Under The Dome is what happens when a network tries way too hard to create something on the level of a cable program. The talent behind the camera, including novelist Stephen King and executive producer Steven Spielberg, may make you think that it is going to be good, but the writers of the show fall on the same crutches over and over again and the acting is borderline atrocious. Even Breaking Bad veteran Dean Norris as the big baddie is disappointing. This is B-movie television and not even very good when you consider that. It quickly turns soap opera, jettisoning any potential to be a great sci-fi series.

The show takes place in Chester's Mill, a town that is suddenly stuck... well... under a dome. It focuses on various characters who have to survive with limited resources, as they try to uncover the secrets of the dome. Unfortunately, people are quick to take sides as 'Big' Jim Rennie (Norris) tries to establish himself as the town leader. He's out to make a buck and go from lowly town councilor to group leader. Essentially, he wants to be the big kid in the classroom that the little kids are afraid of.

Meanwhile, a group of kids who have frequent seizures while muttering “The pink stars are falling” may be the key to the dome's secrets. The first season reaches a climax when Big Jim finds that out and tries to get them to talk. Of course, he doesn't want the dome to come down, since he'll lose all his power.

There are a few other characters that fill out the main cast. Julia Shumway (Rachelle Lafevre) is a journalist who is left without her husband, so she falls for the mysterious Dale “Barbie” Barbara (Mike Vogel) who, of course, killed her husband. (Hey, I warned you that there were soap opera elements.) Linda Esquivel (Natalie Martinez) becomes the sheriff after the sheriff dies in the pilot and reluctantly finds herself drinking from Big Jim's Kool-Aid way too many times. Seriously, with any television show, you have to expect law enforcement to be incompetent, but she shows a whole other level of incompetence here.

It is so clear throughout the first season that the writers are trying to bring it to the level of a Breaking Bad or The Walking Dead, but unlike those shows, the writing team clearly doesn't have confidence in their viewers. Scenes often feel repetitive between characters – most annoying is Big Jim's arguments with a farmer over water. We get it! Big Jim's only bargaining chip is the propane he's been stocking since before the dome came down!

The characters all make their own horrible mistakes throughout and it gets really annoying when Big Jim's only way of getting out of trouble is shooting someone. An interesting subplot that linked Big Jim and Barbie to a woman named Max (Natalie Zea) is suddenly put to a stop after three episodes when Jim kills her (and pins it on Barbie).

Acting in this show is also poor, especially from the kid actors. Britt Robertson is particularly terrible as Angie, who spends about the first five episodes screaming because Big Jim's son locked her in their safe house. Speaking of Big Jim's son, he's played by Alexander Koch, who was apparently taught that by keeping his mouth agape, viewers can tell he's nuts. Vogel is actually pretty good, so there's that.

CBS and Paramount released the first season on Blu-ray this week. The 13 episodes are spread over four discs. All of the bonus material is mostly of the promotional nature – there's no commentaries and just a few behind the scenes clips. There's some deleted scenes, but they're mostly inconsequential. There's a brief, 10-minute feature on Stephen King talking about his book, which sounds much more interesting than the series.

Under The Dome had the potential in its first season to be good, but it repeatedly misses the mark. It has earned a second season and King is writing the season premiere, so maybe it will get good. Unfortunately, after the first season, I could care less.

image: CBS