S01.E01: Pilot

[BabyVegas]

I'm a real lawyer so I seriously hated this. I can swallow a lot of BS but not THIS much

I'm not a real lawyer (yet!) but I just couldn't. I made it ten minutes and then literally stood up and said "I'm out" but because I'm a lunatic, I sat back down and watched the rest of it. I counted four instances of what I thought were pretty thinly veiled Legally Blonde ripoffs (Newbie just got into law school like, last week and therefore has done none of the reading and didn't even know there was reading - check. Newbie has to stand up in front of class and answer the question but has no idea what is even going on and bonus points because it was a criminal law class and they were discussing the elements of a criminal law case - check. The prof will hire four students from his or her class to work in a highly coveted job - check. And some chick allegedly murders her lover and that's the case that the professor is bringing to trial while simultaneously teaching - check.) Then there was the instance of them trying to get evidence that was illegally obtained into the trial because no big deal that the evidence was fairly clearly fruit of the poisoned tree and screw it, none of this is how law works anyway. 

 

Plus the girl who plays I-Wanna-Be-Viola-Davis'-Character was on Emily Owens, MD (not that I'm admitting to watching that show) and I sincerely want to know if she has any acting range beyond smug. I wanted to love this show. I was willing to suspend all sorts of disbelief for this show. But it committed the ultimate sin of not being good on its merits and not being bad enough to be bad-good.

Edited September 26, 2014 by BabyVegas

[Minneapple]

Maybe it's because I'm not a lawyer, but I enjoyed that. It had some good noir elements. Everyone is corrupt or willing to be corrupt to get what they want. And everything is cynical and jaded. Yeah, it was predictable and the characters were pretty cartoony, but I'm willing to give it some leeway.

-Viola Davis pretty much rules.

-Dean Thomas grew up really cute!

-Gotta love Paris Gellar with the Yale shoutout.

[albaniantv]

Tough hour but mostly I loved it.

 

What I didn't like: lighting is too dark in the night shots; the students are too alike, except for Wes; the gaybar scene did feel fake, except for the Asian character, he read real; why does the blonde woman keep scowling; would Viola's character, the lead actress in a big new series, really keep touching Wes as she tried to explain or as she said apologize for getting caught with a boyfriend? That was so sleazy.

 

But mostly, it moves well, introduces interesting faces, sets Viola up as the 21st century corollary to John Houseman, and promises intrigue and good acting. 

 

All of a sudden remembered who Wes reminds me of, the young, innocent writer in Sophie's Choice (film, not book) who is learning how the world works while he falls in love with Sophie. That would be an interesting arc.

[jjj]

Wales260, I am also long-time former Philly resident (and Penn), and I was curious about the locale, so learned that much of the pilot was filmed in the Philadelphia area, with some footage shot between 40th and 42nd on Locust and Spruce (I did not see that in the pilot, maybe missed it), plus City Hall, as you noted.  And  campus scenes were shot on Bryn Mawr and Ursinus campuses.  Penn did not want filming on campus. 

 

Unfortunately, Viola Davis stipulated that future filming take place in Los Angeles, so that is where future episodes will be filmed.

[loki567]

It's tough to tell the quality at this point. Shonda shows always take awhile to get going. But does it feel a little cheap to anybody else? Like most of the acting and production values feel almost ABC Family-ish. And then it's genuinely odd when Viola Davis enters a scene with her legitimate movie star charisma and blows everyone else away. I wish she was in a cable drama surrounded by other heavy weights. 

[2KllMckngBrd]

I really liked this. Viola Davis is so damn good, I think the rest of the show will rise up to meet her, or be drug kicking and screaming. What I did love though was the reveal of it being the husband in the rug. That was a "who shot JR" reveal for me. Really didn't see it coming.

 

The students are cartoons so far!  Reminds me of Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, no dog is present so far, so no Scooby.

Other than Pratt I can't even remember any of their names. They did feel very Scooby gang. Whether that be the original Scoobies, or the Buffy Incarnation. I vote Pratt the Cordelia, and the young man that walked in on Annalise being serviced, as the Willow.

 

And Viola Davis' Annalise being serviced I must say made my day. It was so nice to see a female character being the 1 receiving, instead of giving.

 

I also like the grown and sexy-ness of this show. It's at 9 CST, so let's go for it. 'Ya gotta respect that you had both hetero and homo sexual acts all jumping off before the :32min mark. Loved it! Equal opportunity hoe-baggery floats my boat!

 

My God, Viola Davis was wonderful in this. 

She really really was. I saw an interview she did a while back where she was worried about what would happen to her after "The Help". She seemed sad wondering how many roles there were for a woman who looked like her, her age, and of the quality of that movie (or the movie she was in w/Amy Adams and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, whose title I can't remember for the life of me right now). I don't think she has to worry. This show is going to only make her in higher demand in the movie world.

 

I'm in.

 

(tried to go back and edit out anything wrong that I said, sorry)

Edited September 26, 2014 by 2KllMckngBrd

[Big Bad Wolf]

Reasonably intriguing opening, although I thought they stuffed too much in there (pilot-itis, I know), and I agree that Wes was the only likeable character. I'm sticking with it for now for Viola, though.

 

 

 

They certainly can't burn him with just lighter fluid lol!

I guess even though they are supposed to be smart, it's not entirely unbelievable they'd be too stupid/uninformed to know this. To burn a body, the temperature needs to be incredibly hot. Certainly much hotter than you could achieve with lighter fluid and some twigs. (I saw it on a history program once, where they were testing out what was needed to burn a body by the Vikings.)

 

the students are too alike, except for Wes;

So true. I was having real difficulty telling all the white people apart (and I'm white).

 

 

I'm wondering if the prettyboy white boy student actually gay, or if he just went with it so he could get the information he needed.

Definitely gay. He was going for some (evidently pretty experienced) sex with the guy when he'd already got the email he needed.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Big Bad Wolf

[SimoneS]

What I didn't like: lighting is too dark in the night shots; 

 

So it wasn't just me. I could barely see anything in those night scenes and thought it was my tv. Those night scenes were very poorly lit.

Edited September 26, 2014 by SimoneS

[shapeshifter]

Now I'm really sad that Viola Davis is not starring in the second season of True Detective.

[Neurochick]

Having worked in law firms for thirty years and knowing many lawyers and law students--this isn't going to fly for me. Love Viola Davis, but I will not be able to suspend my disbelief far enough to not spend an hour rolling my eyes.

 

 

I can sort of see this POV.  I have worked in medical schools for over thirty years, so shows about hospitals don't ring true; for me, I have to remember that this is a show.  I mean IRL most people don't remotely look like most people on TV.  

 

And then I realize that at my age, I am not the audience for most TV shows.  

[Puffaroo]

...would Viola's character, the lead actress in a big new series, really keep touching Wes as she tried to explain or as she said apologize for getting caught with a boyfriend? That was so sleazy.

 

 

I agree with a previous poster -- she was playing him.

[RockyHorror64]

Not too bad. I do adore Viola Davis. I don't know who any of the younger people are. I will give it a few more episodes as I do love courtroom type/mystery dramas. I miss the good 'ol days of Perry Mason. Now, that was a good show and he was a great lawyer!! Kept his private life private and never tried to make moves on any of his clients. Also, Columbo. These new shows really need to do some research on what made the older ones so popular and great.

[SimoneS]

Not too bad. I do adore Viola Davis. I don't know who any of the younger people are. I will give it a few more episodes as I do love courtroom type/mystery dramas. I miss the good 'ol days of Perry Mason. Now, that was a good show and he was a great lawyer!! Kept his private life private and never tried to make moves on any of his clients. Also, Columbo. These new shows really need to do some research on what made the older ones so popular and great.

 

Our society has changed and for the better I think, thank goodness. Perry Mason and Columbo would likely never make it to a second season on tv today. 

Edited September 26, 2014 by SimoneS

[animalnurse]

Now all you lawyers (and soon-to-be lawyers) know why I had to give up Grey's Anatomy! I'm in veterinary medicine, but I know enough to get annoyed.

 

But! Everything I know about the law, I learned on Law and Order and I do love Viola Davis. So for now I'm in.

[pelicanlover]

Ye gods.  I love Viola Davis and strong, powerful female characters but I just can't continue to watch this series.  I found it horrifying... not that I  mind preposterous fiction and have spent a lot of time watching clever shows like Ally McBeal and Harry's Law, as well as serious legal dramas, but this was too much. 

 

Davis is wasted here.  By the time the show ended I started to count the demographics which the show had rudely insulted...  female attorneys, college professors, African Americans, detectives, gay men, IT professionals, earnest young law students, judges, and even semi-professional mistressses.  My over-arching impression of the hour was that the folks at "The Onion" had re-written "Law and Order," and we were all being had.  I don't mind sleaze, but this was a cartoon.

 

I am so sorry for the cast, which contained some great actors.  And I am also sorry to disagree with so many of you.  I hope you continue to enjoy the show, but I'm out.

[Dirtybubble]

Maybe this show should be on another day or something.  To have Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and this all in one night--it's just 3 hours of over-the-top, unrealistic drama to me.  I do enjoy some zany drama now and again but to have all of this jammed into one night back to back to back just seems a bit much.  I think I wouldn't feel so over whelmed by everything if this aired on a Tues or Weds.

[lulee]

re: "Hogwarts's only black student with a speaking role in the Harry Potter films"

Not true! How could you forget Blaise Zabini?

and Angelina who went to the Yule Ball with Fred - or was it George? And the kid who wasn't in the book Prisoner of Azkaban, but had the lines about catching smoke in your fingers ... Yeah, I'm really reaching now.

All I know about law school is from movies/tv and reading One L when I dated a law student eons ago. So I don't notice the law school stuff much. I liked the characters and acting. I'll at least be back for another episode.

[TaraS1]

This is my first time watching a full episode of any Shonda-related show (Grey's always felt like a terrible ER knock-off, and Kerry Washington's acting is too horrific to stomach), and I actually liked it.  Didn't love it, but liked it, especially for a pilot.  I work in the legal field too and none of the "Oh come on, that would never happen!" moments bothered me because I enjoyed Viola Davis, the guy playing Wes and the main mysteries enough to go along for the ride.

[RockyHorror64]

 

Our society has changed and for the better I think, thank goodness. Perry Mason and Columbo would likely never make it to a second season on tv today.

I don't agree. I think people still love the original shows. These days everything seems to be repetitive on tv and in the movies. No creative idea left in Hollywood anymore.

[Lorimac]

I will stick with it for a while longer, but they nearly lost me when Viola is sobbing to her student that her life is just so darn hard. I expected when he left she would wipe off those crocodile tears and smirk to herself in the mirror that she just pulled the wool over that dork's eyes, but noooooo.... they want the viewing audience to believe she has a soul. Too bad.

[Magpi]

Ugh, it was like a crappy version of Damages set in law school.

 

Yet, I'll probably keep watching because I'm weak. And I like Viola Davis.

[glitterpants]

Loved it! It's kind of amusing to see the comments about how dark and sleazy it is because by the end of the episode I was like "that was fun!". Viola is such a pleasure to watch, Dean Thomas looks adorable when he's confused, and it all moved along fast enough for me to ignore the little voice in my head that went "lol that would never happen".

Edited September 26, 2014 by glitterpants

[bantering]

I'm not a lawyer, but just using common sense I assumed most everything that was happening both in the classroom and in the court room and possibly in general conversation was unrealistic.

 

Having said that, I did think Viola Davis's acting was really good, and is probably what elevates this show. The part where she says "How To Get Away With Murder", even in the commercials, is kind of riveting.

 

I don't want the sweet kid to be a murderer. 

[basiltherat]

I thought this was going to be my One New Show for the season.  I was extremely disappointed, and I put up with Under the Dome and Crisis for quite a few weeks!  This is extremely sleazy and there is no one likeable or rootable or even interesting -- its sleaze for the sake of how much sleaze can we shove down your throat.  I've put up with a lot of suspension of belief (the aforementioned plus the champion, Lost) but since this is SUPPOSED to be realistic, I believe I am out after the pilot.  Annalise is very smart in that she has students do the grunt work for free and then whatever they come up with, she has plausible deniability because they are students and not lawyers.  Viola may be a great actress (I remember her from an old episode of Criminal Intent) but she is ill-served by this character and show. 

 

They make fun of the Perry Mason ilk (defendant is always innocent, ha!) but, in the end, they hand-wave ponits of law for dramatic effect.  Introducing evidence as they "discover" it (or make it up).

 

Bring back Professor Kingsfield!

[txbowler]

I liked the show.  Thought it was interesting.

 

As for the lawyers picking it apart, how many would watch a TV show that was accurate about it really works in trials?  Probably not many.  I've been on many juries and even a grand jury.  It is not riveting TV.  Lawyers stumbling over questions.  Juries in and out of the courtroom a couple times a day as the lawyers argue over admissibility questions.   

 

In fact, the last couple of juries I have been on the lawyers first statements to us are always, "This will not happen like it does on TV".

[blackwing]

I have been a lawyer for years.  Of course this show is nothing like real law school.  Just like how L.A. Law wasn't like real law and Grey's Anatomy isn't like real medicine.  It is a TV show designed for entertainment.  I just kept telling myself that I had to suspend disbelief.

 

These are first year law students, right?  Criminal Law 101 is almost certainly taught at all law schools in the fall semester of the first year.  Wes said he just got into the school two days ago.  I do find it interesting that the school would have a practicing defence attorney teaching one of the iconic first year law school classes as an adjunct professor.  Additionally, there was someone that said they interned for Chief Justice Roberts over the summer.  Hardly likely.

 

The one thing that I thought rang untrue even for a TV law show is all of the 100 students crammed into every nook and cranny of Keating's Victorian office/home while she interviews her client.  No attorney would do that for such a high profile case, she wouldn't want 100 extra nobodies shooting their mouths out about her case strategies, and there would be attorney/client privilege issues as well.

 

I hope this show does well in the ratings.  I especially like the fact that we are given glimpses into the future, so that we can try and connect the dots along the way.  For example, we pretty much knew that those four would be chosen for the job.  (The fifth guy was a surprise.)  And we've seen that the statue of Blind Justice is apparently used as the murder weapon.  Since the statue was supposedly in the possession of Mr. Walsh, who exactly used it and how did it get back into Keating's house?

 

I'm also curious about the star football player boyfriend of the dead girl in the water tank.  He's friends or something with the weird girl living next door to Wes.

[SistaLadybug]

When I said "dark", I meant it was literally dark.  Too dark to see some of the scenes.  I couldn't follow what was going on when the students were out trying to gt rid of the body or whatever.

 

I have no issue with sleaze.  I'm all for that.  That kind of darkness is absolutely fine by me.

[Chicago Redshirt]

I think a show could be much closer to what actually happens in a courtroom and still be very dramatic. Obviously, week after week of "Your Honor, we request a continuance" or "Your Honor, we would like you to compel the other side to turn over this or that" would get boring. But you could structure something such that the actual trial is closer to what might happen in a courtroom and there'd be plenty of drama.It would just take a lot more work.

 

To take the "Asprin Assassin" example of the pilot, we never really got to hear the defendant say a darn of relevance thing, either on the stand or in private. We never really got to see much of the evidence that incriminated her other than a) she had an affair with the victim  that was broken off b) she bought aspirin the day before and c) a pill similar to the aspirin was seen on her desk. If they had spent more time on the trial part establishing why the prosecution was going to take this case to trial, that would be something. Or why it's such a high profile case. Developing better characters involved in the trial as well as better theories of the case on both the prosecution and defense side would be a big improvement.

 

Since the statue was supposedly in the possession of Mr. Walsh, who exactly used it and how did it get back into Keating's house?

 

I think we were told that the person who gets it can cash it in to get out of an exam. (Which FWIW, doesn't make sense because generally law school classes are dependent on either an exam, an exam and a midterm, or one or more papers. One would not want to bypass an exam and then have their entire grade dependent on the other exams. It would make more sense to be able to turn it in to nullify one bad exam or some such). 

 

Anyway, the way it seems to be set up opens the possibility that it was cashed in, and it was thus in Keating's office/house. Of course, there are alternate possibilities like someone stole it from Walsh (or whoever holds it at the time of the murder) in an effort to frame the holder.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Chicago Redshirt

[teebax]

It's hard to watch shows about your profession. I was in the military - so I don't like shows about the military. Then  I was a journalist - so I don't like shows about journalists. Then I was a teacher - so I don't like shows about teachers. My partner is a nurse - so she hates shows about nurses. So I'm not surprised the legal eagles on the board didn't care for this one. I love that they set the show in my old stomping grounds, Philly. I didn't know it was going to be set there, so that was a pleasant surprise.

 

It's hard to suspend reality when things happen that you know would never happen in real life. For me, it made for entertaining TV. And I'm beyond thrilled that Viola got a show. I'm also happy that Octavia has a new one too, although I'm less enthused about hers. I stopped watching Gray's several seasons ago, but I still watch Scandal. So Shonda is getting two-thirds of my Thursday nights.

[mtlchick]

 

I will stick with it for a while longer, but they nearly lost me when Viola is sobbing to her student that her life is just so darn hard. I expected when he left she would wipe off those crocodile tears and smirk to herself in the mirror that she just pulled the wool over that dork's eyes,

Hell, I was getting uncomfortable with getting touchy feely around the kid.  I was kind of expecting the smirk as well.

 

"How to Get Away With Stuff Past the Censors" should be the subtitle.  Connor getting his way with the IT guy, Annalise getting, uh, her way with the cop in her office...not that I'm a prude but I'm a bit surprised that ABC allowed it. But the marketing department did its thing and the show opened with 14M.  In this day and age, that's huge.

[blackwing]

When I said "dark", I meant it was literally dark.  Too dark to see some of the scenes.  I couldn't follow what was going on when the students were out trying to gt rid of the body or whatever.

I thought the darkness was intentional.  In the beginning, it was to make it difficult to see who was involved.  We got enough glimpse of them to be able to recognise them when we saw them in the classroom.  But they were also outside, in the woods, where there is little light, so it made sense to me that it was dark.

 

One other tidbit of advance knowledge that I thought was a nice touch.  One of the girls (not sure if it was Michaela or the other one, the one with the Hispanic sounding name who made an effort to pronounce it authentically but looks 100% white) got a phone call from Keating's male associate when they were in the woods.  It came up with a photo.  It looked to me it was a casual photo, so I'm assuming she gets involved with him at some point.  She took way too long to answer the call (so we could see the photo of course) and not sure why she wouldn't have silenced the call immediately when they were with, you know, a DEAD BODY and there were people in the woods who might see them, but whatever.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

I'm a real lawyer so I seriously hated this. I can swallow a lot of BS but not THIS much.

 

 

I can sort of see this POV.  I have worked in medical schools for over thirty years, so shows about hospitals don't ring true; for me, I have to remember that this is a show.  I mean IRL most people don't remotely look like most people on TV.  

 

 

 

It's hard to watch shows about your profession. I was in the military - so I don't like shows about the military. Then  I was a journalist - so I don't like shows about journalists. Then I was a teacher - so I don't like shows about teachers. My partner is a nurse - so she hates shows about nurses. So I'm not surprised the legal eagles on the board didn't care for this one. I love that they set the show in my old stomping grounds, Philly. I didn't know it was going to be set there, so that was a pleasant surprise.

 

I'm work in aesthetics/massage and it drives me up the wall when I see a bad massage, or treatment on t.v. so I can't imagine how all you professionals feel!

 

It was a wild ride last night, and I'm into seeing what happens next.

[lucindabelle]

Disappointed though I did like her smack down to never interfere with another students teaching moment.

The paper chase worked. Why can't it just be law school? Skip the contrived murders.

Color blindness, really? At last minute? So very My Cousin Vinny.

Viola raises the tone but it's a silly show.

[jb0495]

I live in Philadelphia, where the pilot was filmed. I go to school and work at thr University of Pennsylvania which was used for filming. Annaliese's law firm/Wes's apartment were houses around the corner from me, but I could barely recognize anything because it was so dark!!

I also stalked filming after work to see if I'd get into any exterior shots by the law firm, but didn't see me. The production assistants loved my dog & I kept hoping they'd say they needed one!

[bantering]

Yeah, I didn't get why that girl kept her phone ringing for too long.
 

I like the professor's house. It looked pretty to me.

Edited September 26, 2014 by bantering

[truthaboutluv]

I work in the legal field too and none of the "Oh come on, that would never happen!" moments bothered me because I enjoyed Viola Davis, the guy playing Wes and the main mysteries enough to go along for the ride.

 

 

I don't work in the legal field at all but I always go into shows like these - legal dramas, hospital dramas, etc. thinking that I shouldn't pay too much attention to the particulars and take it for what it's worth because it's an entertainment show. And guaranteed pretty much 90 percent, if not all of them, throw in stuff that would never happen in the real world. 

 

That said, even someone like me not in the legal field but who watch a lot of true crime shows, called bullshit on the evidence that was just dropped in the middle of the trial. But I didn't care because it was still fun and that's the main thing for me, I enjoyed watching the episode and am interested in all the answers to the questions it set up. Who murdered the husband, was it any of the four and why and if they didn't why are they getting rid of him, what's up with Wes' weird neighbor and her connection to the dead girl and the dead girl's boyfriend, how does the shy, seemingly sweet girl end up getting it on with the douchebag or is she or was he calling her for something else, does Annalise know that the blonde girl clearly wants or is already doing her husband, speaking of Annalise, does she have anything to do with her husband's murder, etc. 

 

I checked out of Grey's years before because personally I don't think any show needs to go past 6 seasons and I never got into Scandal to be honest. I never cared for Fitz and Olivia's so called amazing love and didn't care about any of the Gladiators much as some feel about the characters introduced here. I have to say though, I don't really agree about all the sleazy, awful characters and how there is no one to root for, etc. other than Wes.

 

I thought the girl who figured out the wife and mistress were in on it seems nice enough and like she will have some of the same moral struggle Wes is going through. That is, the willingness to turn a blind eye to things if it services your case. Kayla was okay, just snooty and smug and even Walsh didn't really bother me because I thought they made it clear he didn't hook up with the guy for the information because he already had it. He slept with him because he wanted to and I liked that as the guy was someone with clearly not a lot of confidence, not used to good looking guys hitting on him. The only one of the students I didn't like was the annoying guy with his white boy trying to sound hip slang. So I'm glad it doesn't seem like he may be a major character on the show with his apparently not being part of the big mystery. And like others, for a moment I thought he was the one in the carpet. Wishful thinking perhaps.

 

She took way too long to answer the call (so we could see the photo of course) and not sure why she wouldn't have silenced the call immediately when they were with, you know, a DEAD BODY and there were people in the woods who might see them, but whatever.

 

 

I think she was trying but her glove was making it difficult for her to work the touch screen which is why she eventually took the glove off to turn it off. That actually rang true to me because I can never work my iPhone properly with my gloves on. 

 

Two things I agree with - it being too dark. I watched online today because I missed the live episode last night and thought it was something wrong with my computer screen. So good to know that wasn't it. Two, I was with others who right up until the end thought the whole covering up a murder might have been a red herring for some class assignment. The only things that made me think it was likely real was Kayla's emotional state in the beginning and Walsh's near breakdown in the car. It seemed a bit too much for some faux murder assignment since they're in Law School not Theatre.

Edited September 26, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Neurochick]

For me, whenever I watch TV, suspension of belief isn't even a question; it's TV, it's a show, it's designed to get ratings; it's not a documentary.  

 

I've been on many, many juries, two times on grand jury in the 1980's; L&O NEVER gets the grand jury right, but I'm glad it doesn't; because that shit was boring...for four weeks, sheer boredom, maybe you had a case that was interesting, but mainly real, boring shit.  So no, I don't want reality when I watch TV; because the truth is, reality is mainly humdrum and routine; I love reality, but not on my TV screen please.

 

I don't know if I will watch again, not because of the show, but because of ABC.  I don't think it's right that ABC makes people without cable, wait an entire week before they can see the show on their website.  I mean last I heard, ABC was supposed to be FREE TV, why the fuck should they care if someone has cable or not?  I have cable, but not the "right" cable according to them, and sometimes when TWC doesn't put a show "on demand" quickly enough and I want to watch on the ABC website, I can't do that, so until ABC stops the insanity, fuck them.  

[truthaboutluv]

So no, I don't want reality when I watch TV; because the truth is, reality is mainly humdrum and routine; I love reality, but not on my TV screen please.

 

 

Hell, it's why most "reality" shows aren't even real and most of the situations are set up and contrived. 

[AlwaysWatching]

I found the characters either uninteresting or unpleasant, the plot ridiculous and the constant time shifts frippery. Ticketytock

 

 

You just described a Shonda Rhimes show. Bada Boom! It's only a personal opinion and believe me, I have tried to watch several of her shows.  I'm extremely happy to see that a woman has been as successful as SR has been.  It's too bad that I'm just not in her demo, I guess.

 

Like many other posters, I watched to see the great Viola Davis.  The first episode was so confusing to me that I find I must give in and watch next week. OH! So that was their evil plan!  You won't get me Shonda Rhimes. Never!

[SimoneS]

I thought the darkness was intentional.  In the beginning, it was to make it difficult to see who was involved.  We got enough glimpse of them to be able to recognise them when we saw them in the classroom.  But they were also outside, in the woods, where there is little light, so it made sense to me that it was dark.

 

Whoever shot these night scenes did a poor job. A good film maker knows the proper lighting techniques to film scenes at night so the audience can see what is going on. 

[La Tortuga]

Viola Davis was intimidating in the best of ways. But I can't abide those dumbass kids. In their unending quest to one-up and annoy each other, they succeeded in annoying me badly enough that I turned off the TV.

[SimoneS]

It got 3.8 in 18-49 demo ratings which is awesome, especially for a 10:00 p.m. show. It held all of Scandal's demo and added just over a million more overall viewers. I hope that it can hold on to most of these viewers next week.

[iMonrey]

I'll probably stick with it because there's nothing in competition with it at the moment, but I thought it was kind of a mess. I really dislike the flashback - flash-forward gimmick. It's stale, it's cheap, and it wore out its welcome by the time Lost had ended. It's really nothing more than a narrative trick to make a story more interesting. You have to ask yourself, if you just tell the story from beginning to end, in the usual linear fashion, is it still interesting? Because if it's not,  you're just fooling your audience into thinking the story is interesting by feeding them tidbits of info out of order.

 

After one hour, I can identify just two characters: Annalise and Wes. That's it. They did a crappy job of really fleshing out the other students and I couldn't pick any of them out of a line-up if my life depended on it.

 

The scene where Annalise confronted Wes in the restroom really rang false. There was nothing about it that felt genuine, it felt like a shoe-horned, slipshod attempt to show a vulnerable side to an otherwise tough-as-nails character. Less is more, and this scene all the subtlety of a ton of bricks.

 

 

Was I the only one thinking that what the kids were doing in the present time was not disposing of a real body, but participating in some type of class assignment to stage a murder and get away with it without being detected?

 

That's what I was thinking the whole way through as well, up until the one student offered to call Annalise on the phone then revealed she really had no intention of doing so. 

 

 

They arranged the wood and doused him with the whole can, is the not enough for a bonfire?

 

Somebody already addressed this but no, you cannot get a bonfire hot enough to burn a body down to ash. That's what crematoriums are for. If you tried to burn a body in a regular fire, no matter what kind of accelerants are used, what you wind up with is something akin to a burnt pot roast. Still plenty of DNA left over.

[lucindabelle]

Also... We've been talking about having a baby? You're 49 and look it. You look good, but it's what 49 looks like (cue Sarah jessica Parker). So I too was prepared for the smirk, played him thing. Because at 49, it's pretty much over in that regard with very very rare exceptions (and I suppose adoption). Just wish shed been given a different line or said we missed our chance to have kids and the marriage is tense, something more plausible.

[Cee23]

Setting aside all nitpicks, I enjoyed it a lot! I will stick around.

[angelita100]

It's the pilot so I expect all the kids will settle into their roles.  I did like Wes and his neighbor and the gay kid.

Now, I don't like Shonda Rhimes.  I don't sit at her alter.  I liked the first 2 seasons of Grey's and then quit when Addison moved on to Private Practice.  I watched PP until Shonda ruined that one as well. To me, she writes story and plot first, and then character second. I prefer it the other way around.  She has ruined too many characters for me so I refused to watch her last 2 shows - that jungle one and Scandal.  I don't care how many of my friends have begged me to watch scandal..I just won't. 

 

It was a last minute decision to watch this show. I know this show is under Shonda's umbrella and all the press is about her but from what I understand she didn't create or write this show.  Am I wrong about that. That's why I decided to give it a chance.  I'll stick it out at least 6 weeks... I did that much for Under the Dome and that stupid Hostages last year.

[omgsowicked]

One of the girls (not sure if it was Michaela or the other one, the one with the Hispanic sounding name who made an effort to pronounce it authentically but looks 100% white) got a phone call from Keating's male associate when they were in the woods.

 

Karla Souza, who plays Laurel Castillo, is Mexican so she wasn't a white girl trying to be authentic, she is authentic.

[Queena]

This is my first ABC program since The Glass House. My 1st drama since the first season of The Mentalist. I loved it. Viola Davis is fantastic!

[Stinger97]

As someone who is in his final year of law school, it was hard for me not to compare this to my much less interesting experience. That said, once I got past the total break from reality, I found that it held my attention and made me look forward to its next episode. I'm likely in for the season, especially if it can keep this pace. 

 

I will say, however, that the poorly lit flashbacks and bumbling kids reminded me a little bit of Pretty Little Liars. It felt less like Philly and more like Rosewood. 

[lorikauai]

I was happy to see Paris Geller as Annalise's associate and Maggie from The Carrie Diaries as Wes' neighbor.

Like others I first thought they weren't disposing of a real body but doing some kind of reenactment for an assignment. I agree the husband was sleeping with the dead girl and Paris Geller. I am interested in the mystery aspect of the show despite the fact that I found the interns uninteresting.