S01.E01: Chapter One (Pilot)

[Tara Ariano]

A doctor's office mishap causes Jane to become pregnant with a specimen meant for someone else in the series premiere of this comedy-drama about a chaste young woman who struggles to tell her religious family about her unplanned in-vitro pregnancy.

[Primetimer]

The CW's telenovela remake about a not-quite-immaculate conception takes big risks, but do they pay off?

Read the story

[AndySmith]

 

so far her character is a clichéd misogynist nightmare

 

Well, it is based on a telenovela...

 

I have a feeling this show will go the Ugly Betty/Glee/etc route. Everyone will love season 1, season 2 people will fall out of love with it, season 3 people will be asking "This show is still on?", season 4 people will be wondering "Why is this show still on?"...

Edited October 13, 2014 by AndySmith

[kieyra]

Well, it is based on a telenovela...

 

I have a feeling this show will go the Ugly Betty/Glee/etc route. Everyone will love season 1, season 2 people will fall out of love with it, season 3 people will be asking "This show is still on?", season 4 people will be wondering "Why is this show still on?"...

 

To be fair, you quoted one of the few negatives in a mostly positive article. :) 

 

(I loved Ugly Betty and so far I've be surprised at the positive press for this show this fall, so I'm hopeful of getting some enjoyment out of it.)

[John Ramos]

Remember Justin Baldoni as Bright and Ephram's med-school roommate on Everwood?

 

...uh, me neither.

[Kat]

I'm very excited about this show; which surprises me to no end.

 

 

 

Remember Justin Baldoni as Bright and Ephram's med-school roommate on Everwood?

Say what, now?

Edited October 13, 2014 by Kat

[Lindsey]

I've only seen Baldoni in a Hallmark Channel movie (stop judging me!) and I can't say I was impressed with his acting there either. I mean, it was bad even for a Hallmark movie.

[KarenClassic]

 

In fact, the worst I can say about any of them is that it's a little tedious that Alba speaks Spanish and Jane answers in English -- either all one or all the other!

 

I watched the pilot on a plane a month ago and remembered thinking how this rang true to me.  I grew up in a house with multiple languages spoken all the time, and the younger generation understanding another language but answering in English was pretty commonplace. 

[rabidchipmnk]

Remember Justin Baldoni as Bright and Ephram's med-school roommate on Everwood?

THAT'S where I know him from!!  He like, did drugs or was depressed or cheated on an exam or something and had to drop out and there were Life Lessons Learned.

[ParadoxLost]

Well I'm surprised.  I really liked it.  It was a strong pilot and very soapy.  Hopefully the tone down the telenovela narration a bit as they go along. 

[Stinger97]

I thought the pilot was super cute and, if it can keep it up, I think I'm in for the season. The actress portraying Jane was the perfect combination of beautiful and quirky, sexy and awkward, etc., and yet didn't fall into the Zooey Deschanel category of annoying. Although, the second she busts out a ukelele, I'm out.

[Nidratime]

This was a fun show and smart and tongue-in-cheek. Just as long as they don't go overboard and put everyone on the show so much in the gray area, such that there's no one to root for, I'm on board.

[ParadoxLost]

I'm curious about how the ratings will be.  I suspect dismal even by CW standards.  The premise sounded stupid and I only gave it a shot because the pilot had very good press.

[Nidratime]

The reviews were so stellar. I never watch the CW, but I wanted to see this show since critics were raving about it. It would be a shame if it didn't take off because of what network it's on, rather than it being a bad show. It if came on after Modern Family or something like that, it'd be a hit.

[Chrissytd]

Remember Justin Baldoni as Bright and Ephram's med-school roommate on Everwood?

 

...uh, me neither.

I remember him being on the show just not his character.

[Dust Bunny]

I loved this. Such an upbeat vibe, while still being smart. Weirdly, it made me think of the show "Chuck" in how it balanced comedy and drama and had upbeat, likable characters. And there's a lot to unpack from all the pilot setup.

 

I'm in. It'll bring some saccharine into my TV diet this season.

[Lillith]

I enjoyed it.  I really like Jane and her mother, the characters we pretty real (especially for a novela) and they had great chemistry.  Still not sure about the boyfriend.  I didn't think the wife was awful until her betrayal was shown.  The baby daddy is still a bit bland for me.  But  I found enough there to give more shows a try.

[La Tortuga]

I'm not a huge fan of sitcoms, and I'm especially leery of sitcom pilots. So this show was a welcome surprise. Yes, it was a little cheesy, but so are most sitcoms, even the ones that aren't telenovela adaptations. I'm going to give it at least 3 more episodes, and if I still like it by then, then I'm in for the rest of the season.

[Irlandesa]

I didn't think the wife was awful until her betrayal was shown.

Her cheating on him was the least of her crimes to me.  I had a bigger problem with her thawing out her husband's sperm, without telling him, in order to get pregnant to prolong her marriage.  I also took issue with how she was willing to play with Jane's life in order to make sure that baby happened.  (Or maybe that was the betrayal you were talking about?)

 

I really liked the show.  It had some humor. It was sweet.  Even though the premise could invite problems, I think 4 of the 5 main-ish female characters were pretty strong.  The only one that's somewhat problematic to me is the wife. I dreaded the arguments about whether or not she should have the baby but I think the show did a decent job of presenting both choices without making one choice better than the other. 

 

I do wonder how they extend the premise, however.

[FireFoxy]

I loved it. Loved, loved, loved it. The cast is great, Gina Rodriguez is a discovery and has charisma and chemistry with both her leading men and the secondary characters hold my attention. I like how everyone is connected one way or another. I am so in!

[Minneapple]

The critics did not lie, that was as adorable as you can get. The entire cast is great. Gina Rodriguez is cute as a button. I love the mom, and the grandma, and everything. I love the telenovela touches, the bits of cheesy humor. And it's really rocking a diverse cast.

I suppose this is the next low-rated critical darling? Sigh, I still miss Veronica Mars.

[Featherhat]

I only gave it a chance because it was championed so unexpectedly by so many critics and I’m glad I did, it was cute and Gina Rodriguez is a real find. It was deliberately OTT in a lot of places That crushed flower petal falling off at the beginning cracked me up and really set the tone.

 

The actress playing the wife had a rather thankless role in "Reign" last season, though she has more crazy to work with here. 

[rho]

I was so worried the premise would be too unbelievable to overlook but I was pleasantly surprised. The biggest shocker was that they hired actually talented actors, especially since The CW's actors have as much talent as an Urban Outfitter's mannequin. I thought the telenovela tie in was perfect to offset the campiness of the show. The only weak point is the guy's wife and sister who are vain bumbling idiots but I guess that's expected when you're adapting a soap opera for prime time. I still wish they had adjusted the premise a bit but it was charming nonetheless.

[Saradactyl]

Was I the only person that experienced audio issues at the beginning of the episode? The audio was coming out in Spanish & English at the same time for the first few scenes. I finally turned on the closed captioning because I couldn't really grasp what anyone was saying.

I thought the show itself was really fun. I love the actress playing Jane. She has some very Shay Mitchell facial features to make her just gorgeous enough, but still with a girl-next-door vibe. I definitely would not have checked this one out if the reviews weren't so overwhelmingly positive. This will be great while the ABC Family shows are on break.

[airbefore]

The title of this show really put me off and I only gave this a shot because of the article that appeared on this site. I'm glad I did. It was actually really cute, if a little overwrought in places (but seeing as it's based on a telenovela, I can forgive that). The actress playing Jane is super endearing and I think that really will allow them to get away with a hell of a lot more than they would have been able to otherwise. The female members of the cast are all pretty great but I find both of the love interests to be bland and their actors less than skilled so here's hoping the CW invests some money into coaches for those guys at some point. Overall I rather enjoyed it and, stupid name aside, I'm in for at least another three or four episodes. 

[GaiusB]

Suprisingly good, i only watched it to know potential cancelation rival to The 100 - only network show i really like. But it was very enjoyable. I did not expect number and quality of  characters and their actors, as rho already said, qood actors on CW shows are rare. I wish more new shows were like this, instead of that spreading cancer of for me absolutely boring comics super hero shows. I worry if CW is right place for this show though, i think it would have more chance on ABC family.

[LoneHaranguer]

I presume the original telenovela was done before anyone invented emergency contraception. It took me right out of the story to hear the voice-over say there was nothing the doctor could do after immediately discovering her mistake.

[Whimsy]

I presume the original telenovela was done before anyone invented emergency contraception. It took me right out of the story to hear the voice-over say there was nothing the doctor could do after immediately discovering her mistake.

 

Granted, I don't know much about emergency contraception myself- but she had walked out of the room and already into the next room by the time she figured out the mistake.  Actually, by that time, Jane could've been dressed and gone.  What I took the narrator to mean was that there was nothing that she could do WITHOUT GETTING CAUGHT. Sure, she could've ran after Jane (or gone in the room if it was literally seconds) and said "here, take this morning after pill" or whatever it is people take, but she still would've had to have owned up to her mistake.  I don't think there's any way to sneakily do it, unless she told Jane it was a multi-vitamin or something. 

[camom]

Well, she couldn't "undo" her mistake; she could only try to eliminate the possibility of pregnancy.  And I don't know enough to know what all that would entail.

 

It did make me wonder, though.  Would the guy's wife really be able to thaw out his sperm and have herself inseminated without his consent?  Seems to me that he would have to give permission.  

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Sure, she could've ran after Jane (or gone in the room if it was literally seconds) and said "here, take this morning after pill" or whatever it is people take, but she still would've had to have owned up to her mistake.  I don't think there's any way to sneakily do it, unless she told Jane it was a multi-vitamin or something.

I expect she'd have something suitable on hand to inject. There's any number of things she could claim it was and Jane would have no way of knowing. If she didn't want to risk side effects, it wouldn't be as effective as a pill, but it beats taking a 20% chance of being ruined. At least Jane won't have to worry about money; bad enough to make a mistake like that without choosing to do nothing about it. The doctor's insurance company is going to be itching to settle.

[panthergirl13]

I'm pretty sure suspension of disbelief is a required state of mind for a show like this, with the very premise being so OTT. I loved it and I really didn't think I would.

[Luciano]

The actress that plays the mom looks so much like 90210's AnnaLynne McCord that it was distracting at first. Her initial reaction to her daughter's "immaculate conception," complete with kneeling and making a confession, was hilarious.

Gina Rodriguez has great comedic timing, especially in the scene when she explained to her grandmother how she got pregnant and the scene where she spit out her drink. The show was charming and she was a big reason for it.

[Featherhat]

I'm willing to give the central premise of any show some slack for how it came about, provided *how* it moves on from it and how it got there was any good. The world's most unprofessional and incompetent doctor together with the world's most naïve, tired twentysomething was a perfect storm of never-should-have happened that worked much better than I was expecting. Sure she could have halted Jane in the middle of getting dressed and rushed off to get Plan B and made sure she took it, but I can go with the fact that she was so freaked out that she couldn't think of what to do before it was too late and the only thing was that she could fake it to Petra. But she also could have pulled herself together long enough to stop crying into her patient's vagina and run through the procedure and not just take a hum hum for the green light to inseminate someone.

Edited October 14, 2014 by Featherhat

[ichbin]

It was more entertaining than I had expected despite of all the ridiculousness.  I'm willing to suspend disbelief and give it a chance.  Was anyone else distracted by the awful fit of Rafael's shirts?  I think some clothing manufacturer could make a fortune designing shirts that properly fit men who are into the upper body workouts. The only thing that really bugged was that I don't mind reading subtitles for a sentence or two, but I'm not crazy about having to do it for entire conversations. 

Edited October 14, 2014 by ichbin

[redsox7819]

This show is super cute and her baby daddy is SUPER HOT. Not a very good actor but sure is pretty to look at. Works for me.

 

Remember Justin Baldoni as Bright and Ephram's med-school roommate on Everwood?

 

...uh, me neither.

 

This was driving my sister nuts and I knew I would find the answer here. Thanks!

[Whimsy]

The only thing that really bugged was that I don't mind reading subtitles for a sentence or two, but I'm not crazy about having to do it for entire conversations.

I agree. I always multi-task while watching TV (reading PTV, of course) and I hate having to read the TV instead. The funny thing is, for me, the only other show I watch that I have to read is Switched at Birth, which the grandmother was on.

[wonderwoman]

Todd VanDerWerff over at VOX has some interesting thoughts about the political diversity of Jane the Virgin.

http://www.vox.com/2014/10/14/6973331/jane-the-virgin-pro-life-premiere-recap

[Minneapple]

Her initial reaction to her daughter's "immaculate conception," complete with kneeling and making a confession, was hilarious.

 

Yeah, that cracked me up.

 

Did the mom-daughter relationship remind anyone else of Gilmore Girls? The mom kind of being the immature one, the daughter being the more grownup one. And the mom (sorry, can't remember her name) had Jane when she was 16. The scene where the mom is talking about Crystal's fake boobs and asking Jane if she wanted to see the pic made this hit home for me. Also when Jane wanted to give their bus seats to the nuns but the mom didn't. That's totally Lorelai and Rory Gilmore.

 

Meanwhile, ratings, from TVLine:

 

 

 

The CW’s Jane the Virgin “scored” on Monday night, premiering to 1.63 million total viewers and a 0.6 rating — building on The Originals‘ audience and doubling Beauty and the Beast’s year-ago demo delivery in the time slot (900K/0.3).

 

Jane in fact gave The CW its largest Mondays-at-9 audience since February 2012..

 

So, not good overall, but good by CW standards. Which is good news.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Minneapple

[ParadoxLost]

So, not good overall, but good by CW standards. Which is good news.

I think how it holds up next week will tell the tale. The most promising thing is that networks that get little respect in the industry tend to hold onto critical darlings desperately despite low ratings for credibility.

That every review is including something along the lines of 'I can't believe the best pilot is on theCW' is going to help.

[Irlandesa]

I presume the original telenovela was done before anyone invented emergency contraception. It took me right out of the story to hear the voice-over say there was nothing the doctor could do after immediately discovering her mistake.

 

I may be wrong but didn't she give Jane a prescription to emergency contraception when she found out she was pregnant?  Of course, by normal standards, I think it'd be too late to take it (me not knowing much about it either) but the implication I got was that whatever she got was meant to take care of the problem.

 

I don't see how she could "slip" it to her without explaining why.  Jane was expecting something near her vagina that the insemination something she might not pick up on but randomly being assigned something to take?  A bit harder.

 

Todd VanDerWerff over at VOX has some interesting thoughts about the political diversity of Jane the Virgin.

http://www.vox.com/2014/10/14/6973331/jane-the-virgin-pro-life-premiere-recap

I think he's pretty much wrong on two counts. 

 

First, abortion was an option. Jane didn't dismiss the idea of abortion right away as if it were something she absolutely would not do the way he's implying in the article.  She thought about whether or not she should have it.  She asked her mother. She asked her grandmother.  She asked her boyfriend. She asked the father of the baby. She spoke with a doctor (albeit the one who knocked her up).  She weighed those different perspectives and ultimately chose to have the baby. 

 

Second, the one topic "progressive" and "liberal" Hollywood still balks at and takes a "conservative" bent when addressing is abortion.  There was a discussion about this in the feminism thread a few months ago and it's really difficult to come up with the names of five characters who have had abortions.  Even harder to think of is characters who have had abortions they didn't regret while also not having infertility issues later on.  The majority of the time, the woman has the baby on TV. 

 

I don't think this show had much of any political point of view.

[Lillybee]

I enjoyed this show and will be back. I am not sure that I like Jane's boyfriend. I think that Jane will eventually want to share custody with the good looking baby daddy and the boyfriend will be quite the douche about that.

 

I am really waiting for Jane to find out that her bio-dad is the star of the telanova that she loves.

 

I also love the fact that this show is about a Latino family.

[La Tortuga]

Sure she could have halted Jane in the middle of getting dressed and rushed off to get Plan B and made sure she took it, but I can go with the fact that she was so freaked out that she couldn't think of what to do before it was too late and the only thing was that she could fake it to Petra. But she also could have pulled herself together long enough to stop crying into her patient's vagina and run through the procedure and not just take a hum hum for the green light to inseminate someone.

 

I agree with you about what the doctor could have (and should have) done. But with a comedy, I often have to remind myself that if every single character was a smart person making good decisions, nothing funny would ever happen.

 

I do wonder if Dr. Weepy Bajingo Lady is going to continue to have a presence on the show and bring about even more idiocy with her bumbling ways, or if she's going to quietly disappear now that she did the job of carrying out the show's premise. If this were real life, I'd want to see Dr. Alver face some consequences, but since it's not, I'm just hoping they don't waste too much time on boring scenes about her malpractice lawsuit.

[panthergirl13]

I think the pleasant surprise for me was that the show was not built around "I never had sex!!!" and no one believing her. I was actually so relieved when the doctor came clean, there were no "I didn't cheat on you!" scenes and no miracles were suspected (aside from her mother's initial reaction). 

[Riful]

Bridget Regan playing a lesbian

 

Bridget Regan playing a lesbian

Is this karma trying to make up for the 3 killed of female queer characters in the past 3 weeks? And another lesbian sleeping with a man?

Oh yeah rest of the show was surprisingly charming as well. I liked how the story flowed and the overall tone made it a fun/enjoyable watch. There was no character I actively hated due to poor acting or writing. My dislike of the wife was based purely on the character it self being pretty terrible. The show seems to be wonderfully self-aware, and not shy of making fun of it self a little bit, which is a joy. Plus Bridget Regan guest starring (I may have a crush on the actress that is no where near dignified for someone my age but alas). I am not sure how much milage there is get out of this set up, but I am definitely on board.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Riful

[Featherhat]

Bridget Regan seems to be sticking around for  few more weeks as Luisa's lawyer, probably soon to be currently fling. I don't think we can tell if her wife was sleeping with a man, it could go either way on that.

 

The other wife Petra was pretty much every "evil bitch" cliché you can cram into one side character in 42 minutes but I think Yael Grobglas will have fun with it and hopefully she'll be a more nuanced bitch in upcoming episodes.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

Was anyone else distracted by the awful fit of Rafael's shirts?  I think some clothing manufacturer could make a fortune designing shirts that properly fit men who are into the upper body workouts.

They do, although you have to shop near a big city or online to find them. I didn't notice, but the wardrobe department should have done a better job.

 

 

I may be wrong but didn't she give Jane a prescription to emergency contraception when she found out she was pregnant?  Of course, by normal standards, I think it'd be too late to take it (me not knowing much about it either) but the implication I got was that whatever she got was meant to take care of the problem.

Unless it was one of the four publicized in the Hobby Lobby controversy that can cause an abortion, you're right that it would be too late for a contraceptive.

[Irlandesa]

Bridget Regan seems to be sticking around for  few more weeks as Luisa's lawyer, probably soon to be currently fling. I don't think we can tell if her wife was sleeping with a man, it could go either way on that.

I don't think Rifel was talking about Dr. Alver's wife.  I don't have it on my DVR but I'm pretty sure they specified the assistant was female.

 

I do wonder if Dr. Weepy Bajingo Lady is going to continue to have a presence on the show and bring about even more idiocy with her bumbling ways, or if she's going to quietly disappear now that she did the job of carrying out the show's premise. If this were real life, I'd want to see Dr. Alver face some consequences, but since it's not, I'm just hoping they don't waste too much time on boring scenes about her malpractice lawsuit.

Dr. Alver is the aunt of the baby and sister of the hotel owner so I think she'll be around. 

[mehtotheworld]

I liked this a lot and have already set up a season pass, but the thing most seared into my brain is the baby daddy's arm muscles in constant war with his shirts. 

[Jellybeans]

I loved this show. I have no trouble suspending disbelief, it is a TV show after all. Of course she didn't take the meds, there wouldn't be a series if she did.

Can't wait for next weeks show!

[Snarkette]

Watched. Liked. Sticking around.