Can Kevin Bacon Keep 'The Following' Alive?

James Purefoy as Joe Carroll

FOX's new show 'The Following' is disturbing and gory. FOX has always been known for wanting to be edgy.

Is 'The Following' edgy enough? 

Each episode give the viewer a heavy dose of blood and gore, as we following a cult that kills out of reverence for their leader in prison - Joe Carroll. Joe views it as art. His followers take up his 'cause and kill, often taking out the eyeballs, as referenced in Edgar Allen Poe literature. This show is heavy on innocent people dying, at the hands of a cult following.

Had enough yet?

The problem with this serial killer drama is that the cast is mostly unknown. Sure, we recognize an X-man here and there. Shawn Ashmore is in the show, as a rookie. Other than that, James Purefoy reminds us of our favorite X-man, Wolverine. Sorry folks, it is not Hugh Jackman.

The lackluster cast in this serial killer drama fails to keep us coming back. We don't know Anna Parise, playing Ryan Hardy's expert on cults. Natalie Zea plays James Hardy's past love interest, but honestly, we don't care. The story just doesn't excite viewers. If we want dead bodies, we can turn on CSI.

Let's face it, Kevin Bacon is entrusted to carry the show. His character is an alcoholic, that had to leave the FBI because he was stabbed in the heart by Joe Carroll. Now he wears a pacemaker. He is a retired agent, brought back to catch a killer.

There's not much more to say about 'The Following' other than the obvious: '24' fans are going to be very disappointed with this drawn out drama that does keep us interested.

Kevin Bacon is a good actor, but he just isn't that good to carry this show. 'The Following' is a dud. We like watching Kevin Bacon, but a crippled Kevin Bacon is not entertaining.

It appears that FOX would have gone over budget to hire a full cast of recognizable actors and actresses.

Kevin Bacon will not be able to keep 'The Following' alive all by himself. Let it die. Bring back Terra Nova.

Terra Nova was entertaining, even without the big names. 'The Following' is dark and gloomy, and the story does not leave us wanting to watch more.

Kevin Bacon meets The Iceman, Shawn Ashmore in The Following

Kevin Bacon drinking water in The Following

Kevin Bacon Makes Everything Better

Kevin Bacon Mosaic portrait made from 15 lbs. of bacon

Do you like bacon?

Bacon

Kevin Bacon, that is.

Kevin Bacon

In 1994, Premiere Magazine interviewed Kevin Bacon about the movie, The River Wild. In this interview Kevin Bacon said that he had either worked with everyone in Hollywood or worked with somebody who’s worked with them.


A few months later, there was an article that circulated via a newsgroup, titled: “Kevin Bacon is the Center of the Universe.”

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon book

That same year, four students at Albright College came up with this game to connect any celebrity name to Kevin Bacon. They started this game after watching Footloose, and then The Air Up There. The Bacon-movie-marathon (or Bac-a-thon) inspired these bright young men to speculate on how many people Kevin Bacon had worked with. They published the book, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

In the summer of 2011, Kevin Bacon played Sebastian Shaw in the move X-men: First Class. When I found out he was in the movie, I thought, "This guy is in everything!"

Emma Frost (left) talking to Sebastian Shaw (right) in X-Men: First Class

Kevin Bacon actually started an organization called SixDegrees.org as a charity.

Which should not be confused with the Oracle of Bacon.

The Oracle of Bacon is a computer program that compares over 800,000 people from the Internet Movie Database, and assigns them a Bacon number. This website says that about 12% of all actors can't be linked to Kevin Bacon. What a shame.

If you happened to be watching the 83rd Academy Awards (2011), you would have seen James Franco make a reference to the Six Degrees of Bacon.

So what is my Bacon number, you ask?

My great uncle Fred Smith in Kentucky, was Diane Sawyer's uncle by marriage. Diane Sawyer was in a TV special Independence Day 2001 with actor Morgan Freeman, who was at the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2011) with Kevin Bacon.

Using one relative connection and two TV connections (at the Oracle of Bacon), my Bacon number is: 4.

Kevin Bacon holding Golden Globe Award:

(photo credit: Casey Rodgers/AP Photo)

So we will just have to wait until the next big Kevin Bacon movie comes out in 2013 - titled: R.I.P.D. - an action comedy about undead police officers.

Sources:

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon entry. Wikipedia.org.

Oracle of Bacon website