Television: Scorpion, "Pilot"

I have found my tribe.

Honestly, I tend to cringe a little when shows do the "genius" thing because it tends to be one note and often all out of tune besides. Scorpion hit closer to the mark, and more than anything it was utterly entertaining.

The show is about a team of four geniuses, each with his or her particular forté. Largely unable to hold down "real" jobs because functioning in the "real" world is difficult for them, they've taken to stealing electricity and robbing banks through nearly invisible transactions that don't get flagged. Until a federal agent in the form of Robert Patrick shows up to ask for their help.

So, you know, S.H.I.E.L.D. but with all the superheroes being geniuses instead of mutants or whatever.

There's the typical backstory of how Patrick's character (Cabe Gallo is his name) had once duped lead genius Walter (Elyes Gabel), and so now Walter is reluctant to trust or help him. There's also the subplot involving the waitress (Katharine McPhee) who is a single mother to a brilliant son.

Bottom line is, the ensemble cast worked well, and the action kept things moving. The show was entertaining and engaging, even if it was easy to see from the start exactly which direction things were moving and how it would all play out. Banter could use perhaps a fraction more funny, but maybe that will come with time.

Scorpion was the first show this week that didn't have me fiddling with my iPhone after a few minutes. That's gotta be worth something.