S01.E01: Pilot

[Trini]

Shocked to discover that her bland and unremarkable computer consultant husband is a skilled international spy, an unfulfilled suburban housewife is propelled into a life of danger and adventure when she's recruited to work alongside him to save the world as they try to revitalize their passionless marriage.

 

Airdate: March 1, 2023

[AnimeMania]

Carlo Rota (Francois)
Andy Martin (Mikkel Rand)
Andrea Laing (Cherry)
Deneen Tyler (Mrs. Myers)
Liann Pattison (Donna)
Ray Gaspard (Lawrence)
Franco Castan (Taxi Driver)
Christian Juru (Valet)
John Jabaley (Fred)
Jenny Mercein (Professor Gilpin)
Jeremy Dean (Construction Crew Leader)



Looks like "Must-See" TV to me.

The show seemed fine to me, lots of weird gadgets means they should have plenty of ways to get out of trouble. It was really annoying to have Gib talking through the entire mission, they really need to stop that. Hopefully the couple stop bickering and start having fun on the missions or the show will be a drag. They didn't really need to have kids, it just makes the premise seem even more far-fetched that they can run off at a moment's notice.

Edited March 2, 2023 by AnimeMania

[Lily H]

I thought that was just awful. The wife was obnoxious and the action was more ludicrous than the opening of a James Bond movie.

[shapeshifter]

I might watch my usual total of 3 episodes.
I've seen worse pilots that were much better in just the second episode. 
But sometimes it's just more of the same.

I liked that the wife had already been inadvertently training to be an action hero.
And I liked that the hubby's voice had a slightly higher, innocent pitch to it to go with his persona. 

The worst bit was when we first see the computer sales people/spy crew switch into mission mode, and they enter the restaurant supposedly undercover but with facial expressions like they're out for bear. 
Was that supposed to be funny?

[Lady Calypso]

I thought it was ok, it has potential, but there were some issues that I'm not sure they can overcome.

The CGI and action sequences were bad. Other shows have had way better action sequences; this one had very, very choppy action because you could tell they had to keep cutting to put in the stunt doubles. The CGI was equally bad; the shot where Helen was hanging out of the helicopter was REALLY bad; you could see the green screen outline.

There was also a weird balance of comedy and drama. I didn't hate the bickering, but it's gonna get old fast. 

And the kids are going to be a downfall because either they'll get their own plots and take away from the fun of the spy stuff, of they'll be seen very minimally. I get WHY they're there; I just don't think they're going to work.

That being said, there were some good elements that will have me stick around for a few more episodes. I like the spy aspect. I like Harry as a character, and liked him and Helen enough. I didn't mind two of the three team members (I'm iffy on the other guy who wasn't Omar Miller). And I did like that Helen has some unique aspects that'll make her a good spy (speaking several languages, having some fighting experience). 

Overall, not a terrible pilot, but very rough in places, but I like Steve Howey so I'm in for a bit.

[eel21788]

9 hours ago, Lily H said:

The wife was obnoxious

I was thinking when I get my viewer survey from CBS about this show, my first suggestion will be to make Harry a widower sooner rather than later.

[Trini]

Well, there's room for improvement, but that was fun! I hope this finds it's own groove once they get all the homages to the original film out of the way.

What going to be tricky is balancing the tone; how much comedy are they going to have, and will it be able to work when the team is supposedly dealing with dangerous, high stakes threats.

I like Helen more than Harry at the moment.

[MSterling]

So, the neighbor is kinda like Mrs. Figg the cat lady from Harry Potter.

Didn't enjoy this. I hope it gets better because these actors have none of the charm of the movie actors, and I'm not a huge fan of some of them either. Helen in the movie is mousy but when pushed shows strength; this Helen is brittle all the way through. This Harry seems like a bad salesman, not a spy pretending to be a salesman. I'll give it a few more episodes, and hope it's just a mediocre pilot and not a mediocre show.

It was nice to see Beverly D'Angelo as the boss, though.

[transitfan]

23 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

And the kids are going to be a downfall because either they'll get their own plots and take away from the fun of the spy stuff, of they'll be seen very minimally. I get WHY they're there; I just don't think they're going to work.

 

I'm trying to remember, in the movie, I thought it was just the daughter Dana (played by a young Eliza Dushku), unless I missed a son early in the film (saw it on cable, so I may have joined "in progress" and missed the early part.)

[Silver-hyren]

Didn’t love this as much as I wanted, but they’ve been running the promos so much I felt like I had already seen the whole thing anyway (heads up, Omar does Not. Like. Getting out of the van).  It seems like they’re aiming for a balance of drama and silly a la Chuck (noticed McG is a producer for this) which if they can get there will make it enjoyable.  It took Chuck a few episodes to find its footing too, so holding out hope.

[CoderLady]

14 hours ago, MSterling said:

Didn't enjoy this. I hope it gets better because these actors have none of the charm of the movie actors, and I'm not a huge fan of some of them either. Helen in the movie is mousy but when pushed shows strength; this Helen is brittle all the way through. This Harry seems like a bad salesman, not a spy pretending to be a salesman. I'll give it a few more episodes, and hope it's just a mediocre pilot and not a mediocre show.

This Helen instantly took to spy craft with no fighting, threat assessment or weapons training, just yoga and language teaching. On the other hand, this Harry doesn't have to be Arnold but at least shouldn't appear so incompetent and unprepared when things go badly on a mission. Neither one of them is very interesting at this point but might improve.

But my biggest gripe is that this was not fun, not in the least. It made me appreciate how all the principal actors in the movie including the scary bad guys (and the roof horse!) had great comic timing. This show could use some of that.

Edited March 3, 2023 by CoderLady

[KittyQ]

I thought this was easy, silly fun. I didn't expect all that much from it, but it was entertaining. It had some of the feel that Chuck had. That show had even more unbelievable elements, but the combination of humor and spy drama made it very enjoyable. We'll watch a couple of episodes to see how it goes. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

This show is cringey. It isn’t fun. The actions are quite ridiculous especially with those fancy gadgets. The lack of chemistry between the two leads is obvious.

I cannot stand Helen. Obnoxious and annoying. Why can’t they cast someone likeable for this role? Tatiana Maslany maybe.

Not a fan of Omar Miller either.

Yeah, am out!

 

[MaryMitch]

I really enjoyed it - it will be fun to see the couple in action!

[iMonrey]

I thought it was okay. They leaned way too hard into the over-the-top action right off the top. But my biggest problem with it is Ginger Gonzaga as Helen. She is just way too glam to pass as a typical suburban housewife with two kids and a minivan. (And if she wore any more makeup they could hang her in the Louvre.) It seems the show wanted to go for hot and bad-ass rather than someone more ordinary.

The real charm of shows like Chuck or Scarecrow and Mrs. King is that the civilian is the proverbial fish out of water. You need someone who's an "ordinary Joe" the audience can relate to when they're thrown into this world of spies and espionage. 

Now, maybe the show is deliberately trying to avoid copying that premise, but I just don't know that Gonzaga has the comedy chops to pull off a role like this. I'm not seeing it so far, anyway. In fact, this might have worked better the other way around - with Helen as the bad-ass, experienced agent and Harry as the hapless, out of the loop computer salesman. But then it might have been too much like Chuck.

[NeenerNeener]

Hey, Carlo Rota! Mick Schtoppel, haven't seen you in ages!

I agree with iMonrey, Helen seems like she would have been better as the spy. 

Anyway, I think I like the new show with Milo Ventimiglia better.

[Stats Queen]

I found this cringey and painful.

[Simba122504]

Let's turn a mega R rated blockbuster into a bland broadcast show!  A True Lies television series belongs on streaming! This was the Great Value version of True Lies. I don't know how long I will watch. TL is one of my favorite films. Even with its problematic plot points. The show is not it. I don't if I can stay the entire season. 

[Tachi Rocinante]

I'm giving it a bit of a pass because it's the pilot. Ginger Gonzaga was great in She-Hulk, but she isn't a lead.

I'll see how the next episode or two shakes out.

[eel21788]

On 3/3/2023 at 7:56 PM, SnazzyDaisy said:

The actions are quite ridiculous especially with those fancy gadgets.

Do helicopter really have autopilot?

[Snazzy Daisy]

55 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Do helicopter really have autopilot?

Yes.

 

[Bort]

1 hour ago, eel21788 said:

Do helicopter really have autopilot?

They do, although you have to maintain a stable flight to turn them on. You can’t fly it herky jerky like that and suddenly turn it on, it doesn’t work that way. 

[seacliffsal]

I enjoyed this show.  I thought it was a nice blend of humor and light action.  Loved the fact that the neighbor is a spy who will keep tabs on the kids.