S01.E01: Pilot

[Whimsy]

Quote

Nell attempts to restart her life in a new place with a new job and a new roommate. She begins writing obituaries at the local paper and starts getting life advice from an unlikely source.

Original airdate 2/8/23

[DanaK]

That went in an unexpectedly sweet way with the widow. I’m not sure we saw the dead guy leave though, did we?

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, DanaK said:

That went in an unexpectedly sweet way with the widow.

I was waiting for the other shoe to drop when the widow found out she wrote the obit and the widow thought she was just pretending to be a friend.
But I was doing my taxes while "watching" so I missed the reveal of when the main character told the widow she was writing an obit of her husband.

Edited February 9, 2023 by shapeshifter

[AnimeMania]

Martin Mull as Monty, bubble gum jingle writer        

[Cress]

On 2/8/2023 at 9:26 PM, shapeshifter said:

I was waiting for the other shoe to drop when the widow found out she wrote the obit and the widow thought she was just pretending to be a friend.
But I was doing my taxes while "watching" so I missed the reveal of when the main character told the widow she was writing an obit of her husband.

I was watching, and I don't think she ever explained that she was writing the obituary. They just talked over dinner, then Cricket showed up to the '80s night with Nell.

Oh, and the ghost was in the room when the boss praised the obituary. He disappeared offscreen as soon as the boss walked out, and Nell complained that the ghost didn't say goodbye. When the boss guy came back and told her the new obituary assignment, the new ghost showed up.

Edited February 10, 2023 by Cress
corrected typo

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Angela Gibbs, who plays Cricket, is Marla Gibbs' daughter.

[Paloma]

I like Gina Rodriguez, and the concept of this show has potential, but I didn't really get into it as I have with other sitcoms with ghosts or people who are "not quite dead." Part of the problem is that the human characters are either unlikable or uninteresting, aside from the main character (and even she is not compelling). Martin Mull's ghost (the jingle writer) was kind of entertaining and sympathetic, especially when his widow was introduced, but if the concept is to have a different ghost each week, that won't allow for much development of the ghosts' characters. I know the point is probably to use the ghosts as a way to develop the main character (I don't know why I can't remember her name), and we'll see if that's enough.

[Dowel Jones]

They can't carry the 'zany ghosts bother the living one at a time' theme too long, else it will sink the show.  I liked both episodes, and I hope the theme improves.

[akg]

I was so relieved the roommate told Gina not to use Asperger to describe autism.

I was very surprised to realize these are only a half hour. I feel like they managed to cram a lot into 23 minutes (in a good way).

[shapeshifter]

4 minutes ago, akg said:

I was so relieved the roommate told Gina not to use Asperger to describe autism.

The handling of the roommate's neuro-differences was the best part of the show. 
But it seems other parts should have been.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Lauren Ash, who plays Lexi, did a great job in Superstore playing a very unusual character.  Her role here unfortunately seems to fit the trope of "child trying to impress rich daddy in the family business," which isn't that interesting. (Although Adrian Brody milked it for all it was worth in the first episode of Poker Face,)

[chaifan]

Is it just me, or does Hannah Simone look like a young Maya Rudolph?  

Semi decent pilot, it has promise.  I'm hoping that at some point Nell at least tries to find out who had the job before her and if they had the same experience.  

 

[bros402]

10 hours ago, akg said:

I was so relieved the roommate told Gina not to use Asperger to describe autism.

I was very surprised to realize these are only a half hour. I feel like they managed to cram a lot into 23 minutes (in a good way).

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

The handling of the roommate's neuro-differences was the best part of the show. 
But it seems other parts should have been.

Same, I was like "why the fuck are they making an autism joke in 2023?" but I decided to give the show until the end of the pilot before deciding if I would watch more or not.

imo at least based on the pilot, this feels like it should be an hour instead of half hour.

[Simba122504]

How can she see ghosts?  Will that ever be explained? They cram a lot into a half hour show. It's very fast paced like JTV was, but JTV was a superior show. They definitely need to slow down. I actually like the roommate has realistic job. It's not like he's struggling writer or actor. The classic trope is not used. I enjoyed it, but I understand why the critics don't like it. Maybe it gets better beyond the episodes they reviewed?  

Edited February 10, 2023 by Simba122504

[chediavolo]

There’s something about Gina Rodriquez I can’t stand but I love  Lauren Ash, so here I am. Unfortunately this is not very good so far. Will give it a couple more tries. 

[SHD]

I was pleasantly surprised. The writing is good and the cast is endearing. I like the roommate a lot. I'm embarrassed that I didn't recognize Martin Mull until he started talking at length. I was a huge fan back in the Fernwood 2 Night days. Haven't seen him in awhile, though.

[possibilities]

I thought Nell was way more rude than the roommate. She's a slob, she's not keeping her agreement and taking care of the dog--  she doesn't even seem to care about the dog-- and she's rolling her eyes at everyone around her. I found her amazingly unlikable and unsympathetic, considering that I expected to like her because of Gina Rodriguez. She's self-absorbed and inconsiderate with her friend, too, and also acts like she thinks she's entitled to a plum job at the newspaper she left, instead of being grateful they took her back at all.

In ep 2 they do a lot to fix the relationship between her and the roommate. I think he's the best part of the show, and not being mocked at all, though I see how it could look that way in the pilot.

I agree the show is not nearly as well-written as JTV, though. It's just kind of a light sitcom at the moment. Not sure if it will get better or just stay light.

Edited February 10, 2023 by possibilities

[blugirlami21]

I liked it, I really love shows about people who can see ghosts, was a big fan of Ghost Whisperer back in the day and Ghosts now as well.  I like that this show and this character does feel distinctly different from the other two.

I feel like this one was kind of rough compared to the second but sometimes pilots are like that.  Nell is abrasive in this episode but I think that's kind of the point with the situation that we come into.  She clearly left without warning or really that much thought for a relationship that didn't work out the way she wanted.  It also seems like she didn't maintain her friendships that well when she was in London.

I thought the stuff with the autistic roommate was different, I like that she didn't get it right the first time or the second time but I never felt that she was mean or derogatory towards him at all which was nice.

I didn't recognize Martin Mull until halfway through either. I remember him fondly as Mr. Kraft from Sabrina the Teenage Witch.  Sam or Cece as I keep calling her in my head, was okay.  I felt like she maybe hadn't really forgiven Nell like she said for leaving.  She seemed kind of standoffish and passive aggressive at times.  I understand that she made a new friend while Nell was gone but I thought she was out of pocket for allowing Lexi to tag along to her birthday dinner when it clearly made Nell fell uncomfortable.

That being said, Nell was really rude to Lexi during her apology.  Like come on girl, you couldn't spring for fresh doughnuts for your apology to your boss?  I'm glad it worked out but too much pettiness. 

Loved the end with the widow Cricket, I think she does have to find another friend besides Sam since Lexi is her best friend now.

[BoogieBurns]

Looking forward to episodes next season (if it gets picked up) where we aren't hiding a pregnancy belly.

Hannah Simone just seems like Cece here

[hiisa]

Oh I am not sure about the Sam friendship. I'm side eyeing her after the birthday fiasco.

1. Lexy is Nell's boss. Uness there is a friendship there no one wants to party with their boss. 

2. She knows that Nell still doesn't like Lexy.     

3. She knows that Nell is a sloppy drunk. 

But Sam allowed Lexy to tag along to Nell's birthday anyway and then knowing that Nell was upset/bothered she declined the makeup.burthday outing to hang out with Lexy instead of Nell. 

It looks like Nell didn't maintain her friendships when she chased after dude but she's the only one who doesn't realize she and Sam aren't friends anymore. Or at least not "besties". A bestie wouldn't do you like that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KayVeeTeeVee]

What, or who, is JTV?  Who is Hannah Simone?  Who is Cece?  Having said (asked) all those questions, I thought it was worth at least another look or three.  I do know Martin Mull, but I'll be darned if I recognized him until I read his name in the credits!  I gotta get out more.

[AnimeMania]

JTV = Jane the Virgin another show starring Gina Rodriguez.

[Shelbie]

Hannah Simone plays her best friend but used to play Cece on New Girl.

[CrystalBlue]

Never saw those other shows but I do remember Martin Mull from way back.

[shapeshifter]

On 2/11/2023 at 12:22 AM, BoogieBurns said:

Hannah Simone just seems like Cece here

15 hours ago, KayVeeTeeVee said:

Who is Hannah Simone?  Who is Cece? 

12 hours ago, Shelbie said:

Hannah Simone plays her best friend but used to play Cece on New Girl.

And Cece was the best friend of the female lead on New Girl, so Hannah Simone does seem like type casting.

 

 

 

[kirinan]

As much as I love Gina Rodriguez, I was ready to dump this show most of the way through the first episode because one of the two character types I hate the most is the selfish hot mess (the other type is the bitchy female that needs to be "softened"). But I figured I'd watch the whole episode, and I'll be darned if it didn't pull me in right near the end when we were introduced to Martin Mull's widow and Nell seemed to have an epiphany as to how selfish she'd been. Gina's acting sold me on it. I'll give this a few more episodes and see how it goes.

[AnimeMania]

3 hours ago, kirinan said:

I'll give this a few more episodes and see how it goes.

All reviews I have seen suggests that the show changes dramatically in the 5th episode, but since they will be airing the episodes out of order, I am not exactly sure which episode they are referring to or when they will show it.

[Daff]

On 2/9/2023 at 1:10 PM, Dowel Jones said:

They can't carry the 'zany ghosts bother the living one at a time' theme too long, else it will sink the show.  I liked both episodes, and I hope the theme improves.

How long did “Dead Like Me” run?

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, Daff said:

How long did “Dead Like Me” run?

I never saw it, so I have no idea of the plot lines, but IMDb says two seasons.

[possibilities]

I don't see how it's a more doomed set up than any other "case of the week" show.

[Anela]

On 2/16/2023 at 9:30 AM, Daff said:

How long did “Dead Like Me” run?

Two years, but that wasn't zany ghosts, it was reapers, and one girl watching over her family. One of my favourite shows. 

Edited February 17, 2023 by Anela

[Daff]

1 hour ago, Anela said:

Two years, but that wasn't zany ghosts, it was reapers, and one girl watching over her family. One of my favourite shows. 

I liked it too. As for “zany ghosts”, I thought the core cast was excellent: glib, dry, and witty. I simply wanted to point out, regardless of the differences, the premise remains the same: growth/progression of the main character (dead or alive). 

[AnimeMania]

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