View source for Drive (2007 TV series)

{{Short description|2007 American television series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2012}}
{{Infobox television
|image = Drive tv logo.png
|genre = [[Television drama series|Drama]]<br />[[Action (fiction)|Action]]
|opentheme = "Can't Stop the World" by [[Gavin Rossdale]]
|runtime = 42 minutes
|creator = [[Tim Minear]]<br />[[Ben Queen]]
|executive_producer = Tim Minear<br />[[Ben Queen]]<br />[[Greg Yaitanes]]
|starring = [[Nathan Fillion]]<br />[[Kristin Lehman]]<br />[[Mircea Monroe]]<br />[[Riley Smith]]<br />[[Kevin Alejandro]]<br />[[J. D. Pardo]]<br />[[Dylan Baker]]<br />[[Emma Stone]]<br />[[Rochelle Aytes]]<br />[[Taryn Manning]]<br />[[Melanie Lynskey]]
|country = United States
|language = English
|network = [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]
|first_aired = {{Start date|2007|4|13}}
|last_aired = {{End date|2007|7|15}}
|num_seasons = 1
|company = Reamworks<br />[[20th Century Fox Television]]
|num_episodes = 6 (plus unaired pilot)
|composer = Keith Power
}}
'''''Drive''''' is an American [[Action (fiction)|action]] [[drama]] television series created by [[Tim Minear]] and [[Ben Queen]], produced by Minear, Queen, and [[Greg Yaitanes]], and starring [[Nathan Fillion]]. Four episodes aired on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] Network in April 2007. Two unaired episodes were later released directly to digital distribution.
The series is set against the backdrop of an illegal cross-country automobile [[road racing|road race]], focusing on the willing and unwilling competitors and, as the plot develops, the unseen puppet masters who sponsor the race. Minear has described the show's thematic tone by saying "a secret, illegal, underground road race can be anything from ''[[Cannonball Run (film)|Cannonball Run]]'' to ''[[The Game (1997 film)|The Game]]'' to ''[[North by Northwest]]'' to ''[[Magnolia (film)|Magnolia]]''-on-wheels. Ours is all those things."<ref name="The Drive News Blog">{{cite web |url=http://www.whedon.info/Tim-Minear-Drive-Tv-Series-Pilot.html |work=The Drive News Blog |title=The Tim Minear Interview |date=July 1, 2006}}</ref>
''Drive'' was the first TV show in history which had a live [[Twitter]] session during an episode.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/twitter-investment-greg-yaitanes-reveals-655367 |title=TV Showrunner Reveals Lessons From Investing in Twitter (Guest Column) |work=The Hollywood Reporter |first=Greg |last=Yaitanes |date=November 15, 2013 |access-date=December 3, 2013}}</ref> The account [https://twitter.com/foxdrive @foxdrive] still exists.
The show premiered on April 13, 2007, on CTV in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/ctv-adds-drive-to-schedule-premieres-april-13-1.236629|publisher=CTV.ca|access-date=February 21, 2011|title=CTV adds 'Drive' to schedule, premieres April 13|date=April 9, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629042118/http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Entertainment/20070409/drive_show_070409/|archive-date=June 29, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> It debuted in the United States on April 15, 2007 on Fox, and moved into its regular time slot on Mondays the next day; in that slot it faced stiff competition from NBC's ''[[Deal or No Deal (American game show)|Deal or No Deal]]'' and ABC's ''[[Dancing with the Stars (American TV series)|Dancing with the Stars]]''. On April 25, Fox cancelled ''Drive'' after only four episodes had aired.<ref name="variety">{{cite news |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117963779?refCatId=14 |last=Schneider |first=Michael |title='Drive' runs out of gas |date=April 25, 2007 |work=Variety |access-date=April 26, 2007}}</ref> The series has not yet been released to international markets (with the exception of Canada) or on DVD.
{{TOC limit|3}}
==Cast and characters==
[[File:Drive Cast.jpg|left|thumb|The cast of ''Drive'']]
{{Clear|left}}
{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" | Actor
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" | Vehicle
! scope="col" | Notes
|-
| [[Nathan Fillion]]
|| Alex Tully
| rowspan="2" | 1972 [[Ford F-100]] (tan) <br />1972<ref>While referred to in the show as a 1972 model, the vehicle's distinctive front and rear mark it as a [[Dodge Challenger#First generation (1970–1974)|1970]] model, markedly different from the 1972–1974 models.</ref> [[Dodge Challenger]] (black)
|| Protagonist
|-
| [[Kristin Lehman]] || Corinna Wiles || Partners with Alex Tully
|-
| [[Kevin Alejandro]]
|| Winston Salazar
| rowspan="2" | 1964 [[Chevrolet Impala]] [[lowrider]] (gold)
| rowspan="2" | Half-brothers
|-
| [[J.D. Pardo]]
|| Sean Salazar
|-
| [[Dylan Baker]]
|| John Trimble
| rowspan="2" | 1999 [[Ford Taurus]] (silver-blue)
| rowspan="2" | Father and daughter duo
|-
| [[Emma Stone]]
||Violet Trimble
|-
| [[Michael Hyatt]] || Susan Chamblee || [[Land Rover LR3]] (light blue) <br />[[Ford Focus (North America)|Ford Focus]] (red) ||
|-
| [[Rochelle Aytes]] || Leigh Barnthouse || [[Pontiac Solstice]] (black) || Originally partners with Susan Chamblee and Ivy Chitty
|-
| [[Melanie Lynskey]] || Wendy Patrakas || [[Dodge Grand Caravan]] SXT (silver) ||
|-
| [[Taryn Manning]] || |Ivy Chitty || || Originally partners with Susan Chamblee and Leigh Barnthouse, then partners with Wendy Patrakas, then steals the Trimbles' Ford Taurus
|-
| [[Riley Smith]]
|| Rob Laird
| rowspan="2" | 1979 [[Pontiac Trans Am]] (white)
| rowspan="2" | Husband and wife team
|-
| [[Mircea Monroe]]
|| Ellie Laird
|-
| Wayne Grace
|| Jimmy Cousins
| rowspan="2" | Harley Davidson touring motorcycle (black)
| rowspan="2" | Husband and wife team
|-
| [[K Callan]]
|| Ceal Cousins
|-
| [[Brian Bloom]] || Allan James || 2007 [[Dodge Charger]] (black) <br />2002 [[Chevrolet Impala]] (red) || Not a race participant
|-
| [[Richard Brooks (actor)|Richard Brooks]] || Detective Ehrle || || Not a race participant
|-
| [[Charles Martin Smith]] ||Mr. Bright || || One of the race organizers; not a race participant
|-
| [[Katie Finneran]] || Becca Freeman || || Alex Tully's sister; not a race participant
|-
| [[Amy Acker]] ||Kathryn Tully || || Alex Tully's wife; not a race participant
|}
==Route==
The following are the checkpoints passed, clues or instructions before arrival, and the specifics regarding them.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" width=20% | Checkpoint
! scope="col" width=40% | Clue/Instructions
! scope="col" width=40% | Specifics
|-
| [[Key West, Florida|Key West]], [[Florida]]
| Text message: "Mainland Go" (announced the start of the race, not a destination)
| The starting line of the race.
|-
| [[Jupiter, Florida]]
| Text message: "Fly to Jupiter and find the red eye."
| The Jupiter Inlet lighthouse.
|-
| [[Cape Canaveral, Florida]]
| Text message:  "Kennedy killed in '73."  The message is accompanied by a countdown clock.
| In 1973, Cape Kennedy was [[Cape Canaveral#Name changes|renamed]] to Cape Canaveral, thus "killing" the name "Kennedy."  Drivers met at the [[Kennedy Space Center]], where the countdown corresponded with a [[Space Shuttle]] launch.
|-
| [[Rome, Georgia|Rome]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| Each driver was given a red ticket stub with instructions to go to Rome, "After sunset, before dark." <br /> NOTE: in the ticket was written "ADMIT".
| After Sunset [[drive-in movie theater]].
|-
|[[Appomattox Court House National Historical Park|Appomattox Court House]], [[Virginia]]
| Text message: "Surrender, America"
| Appomattox Court House was where [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] general [[Robert E. Lee]] surrendered to [[Union (Civil War)|Union]] general [[Ulysses S. Grant]], thus ending the Civil War.
|-
|[[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]]
| Most of the racers received two hot candies, while Alex, Corinna, Sean and Winston, who had taken advantage of their head start, received a note reading "Great Balls of Fire: The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame - Cleveland"
| The [[Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame]].
|-
| Unknown
| Alex Tully received the address to the next checkpoint on a slip of paper after arriving at The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.
| The slip of paper is passed hand-to-hand, and the checkpoint is never revealed in the six produced episodes.
|}
== Episodes ==
A total of six episodes of ''Drive'' were produced, four of them were aired prior to its cancellation. The series premiered on April 13, 2007 in Canada and on April 15, 2007 in the United States.
{{Episode table |background=#575757 |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |prodcode= |viewers= |country=US |episodes=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 0
|RTitle = Unaired Pilot
|DirectedBy = [[Greg Yaitanes]]
|WrittenBy = [[Tim Minear]] & [[Ben Queen]]
|OriginalAirDate = {{TableTBA|Unaired}}
|ProdCode = 1AMP79
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = 575757
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 1
|Title = The Starting Line
|DirectedBy = Greg Yaitanes
|WrittenBy = Tim Minear & Ben Queen
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2007|4|13}} ([[CTV Television Network|CTV]])<!-- Episode had a Canadian premiere first – do not change. -->
|ProdCode = 1AMP01
|Viewers = 6.04<ref name="ABCMN20070417">{{Cite press release|url=http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=041707_06 |title=WEEKLY PROGRAM RANKINGS FROM 04/09/07 THROUGH 04/15/07 |publisher=ABC Medianet |date=April 17, 2007 |access-date=October 16, 2010}}</ref>
|ShortSummary = An illegal cross country race is being run. Contestants in the race are not all there by their own choice – Alex Tully is searching for his missing wife; a mother is somehow involved for her baby's safety--others may simply be after the 32 million dollar prize.
|LineColor = 575757
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 2
|Title = Partners
|DirectedBy = Greg Yaitanes
|WrittenBy = Tim Minear & Tom Szentgyorgyi
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2007|4|13}} (CTV)<!-- Episode had a Canadian premiere first – do not change. -->
|ProdCode = 1AMP02
|Viewers = 6.04<ref name="ABCMN20070417"/>
|ShortSummary = The race continues in [[Jupiter, Florida]], where Tully, Wiles, and the other racers prepare for the next clue. Wendy Patrakas prepares to kill Ivy Chitty to stay in the race. Corinna's interest in the race is revealed.
|LineColor = 575757
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 3
|Title = Let the Games Begin
|DirectedBy = [[Marita Grabiak]]
|WrittenBy = [[Eoghan Mahony]] & Ben Queen
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2007|4|16}} ([[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]])<ref name = "Let the Games Begin">{{cite web |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings.aspx?id=20070329fox01 |title=(DRV-103) "Let the Games Begin" |access-date=June 23, 2007 |publisher=The Futon Critic}}</ref>
|ProdCode = 1AMP03
|Viewers = 5.66<ref>{{Cite press release|url=http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=042407_06 |title=WEEKLY PROGRAM RANKINGS FROM 04/16/07 THROUGH 04/22/07 |publisher=ABC Medianet |date=April 24, 2007 |access-date=October 16, 2010}}</ref>
|ShortSummary = The race continues on the next stage. Alex meets an old acquaintance after getting in trouble with the police while Wendy gets a new co-driver.
|LineColor = 575757
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 4
|Title = No Turning Back
|DirectedBy = [[Elodie Keene]]
|WrittenBy = Lauren Schmidt & Craig Silverstein
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2007|4|23}} (Fox)<ref name="No Turning Back">{{cite web |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings.aspx?id=20070410fox01 |title=(DRV-104) "No Turning Back" |access-date=June 23, 2007 |publisher=The Futon Critic}}</ref>
|ProdCode = 1AMP04
|Viewers = 4.60<ref>{{Cite press release|url=http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=050107_08 |title=WEEKLY PROGRAM RANKINGS FROM 04/23/07 THROUGH 04/29/07 |publisher=ABC Medianet |date=May 1, 2007 |access-date=October 16, 2010}}</ref>
|ShortSummary = Alex and Corinna are offered a chance to move ahead of the other racers; Corinna is unsure of how safe the move would be. Susan and Leigh wish to stay in the race even after their betrayal by another. Wendy fears for her baby's safety. Susan and Leigh are eliminated from the race.
|LineColor = 575757
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 5
|Title = The Extra Mile
|DirectedBy = Paul Edwards
|WrittenBy = Salvatore J. Stabile & Juan Carlos Coto
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2007|7|15}} (Online)
|ProdCode = 1AMP05
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Alex, Corinna and the Salazar brothers are faced with the ramifications of their jump-start; Leigh gets a new partner; and Ivy puts Sam in danger.
|LineColor = 575757
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 6
|Title = Rear View
|DirectedBy = [[Michael Katleman]]
|WrittenBy = Kristen Reidel & [[Scott M. Gimple]]
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2007|7|15}} (Online)
|ProdCode = 1AMP06
|Viewers =
|ShortSummary = Alex risks everything to find Kathryn; Violet picks up a hitchhiking Ivy; Wendy hurries to save Sam from her husband; and the military finally catches up with Rob.
|LineColor = 575757
}}
}}
==Production notes==
Fox [[greenlit]] series production on ''Drive'' in October 2006. In addition to the series pilot, another twelve episodes were ordered as a [[midseason replacement]] for spring 2007.<ref name="greenlight">{{cite news |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117952974?refCatId=1300 |title=Fox springs into 'Drive' |last=Adalian |first=Josef |date=October 30, 2006 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>
===Filming locations===
''Drive'' was shot in the [[Los Angeles]] area, using road footage and green-screen technology. According to Tim Minear, "because of technology, we can actually create a cross-country road race and shoot it all in [[Santa Clarita, California|Santa Clarita]]."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/drive.htm |work=HowStuffWorks |title=Inside "Drive" |first=Gerri |last=Miller |date=April 12, 2007 |access-date=February 21, 2011}}</ref> This led to geographic inconsistencies in the series, including mountains and desert settings visible during highway scenes set near [[Gainesville, Florida]], when there are no actual mountain ranges or deserts in that area.
Highway scenes were shot on [[Interstate 210 (California)#Use as movie location|Interstate 210]] in [[Rialto, California]] on the finished but unopened portion between Alder Ave. and Linden Ave. The exit for Alder Ave can be seen as the exit in most of the freeway scenes. In the first episode, the Alder Ave. sign for the exit is clearly legible. Scenes at the "Kennedy Space Center" were filmed at the [[Ambassador Auditorium]] in [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]], [[California]].
===Music===
* [[Gavin Rossdale]] &ndash; "Can't Stop the World"
* [[The Doors]] &ndash; "[[Roadhouse Blues]] ([[Crystal Method]] Remix)"
* [[Bloc Party]] &ndash; "Kreuzberg"
* [[Nine Pound Hammer]] &ndash; "[[Radar Love]]"
* [[X (U.S. band)|X]] &ndash; "The Hungry Wolf"
* [[Lunatic Calm]] &ndash; "Leave You Far Behind"
* Ghost in the Machine &ndash; "King of My World"
* [[Yonderboi]] &ndash; "Soulbitch"
* The Rhones &ndash; "Quitter"
* [[Crystal Method]] &ndash; "Bad Ass"
===Cancellation===
The two-hour premiere of ''Drive'' in the United States, broadcast on April 15, 2007 at 8:00 pm, was watched by six million viewers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/04/17/ap3622233.html |title=Ratings: NBC Sinks; Fox's 'Drive' Stalls |access-date=April 18, 2007 |last=Bauder |first=David |date=April 17, 2007 |work=[[Forbes]] |df=mdy }}{{dead link|date=January 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The program did not deliver the ratings Fox desired, and on April 25, 2007, the network announced that it had cancelled ''Drive''.<ref name="variety" /> The final two remaining unaired episodes of ''Drive'' were made available for online streaming on Fox on Demand beginning Sunday, July 15, 2007, in addition to the previously aired episodes. All six episodes of the show were previously made available for purchase and download from the [[iTunes Store]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewTVSeason?id=251903353&s=143441 |title=Drive, Season 1 |access-date=August 17, 2007 }}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and [[Amazon Video on Demand]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PH2DUI/ |title=Drive: Unbox Video |website=Amazon |access-date=August 17, 2007}}</ref> exclusively for United States residents, but are no longer available since then.  It is (in October 2023) available via Amazon Prime.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0770521/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk | title=Drive | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>
Fox initially announced that the final two episodes would air on July 4, 2007. The network rescheduled them for July 13 and later pulled them entirely.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/drive-fox-hijacks-last-two-episodes/|title=''Drive:'' Fox Hijacks Last Two Episodes |work=TVSeriesFinale.com|date=July 6, 2007}}</ref> The two remaining episodes were posted online on July 15, 2007. Executive producers [[Tim Minear]] and Craig Silverstein subsequently gave an interview that described what might have happened if the series had continued.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/drive-what-wouldve-happened-on-the-cancelled-series/ |title=''Drive:'' What Would've Happened on the Cancelled Series |work=TVSeriesFinale.com |date=July 11, 2007}}</ref>
To the question "Which single work of yours do you feel didn't get the attention it deserved?", Nathan Fillion said: "I would say I did a series called ''Drive'' that would've been a really good TV series if more than two episodes had aired. It was a lot of fun and it was very short lived. Sometimes I forget I was in it."<ref>{{Cite web | date=July 19, 2018 |author=Alex McLevy |title = Nathan Fillion on being a Monkees fan and why he gets nervous in a crowd of drinkers |url=https://www.avclub.com/nathan-fillion-on-being-a-monkees-fan-and-why-he-gets-n-1827676080 |website = [[The A.V. Club]] }}</ref>
== Awards and nominations ==
''Drive'', while short-lived, is the first series to be nominated for an Emmy Award under the organization's new "broadband" eligibility guidelines. The show's title sequence had originally been submitted for consideration in the category of "Outstanding Visual Effects in a Drama Series". However, Emmy regulations require a series to air at least six episodes in order to be eligible, whereas ''Drive'' had only aired four episodes prior to its cancellation. After the sequence was posted for streaming on the Internet, it became eligible under the new "Outstanding Visual Effects in a Television Miniseries, Movie, or Special" category.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117968898?refCatId=14|title='Drive' makes primetime Emmy history: Fox show the first broadband nominee|author=Michael Schneider|date=July 20, 2007|work=Variety|access-date=March 3, 2008}}</ref>
==In popular culture==
* In the September 2007 issue of [[Marvel Comics]]' ''[[Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man]]'', [[Spider-Man|Peter Parker]] comments that "ever since Fox cancelled ''Drive'', it's been one piece of bad luck after another."<ref>{{Cite comic |writer=[[Peter David|David, Peter]] |penciller= |inker= |story= |title=Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man |volume=2 |issue=22 |date=September 2007 |publisher=[[Marvel Comics]] |page= |panel= |ID=}}</ref>
== Citations ==
{{Reflist|2}}
== General and cited references ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070418010059/http://www.fox.com/drive/bios/index.htm Official website]
* Shales, Tom (14 April 2007). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041302277.html "Fox's 'Drive': It Can't Get There From Here"]. ''The Washington Post'', p.&nbsp;C1.
== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0770521|Drive}}
[[Category:2000s American drama television series]]
[[Category:2007 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:2007 American television series endings]]
[[Category:American action television series]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Serial drama television series]]
[[Category:Television series by 20th Century Fox Television]]
[[Category:Television shows set in Florida]]
[[Category:Fox Broadcasting Company television dramas]]