John Krasinski stars as Jack Ryan
This has been an interesting spring and summer for fans of “The Office.” First, we had to imagine the lovable Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) as a miserable woman trapped in a mortgage with her manchild husband (Oliver Hudson, “Nashville”) in ABC’s comedy “Splitting Up Together.”
Now we get to see Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) as an action hero, the star of Amazon Prime’s new series “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” which began streaming on Friday.
“Jack Ryan” offers few updates on a genre well explored by “24” and “Homeland.” And it takes its time getting to its strengths, which are cinematic action scenes featuring intense firefights between Americans and shadowy terrorists.
It sets up Jack’s story with an intro that seems purposefully slow, frequently dull and astoundingly predictable.
Flashing back to 1983, we first see two nameless Lebanese boys dancing to a cassette boombox playing Men Without Hats’ “Safety Dance.” How much do you want to bet their days of safety are numbered?
And when a youthful Jack Ryan has a near miss with a foul-mouthed commuter while racing his bicycle to work, you all but know that the driver is going to turn out to be his new boss, James Greer (Wendell Pierce).
Greer has been busted from top-level CIA honcho to overseeing number crunchers, including Ryan, a cubicle-bound analyst who could have made a killing on Wall Street but prefers to follow the money trail of evildoers.
Clancy novels often accentuated gadgetry and intelligence-gathering procedure over character development. One review of his early novels compared them to “reading the Sears Catalog.” “Jack Ryan” honors his dubious legacy with some mind-numbing technical jargon.
It takes little more than a half hour for the plot to whisk Ryan away from office drudgery to a field operation in Yemen, where he’s assigned to help debrief suspected money men for “the next bin Laden.”
Not to give too much away, but things don’t go according to plan. This marks the onset of military action and hand-to-hand combat (the real reason for watching a show like this), as well as brief stabs at black humor from overdeployed soldiers. How do you break down a blindfolded terror suspect? Play Toby Keith songs at full volume.
Best known for his likable, everyman comedy roles, Krasinski more than acquits himself as Ryan, seen here as a haunted Iraq War vet still capable of throwing and receiving a punch.
It remains to be seen if action roles will be his new destination. At best, Krasinski seems to be auditioning to be a pliable star of thrillers of the Tom Hanks’ “Da Vinci Code” variety, a mild-mannered, educated man, well past youth, but not too long in the tooth to avoid a fight.
DESSERT FOR ONE?
“Dinner for Two” (7 and 9 p.m. Sunday, TV One) may not be for every taste. Mourning a past relationship and fearing that his addictions are spiraling out of control, Chris (Tristan “Mack” Wilds, “The Wire”) re-creates a romantic meal with his ex, Angela (Chaley Rose, “Nashville”), not so much to win her back but to appreciate what they had and lost and to contemplate whether it’s even worth going on. That’s a lot for one menu.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
› College football action includes Cincinnati at UCLA (7 p.m., ESPN), Michigan at Notre Dame (7:30 p.m., NBC), Akron at Nebraska (8 p.m., Fox) and Louisville at Alabama (8 p.m., ABC).
› After surviving a stalker, a woman flees to a small town, only to find she can’t hide her tracks in the 2018 shocker “I’ll Be Watching” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
› “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” (9 p.m., CNN, TV-14) offers a warts-and-all profile of the late U.S. senator. Originally seen on HBO.
› Breakfast pastries want payback in the 2016 shocker “Attack of the Killer Donuts” (9 p.m., TMC).
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
› Repeat reports on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS) include: A massive Facebook data breach; an interview with Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.); Bill and Melinda Gates’ scholarship plan.
› LSU hosts Miami in college football action (7:37 p.m., ABC).
› Fans who can’t get enough musical competition series can enjoy “The X-Factor U.K.” (8 p.m. Sunday and Monday, AXS TV).
› CNN approaches Labor Day with a marathon helping of “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” (9 p.m.-4 a.m.).