In The Sentinel, which debuted on UPN in 1996 (the network's second year), detective James Ellison (Richard Burgi, Desperate Housewives) of the Cascade, Washington police force suddenly finds himself gifted with super-heightened sensory perception—something to do with being stranded in the jungles of Peru as a special-ops solider years earlier, or so says his putative partner, anthropology student Blair Sandburg (Garrett Maggart), who claims that Ellison has become a Sentinel, just like in South American mythology, destined to protect his village from danger. While that might sound potentially interesting, these 10 first-season episodes just kinda chug along on dramatic fumes, even when elements that should be thrilling—stolen Ebola virus!—are tossed in. More often, the show finds Ellison and Sandburg being “inexplicably drawn” to beautiful suspects and falling for the “wrong women,” which proves that even super-powered crime fighters and their sidekicks are subject to the mundane Laws of Fiction Clichés. Presented on an extra-less three-disc set, this initial offering of The Sentinel is an optional purchase. (M. Johanson)
The Sentinel: The Complete First Season
Paramount, 3 discs, 450 min., not rated, DVD: $39.98 Volume 21, Issue 4
The Sentinel: The Complete First Season
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