Here I am again to talk about another fantastic show that all of you should start watching like yesterday! You may have seen the promos for this little show called Perception. You may recall a review I did on Eli Stone. This show is very similar but without the whimsy. If you don't remember, here it is: TV Needs More Eli Stones!

Perception tells the story of an eccentric college professor, Dr. Daniel Pierce of neuroscience, who helps the FBI with complex cases. The type of cases that there is no clear motive or easy explanation for. These cases usually involve something to do with the brain. Maybe there's a misdiagnosed patient or most recently what's called cognitive blindness. Daniel solves these cases with Detective Moretti, a bright and smart female FBI agent who took his class and really believes in him. What I do like is that while you're watching you do learn a lot about neuroscience and he raises some pretty interesting questions about our reality.

There's just one problem however. Daniel is a high functioning paranoid schizophrenic. It's hereditary and manifested itself when he was a teenager and he's been taking medicine in order to deal with it. However, every now and again, he goes off his meds and chaos ensues. Whenever he works a case and things begin to seem too easy, he starts hallucinating representations of the case. Either it's the actual suspect or someone that just symbolizes what the case is about.



He has a live in helper in the form of Lewicki who helps Daniel by taking care of his mail, taking over his lectures, picking up groceries, and letting Daniel know when he's talking to thin air.

Can I just say that I really, really, really like this show? It takes all the hustle and bustle of a cop procedural by adding a little fun to the mix. It's not just oh there's murder, let's interview some people and blame the wrong person until the end where we finally get the right person. While that works just fine for some shows, if there isn't some kind of it factor, I truly find it boring. (Outside of Law and Order: SVU of course!!)



What really makes this show interesting is Eric McCormick who plays Daniel Pierce. Yes, he's eccentric, yes he's a little nuts, but how Eric plays Daniel is someone who is trying to be more than his disorder. He knows he has one but he still teaches and he doesn't let it get to him. He plays Daniel as a strong, prideful man who believes wholeheartedly in everything that he does. He's always at 100% and sometimes, yes, he does get burned out, but that's only because he knows what he's talking about.

If a case comes up where he thinks someone else may have did it or someone wasn't in control of their actions, he will defy any and everyone to uncover the truth. What I don't like is everyone around him. They call him in to work on these cases and when he does his job, then they want to get mad because the case isn't as easy as they thought. They believe that because he sees people who isn't there or seems to talk to himself, that he's crazy and they shouldn't listen to him. And yet, they continue to want his help. It's really stupid.

But Daniel doesn't let it get to him. He continues to fight for the right person who actually committed the crime. Like in season 1 when everyone was so convinced that a man killed his wife, Daniel found out that he can't recognize faces. Or how he cracked a cipher being run in the local newspaper that was being broadcast by a serial killer. Daniel doesn't stop until he gets to the truth and I have to commend Eric for making the character so human and relatable. No one wants to get bogged down by labels and it goes doubly so for the genius that is Daniel Pierce. And his hallucinations are hilarious sometimes!



Detective Kate Moretti is played by Rachel Leigh Cook. If she looks familiar, you may have seen her in Psych or She's All That. I have to give her props. Her character isn't really all that fleshed out or even all that interesting to watch, BUT that does not hinder Rachel in any way. She plays her character with as much sincerity as any actor would approach their character. She's a strong female lead and she's pretty without being beautiful, strong without being manly, and smart without being impossibly Einstein like (not that they couldn't have gone that route, just sayin').

She actually brings to mind Beckett from Castle. Both are strong, competent women who only fail when it comes to their own love lives. But with Moretti, I don't know, I just feel like there's something missing. Compared to Daniel, she just doesn't pop as much. I feel like if I got some of her back history or saw her interact more with her personal life, I would be more accepting of her. I know the show isn't about her, it's about Daniel so most of the show is going to show his home life, his work life, his day to day operations.



In season 2, we're only now really getting into who Moretti is. Sure, in season 1, we saw her dad and everything, but the only reason we did was because she was afraid to tell her dad that she was getting a divorce. And like most divorces, it's hard on both parties. It takes a huge chunk out of people. So in season 2, we get to see her ex who is now working with her. Yeah, like that isn't awkward.

Here, I am doubly proud of Moretti. It's no secret that she broke up with him because he cheated on her with her best friend. I completely agree with her decision to leave him. I can forgive a lot of things, but I think cheating is the worst one. Cheating is so bad because someone knows that they have someone in their life, they know they love that person, and yet they choose to get with someone else. I don't buy that "It just happened" excuse. It didn't just happen. Someone actively stood/sat there and took off their clothes. They had all that time to remember that they are involved with someone and they ignored it anyway.

But anywho, enough about that. I'm glad to get a small window into Moretti's life and I'm definitely looking forward to more.



And last but not least, Natalie, played by Kelly Rowan. I'm skipping Lewicki played by Arjay Smith, because asides from being Daniel's helper, there really isn't much use to him. But there is to Natalie. Natalie is one of Daniel's longest running hallucinations. She's like his best friend and they've been friends for at least a couple of years. Daniel absolutely trusts her and loves her and why wouldn't he? He's basically talking to himself. And who doesn't love themselves?

But I will say that I love Natalie. She's the perfect calm to Daniel's storm. Where Daniel goes looking for answers, all Natalie has to do is tell him to slow down and really think the problem through and then bam! Problem solved. I just love the relationship Daniel has with Natalie. It's so cute and the story of how they met is adorable too. But it is a little tragic at the end of season 1 leading into season 2.



Highlight from star to star as there is a MASSIVE spoiler ahead and I don't want to ruin it for the folks who haven't seen the show.

* What's so tragic is that Daniel was a genius in college. And he was really cocky about it as any adolescent would be. His friends convinced him to go to a party where he saw Natalie and was so smitten with her that they ended up spending the whole night together, talking and laughing. But, he never talked to Natalie. He did see someone who looked like Natalie but he was too scared to talk to her. And his brain, finally manifesting his schizophrenia for the first time, created a version of that girl so that he could talk to her. Tragic right??!!!!

And Daniel doesn't learn this until now. Don't get me wrong, he knows that Natalie is an hallucination, but it's the same way that a child thinks their imaginary friend is real. They're a real person with their own personalities. But at the end of season 1, Daniel checks himself into a hospital where he meets the real version of Natalie. I don't really like the doctor all that much. She just rubs me the wrong way. But I do like Natalie. Go figure.

And it's just so heartbreaking, because this entire time Daniel was fine with his life, but now he realizes that Natalie never existed. It's just so sad. You know I'm a sucker for a good tragic story! *

But yeah I like Natalie..haha!

Welp, that concludes this review. I hope you all get a chance to check out this show. If you're a fan of cop procedurals and you like a little strange in your house, then by all means, watch this show!