jason Gedrick, and 24 survivor Sarah Wynter). Plus Luke Perry.

The verdict? Blah. The pilot didn't catch me. I'll give it one more week, but that's it.

While the idea is a good one, the show suffers from its bloated cast. Twenty winners means twenty show regulars. That is too many characters. Even now, I can only remember the names of four of the characters. They spend time trying to show you all of the winners (the hard-working mom who suffers through two jobs and annoying trailer park neighbors, the punk teen with an angry dad, a divorcing couple whose storyline was beyond predictable, a rebel with a past wooing an upperclass lawyer), and each ends up suffering for lack of screentime.

I have no feel for any of the characters, and the little love triangle they set up between Gideon (Gedrick), Nina (Parilla), and Beth (Wynter) is both tiresome, and a little icky (but icky for a purely personal reason*). I mean, yes, Gedrick is a hottie, but dude! I'd stick with Luke Perry any day, especially with that post-Dylan Walsh maturity he's developed.

I'll give it one more ep to see if it sticks.


*The personal reason is the fact that on a PBEM I run, I cast Gedrick, Parilla, and Wynter as siblings. Four years ago, before this show was a twinkle in its creator's eye. Seeing them making out just gives me the willies.