Why is it that Tim Minear continues to work for Fox? I know criticizing the “auteur” behind WONDERFALLS is a big no-no among genre fans, but it has to be said. Every single show he’s produced since leaving his post at ANGEL has resulted in ratings failure. This is not to say that FIREFLY wasn’t good, or that WONDERFALLS didn’t have its moments, but you have to wonder about the judgement that keeps him working.

Take his latest outing, DRIVE. Essentially LOST on wheels, it strives to have the same kind of sprawling cast and overarcing mythology that brought LOST, HEROES and even JERICHO their success, but it lacks … something. Sincerity, maybe, or a belief in its own concept. I just watched the first hour of the opening, and I found myself underwhelmed. The characters were thin, cliched, and the jokes fell flat. Even Nathan Fillion, who is great in nearly everything he’s in, can’t keep the first hour up. I wanted desperately to like the show because of Fillion, but found myself laughing and groaning at the hackneyed dialogue and cliches.

In some ways, DRIVE feels like a fictionalized version of THE AMAZING RACE, except THE AMAZING RACE is actually entertaining and engaging. Throughout the show, Tina scolded me for not burning this week’s DOCTOR WHO onto DVD so we could watch it, and I found myself checking the timeline on the DVR to see how close we were to the end. I just couldn’t get into the show — its mysteries lacked the teeth necessary to keep you coming back.

Surprisingly, the twist at the end of the first hour — though not particularly original — was enough for me to give the show a second chance with hour two. But if they can’t pull it off, I’m deleting hour three from the cable box and moving on. Though, I have to say that the show stinks of early cancellation.

Maybe Minear, who isn’t a bad writer on other peoples’ shows, could go back to writing under another showrunner. He wrote some great episodes of ANGEL and FIREFLY — maybe all he needs is someone else’s material.