Touch, the buzzy midseason FOX preternatural series starring Kiefer Sutherland, will no-doubt contain close-ended tales. But there’s plenty of potential for glorious overarching story — which is why we’re following it closely. With that said, here are 5 Possible Serialized Directions for Touch.
At its heart, Touch seems to be the journey of a single father desperately trying to communicate with his autistic son — from that a story is constructed. The Touch trailer provides an enticing look at what the pilot (and hence series) has to offer.
In particular, 5 potential serialized story aspects grab our attention. We can see how these possible storylines and themes could intertwine and expand over the course of the series. Check out the trailer, if you haven’t already seen it, then scroll down for the list:
Connections
“Six billion, nine-hundred and nineteen million, three-hundred and seventy-seven thousand of us live on this tiny planet and only a few of us can see the connections”. The mystery behind these connections, between people, numbers and events is a intriguing hook that LOST played with but Touch could more readily explore. If there’s a design, then there’s meaning — but what does it all mean?!?
Conflict
The prospect of there being a guiding hand behind these connections, and/or forces manipulating them to nefarious or mysterious goals, could provide the overarching conflict needed to make Touch thrive, while increasing Jake’s importance and touching on human issues.
Challenge
Being able to predict the future and see connections that very few others can, will surely throw some serious challenges Jake’s way. Learning to master the ability and deal with the potential consequences (an opportunities) could make for an interesting character journey without ditching the mythology, or mystery.
Cultivation
It’s clear from the trailer that Martin struggles to connect with his mute son, with child services closing in, threatening to take the boy away. However, Jake’s burgeoning ability could help bring them closer together. What was once a roadblock in father/son relations, could open up into a new realm of communication as numbers allow Martin access into his son’s remarkable mind, and Jake begins to trust him more over time. There will be obstacles, but numbers could be key.
Cell Tower
It’s not clear if the cell towers will be an ongoing theme on Touch, but the pilot implies they are part of a pattern, with other kids like Jake climbing them to, presumably, boost their interconnectivity. It will be interesting to see if cell towers or other objects come into play to help Jake and Martin on their journey.
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If I were to add a sixth potential serialized thread, it would be ‘The Narrator’. The trailer makes pleasing use of narration as Jake takes us inside his head to explain his view of the world. It’s unclear whether the series will involve such narration, but at the same time Jake’s inability to communicate on a level that his father (and the ‘outside world’) readily understands, may provide an interesting story in itself.
How reliable is Jake’s unique way of communicating? How adept will his father and the audience be at reading Jake? And what of these patterns — how far can they be trusted; what are they really communicating?
Touch sneak peeks January 25, officially launches March 19 on FOX
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Honestly, I’ll be surprised if Touch isn’t serialized. The entire theme sounds to me like the first season of Heroes without the superpowers part. It involves people from all around the world that are somehow connected (by numbers?). That suggests to me that by the end of the season, somehow they’ll all end up together, again, just like the first season of Heroes.
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The more overarching purpose, the better. I think one of the main differences with “Heroes”, at least from the outset, is that it was always an ensemble show. “Touch” seems to be more centered on Sutherland’s character and his kid (along with Gugu Mbatha-Raw as the female lead and Danny Glover’s character, who seems to have an important role). Though it’ll be interesting to see how many of the other ‘connected’ characters become mainstays, and serve the story beyond single episodes.
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I really hope they go down the Lost-style “everyone is connected” road because I feel it’ll make for the best version of this show but how they do it is what I’m worried about. I’ve read the pilot script and the way the people are connected is really lame.
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