S01.E01: Pilot / S01.E02: Hell Week

[Cranberry]

Twenty years after a mysterious death rocks Wallace University, another murder takes place.

 

[tom87]

Several Sneak Peaks for episode 1 and 2. here.

 

Spoilers of course

 

http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/09/scream-queens-episode-101-102-sneak.html

Edited September 19, 2015 by tom87

[caracas1914]

All the characters from the teasers seem straight out of "Popular" and "Glee".

Edited September 20, 2015 by caracas1914

[Cranberry]

There are only so many teen archetypes, you see, and Ryan Murphy doesn't have the imagination to color outside those lines.

 

(The worst was when he used each character twice in one show, with the Glee originals and then their "new class" replacements.)

[tom87]

Gonna be a long haul if people go into this expecting anything other than archetypes, troupe, homages and meta.

 

The show has literally already given the audience a wink and a nod  to it being pure camp and OTT.

[Cranberry]

Oh, I'm fully expecting to enjoy this. I usually enjoy the first season or two of RM shows.

[caracas1914]

Oh, I have no doubt that RM and company will deliver an entertaining 2 hour premiere, the trick will be how long they can sustain the fun. In this case, they seem to be milking both the Glee template ( Mean, cool kids versus the abused underdogs) and the AHS (horror/slasher) with a dollop of campy humor. It "could " work for a whole season; just have to wait and see.

What has possibilities is if they go really big with the murders ala Southpark and Kenny's multiple deaths. Genuine black comedy on network TV is so rare and not being obligated to develop ( and service) characters beyond coming to a humorously grisly end might be the perfect fit for RIB.

Edited September 21, 2015 by caracas1914

[merylinkid]

I am in this purely for the camp.   And Jamie Lee Curtis.  

[Bedlampuhedron]

Having seen the Pilot now, the tone of this show seems really bizarre to me. I'm all for campiness, but none of the characters are reacting even halfway realistically to these tragic events. All these girls are just suddenly willing to become accessories to the murder of the nanny? And the Chanels seem barely affected by the death of Chanel 2 (Ariana Grande). Not to mention the sorority girls in 1995 at the beginning who were just over-the-top bitches who'd rather dance to TLC than help a girl who just GAVE BIRTH (and then DIED) in their tub.

There's no sense of gravity or real stakes. And the episode is LOADED with very played-out cliches, and not in any way I'd call clever. Chanel is way too over-the-top bitch, and don't get me started on the spark of romance with the barista dude.

Chanel 2's death scene, for instance. She acted SO stupidly when confronted by the killer, I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be scared or laughing. Instead I just felt awkward. I guess they were playing into the classic slasher trope of the pathetically ditzy victim, but this was just too over-the-top. Instead of clever satire like Scary Movie, it just felt like a really poorly done horror B-film.

Maybe some of these (IMO) issues will get better as the show progresses. I'm a sucker for a slasher murder mystery so I'll keep watching. On the plus side Jamie Lee's character seems pretty awesome.

Edited September 23, 2015 by Bedlampuhedron

[dizzyd]

I don't know what all the hype was about, I wasn't impressed at all.  There were a few funny moments, but nothing to LMAO over and I watched this with alcohol, so I chalk it up to a fail.  Of course, JLC was good, but that was it.  It wasn't all campy or all scary/creepy, it was confusing in what it was trying to be, so I got bored.  Oh well, I gave it a shot. 

[ExplainItAgain]

Yeah, no, I'm not in for this. Is it me or did it just move really slow?

 

A lot of really weird extra high and extra low camera angles.

 

I don't understand this show at all.

[Bedlampuhedron]

Yeah, no, I'm not in for this. Is it me or did it just move really slow?

Actually my problem with it is that it moved too fast. There were three deaths in just the first episode (5 if you include the flashbacks!) so there wasn't really any time for characters to properly grieve or react in any realistic way.

[Mabinogia]

I'm so confused by this. What is it supposed to be? I expected something like Scream, scary but clever. There was nothing clever about this at all (granted, it's not quite over yet but I'm so bored I need something to do to distract from how bad this is.) The funniest part was when the Dean's glass door shattered and not in a laughing funny way but in a way that, while watching it I thought, "hm, that was a funny moment".

 

I'm shocked Jamie Lee is a part of this. I always thought she was a very intelligent woman with a witty sense of humor. This was not intelligent, or witty, or clever, or interesting, or original. What the fuck was it? I suppose it was kind of stylish.

 

The texting while being killed wasn't even remotely amusing. It might have made more sense if they'd used the deaf girl for that part. That might have made it funny instead I was busy wondering why.

 

I'm so disappointed.

[Primetimer]

Parsing the many deaths, resurrections, and monster-sized plot holes of Ryan Murphy's newest anthology series.

Read the story

[Last Time Lord]

I liked that so much.

Confused and interested by the cliffhanger with Boone's not murder.

[Bedlampuhedron]

I'm shocked Jamie Lee is a part of this. I always thought she was a very intelligent woman with a witty sense of humor.

I feel like the cast and crew hopped on board with this out of respect of and with faith in Ryan Murphy. Maybe the Pilot script looked better on paper than how it actually turned out on screen (the directing of these episodes was, after all, pretty weird and bad, and I'm usually not even one who notices bad directing).

[BloggerAloud]

Having so much of the first episodes revolve around Emma Roberts' character was the worst decision because Emma's style of acting is fine for a silent, five second gif but not for a series.

[Laurie4H]

This was stupid. Not clever stupid. Just kind of dumb. A few things I laughed at but not as much as I thought. It tries to hard. I could here the writers talking through a lot of it. And for some reason Emma Roberts reminds me of Sarah Michelle Gellar.

[Chaos Theory]

I think this may be my new favorite show.

On a side note: More people died on this then in an entire season of MTV Scresm. This was funnier too.

I like Emma Roberts and think she will make a good lead.

Edited September 23, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Chrissytd]

The second episode was definitely better than the first. Some of the jokes in the first which were probably meant to be satire came off as offensive.

I did like the homage to 90s clique/horror movies.

Chanel might as well be name Madison.

Damn sorority girls are serious about their Pumpkin Spice lattes.

 

I kinda figured Nick Jonas’s character had feelings for Chad from that golfing scene.

 

My favorite part was Hester (Lea Michele) detailing how to dispose of Chanel No. 2’s body. She was 100% serious and it had me laughing. Also, I loved the scenes with Denise.

 

The scene with Ms. Bean and the deep fryer gave me goosebumps. Sigh. I was hoping she would turn out to the killer (or red herring).

 

I didn’t expect Boone to not be dead.

Edited September 23, 2015 by Chrissytd

[Azgard12]

I actually really liked it.  It took a lot of the strengths from Glee's hateful writing and put it into a setting with American Horror Story's unsettling vibe combined with Popular's camp.

 

When you're watching "horror" for some, when there's a joke, the general unsettling vibe will allow those jokes to strike you unawares and suddenly it'll be more funny.  Think Sunday morning preacher making a lame joke in the middle of a sermon: funniest thing ever.

 

I'd give it good scores and look forward to where it can go.

 

ALSO: the "promise not to touch my wiener" scene was about the funniest/weirdest thing I've seen in a long time.

[funkopop]

I enjoyed it, Denise and Hester are the best parts but I am intrigued and really want to know who the killer is and how Boone now factors in. Boone's death and resurrection were both unexpected. I'm also surprised they killed Ariana's character so fast and I got a chuckle out of her and Red Devil texting back and forth.

[grandemocha]

I was absolutely entertained and will be tuning in next week. 

[LJonEarth]

It seems like they're going for full on satire more "Wet Hot American Summer" or "But, I'm a Cheerleader" (what I remember of it) than "Popular," "Election" or even "Scream."

 

I would have liked it if they'd done a bit more to set up why the other girls would have gone along with all of this. It would make more sense if they were all Chanels or all legacy pledges desperate to be a part of that sorority.

 

I thought it was a fun show. I just know I need to turn my brain off when watching, which is fine with all of the other shows there are to digest.

 

Like most Ryan Murphy projects, I see this show running out of steam sooner rather than later. But it should be fun along the away. But no more 2 hour episodes. That was too much for me for this type of show.

[Last Time Lord]

 

I'm also surprised they killed Ariana's character so fast and I got a chuckle out of her and Red Devil texting back and forth.

 

That was the highlight of the two hours, IMO. Especially after she texted "No, please stop!" after getting stabbed.

[jcin617]

I actually really enjoyed that; it got me to laugh out loud it was just so over the top!

[callie lee 29]

That was hysterical. Exactly what I thought it would be and more. And I loved the ending scene with Boone and Chad cracks me up. When Boone got into bed with (of course Chad will let Boone share the bed, cause he's his little bro - just lay off the weiner) and then showed him the froggy...OMG.

 

The only thing that irritated me was I kept waiting for Grace or Zayday tell the Chane's to fuck themselves with the hazing. If you pledge you're in.

 

Driving over a girls head with a riding lawn mower is seriously fucked up, though!

[katycat74]

I was surprisingly entertained and will definitely be watching next week. Just silly, campy fun, and a mystery that I'm intrigued about as well.  I'm in!

[HunterHunted]

Nope. Nope. Nope. I've watched everything from Popular to American Horror Story. This does not work for me. Far too much time was spent on the Chanels, Chad, and Boone. It was like being stuck with a show of only Nicole Julian, Madison Montgomery, and Grey Damon's rapey asshole from AHS: Coven. The jokes barely landed. At this point, I'm wondering why Keke Palmer's character is still hanging around. She had to be talked into this mess and seems far too sensible to stay. The only thing I find intriguing is Boone's death fake out.

[Whitley Trillbert]

I absolutely loved this.  Just exactly what I thought it would be and that ending twist as actually pretty great. 

 

Ok so my theory so far is that Boone is the baby and is working with The Red Devil to get revenge on the sorority.

[venusnv80]

Campy, stupid, completely ridiculous and yet I was entertained. I can go for this. Jamie Lee Curtis was perfect in my eyes. I actually enjoyed everyone except for Lea Michele and Emma Roberts. Nevertheless, I will be back next week for this demented version of Heathers, The Craft and Mean Girls.

[Danielle87]

I didn't really like it. I found my mind wandering mutliple times during the show. Part of the problem is the show is missing heart, light and shade, which wouldn't be a problem if the show was funnier but I only laughed at the Hester parts.

 

I think the main reason I didn't care for it though, is Emma Roberts is just not strong enough to carry this type of role. I found her performance very one note, so to have the show focused so much on her brought what could have been a great show down a lot. It really is like seeing what Glee might have been like with a crappy lead.

 

I didn't hate it though, so I'll keep watching. Hopefully they turn it into more of an ensemble as I found all the other characters way more interesting than Chanel (well, everyone except the token "nice girl").

[Bedlampuhedron]

The message Ariana Grande was typing out on her computer right before she died actually got sent out, right? What was she posting it on, Facebook or something? None of the characters mentioned seeing that message online yet have they?

[funkopop]

I was so sure that it was Grace's dad who was doing the killing exacting revenge on the sorority that killed his girlfriend/Grace's mom. The timeline doesn't really fit but it is a Murphy show so I'm sure they can think of some logic leap.

Edited September 23, 2015 by funkopop

[Last Time Lord]

Thinking about it, I probably should have seen Boone's not murder coming. The Red Devil hadn't displayed the bodies of his victims like that, before. That should have been a red flag.

 

Nevertheless, I will be back next week for this demented version of Heathers, The Craft and Mean Girls.

 

That is the greatest description of this show I have seen so far.

[TobinAlbers]

I'm in for Chad, ZayDay, Boone, and Denise. Actually I'd watch a show about those four solving campus crimes and acting silly. The rest I'm okay with getting picked off. Including Emma Roberts' character in a surprise twist.

Boone and Chad's wiener talk and Chad dropping Chanel for her busting Boone was hilarious.

I'm wondering if the Red Devil is going to be multiple people; each is a 'pledge' for an exclusive secret society where they target someone that another pledge wants dead with some collateral damage along the way.

A big question is why when it had all the pledges at its mercy on the lawn did Red Devil run over only one head? Is there a method to its madness?

[rustyspigot]

RIP Deaf Taylor Swift fan. Good fertilizer for the lawn I guess.

 

I don't know what to make of this show yet. Nick Jonas not dead was a surprise. And what of that Chanel #2 internet post that she woke from the dead for a second to post? I guess the killer could have deleted it shortly after, but it did get posted. And why hide her murder? Someone got their head run over the same night. That made zero sense.

 

I don't know what to make of Abigail's (Chanel #5) manic reactions to sorority rules.

Edited September 23, 2015 by rustyspigot

[emma675]

I think I liked this? Maybe? I'm not sure yet. It moved so fast and yet so much of it dragged.

Plus, I can't figure out what this show wants to be. It's not snarky or intelligent enough to be "Scream". It's not witty enough to be "Heathers" or "Mean Girls". It's not goofy enough to be "But I'm a Cheerleader". I can't figure out what it wants to be.

[ParadoxLost]

For me, the show is missing whatever that magic ingredient is that makes a terrible show campy fun.  And this is a truly terrible, unwatchable show.  I didn't make it past the Pilot.  It was only through sheer force of will that I made it past the first half an hour.

[fakeempress]

 I wasn't expecting to be hit with such a load of boring! The whole first hour was a drag, minus the final gopher death scene. I think the overload of drastic stereotype and kinda dull sendup, rinse&repeat, is the main culprit here. Plus it has Emma Roberts who can't play off the stereotype, the way Dilshad Vadsaria could in "Greek" or Tammy Lynn Michaels in Popular. Someone like them would do a miles better job than Emma here with the added genre tropes. 

 

There were a few scenes I found interesting/funny, but mainly on the strength of the performances by Niecy, Lea, Glen Powell, and I didn't mind Nick Jonas . I'll give it a few more episodes but I'm surprised how very bored I was with the premiere.

Edited September 23, 2015 by fakeempress

[sluggish neko]

With Ms. Bean's body disappearing, the hammy kill scenes, and the reveal of Boone's fake death, I wondered if anyone really died at all. At the end, will it all have been some elaborate prank on Chanel or the sorority? And wow, Chanel really grates after thirty minutes. I barely made it through the two hours. The show's too OTT for me. I'll find out who the killer is from the recaps-- that way I don't have to listen to the spoken dialogue.

[Sakura12]

What even was this?  I watched the whole 2 hours hoping that it would have a point or figure out what it was supposed to be. But nope.

 

The only semi interesting thing is Nick Jonas not being dead. Don't think that's enough to make me come back for more though. 

[tom87]

It was a little slow but for the reviewers who praised this is wasn't as good as advertised and as for the reviewers who hated it it wasn't as bad .

 

I think the second episode was better and flowed a little better.

 

So far I like Chad, Boone, Hester, Denise and kind of Gigi.  Chanel #3 an #5 were a big fail especially #5.   Pete and Grace are boring and I am holding out hope for Zayday to get more interesting.

[BloggerAloud]

All I know is that I am particularly glad that a lot of the casual racism throughout the two hours is being called out. 

[Stinger97]

I'm a 28-year old gay man and I don't consider myself a prude by any sense of the word, but some of the lines tonight made me, well, "clutch my pearls" a little bit, especially considering the first episode aired at 8pm. I think my first, "Wow, they went there?" was Chanel No. 1 calling the maid "White Mammie" and telling her she was nothing but a "house slave." I understand that Chanel pretty much has no soul and we're not meant to take anything she says seriously, but I was still taken aback. That said, I don't think any group was safe from stereotyping tonight, from the gays and lesbians, to the hearing impaired, to the overweight. I guess that's something?

 

Intrigued by Boone apparently faking his death and possibly colluding with the Red Devil, although I think that might be a red herring and that's not the actual Red Devil. Also, my initial thought was that Grace was the baby of the girl who died in the tub at the party in 1995, but I'm feeling like that's much too obvious since the "coming this season" trailer pretty much suggested it as well. I doubt they'd give something like that away this soon, and in a trailer no less. But if the baby isn't Grace, I have to wonder who it is. Chanel? 

 

I loved Zayday, but as others have already mentioned, I was struggling to understand what her motivation was for sticking around KKT. She didn't want to rush the sorority anyway, and she didn't seem the type to be swayed by peer pressure or the guarantee of a "cool boyfriend" and a Spring Break trip to Cancun. The girl is hot and she clearly doesn't need Chanel or the KKTs in any way. 

 

Also found myself enjoying Niecy's character, Denise. I chuckled as she went over her three steps to remaining safe, which included screaming her name, dialing the hotline number, or, if those both failed, running somewhere safe and then dialing the hotline number. She's perf.

[FastLou]

I wasn't exactly looking forward to this but I try to watch every pilot. I've never lasted more than a season or two for any Ryan Murphy show (except for Nip/Tuck because I hate myself). I felt pretty meh, not quite knowing what they were going for, right up until Ariana Grande died trying to tweet instead of scram for help and I Got It.

This thing is ridiculous, offensive, beautiful nonsense. None of the characters speak or behave in any way like an actual human. Everyone is a potential suspect, though I'm betting Nasim Pedrad and her "90s trauma" is neck deep in it.

I am kind of stunned this is on Fox and don't expect it to do well, especially after seeing all your comments. If it does happen to make it I desperately hope this is an anthology series like AHS because dragging out this mystery will absolutely kill the show.

[Snookums]

Ryan Murphy Bingo Show Time!

 

Let's see: Emma Roberts whirling around like a dervish while flapping her arms, check! A script whose second draft kept all the racist jokes but eliminated huge hunks of continuity, check! Creepy mommy issues with the male lead (Seriously, Murphy, go to a damn shrink already), check! Dark haired young flavor of the month in tighty-whities, check! Rando music stars/icons of past pop culture, check! The fact that no student attends any class ever for any reason, check!

 

I always get where Murphy is trying to go, but he takes the first ten steps and then gets lazy. He's like a Scout Leader that can't be bothered actually booking a campspace for the big end of summer campout and has everybody stay in his back yard.

 

That said, there were funny bits. Emma stomping down the hall in her feathery party dress like an indignant, fuzzy little chicken. JLC's gleeful roll-around in her character's morally bankrupt "YOUTHS!" indignation while smoking doobies and trying to get the pants off everything on campus. Chad's total acceptance of the world's worship, like, DUH, everybody wants to get with him. 

 

The premise and setup seems sound enough for this type of story, it's pure Agatha Christie. A bunch of strangers in a closed-off situation with lots of suspects and motives and "Where were YOU when X got killed?" to go around. The problem is, I know, with a bitter knowledge, that Murphy isn't going to tie up all these plot threads--he's just going to leave half of them dangling there in the air.

 

 

Of course, someone could have just moved the body, but that idea's not entertained once.

 

 

Well, no, to be fair, when Chanel shrieks that Ms. Bean is alive, Chad does point out that somebody could have moved her.

[Lizzing]

I liked JLC & Niecy Nash (though her character was a tad too close to Deputy Williams), but I have a hard time with Emma Roberts, so I too don't know how long I'm going to last watching this if Chanel #1 is the lead.  The only chuckle I got was the newspaper guy working at "The Grind", which is really PJ's on Maple St, where my journalism major sister worked while in college in NOLA.  (She didn't investigate any crazed serial killers though ;))

[caracas1914]

Overall it really wasn't black comedy or dark comedy or satirical or homage or all that interesting.

The fundamental problem is that Emma Roberts isn't funny, compelling or actually have any comic timing. Her counterpart Skylar Samuels is written so blandly and the other Chanel minions just can't provide comic relief with their overacting.

Plus I couldn't get over how this KKT had 4, now 3 sorority members and only a handful of pledges, visually it makes no sense at all, not even in its own universe.

The sorority/slasher concept seemed played out halfway through and when is Ryan Murphy going to get over the concept that insulting language that mocks others is played out and not really funny? What is the point of calling someone " white mammy" and " house slave", what is the point of Chanel's boyfriend thinking corpses are hot, its trying to shock with no consistent tone or even coherence. It's like RIB throw everything they can and hope something can stick.

Edited September 23, 2015 by caracas1914

[Lady Calypso]

I get what the show is trying to do. It's pure camp; it's not meant to be taken seriously in any way. I shut off my brain once I realized there isn't anything serious about it, and I enjoyed it well enough. Do I love it? No, not really. It's just ok. But do I think it's intriguing? Yes. It has some interesting charaters, like Hester, Denise and Boone (it's a good thing Nick Jonas is the best actor on this show). All the other characters are either too one note for my tastes (all of the Chanels) or boring as hell (Grace and Pete). 

 

I would find it majorly interesting if Grace isn't the kid. And honestly? Ryan Murphy would have to do some definite retconing with basically telling the viewers that the baby was born 20 years ago (like Grace said to Pete) while stating that not only did Grace's mom die when she was two, but that she's also eighteen. Pete being the baby would be boring now that Grace is the first person to accuse him of being the baby, but I would actually find it hilarious if he was it. You know who I would like it to be? Chad. Not sure why, but I think that would be different. Better than it being Grace, Chanel or Pete, that's for sure.

 

Gigi directly referenced the 1995 playlist. Is she the supposed dead sorority girl? I'm not quite sure her age, but she could be in her late 30s, right? Something's off about Gigi, so I'm just going to throw her in the suspect pool right now. Either she's part of the killing, or she's gonna die. Her character is also there too little to make much of a difference, but has one too many lines to dismiss her as some unimportant character.

 

Also, a lot of screaming. It got kind of annoying after a while, especially when it was prolonged past twenty seconds.

 

JLC's character is kind of funny, but I'm neutral the most on her. Part of me really wants this to be an elaborate scheme cooked up by her to knock down the sorority a few million pegs. 

 

Lots of deaths and supposed deaths. I like the idea that none of them are dead and are getting revenge on Chanel (and if this is the case, Chanel #2 aka Ariana Grande would have to be the main schemer, for reasons) but I highly doubt this is the case. So, we know Chanel #2 is dead, campus cop partner is dead, but Boone is alive, 1995 sorority girl is supposedly dead (my guess is that she ended up living past that flashback), Mrs Bean is supposedly dead but missing, and Deaf Taylor Swift is 99% dead.