Low IQ?: Why Intelligence doesn't quite measure up

We'll probably stop watching Intelligence after episode 3 of season 1, not that it's a bad series - it's definitely not bad - but it's just not that good, and there's so much good stuff out there, especially in the well-tended field where Intelligence has staked its claim. Face it, you can't help but compare it with The Sopranos and The Wire, and it just doesn't measure up against that level of excellence. It's a suitably complex plot - underworld figure in Vancouver, much like a Tony Soprano but younger, slicker, not part of an ethnic clan, Jim Reardon, who runs an enterprise involving drugs, strip clubs, money laundering - turns informant for the Vancouver ICU, the head of which is under great pressure because of interagency jealousy. Both she (Mary) and Reardon have complex family situations going on: a fuck-up brother, a nasty divorce, a custody battle. All that said, the family and personl aspects are barely developed and barely rise above the level of cliche. What made the Sopranos great was that it was primarily about people and families, and as it happened they were involved in this criminal line of work - a total surprise and twist. What made The Wire great was the terrific scenes of police work in action, with lots of down time, which is very true to life. Intelligence is built on a thousand very short scenes, all business - there's so much plot to spin out that nothing unfolds - Reardon rushes from one brief meeting to another, and all I'm thinking about the whole time is how to hold the plot elements together. It's kind of a different take - mob boss as CEO - but for me far less interesting than many other series out there right now.