The River—The Complete First Season (and possibly only season) makes its DVD debut later this month. The series had the honor of having as executive producers Steven Spielberg, whom I unabashedly adore, and Oren Peli, producer of the Paranormal Activity films.
Zombietron shared his thoughts on the series when it first aired. The main storyline is that wildlife expert Emmet Cole has disappeared, and his wife enlists the aid of their son Lincoln and a documentary crew to venture into the Amazon to search for him. I’m sure those who have already seen the show could see some parallels between Cole and the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. Both were beloved television personalities that loved and respected nature, and they shared their lives and families on screen through the years.
And there are certainly similarities to the Paranormal Activity films, unsurprisingly. Very often there is a feeling that you see something out of the corner of your eye, but before you can focus on the object, the screen changes, displaying the view from an entirely different camera. Each episode pits the crew of the Magus against the forces of nature, inhabitants of the Amazon, and things that defy all scientific explanation.
When asked what tempted him to accept the role, actor Bruce Greenwood (Emmet Cole) replied, “There are really large, classical themes like life and death, and what it means to be here. Is there a collective unconscious? There’s also a big father-son component to the arc of my character and Joe Anderson’s character [his son, Lincoln] – and those hold a special interest for me. Overall, it reached out to a lot of the things that I find really interesting. And then you get to work and you realize you’re making a scary show and it’s very different. It’s been a wonderful experience.”
Joe Anderson is Lincoln Cole, and he originally thought that the character’s story arc “would be for Lincoln to fill his father’s shoes and become a young Indiana Jones-type figure on the same crusade that his father was on. But if you take into account the issues that happened before the pilot episode and the fact that they have an estranged relationship, then that wouldn’t be an easy journey at all.”
He just said the magic words. Young Indiana Jones. (insert requisite Sean Patrick Flanery swoon). And there is definitely an adventurous feel to The River, as well as the horror factor. I don’t recommend watching the show in the dark. I watched all eight episodes when the show aired, and though it took an episode or two to really grab me, I found myself a true fan by the time the season finale aired. Though the show’s fate is unknown (much like the fate of the Magus crew), you can at least count on the DVD being chock full of goodies like deleted scenes and bonus materials.
The River is available on May 22.