When TV by the Numbers announced that "Awake" had moved from the "bubble watch" to "certain cancellation," many fans voiced their disappointment in the comments. Similarly, there were a few people who voiced their happiness. Some people were initially excited to see the show, but felt they wasted their time watching even one episode.
It seems that the difference between fans and loathers is that fans of the show love, and were expecting to see, science fiction. Loathers of the show were expecting to see a show about a man who had a mental disease and were disappointed to see that there was weird stuff going on.
People expecting to see some hard science on a science fiction show are going to be sorely disappointed. Perhaps the show should make it clear that it is a full-fledged sci-fi show, so the expectations of viewers will be met.
Michael should prove to himself that both worlds are real (or fake).
The show can't go on very long without some sort of resolution on whether Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) is crazy. Perhaps he could find a significant event that happens in one world and is repeated in the other world. Then he would have to reverse the process to find an event in the second world that is repeated in the first world. If a large unforeseen event is repeated in each world, it is unlikely that only one world is fake.
Michael needs to prove it to at least one other person in each world at some point.
Every sci-fi cop shows needs a sidekick who knows everything that is going on. This could be someone from his personal life, or from work. Since this is a cop show, it should be someone from work in at least one of the two worlds. In the green world, the partner (Steve Harris) seems like a good fit. In the red world, it could be anyone. It could be the wife (Laura Allen), the partner (Wilmer Valderrama), or even the therapist (BD Wong).
The red world therapist, Dr. Lee, would be an interesting option. He seems to be a very logical person, so if Michael could somehow prove to him that both worlds are real, his mind would be completely blown.
He should venture outside his cop worlds.
"Awake" could get really exciting if Michael begins to study all the differences in each world since the day of the accident, then venture outside his cop worlds to try and figure out the cause of those differences. He could try to figure out who, if anyone, is pulling the strings. He could figure out whether both worlds are truly real in some alternate reality. Perhaps both worlds are fake, and it's all some sort of experiment taking place in the real world. Perhaps it is somewhat like "Total Recall." Perhaps he is dead, and not wanting to let go. The possibilities are endless.
Image source: AWAKE -- Episode: Pilot -- Pictured: Jason Isaacs as Michael Britten -- Photo by: Lewis Jacobs/NBC, Airdate: Thursdays on NBC (10-11 p.m. ET), © NBC Universal, Inc.
