The life of Martin Odum, a cover operative, who is gifted with the ability to transform himself into different personalities while keeping his own in secret, has been turned upside down, when a stranger suspects on him.
The capers are so predictable in the early going that, when the ubiquitous Zeljko Ivanek shows up as a militia leader, you can't help but roll your eyes, itching for Martin [Sean Bean] to get back to the mystery of who he is.
Martin [Sean Bean] has some kinship to Jack Bauer, which isn't surprising, since 24 creator Howard Gordon is one of the producers. But he's got his own troubles, and at least up front they make for some engaging television.
It's a pleasure to watch Bean fall into his "legends," or fake identities, even as the show pushes the boundaries of what TV audiences might accept when it comes to instantaneous computer heroics.
Darker and less escapist than TNT's other new summer entry, The Last Ship, Legends offers a down-and-dirty hero with rough edges but surrounds him with a cadre of cleaner, less sullied colleagues, making for somewhat of a tonal mish-mash.
[Sean] Bean, who this time is assured of staying vertical, might have enough pop in his performance to break on through. His various identity crises -- on the job and off -- make him a nowhere man worth watching.
Legends with Sean Bean is a show, that, like Josh Holloway's CBS series Intelligence last season, should work but doesn't due to a lack of imagination and daring.
Legends opens with Martin wrapping up a six-month assignment, but after that, the structure seems to be for him to assume and discard identities in rapid order in a way that removes much of the intrigue and emotional danger of the premise.
