TV Reviews : Mystery Missing From ‘The Great Pretender’
TV mogul Stephen Cannell is one of those Hollywood traders who rejoice in panache and peculiarity. Latest entry is Earl Brattigan, as in Dead End Brattigan, who makes his debut Sunday night at 9 on NBC in “The Great Pretender,” which looks mighty like a pilot for a series.
The title deals with reporter Brattigan’s bold use of pretense. Bruce Greenwood gives good bravado as Brattigan, with help from sidekick writer Wilson Leer (Gregg Henry), crusty publisher Milnar (Donald Moffat), hot-looking office intern and romantic interest Kate (Jessica Steen) and the sinister Bratso (Aharon Ipali).
The shtick is that once-Pulitzer-winning Brattigan, fired by Milnar because he exposed him in his own paper, sues to get his job back--then is unceremoniously assigned to the “dead file,” re-investigating unpublished stories. Anyway, he and Kate uncover a murderous scheme by Bratso to build an L.A.-Las Vegas bullet train route with a monster Japanese company.
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