The Philanthropist

SO I finally watched this NBC show (airs Wednesday nights at 10), The Philanthropist. I had been looking forward to it from the promos–a wealthy man goes to distant lands and uses his wealth to change lives. Wasn’t sure how a network would make a go of it, how much pablum they would feel we needed fed to us to tune in, but I had fun. Sure, there’s painfully awkward exposition (necessary, I expect, on some level in any pilot for a narrative show) and some unnecessary crash ‘em up action just to keep up with the other ten o’clock dramas, but I still enjoyed the romp. I suspect it’ll be worth tuning in. I tend to hate summertime television with a passion, feeling like a test pattern would be more interesting than the 17th incarnation of The Bachelor, but the message here is a nice change. James Purefoy does a nice job in the lead, and while Jesse L. Martin and Neve Campbell haven’t had more than a flash of screen time yet in the pilot, they’ll round it out nicely, I hope.

The story is loosely based on a real man, Bobby Sager, who travels with his family with a commitment to “go eyeball to eyeball with people and make the biggest impact” possible. I love that. I don’t know much…yet…about Sager and his family foundation (and will be finding out more), but I sure do love the sentiment. (Team Sager)

Give the show a go if you’re around. You won’t even have to miss America’s Got Talent (though I probably will), and of course, if you can’t watch it Wednesday nights, Hulu carries the episodes after airing. There’ll be glimpses into a network version of oppressed regions and people, and the advertisers who buy time are very interesting—lots of charities and international aid organizations…and any platform to get them out to more people is a good thing.