Person of Interest

We started watching this four-season series (with a fifth season planned) not too long ago, streaming and semi-bingeing. It has the fascinating premise that someone has invented a computer that can simultaneously watch all the CCTV cameras in the world, listen to all the cell phones, monitor all the emails, etc. From all this info it can extrapolate when and where and by whom a terrorist attack will come, and thus stop it. But it also can find other murders-in-waiting, and the inventor, “Harold Finch or Martin or Woodpecker” (always a bird name) has hired a burned-out ex-spy and assassin to try to prevent these crimes. Trouble is, all he gets is a SS#, and he doesn’t even know if that person is about to be the victim or the perpetrator. (There is a “reasonable” explanation for this plot device, if you don’t examine it too closely.) So every week stars Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson have a puzzle to solve and a life to save, while a terrifically Byzantine larger story is moved a little farther along. Both leads are very good, as are two more female sidekicks who come along later: another assassin named Shaw, and another computer genius known only as Root. There are also two cops who help them, played by Kevin Chapman and Taraji P. Henson. (Why the P., I wonder? It’s not like there are a lot of other actresses named Taraji.) All involved are very good, as is the writing, as are the technical aspects. We are taking a breather from it after finishing the third season, but will probably get back to it again.