NBC's The Philanthropist, a project with a fairly odd journey to the small screen, premieres tonight. Once envisioned as a breakout series and the anchor of NBC's Monday night lineup, it's now morphed into an eight-hour Summer burn-off with little chance of renewal. But does it still deserve a spot in your viewing lineup? I recently checked out the first episode, and swiping the format from my Pilot Watch series, here are some of the pros and cons.

What's it about? Following personal tragedy and an eye-opening trip, a billionaire decides to do good with his riches.

Who's in it? James Purefoy, Neve Campbell, Jesse L. Martin, Michael K. Williams, Lindy Booth

The good: Teddy Rist (Purefoy) is an interesting character, caught somewhere between do-gooder and devil-may-care playboy, and Purefoy plays him well. Even as he becomes committed to saving the world, he's still slyly trying to pick up a bartender with his wild tales, and the things we learn about his past hint at some potentially interesting conflicts down the line. The show was shot on location, and it's clear the producers know how to use settings to their best advantage — it just looks good.

The bad: The storytelling device of the pilot — Rist explaining his adventures to a skeptical bartender as we see flashbacks — is clunky, and it's tough to get a good read on how future episodes will feel as a result. Part of the behind-the-scenes drama with this show was its tone (the story goes that creator Tom Fontana wanted to make something darker than what NBC wanted), and as a result, the show seems stuck somewhere between "compelling" and "trite." The supporting actors (one of the biggest draws for me) are really not given much to do in the first episode.

Will I watch? I'm interested to see another episode to see how a normal installment of this show feels. But given that it's airing on a night when I'm already booked with So You Think You Can Dance and Top Chef Masters, I'm not sure how long I'll keep making time for it.

To check out a preview for tonight's episode, just read more.

Photo courtesy of NBC