"Raines" is a fantastic program that combines strong elements of a well thought out, innovative thriller with a very interesting detective story, plenty of human warmth (both at the personal and group level,) splashes of obvious and subtle humor, beautiful staging and photography, and excellent, top of the line, very realistic acting by all members of the cast but especially Jeff Goldblum and Linda Park. The main paradigm may have been used before in movies and books, but never with such clarity and simplicity, portraying such a humane treatment of what must be one of the most difficult human experiences: study the murder of a fellow human being and work to find and capture the culprits. The open view of the detective's internal psychological struggle, what he is going through and what he had to give up to be effective in his job, is an added and much appreciated bonus that makes these stories all the more attractive. This is what TV shows should be like, in my opinion. Bravo! Let's see more of them!!

Finally, a very unique, refreshing twist on the crime series genre!! Jeff Goldblum, as always is at his subtle brilliance, yet comes forth with moments of intense emotion that lead you to see an almost palpable fear and vulnerability behind his character's exterior presence.This is the first Crime "Who-done-it" show that is able to keep me thinking "Who-done-it" for more than the first 5 minutes of the show. The twists and evolutions of the plot keep me entertained with moments of humor, poignancy, and a sense of the unsettledness that Raines deals with every day by just being himself.The writing is brilliant, and Jeff is just stunning. I would like to see more use of Matt Craven...and my opinion is that they could combine the characters of Carolyn Crumley and Sally Lance played by Nicole Sullivan and Linda Park (respectively) into one character. I would love to see Nicole Sullivan take the part of the female Police Detective. I think she has the perfect range to provide a contrast to Jeff's character. I also catch myself wondering about Dov Davidoff's character of Remi Boyer and why he is really there.This is just an outstanding show, and I hope that NBC keeps it going!! They finally have knocked one out of the ballpark!!!

I'm a big fan of Jeff Goldblum's and he was terrific in this. Intelligent writing really sets this apart from much of what is on network television these days. Let's hope this generates a following and maybe it will inspire some other producers to step up their writing a notch. Not to mention originality. So often every viewing choice I've got falls in such a narrow, predictable, repetitive, cookie-cutter slot. It's refreshing to see something original. The characters were wonderful, well defined, intelligent and well acted. It just made for a very fun hour. The pilot has a very touching ending. What a wonderful new project for a great actor.

I LOVED the pilot of "Raines"; being a HUGE JG fan, I couldn't wait to watch it (holding my breath all the while, hoping that the creators would do credit to JG's highly underrated acting prowess). I was NOT disappointed.His POV throughout the pilot episode was so unique; I was concerned that this was another in a long line of 'kooky detective' series (see Monk, Psych, etc.). But my fears were soon allayed.The most interesting aspect of this show was that, while I watched it, I truly ran the gamut of emotions (if I may employ such an over-used cliché); I laughed, I was intrigued, and the ending not only completely caught me off-guard, I found myself in a pool of tears. Sounds corny, right? Well, shucks, it's the truth.I suggest to those who haven't seen the pilot do so before watching the following episodes, as it is the essential building block for the series (yea, I know that's what a pilot is supposed to be, but so often that is not the case--I have seen the ol' bait and hook method used in a variety of pilots that went on to a series that didn't follow the original premise).I can't wait for the upcoming episodes; I just hope the networks give it the chance that it deserves.