Kyle XY follows the adventures of Kyle (Matt Dallas), a teen who wakes up in the middle of the Seattle wilderness and is eventually adopted by the Tragers. As time goes on, both Kyle and the Tragers learn that Kyle isn't a normal teenager and part of an experiment (based on the research of Albert Einstein) involving prolonged gestation and its effects on human development. In short, the longer someone stays in the oven, the more powerful their physical and mental capabilities. In the second season, Kyle meets Jessie (Jamie Alexander), a product of the same experiment, and the two become fast adversaries. Not only is Jessie able to match Kyle ability-for-ability, but she manages to cause mental harm by straining his relationship with the Tragers and Amanda (Kristen Prout).
In the third season, Kyle and Jessie forge an alliance and go undercover with the intention of digging up new information on their pasts, as well as bringing an end to the government forces constantly hounding them. Oh, did I mention it's also prom season for Kyle and Amanda?
I originally praised Kyle XY for managing to deliver a great sci-fi premise, but also developing the show as a great human story. The emphasis was on the relationships between characters rather than falling into what I dubbed the "Smallville Effect," where the powers become the center of the show. The Third Season continues the trend, but botches the execution. Rather than finding the balance between X-Files and Dawson's Creek, it sways heavily towards the teen drama to the point where the original concept is completely lost.
The degree of the sway varies from episode to episode. There are some really fun twists and turns involving the "evil" corporation behind the show's main thrust, but more often than not, it treads into teen drama. Sci-fi is merely an afterthought and the only source of intrigue, a secret society called Latnok, is toothless. On top of that, the whole "alien" concept behind Kyle's character is lost. In the first two seasons, it was interesting watching him develop his own identity. Now he's just another character, only without a belly button and lame superpowers. The only bright spot is Jessie, though only because she's still developing as a character.
News of the show's cancellation, or more importantly the reactions of those involved, provide some of the best aspects of the show's extras. Though most of the episode commentary isn't incredibly interesting, I liked hearing about where the show would have gone had a fourth season been in the cards. There are also a few tidbits on external influences -- such as the wishes of the show's demographic (mostly teen girls), age differences keeping some relationships more PG than they could have been -- and how they played into story choices.
These ideas are further fleshed out in "Kyle XY: Future Revealed," a preview of what would have happened. Although promised to be a "completion" to the Kyle XY story on the box, it really just gives a loose idea of what would have happened. However, based on the quality of the third season, I'm a bit doubtful in how the ideas would have played out as most of the ideas seemed to push the teen drama angle further.
Though it started out as a show with promise, Kyle XY ends on a down note. Though far from the worst thing on TV, it isn't able to deliver on its original concept and falls flat. Kyle XY: The Complete Third and Final Season is for series' completionists only.
