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 ABC Family has some short teaser excerpts from the pilot on their YouTube channel (filtered for "Stitchers").

 

 

Here's a synopsis of the show, pulled from a press release:

 

Stitchers," filming in Los Angeles. "Stitchers" follows Kirsten (Emma Ishta), a young woman recruited into a covert government agency to be 'stitched' into the minds of the recently deceased, using their memories to investigate murders and decipher mysteries that otherwise would have gone to the grave. Working alongside Kirsten is Cameron (Kyle Harris), a brilliant neuroscientist whose passion for the program is evident in his work. The secret program is headed by Maggie (Salli Richardson-Whitfield), a skilled veteran of covert operations, and includes Linus (Ritesh Rajan), a socially immature bioelectrical engineer and communications technician. Kirsten's roommate, Camille (Allison Scagliotti), a gifted computer science grad student, is also recruited to use her skills to assist Kirsten in her new role as a 'stitcher.'
Edited by Just Here
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New Trailer ( May 13th):

 

Some old casting news:  The original pilot was filmed last summer, but they ended up re-casting three roles, including "Maggie," the boss, who was originally played by Diane Farr (Numbers) and the best friend, "Camille."  From an earlier press release:

“Stitchers” stars Emma Ishta as Kirsten, Kyle Harris as Cameron, Felix Gomez as Dr. Pecha, Minni Jo Mazzola as Camille, and also guest stars Diane Farr as Maggie.

 

Of the series regulars, only Emma Ishta and Kyle Harris were retained from the original pilot.

 

 

Some newer casting news: ABC Family put out a press release announcing that C. Thomas Howell will have a recurring guest star role in the series, and that Henry Rollins will be also be a guest star:

Howell will guest star in a recurring role as Daniel, a mysterious person Kirsten (series star Emma Ishta) knew long ago. Rollins will play Barbiero, a security expert who has worked with Maggie (series star Salli Richardson-Whitfield) in the past and is now pushed to extreme measures. He is lethal when he needs to be and practical when the situation calls for some clear thought. Both Rollins and Howell will appear later in the season.

It's unclear when each actor's first episode will be, as the press release only mentions their appearances will be "later in the season."

 

 

 

Also, the first two episodes have been released to TV critics, so there should be reviews popping up any time.

 

 

 

Finally -- Official social media accounts (pulled from a press fact sheet) and other official websites:

 

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(edited)

The full episode is now available on EW.com for viewing.

 

“A Stitch in Time” – Highly intelligent and emotionally distant, Kirsten Clark has an aptitude for technology but never expected that she’d be hacking into the minds of the recently deceased, in the series premiere of “Stitchers,” airing Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 9:00PM ET/PT on ABC Family.

 

 

Edit:  A full preview of this episode is also being rolled out to iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon on May 20th; then YouTube and Twitter on May 28th; and finally, On Demand and the ABC Family app on May 29th.

Edited by Just Here
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(edited)

The complete first episode, "A Stitch in Time," is now available on EW.com.

And, an episode thread has already been started.

 

 

 

Edit: An ABC Family promotional website has a schedule of when the premiere is being rolled-out to other services and social media sites:

 

  • Monday, May 18th:  Entertainment Weekly
  • Tuesday, May 20th:  iTunes, Google Play, Amazon 
  • Thursday, May 28th: ABCFBestSummerTvEver.com, YouTube, Twitter 
  • Friday, May 29th: WATCH ABC Family App, Video On Demand
Edited by Just Here
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General thoughts:  I actually liked it more than I thought I would. The episode had a relatively fun and light feel, even managing some self-aware moments (e.g., the "cat suit" references). For the most part, I thought that Emma Ishta's cold/distant Kirsten worked, and she didn't seem too annoying (i.e., not Walter on Scorpion levels).  Overall, there was enough to like and enough promise for me to want to watch the next episode.

 

Relationship-wise, the sequence with Kirsten waking up in Cameron's apartment just felt wrong.  First, the lab should have had a recovery / monitoring unit where Kirsten could have been kept overnight.  Second, the sleeping in the same bed: Hello, creepy.  And, sleeping on top of the sheets doesn't work if one or both of the pair rolls over in their sleep.  Hopefully, this is brought up again in-show and Cameron apologizes, but that seems unlikely.  And, I probably would have given a pass to it, had this attempt at a shipper moment been more borderline, such as Cameron staying awake in a chair while watching and/or monitoring Kirsten.

 

Also, not a fan of...

  • The Deep Underground Secret Government Laboratory that is accessed from inside a Chinese restaurant. That sort of silly Hollywood espionage trope belongs more on the Disney Channel's (e.g., on K.C. Undercover) than in an adult procedural.
  • NSA-ish -- One can fan-wank this as a DARPA program, but if they're gonna continue to investigate homicides, then they really need an FBI liaison and a better cover story, such as being part of a "special task force."  And, that way, it's a good cover to give Kirsten, Maggie, et cetera, Special Deputy U.S. Marshals badges.
  • Excessive Bantering: For the most part, I thought the extended dialogue between Kirsten and Cameron, in the lab, worked, but it went on for a little bit too long.
  • The LAPD Detective Plot: Looks like he's in the role of the dogged outsider who is trying to uncover the secret, which means he'll likely either (1) be integrated into the team, eventually; (2) killed by curiosity; or (3) silenced somehow.
  • The You're a Legacy Reveal: I'll give the series a pass on this unsurprising twist, since it's a common hero trope, but the reveal in the pilot felt unearned, as we weren't really given enough to care about Kirsten's "father" or her real father.

 

Random Pet Peeve:  Not enough variety with the character names -- Two main character first names start with "Cam," as in Cameron and Camille. Also, those two names start with "K" sounds, as does the main character's first name, Kirsten. (More distinctive names make it easier for the audience to process the dialogue and to remember who's who.  Plus, it's easier for writers, as clearly distinctive names help to avoid auto-complete errors when typing up scripts.)

  • Love 7
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Today (May 21st), ABC Family issued a press release with short descriptions for the first five episodes:

 

Tuesday, June 2

Series Premiere

Stitchers (“A Stitch In Time”)

(9:01 PM – 10:02 PM ET/PT)

A computer science student is recruited to join a covert government agency that specializes in “stitching” their operatives into the minds of the recently deceased and using their memories to investigate murders and decipher mysteries that otherwise would have gone to the grave.

 

Tuesday, June 9

Original Series – Episode Premiere

Stitchers (“Friends in Low Places”)

(9:01PM – 10:02 PM ET/PT)

When a dangerous drug hits the underground rave scene, Kirsten is forced to delay stitching into

someone’s fading memory in order to find the source of the drugs and stop more people from dying.

 

Tuesday, June 16

Original Series – Episode Premiere

Stitchers (“Connections”)

(9:01 PM – 10:02 PM ET/PT)

When it appears that a husband took out a hit on his wife, Kirsten and her team attempt to find out the truth.

 

Tuesday, June 23

Original Series – Episode Premiere

Stitchers (“I See You”)

(9:01 PM – 10:02 PM ET/PT)

When Cameron’s voyeuristic neighbor is murdered, the gang tries to solve the question of what he might have seen inside a nearby apartment.

 

Tuesday, June 30

Original Series – Episode Premiere

Stitchers (“Stitcher in the Rye”)

(9:01 PM – 10:02 PM ET/PT)

The group investigates the death of a conspiracy theorist that had information a little too close to the truth.

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Let's see.. Emma Ishta works really well, as does Allison Scagliotti and Richardson-Whitfield, didn't really see enough of the rest of the cast to form an opinion, except for Kyle, which is unfortunate for him, because his character just did not work for me. Do Not Care, see no chemistry.

 

This might just be me being creeped the heck out by the apartment scene, and the haircut that escaped the 70's isn't helping matters either, but gosh, I hope they aren't vested in making this a ship. 

 

The central conceit is interesting, but I have a feeling the makers of this show cursed a blue streak when Izombie came out. 

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I thought I was watching another crossover between Eureka (Salli R) and Warehouse 13 (Allison S), pretty much they are playing the same characters they did on those series..  the mature attractive boss type and the nerdy outspoken hacker

  • Love 3
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I thought this was pretty bad, and the main character really annoyed me.  She was like Sheldon Cooper only not even funny annoying.

 

I may give it one more episode because it's summer and there's nothing else on, but I don't have high hopes.

  • Love 5
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I was super excited for this show. I'm going to chalk it up to growing pains. Pilots are very rarely good. Here are my biggest issues with it:

 

1. They talk way too fast. Like Gilmore Girls on a caffeine high-levels of fast. They need to slow down. I guess they think if they just speed through all the science-y stuff that viewers won't notice how made-up it sounds.

2. Omigod, those visual effects are horrible. If that's something they're going to rely on a lot, then they need to up their special effects budget. I would suggest finding money for it by getting rid of one of the lab guys. I'm not picky which one. They're basically the same character at this point, anyway.

 

My rule is typically that I give a new show five episodes to find its feet before I decide whether to cut it. 

  • Love 2
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(edited)

I thought it was fine for a pilot. I like the main character so that is a plus. I also like nerdy head lab guy also a plus.

This comes on right after Pretty Little Liars and I think it is a good fit. They are both fun shows that you watch more for atmosphere then plot,

Edited by Chaos Theory
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Since post volume hasn't been that large and PTV isn't doing recaps of the show at this time, we aren't going to have individual episode threads. Just discuss every episode in this thread. If traffic picks up, then we will consider doing individual episode threads.

  • Love 1
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I thought it was ok, especially because of my fond feelings for Eureka and WH13.  I thought they presented the exposition pretty competently; at least, I had no problem figuring out what was going on.  The only thing I didn't really like was how Kirsten really is such a special snowflake - not only very good-looking, super smart etc. but RIGHT ALL THE TIME.  That might get old pretty quickly.

 

I also didn't get the point of the bed/apartment thing.  Undressing and dressing her, transporting her across town seemed like way too much trouble, when I'm sure all those brainiacs could have come out with something easier like a recovery room, or even just a place to relax at their lair.  I'm sure they work late hours and may need a place to crash.

 

I also disagreed with the SAllie R. character - I think Kristen is exactly the person to sleep with a horny TA in order to have a place to crash, since she would have no emotional committment or feelings of shame or embarrassment.

  • Love 2
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I really could not stand this. I think the lead's accent is distracting. After suffering through 3 seasons of Phoebe Tonkin's poor attempts to hide her Australian accent, I don't know that I can make it through this. I find the made up disorder of temporal dysplasia to be badly understood even within the show. They seem to be characterizing it as autism without the ability to "feel" the passage of time. I think I would be far more intrigued if she found herself overwhelmed randomly by losses from decades ago and sometimes indifferent to recent events.

  • Love 1
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It's like a late 90's action series that got lost and found itself in 2015.

 

Those special effects (time cop, anyone?)! The odd, ew to her job yet still very competent main character. The quirky dialogue. The lair in the secret basement... It was all so cheesy.

 

And of course the main character had to be personally conected to the founders of the technology, because that's just how it works. Hey, maybe her surrogate father built it with her strange condition in mind?

  • Love 3
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I`m interested enough to check it out, even if it does feel more like a high-tech version of Izombie, with a less likable protagonist. I thought the actress did a good job, and I think the idea of her only feeling traditional emotional cues while in the machine is interesting, but I worry about how hard I`ll find liking a character who does not feel emotions. We`ve had characters like that on TV before, and we usually see them develop some form of emotional responses, and attachments. 

 

I`ll give it a few more episodes. Pilots are seldom as good as the rest of the show. ABC Family has a pretty good track record (questionable comedy and Secret Life not withstanding), so they've earned a little bit of trust. 

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It's like a late 90's action series that got lost and found itself in 2015.

 

Those special effects (time cop, anyone?)! The odd, ew to her job yet still very competent main character. The quirky dialogue. The lair in the secret basement... It was all so cheesy.

 

It did feel dated, I was wondering why it all felt weird.

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I liked it.  The main character wasn't so quirky as to be annoying, and the plot moved pretty quickly.  My only beef so far is with the actor who played Cameron.  He was awful.  I think it's his timing, but whatever it is, I'm always amazed that in a place like Hollywood, they can't find a good looking guy who can act more than a little bit.

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I`m interested enough to check it out, even if it does feel more like a high-tech version of Izombie, with a less likable protagonist. I thought the actress did a good job, and I think the idea of her only feeling traditional emotional cues while in the machine is interesting, but I worry about how hard I`ll find liking a character who does not feel emotions. We`ve had characters like that on TV before, and we usually see them develop some form of emotional responses, and attachments.

How many of them are women? I don't watch izombie so I have no reference is the main character like that: the ones I know are male and so I am interested in a female.

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How many of them are women? I don't watch izombie so I have no reference is the main character like that: the ones I know are male and so I am interested in a female.

Very true. Its one of the reasons I am interested in the show. You don't get many "super intelligent, emotionless" women on TV. Plus, main female characters on a sci fi show. I just mean that, for any seemingly emotionless main character, they usually have to eventually start to feel things, to help the audience relate to them more, regardless of gender. Its something I see a lot of shows do, I assume this one will as well at some point. The main character of izombie is nothing like that, so even though people are already making comparisons (including me) I don't think they're just copies of each other. The similarities in the show are more "female protagonist see`s murders through dead people", only Liv eats their brains, instead of using technology. 

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I liked it for a pilot.  Although the constant talking in the first ten minutes or so was kind of rough.  Good to see Sallie Richardson and Allison Scagliotti again, although it felt like they may have wasted Allison.  Hopefully she'll get more involved in later episodes.

 

I really find it interesting that Kirsten is basically a psychopath, the way she was talking about learning emotions with flashcards of faces.  We're used to our psychopathic male heroes (James Bond, Batman) but we don't see too many female ones.  I can also see the similarities in the basic premise to iZombie (which I watched right after this) but Liv and Kirsten are different enough, it really didn't bother me.

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I really could not stand this. I think the lead's accent is distracting. After suffering through 3 seasons of Phoebe Tonkin's poor attempts to hide her Australian accent, I don't know that I can make it through this. I find the made up disorder of temporal dysplasia to be badly understood even within the show. They seem to be characterizing it as autism without the ability to "feel" the passage of time. I think I would be far more intrigued if she found herself overwhelmed randomly by losses from decades ago and sometimes indifferent to recent events.

 

 

I am so glad you also noticed the accent difficulties. I was watching with my friend and her mom. They didn't notice how much the lead was struggling to maintain the American accent. I spent probably the first 15-20 minutes of the show being ridiculously distracted by the awful accent.

 

I can see the comparisons to iZombie, but at the same time, they're different enough that I don't really compare them. It could also just be that I really love iZombie and don't want to see it compared to lesser shows. 

 

I wouldn't call Kirsten a psychopath because she doesn't appear to be violent toward others. I think she is definitely a sociopath, though. At first, I thought they might be going for an Asperger's vibe with her, but she was definitely sarcastic at times, so that likely rules out Asperger's and autism. 

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I like it enough to watch again. Don't like Cam he can go. Don't like the roommate, did Kirsten say it was her house the roommate was throwing her out of? I don't watch iZombie so can't see any resemblances. I liked the cop and Maggie wish they were working with the cop rather than Cam.

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I liked it too this show should be on Syfy rather than ABC Family. I don't think Kristen is a sociopath she cared enough to want to find the bomb. True sociopaths care only for themselves and can be charming to get what they want. Kristen doesn't fit that profile.

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(edited)

My initial reaction: Eh. Maybe.

But thank you Just Here for the summary/synopsis.

Was it just me or did Kristen remind anyone else of Taylor Swift?

Now that you mention it...yes.

In addition to the complaints above, there were a few shots of her standing around with her mouth slightly open that looked like she was smiling/amused when someone with that "personality" would not have been.

My only fanwank for things like her sleeping in the guy's apartment instead of the lab, or her roommate kicking her out of her house because she was going to sue her, is that there was an original 3 or more episode script that got edited down into one because somebody's boss said make it so.

ETA: I don't see anything in this that reminds me of iZombie.

Edited by shapeshifter
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I liked it.  The main character wasn't so quirky as to be annoying, and the plot moved pretty quickly.  My only beef so far is with the actor who played Cameron.  He was awful.  I think it's his timing, but whatever it is, I'm always amazed that in a place like Hollywood, they can't find a good looking guy who can act more than a little bit.

Well, in my opinion he's not even good looking, so there's that. He (and the leading lady) look like they were scaled up on the Y-axis or scaled down on the X-axis. Very thin and elf-like in features.

(Also, can he just get a haircut? Please, get a haircut)

  • Love 1
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I think the show could be good, I liked the first episode.

 

Head canon is that it's a Eureka/ Warehouse 13 sequel and they're using a benign artifact to get into dead people's minds.

 

Wonder how long it'll be till somebody writes fanfic, a crossover with Warehouse 13 is practically pre-written for you.

 

And yes, they need a better cover than "NSA-ish" Had a similar problem with Warehouse 13, Pete and Myka should have got FBI badges in place of Secret Service. FBI poking around isn't super odd, but SS deals with threats to the president and counterfeiting.  

  • Love 1
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I don't quite know how I feel about the show yet. I just watched the pilot and didn't find it great, but it does have something to it. I like the main actress and I'm entertained by the fact that she has no filter and spilled the beans to her frenemy roommate. I like the women in this show; they're interesting to me. The males are boring, though, and I don't care about this OTP relationship between Kirsten and Cameron. But the whole temporal displaysia confuses me a little bit...and by a little bit, I mean pretty much a lot. It'll take me a couple of episodes to fully understand it. I just don't know overall; I want to like it, but there's something missing.

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I watched this for Sallie Richardson-Whitfield.

 

I almost bailed in the first ten minutes.  I actively despised the main character.  She was too annoying and abrasive.  And or someone who supposedly had to learn what emotions looked like by studying flash cards, she sounded awfully angry all the time.

 

It wasn't until the agency came along that it felt like some personality & warmth got pumped into the show.  The scenes of the 'stitching' were interesting.  And everybody else was engaging.

 

The too fast dialog, the quippy pop cultural references, the clear love triangle/shipping set up... all just seemed like a try-too-hard.   And I had to giggle because the entry to the agency via a chinese restaurant made me flash other spy-ish shows, most recently Archer and their entrance via a laundromat. 

 

But I give all that a pass cuz this is a pilot.  And many pilots are the definition of try-too-hard.  So I'll give it one more go.

  • Love 1
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I have a bad feeling that the show is going to push a Kirsten/Cameron romance, and that's not something that I really care to see.  I think that they majorly miscast the guy playing Cameron.  With Kirsten being as cold and serious as she is, they should have gone with a love interest who is adorable, sweet, awkward, and charming.  I'm thinking Zachary Levi on Chuck, or someone similar to that.  I don't find Cameron to be any of those adjectives, unfortunately.    

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The main character is obnoxious and the lead actress is laughably bad. Her acting is terrible and her facial expressions are stiff. Her Aussie accent constantly slips out. It sounded almost lisp like.

 

The dialog is way too fast like they dont want us to notice they are making up their science talk.

 

And why does this show look like it was filmed in the late 90s?

  • Love 1
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(edited)

I actually wound up enjoying this. There's a ton of cheese, but it seems to be FUN cheese. Make no mistake... this isn't top shelf entertainment, but it's a decent bit of silliness with a new angle that hasn't been done to death before now.

 

The main character is obnoxious and the lead actress is laughably bad. Her acting is terrible and her facial expressions are stiff. Her Aussie accent constantly slips out. It sounded almost lisp like.

I don't think it's an acting mistake--I think it's totally on purpose (except the part about her accent occasionally slipping). There was a clear character note introduced that she didn't process emotions normally due to events always feeling like they were in her distant past. It's weird sure, but it matches with her reactions and expressions. She's playing it kind of like a form of autism, IMO. Not exactly though--which is fair enough since it's not actually the condition she would have. It wouldn't be a psychosis either, as people mentioned upthread. It also seems a bit akin to sociopathy, but again not a total match, since she's clearly capable of empathy--it's just packed down under a condition that distances her from most things. We do have to swallow our disbelief a lot with her and her condition though, since already inside one episode it's hardly been portrayed consistently.

Now the real question is if we can watch a character like that long-term. I suppose people mananged to with that show, The Bridge, with an Asperger sufferer.

Edited by Kromm
  • Love 1
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Well I imagine this won't last more than a season no matter what. It's too far out from ABC Family's normal demographic. Kyle XY was probably the last show they had this far out on a limb, and Kyle XY was still kind of a teen show, at the very least. This one isn't.

  • Love 1
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Soooo, the roommate tried to kick her out of the house and accused her of cheating and got her on academic suspension to what, make her desperate enough to join the Stitcher people? That seems like it should be counterproductive, but since it looks like all is forgiven, I guess not.

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I liked this episode a lot better. I like that they found a way to incorporate the roommate and the cop into the Stitcher program storyline. The white lab guy needs to tone down his adorkable factor because he's really just annoying. 

 

A couple other stray thoughts during the show:

Do people actually say "woof" when they see someone attractive? Seriously?

Do people still go to raves? That whole scene seemed like it was straight out of the early 2000s. 

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Do people still go to raves? That whole scene seemed like it was straight out of the early 2000s.

 

This series does feel dated like someone else here mentioned, it felt like it was only recently taken off the shelf after being there for a while.

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I'm enjoying this. And I think the lead actress is great personally. They all are. Not sure how long I'll be sticking around. I tend to watch the "important" episodes with standalone like shows. The mystery of her father and whatnot seem to be the arc of the show or perhaps season. I think what will keep me coming back are the awkward reactions and comedy aspect. So keep that up. This doesn't seem like a show that will take itself too seriously and I like that kind.

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I'm enjoying the show so far, especially in the summer doldrums.

Thoughts:

* the little girl playing Kirsten could not be more spot on, physically - almost eerie.

* they are playing the chemistry with various couples too hard and too early

* they are talking so damn fast it's ridiculous. Morgan from Rich Kids can't even keep up ;)

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I enjoyed the episode, but I thought it was bullshit that Maggie basically kept Kirsten from finding out why Ed died. I think she did it on purpose & she's hiding something.

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(edited)

They do realize they continue to contradict the no emotions thing everytime they show a flashback, right?

 

The second episode was better but the show still feels dated and the lead actresss is still horrible.  And what was the point of choosing an Aussie actress to play an American character  if she cant even hold an American accent for longer than a sentence?

 

As for the iZombie comparions, both shows were in development around the same time last year. I suppose if this show had been released first then people would call iZombie a sStitichers copy.

 

Why does poor Salli keep getting stuck on bad sci fi summer series though? First last summer's The Lottery now this one.

Edited by In2You
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Why does poor Salli keep getting stuck on bad sci fi summer series though? First last summer's The Lottery now this one.

The poor woman has been typecast from being on Eureka. 

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