TV executives are obsessed with reboots. Its all we get these days and I’m sick of it. And I rolled my eyes when I learned about “True Lies” the new CBS show based on the 1994 James Cameron action classic starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis.

And the pilot for the latest reboot we didn’t ask for is…Okay.

The reboot gives us Steve Howey in the Arnold role and Ginger Gonzaga in the Jamie Lee part, and the duo takes a mighty swing at trying to capture the charm of the original, but still comes up quite a ways short. They look great. Don’t blame them. Blame the producers.

And trying to stay positive here, the entire show is fun to look at. The spy tech, the action, and even the suspense, all lands relatively well. Its also refreshing considering how stale all of the other CBS dramas (and their franchises) tend to look.

But the truth is that this didn’t need to be a “True Lies” reboot. They could have slapped any generic name on this series and balanced our expectations. But in poaching the story, they’ve set an awfully high bar from themselves.

And the start is just satisfactory.

There are some allegiances to the original. The snow globe that Arnold gives to Eliza Dushku is replicated. The “guy in the van” scene stealer part played by Tom Arnold in the film is carried on admirably by Omar Benson Miller. The trademark shot of Helen hanging from the helicopter is also copied here.

But if the show isn’t careful, it could fall into the reboot trap very quickly. I give it a season before the kids become spies too.

Still, if you enjoy a good espionage story, I’ll recommend a look at True Lies. Just don’t expect it to come anywhere close to the charm we got from that great action flick.

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