S01.E01: Pilot

[Whimsy]

Quote

After a fall from grace, fiercely talented and award-winning investigative journalist Eileen Fitzgerald leaves her high-profile New York life behind to join a daily metro newspaper in Ancho

Original airdate 10/6/22

[SunnyBeBe]

I was impressed with the pilot.  Initially, I thought it was going to be too predictable, but I think it turned around.  I don’t know much about news reporting, but I like the Alaska setting.  I’ll be tuning in again next week.  I hope others show up here.  

[Leeds]

2 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I was impressed with the pilot.  Initially, I thought it was going to be too predictable, but I think it turned around.  I don’t know much about news reporting, but I like the Alaska setting.  I’ll be tuning in again next week.  I hope others show up here.  

I liked it too, not least because the main character is shown to have a human side from the get-go.

[Brian Cronin]

This was about as close as you're going to get to a cable drama on network television. I was very impressed. I'm trying to think of the last time I saw a network drama that I could say that about. American Crime, I guess (and this has that similar "Give an Oscar winning screenwriter freedom to do what they want" vibe as American Crime)? 

[thuganomics85]

Going in, I only really knew that it was going to have Hilary Swank, but I didn't realize that Tom McCarthy a.k.a. the Spotlight guy was the creator here.  Makes me optimistic about all of the news reporting stuff now.  I mean, I'm sure some stuff will be exaggerated or ramped up to make it entertaining/fit the story, but I'm hoping this means it will be a little more realistic than normal (granted, compared to almost every time the Arrowverse tried to tackle journalism, basic competency would be impressive in my eyes!)

Hilary Swank is always kind of fascinating to me, because of the reactions she provokes.  Despite having not just one but two Oscars, I feel like she really is surprisingly polarizing.  I know people who absolutely love her, but also those who not only just aren't fans of her, but honestly think she's not a good actress.  Just kind of wild.  Personally, I've always enjoyed her as an actress (maybe some of the roles she picked weren't exactly the best choices), and I enjoyed her here.  I like that she (and the writers) aren't afraid to make Eileen a flawed character by not only being snippy or disrespectful to others, but having a massive chip on her shoulder when it comes to the new generation and how they differ from how she operates.  Even tossing in words like "woke" and "canceled" in a mocking/annoyed way.  I obviously suspect she'll definitely change on some levels, but I can see her always having an edge like this.

The supporting cast was solid enough as well.  Curious to know more about what went down between Eileen and Stanley, because it sounded like their fallout was legit, since he expressed sincere regret about whatever happened.  Already liking Roz and how she challenges Eileen as well and I'm looking forward to seeing how she'll factor in more when it comes to the main arc.  I'm guessing Yuna is mainly going to be the young upstart who realizes how tough news reporting can be, but she was likable enough here.  Austin seems to be a bit of an enigma right now, since the only things I really know about him so far is that he has a son and might have a thing for Yuna.  But there is still plenty of time.

Oh, and I can't forget about Gabriel.  He is already the best and must be protected at all cost!

Definitely looking forward to seeing more about how local news reporting operates and especially diving into the story of missing Indigenous women in America and how that has been a major issues for years upon years, but nothing ever seems to be done about it.  I've been hearing about it for years, but I'm glad it's starting to be more in focus now.

Scenery was great, even if I suspect a lot of it was shot in Canada instead of Alaska itself.  Still, between this and Big Sky, ABC seems to be all about that northern scenery porn!

Pretty good pilot.  Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season plays out! 

[SunnyBeBe]

I’m curious about the guy who sold the condo.  If the guy who was living there was his lover, why wouldn’t he have given him the heads up and gotten him out of there before the police came?  It doesn’t sound like a good plan if he wanted the lover to stay secret.  Is the guy really delusional and made it up?  
 

If any if you watch true stories, there’s a series called Disappeared about missing persons.  One is featured each week.  There’s a thread around here for it.  A recent episode features an indigenous young woman who went missing in Alaska.  Her family describes how they were ignored.  Recently, I’m seeing a lot about these cases.   

[meira.hand]

5 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Going in, I only really knew that it was going to have Hilary Swank, but I didn't realize that Tom McCarthy a.k.a. the Spotlight guy was the creator here.  Makes me optimistic about all of the news reporting stuff now. 

Tom McCarthy is also listed as creator & writer, so I am also optimistic.

[sadie]

Loved it. I’m in! 

[saber5055]

I am 100-percent all in on this show. Best pilot in a long time, realistic, well written and acted. Plus it entails my interests as a journalist, I've worked for and with newspaper reporters my whole life, and native Americans are a strong interest of mine. I'm especially sensitive to all of their ongoing ... let's say abuse ... by "the system." Can't wait for next week.

Other shows I watch, like Big Sky, are so full of bogus holes, it's almost hate watching. This show, amazingly, appears it is going to be a good, solid drama of the highest class. Yeay!

[TV Anonymous]

Okay, I am intrigued. I am willing to watch episode 2, just to see where they go with the stories.

As a side note, missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) was a big issue in Canada some time ago, and it still is. However, IMO what the stakeholders do not seem to want to mention is the RCMP reports that saying that the vast majority of the culprits of MMIWG that get uncovered are indigenous men. Further, they are mostly men known to the victims. So I wonder if the show will go there. Solve the MMIWG case, but also uncover what happens within indigenous communities.

[saber5055]

2 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

As a side note, missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) was a big issue in Canada some time ago, and it still is. However, IMO what the stakeholders do not seem to want to mention is the RCMP reports that saying that the vast majority of the culprits of MMIWG that get uncovered are indigenous men. Further, they are mostly men known to the victims. So I wonder if the show will go there. Solve the MMIWG case, but also uncover what happens within indigenous communities.

I am hoping that as well. I first became aware of this some years ago, happening to indigenous women and girls in the tribal nations of the southwestern United States. And, of course, all tribal nations. So I'm wanting this show to put some real truth and a big spotlight on the problem. That's my hope anyway, and the big reason why the pilot pulled me in.

[Snazzy Daisy]

I’m in just because of the main story on MMIW (Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women).

Not a fan of Hilary Swank, never liked her acting. Eileen Fitzgerald (so far) is imperious and unlikeable. Hope she won’t hold any grudges on “woke wussies”.

This pilot tries hard to show Eileen’s greatness as a journalist. She doesn’t need to explain very basic journalistic principles to her new co-workers in order to be great. 🙄

Re other characters, hope they’ll be able to shine and not playing second fiddle to Eileen all the time.

[Madding crowd]

I’m a reporter myself so always glad to see a new show about a newspaper. I’ve also been interested in the cases of missing indigenous women and I’m glad this show is covering this issue. I didn’t like Eileen lecturing her fellow reporters but I suppose she is supposed to be a “star”. I did like the show and enjoyed the scenery. Sadly, since Covid most of us reporters are now working from home and to talk to our co-workers via email and text which isn’t the same.

[KaveDweller]

I liked this. I always like stories about journalists/reporting and this seems like it is going to do a good job. It seems like it will have the continuing story about the missing girl(s), but also some episodic, smaller stories.

Eileen was pretty unlikable, but I did like her convincing the younger journalist to write the story about the creepy guy with the apartment. So hopefully, she will get better. The rest of the other characters seem good though.

[chocolatine]

I had high hopes for this show, but had to turn it off after Eileen's monologue to Jeff Perry's character, about ten minutes in. The writing for Eileen is so cringy, like she's a Shondaland character (I actually checked IMDB to confirm that this show has not been created by Shonda). I was really looking forward to the main storyline and the scenery, but I just can't get through it if Eileen is going to be like that most of the time.

[possibilities]

I'm very glad they are promoting awareness of the missing and murdered indigenous women issue. I especially liked that they put a screen at the end of the show, where people can go for more info about the reality of the situation, so folks don't think they just made it up as a fictional story.

I don't know the stats out of Canada, but in the USA it's not mostly native men who are responsible. 

I can't stand Eileen and I really hope the show will kick her ass and humble her rather than promote her as a white savior type.

I am also getting the feeling they think it's a feminist thing to make her be as rude and obnoxious as your typical bitter male tv renegade character, but I disagree. I don't like male characters like that, so I'm not looking for women to be just as bad. I'd be fine with bitterness in a character, when warranted. But she is just obnoxious. There's a difference. Even if she actually has a legitimately enraging backstory, she's still obnoxious in a way that I don't like.

I'll be interested to see if her "big city ways" are played as superior to the "polite small town culture" consistently, or if it backfires and she and the local journalists come to some mutual respect. RIght now, they're making it seem like the locals are just weak and cowardly, and Eileen is rescuing them from their backwater timidity and incompetence. It's really insulting that somehow the local paper is not just understaffed due to lack of funding, but it's also populated by folks who aren't actually even trying to do their jobs until she shows up and shows them how. 

[Sweet-tea]

9 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I had high hopes for this show, but had to turn it off after Eileen's monologue to Jeff Perry's character, about ten minutes in. The writing for Eileen is so cringy, like she's a Shondaland character (I actually checked IMDB to confirm that this show has not been created by Shonda). I was really looking forward to the main storyline and the scenery, but I just can't get through it if Eileen is going to be like that most of the time.

I agree. I wish they hadn't come in so hot with the character of Eileen. She's arrogant and unlikable. Her speeches also got on my nerves. And yes it reminded me of Shonda. It's why I stopped watching Grey's Anatomy years ago. )

But I want to watch this show because I grew up in Anchorage. I worked for the two newspapers there, The Anchorage Times and later the Anchorage Daily News, which ended up being the main newspaper. I love that they opened with scenes from Anchorage--the Captain Cook hotel, 4th Avenue and even Chilkoot Charlies, which used to be the big rocker bar. I think the picture Eileen looks at online is the building that used to be the Anchorage Daily News. 

A few weeks ago, I emailed a few of my former ADN friends to see if they'll be watching. I heard the show isn't shot in Alaska so they must just gotten some footage to set the scene. Also read they have a source that used to work for the ADN. 

One quibble: the Alaskan native characters on the show aren't really natives. Not the same physically and most also have a distinctive accent. Even if they've lost the accent, they have a kind of flat cadence in their speech. I could especially tell with the mother of the missing woman. This isn't a big deal to me as I expect it might be a challenge to find actors who are Alaskan natives. 

I'm meh on Hilary Swank. My husband said she's hard to look at it. 

Oh and my name is Eileen. Weird huh? It's not a common name so I was surprised to see if for the lead character. 

Edited October 8, 2022 by Sweet-tea

[mojito]

I'm in.

Finally, after all these years since "Lou Grant", I might be latching onto another newspaper show.

I'm thinking that Eileen's ways will get toned down a lot as she gets more accustomed to Alaska. So I'm okay with how she is now. Makes the journey more interesting.

[mythoughtis]

On 10/7/2022 at 12:34 PM, TV Anonymous said:

As a side note, missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) was a big issue in Canada some time ago, and it still is. However, IMO what the stakeholders do not seem to want to mention is the RCMP reports that saying that the vast majority of the culprits of MMIWG that get uncovered are indigenous men. Further, they are mostly men known to the victims. So I wonder if the show will go there. Solve the MMIWG case, but also uncover what happens within indigenous communities.

Isn’t that the case for many murders-  killed by someone they know?  And often of the same race? 
Even so, it’s also true that missing  and murdered women who are  not white often do not get the same news coverage as those who are white.    I have been concerned about the indigenous women since I saw the movie Wind River, which brought the issue to my attention. 
Regarding the pilot- I liked it. A flawed central character, quirky coworkers, a goofy  possible   love interest. Maybe a moose will wander down the street a la Northern Exposure. Gabriel is just a little enthusiastic, but Eileen will wear him down.  

Edited October 9, 2022 by mythoughtis

[possibilities]

I live in a rurual part of Massachusetts and we get moose walking down Main St here. Northern Exposure did a lot of surrealistic things, but moose sightings are actually realistic. 

[mythoughtis]

3 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I live in a rurual part of Massachusetts and we get moose walking down Main St here. Northern Exposure did a lot of surrealistic things, but moose sightings are actually realistic. 

I know that.   It just wouldn’t  surprise me if they made a point  to include it in this show. I just get that vibe from it. 

[CrystalBlue]

I hope that we get moose sightings and other native critters to go along with the gorgeous scenery.

[txhorns79]

13 hours ago, CrystalBlue said:

I hope that we get moose sightings and other native critters to go along with the gorgeous scenery.

I read they are doing most of the filming in British Columbia, but did do some filming on location in Alaska. 

I was very confused about the story that got Eileen into trouble.  An editor isn't going to be coming up to her 20 minutes prior to publication and express concerns about Eileen only having one source.  A story of that scope is going to have multiple eyes on it, and problems with sourcing or questions of faked documents would have been identified well before publication.  It certainly wouldn't be a situation where the article is published one day and Eileen is essentially thrown under the bus the next day.

Aside from that, I liked the show.  I presume they are going to tone down some of Eileen's abrasiveness as the show progresses and everyone becomes more comfortable with one another.  

[DonnaMae]

I wonder how they're going to work around Hillary's pregnancy.  She might get pretty big with twins.

[Rickster]

37 minutes ago, DonnaMae said:

I wonder how they're going to work around Hillary's pregnancy.  She might get pretty big with twins.

It could be the first season is already filmed (or mostly filmed).

[possibilities]

They can film her standing behind a moose.

[Shorty186]

I was getting nervous for Yuna when she went to the guy's house. He was giving off creepy, desperate vibes. I just had a feeling she was going to show up murdered at the end of the episode, so very glad that didn't happen.

I've been interested in this show since they started airing the trailer, but I was a little let down. It didn't grab me as much as I thought it would, but I will still give it a couple more episodes just in case.

[Brian Cronin]

18 hours ago, DonnaMae said:

I wonder how they're going to work around Hillary's pregnancy.  She might get pretty big with twins.

I was surprised to learn that she was carrying them. At 48, that's a lot.

[amarante]

On 10/8/2022 at 6:56 AM, mojito said:

I'm in.

Finally, after all these years since "Lou Grant", I might be latching onto another newspaper show.

I'm thinking that Eileen's ways will get toned down a lot as she gets more accustomed to Alaska. So I'm okay with how she is now. Makes the journey more interesting.

I used to love that show. I found the episodes on YouTube - like a lot of television dramas from that period it didn't stand the test of time. Obviously not the fault of Asner but they had to work within the very strict Standards & Practices of that era and so the issues are dumbed down and some of the "progressive" thinking is really antiquated.

[proserpina65]

Well that was all kinds of cliched and didn't change my general dislike of Hilary Swank as an actress.  However I'm interested enough in the story involving the murder of/missing indigenous woman to stick around.  Plus, Irene Bedard is always worth my time.

Oh, and Anchorage is a big enough city that there would've been more traffic.  Hell, Richmond is smaller and it has a LOT more traffic.

On 10/7/2022 at 6:57 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

f any if you watch true stories, there’s a series called Disappeared about missing persons.  One is featured each week.  There’s a thread around here for it.  A recent episode features an indigenous young woman who went missing in Alaska.  Her family describes how they were ignored.  Recently, I’m seeing a lot about these cases.   

To me, that is the only interesting aspect of the series.

On 10/7/2022 at 11:00 PM, chocolatine said:

I had high hopes for this show, but had to turn it off after Eileen's monologue to Jeff Perry's character, about ten minutes in. The writing for Eileen is so cringy, like she's a Shondaland character (I actually checked IMDB to confirm that this show has not been created by Shonda). I was really looking forward to the main storyline and the scenery, but I just can't get through it if Eileen is going to be like that most of the time.

I'm sticking with it despite exactly what you describe.

[pasdetrois]

I'm a former reporter who now works with Native Americans, so I'm optimistic for this series. I often hate big-network episodic TV, but this may be better quality than the usual predictable crap.

MMIWG represents the fact that there is a disproportionately high percentage of native women/girls who suffer violence, regardless of who the perpetrators are. Many tribal communities are vast rural spaces with insufficient law enforcement presence and response. The remote Alaska villages have only unarmed village public safety officers, at least until the state troopers or FBI can get there after the crime is committed. It has been open season on native women and girls for a long time.

Disappointed they aren't using native actors, if that's true. There are plenty of talented native actors who would be thrilled to have the work. (See Reservation Dogs and Dark Winds.) I agree with Sweet-Tea; native speech patterns are distinct and recognizable, even from nation to nation. There are urban Indians who may not have accents, but the native reporter says she was raised in a village.

I'm not a Hilary Swank devote but I'll keep watching. I really like the actor planing the managing editor (Jeff Perry). Low-key and no-nonsense.

Edited October 11, 2022 by pasdetrois

[Msample]

From what I've read, the reason they are not using native Alaskan actors is due to the interiors being shot down in British Columbia; I think there are tax breaks for employing "locals" maybe ? 

[possibilities]

Well, God Forbid they should put authentic representation over tax breaks!

[candall]

Jeff Perry, Hillary Swank, gorgeous Alaska, important and grossly overlooked feminist/minority social issue.  There would have to be some laughably bad dialogue to be a dealbreaker.

[Daff]

On 10/9/2022 at 8:40 PM, Shorty186 said:

I was getting nervous for Yuna when she went to the guy's house. He was giving off creepy, desperate vibes. I just had a feeling she was going to show up murdered at the end of the episode, so very glad that didn't happen.

I've been interested in this show since they started airing the trailer, but I was a little let down. It didn't grab me as much as I thought it would, but I will still give it a couple more episodes just in case.

I expected him to go off on her, but instead, he gave her a sob story. The really creepy part is, I think he instantaneously “read” her (innocent), and decided to deal with her later, away from his fam if his plea didn’t work. Chills. 
 

A question- if the town they’re in is so sparsely populated, who’s there to support all those intriguing businesses, with colorful signage highlighted on the drive in? 

[SunnyBeBe]

On 10/9/2022 at 8:40 PM, Shorty186 said:

I was getting nervous for Yuna when she went to the guy's house. He was giving off creepy, desperate vibes. I just had a feeling she was going to show up murdered at the end of the episode, so very glad that didn't happen.

I've been interested in this show since they started airing the trailer, but I was a little let down. It didn't grab me as much as I thought it would, but I will still give it a couple more episodes just in case.

Me too.  I would also be concerned for safety sake.  People will shoot you for getting their burger order wrong. Of course, they might hurt you for causing them to lose their job, family and freedom.  

[possibilities]

They're in Anchorage, right? Anchorage has a population over 200,000. But people from NYC think anything is a small town that's not got multi-millions of people living there.

I live in a real small town (fewer than 1000) and for a long time I lived in another one (pop. 8000). The county seat here is around 30,000. Even the 8000 town had traffic in the center (though not outside Main Street).

I think it's just cheaper to shoot a show without crowd extras and people making shows like to make fun of and/or fantasize about small town or rural life without knowing anything about it. 

[KaveDweller]

4 hours ago, Daff said:

A question- if the town they’re in is so sparsely populated, who’s there to support all those intriguing businesses, with colorful signage highlighted on the drive in? 

They are in Anchorage, which I think is where most people in the state of Alaska live. 

What will be unrealistic is if they start popping around from Anchorage to other cities in Alaska, because from what I understand everything is far apart and kind hard to get to. For instance Juneau can't even be driven to directly. You need to fly in or go by boat.

[ctlady]

On 10/7/2022 at 2:55 AM, thuganomics85 said:

Oh, and I can't forget about Gabriel.  He is already the best and must be protected at all cost!

Protected against what?  I don’t recall him bring in a dangerous or threatening situation 

On 10/9/2022 at 3:21 PM, txhorns79 said:

Aside from that, I liked the show.  I presume they are going to tone down some of Eileen's abrasiveness as the show progresses and everyone becomes more comfortable with one another.  

I hope not. It’s refreshing in a world where everyone must tiptoe on eggshell around ‘woke wussies’, I appreciate her unapologetic brashness. She’s like a female version of House 

[Daff]

18 hours ago, possibilities said:

They're in Anchorage, right? Anchorage has a population over 200,000. But people from NYC think anything is a small town that's not got multi-millions of people living there.

I live in a real small town (fewer than 1000) and for a long time I lived in another one (pop. 8000). The county seat here is around 30,000. Even the 8000 town had traffic in the center (though not outside Main Street).

I think it's just cheaper to shoot a show without crowd extras and people making shows like to make fun of and/or fantasize about small town or rural life without knowing anything about it. 

What they showed was highly inconsistent with a population of 200K (with added commercial influx from outlying areas). Cheaper, with less hassle to film, I agree. I’m also thinking they took full advantage of the extra daylight hours and filmed when the majority of people were home, and off the streets. None of the businesses looked open. But the dialogue tried to sell it like it was a small town, while the filming implied ghost town. 

2 hours ago, ctlady said:

She’s like a female version of House

Or, Harry, from “Harry’s Law”. You watch, she’ll get a shotgun!

[Pallida]

I think people are imposing a lower-48 understanding of cities onto Anchorage. The city itself is bigger than the state of Rhode Island, so while it may have nearly 300,000 people now, it can still be sparsely trafficked. Some webcams from Anchorage can be viewed here: https://www.borealisbroadband.net/webcams/

[Toothbrush]

On 10/10/2022 at 12:11 PM, Brian Cronin said:

I was surprised to learn that she was carrying them. At 48, that's a lot.

I had twins about 6 weeks before my 39th birthday and that was a lot. I couldn’t imagine doing it 10 years later, but more power to her. Hope it all goes smoothly. 

Finally got to watch the pilot. I loved Hilary in “Boys Don’t Cry”, but haven’t liked her in anything since. She was ok here, but honestly I liked the supporting cast better, especially Roz. It took me a minute to place Jeff Perry; he’s lost a lot of weight. Always glad to see him. The story she is working on is very interesting and hopefully will bring attention to this issue.

[andromeda331]

I was drawn it for the murder mystery, I love Alaska and Native Americans part of the story. I like Eileen convincing the young reporter to go through with the story. I hate when their caught and then suddenly asking not to do it because of what it will do to their family. Their the ones who hurt their family not the reporter. Maybe he should have thought of his wife and kid before he did it?

[Anela]

I rolled my eyes when she started complaining about woke people, and being cancelled. It improved with the move to Alaska. I like the people at the paper.

I also came to my computer, to see if it was a Shondaland show. I didn't think it was, but it felt like one, at first. 

Edited October 21, 2022 by Anela

[chediavolo]

It’s watchable so far. Interesting. 

But, on another completely different level, it’s  making me miss Northern Exposure!😀

[Art Of Noiz]

On 10/7/2022 at 5:57 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

I’m curious about the guy who sold the condo.  If the guy who was living there was his lover, why wouldn’t he have given him the heads up and gotten him out of there before the police came?  It doesn’t sound like a good plan if he wanted the lover to stay secret.  Is the guy really delusional and made it up?  
 

If any if you watch true stories, there’s a series called Disappeared about missing persons.  One is featured each week.  There’s a thread around here for it.  A recent episode features an indigenous young woman who went missing in Alaska.  Her family describes how they were ignored.  Recently, I’m seeing a lot about these cases.   

Murder in Big Horn can be streamed from Showtime. It's sad to watch.