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S01.E01: The Insanity Principle: How Extremism in Politics is Threatening Democracy in the 21st Century

formerlyfreedom

By formerlyfreedom
in BrainDead [V]

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formerlyfreedom

formerlyfreedom

Quote

When Laurel Healy returns home to Washington, D.C. to work for her brother, Senator Luke Healy, on Capitol Hill, she is caught in the midst of two huge problems: the government has stopped working due to budgetary disagreements, and mysterious bugs are eating the brains of a growing number of Congress members and Hill staffers.

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Nidratime

Nidratime

This was strangely tame. Maybe ironically low key. Oh, and as a Washington resident and occasional visitor to Capitol Hill, those office spaces were way, way overly generous. Plus. too busy. Hill hallways are hardly ever that busy ... or well lighted ... or without flags.

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zxy556575

zxy556575

(edited)

Hey! I used to live in Melanesia! That's as good a reason as any to like the show, I guess.

After rejecting a couple of recent series with sadsack leads, I enjoyed Laurel being competent and intelligent and am curious to see what happens next. Definite season pass.

I could have done with the scaaary alien creatures looking less like the stars of Antz.

Edited by lordonia
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DeLurker

DeLurker

Wasn't sure what to expect, especially with The Good Wife connection ( never found the appeal in that one).  Odd, but interesting enough to stick around for a few more installments.

Was thinking to myself "Hey! A woc who isn't light skinned paired with a white guy!".  And then they ate her brains.

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thuganomics85

thuganomics85

So, a show about politics and Washington D.C., crossed with an alien invasion show, with aliens that are pretty much ants who crawl into your ears and then eat your brains out?  Yep, summer has officially arrived!

 Thought Mary Elizabeth Winstead was pretty good as the lead; I find her kind of interesting, since she was one of those actresses that has a pretty vocal fanbase (online, at least), but it seem like he has had issues breaking out, so maybe this will do the trick.  Or not.  Aaron Tveit managed to make a mainly thankless and cliched character kind of work.  Felt like they wasted Tony Shaloub at first, but I suspect that will change now that he's become one of the brainless, ant aliens or whatever the hell they are.

Still not fully sure what to make of it and I never could get into The Good Wife despite seeing that it was technically a great show, but I'll probably stick with it, because I did get a kick out of some of the humor and I really do want to see what the hell happens next.  At the very least, I would think it will avoid becoming as horrid as Under the Dome became or as goofy as Zoo is.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

(edited)
21 hours ago, PreviouslyTV said:

Will the new political/sci-fi drama/comedy be what you need to get through this election season, or will it make your head explode?

View the full article

Quote

So basically it's The West Wing meets The Good Wife meets Mars Attacks meets The X-Files

It also reminded me of Ally Mcbeal. 

Edited by shapeshifter
sp.
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retrograde

retrograde

Yeah, I expected the political satire to be a bit more searing. But I was entertained and enjoyed the main cast/characters, and yknow, brain-eating space ants, so I'll stick with it for the foreseeable future.

It's summer  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  • Love 6
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Ms Lark

Ms Lark

As another Washingtonian, I was really looking forward to this. I expected to be disappointed since so many shows I have recently looked forward to have been amazingly disappointing, but I wasn't. I love it. They had me at "aliens eat politicians brains." YES! (Although, it seems this has already happened IRL.) And they're keeping me. I plan to handwave 90% of the inaccuracies since it's just for fun. I love the cast and I'm looking forward to the next episode.

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shrewd.buddha

shrewd.buddha

I found it to be amusing, but not really laugh-out-loud funny. Much of the draw appears to be the A-list casting - not a bad thing, but for me, casting can't overcome bad storytelling (which has yet to be determined). 

This would be a good time for a summer satire revolving around a presidential election, but this show doesn't appear to be going in that direction. Given the bleak landscape of summer television, I may give this another shot ... however, watching politicians and lawyers crapping on one another and everyone else and acting high and mighty gets mighty tiring very quickly...

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Free

Free

8 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

So, a show about politics and Washington D.C., crossed with an alien invasion show, with aliens that are pretty much ants who crawl into your ears and then eat your brains out?  Yep, summer has officially arrived!

 Thought Mary Elizabeth Winstead was pretty good as the lead; I find her kind of interesting, since she was one of those actresses that has a pretty vocal fanbase (online, at least), but it seem like he has had issues breaking out, so maybe this will do the trick.  Or not.  Aaron Tveit managed to make a mainly thankless and cliched character kind of work.  Felt like they wasted Tony Shaloub at first, but I suspect that will change now that he's become one of the brainless, ant aliens or whatever the hell they are.

Still not fully sure what to make of it and I never could get into The Good Wife despite seeing that it was technically a great show, but I'll probably stick with it, because I did get a kick out of some of the humor and I really do want to see what the hell happens next.  At the very least, I would think it will avoid becoming as horrid as Under the Dome became or as goofy as Zoo is.

Hopefully better than Under the Dumb or Zoo.

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Bruinsfan

Bruinsfan

I expected it to be more zany, like Mars Attacks, but if you remove the alien elements what's left is a pretty well written and natural-feeling story about a smart, idealistic Washington outsider trying to make a difference on Capitol Hill. I suppose that's to be expected given the creative team.

The one thing that really cracked me up was at the beginning when the guy at the party lost all interest in Laurel after she said she was a documentary filmmaker visiting Washington, and then tried to glue himself back to her upon seeing that she was a Senator's relative.

I take issue with Laurel coming home to wash off the Smithsonian doctor's brains and blood after the ambulance ride though. After the Ebola scare she and all the ambulance personnel would have been getting Silkwood showers under heavy quarantine.

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zxy556575

zxy556575

2 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

I take issue with Laurel coming home to wash off the Smithsonian doctor's brains and blood after the ambulance ride though. After the Ebola scare she and all the ambulance personnel would have been getting Silkwood showers under heavy quarantine.

I took issue with the notion that a Senator would be washing his own sheets.

Do we know why Smithsonian guy burst? None of the other infected have.

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Bruinsfan

Bruinsfan

It looked like Senator Wheatus' cast-off brain lobe exploded when he touched it on the pillow. Maybe that's "normal" and the circumstances of how Dr. Daudier was moved into the ambulance prevented its ejection beforehand?

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Latverian Diplomat

Latverian Diplomat

(edited)

I really liked it. I enjoyed Winstead in 10 Cloverfield Lane and she plays a similarly sharp protagonist here.

I liked how the government shutdown played into the bugs getting out. And I liked that the possessed/whatever people were creepy in various little ways, any one of which could be explained away. 

Given that the bugs made that one guy give up drinking, I thought Shalhoub's character might be immune because of his blood alcohol level, but it's not going to be that easy, I guess. 

1 hour ago, lordonia said:

I took issue with the notion that a Senator would be washing his own sheets.

 

FWIW, they do make you a "better" you, so possessed Senator wouldn't be above a few menial chores for the sake of of the "cause". :-)

Edited by Latverian Diplomat
fixed formatting -- this ain't disqus!
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Janimo

Janimo

(edited)

I enjoyed the show more than I thought I would. It was some much needed levity for me from watching the news about the murders in
Orlando. :(

Edited by Janimo
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torqy

torqy

3 hours ago, bref said:

Did anyone else wake up with "You Might Think" in your head?

Yes, it's now ensconced in my brain along with other miscellaneous 80's tunes I can't get rid of. Need a massive infusion of Who or Zeppelin.

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wanderingstar

wanderingstar

(edited)
Quote

Don't know the rules on royalties, but I'll be happy for the Cars if they get a nice bonus check from it. 

Me too. I still love "You Might Think". It gives me 80s nostalgia feels.

I liked this episode - the cast is appealing and the premise was quirky enough to hold my interest. But I'm not a big fan of stories based on mind control, mostly because I feel like it's a pretty limited premise. Still I might tune in a couple more times to see what they do with it.

Edited by Gillian Rosh
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zxy556575

zxy556575

18 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

It looked like Senator Wheatus' cast-off brain lobe exploded when he touched it on the pillow. Maybe that's "normal" and the circumstances of how Dr. Daudier was moved into the ambulance prevented its ejection beforehand?

An interview with the Kings discussed why there are different reactions to the bugs. It was kind of shown in the premiere but is spoilered as a precaution:

Spoiler

"Some people die from it. Some people who resist, their brain explodes. Usually either your brain is weak enough that you accept it and you're taken over, or if you resist too much — boom!"

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kirinan

kirinan

15 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

How many episodes are there going to be?

I believe it's 13 episodes.

I came to the show for Danny Pino, but I'm staying because I like it (and, y'know, Danny). Even though it's not a pure comedy, it reminds me very much of Pushing Daisies in its quirky overtones. I know Aaron Tveit and, of course, Tony Shalhoub (I've liked him since he played Antonio on Wings), but I wasn't familiar with Mary Elizabeth Winstead. She's adorable, and I think will carry this show on her shoulders very well. 

I could do with a little less blood and poofing brains, but I can live with it to have a smart and funny show to watch. All summer shows should be this bright (Zoo--which I gave up on after three episodes--I'm looking at you). 

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sjohnson

sjohnson

Well to be honest if the series' notion of noble politics turns out to be bipartisanship, I'l find it very silly. Bipartisanship=they're ganging up on us!

But despite the occasional horror interspersed into a fairly comfortable meet cute between insider Laurel and outsider (wrong party!) Gareth, it's over all expertly executed, like most CBS shows. Good for summer. 

But in defense of Aaron Tveit's character, parents who would name a child Gareth surely would drive him to the dark side.

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Latverian Diplomat

Latverian Diplomat

(edited)
14 hours ago, bref said:

Did anyone else wake up with "You Might Think" in your head?

11 hours ago, torqy said:

Yes, it's now ensconced in my brain along with other miscellaneous 80's tunes I can't get rid of. Need a massive infusion of Who or Zeppelin.

Oh really, what else was "in your head"? :-)

Edited by Latverian Diplomat
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HawaiiTVGuy

HawaiiTVGuy

On 6/14/2016 at 4:49 AM, Arynm said:

I was amused. The casting is great, I love the "aliens make politicians nuttier than they already are" theme. I will watch, it is summer after all.

I thought part of the point was the aliens didn't make them nuttier, which was kind of the satire.  I mean the democrats were willing to shut down the government because it was better for the Presidential election process.

What I can't figure out, are half the aliens supposedly democrat and the other half republican?  Or do they end up just accentuating their host's ideology?  Like the husband was a hard-core pro-Democrat, and then Tony Shaloub's character became a hard-core Republican.  But then it was confusing if the aliens were just in it for the "game"?  It kind of looked like that was the reason for their hard line stances?

I would also argue they actually don't "eat" the brains, they just cut off part of it and shove it out of the head through the ear, pretty much a lobotomy.

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atomationage

atomationage

I always find it amazing that there are actors that I've never seen before.  Mary Elizabeth Winstead is one, and I think she's great.  She's just been in programs that I haven't watched.  She's kind of like Maggie Gyllenhall, but without the annoying voice.   I liked this episode, but we'll see if it holds up.   I already can't listen to my usual newsradio channel because they have to report each of Drumpf's pronouncements.  I hope they stay away from TWW stuff, and bring us more crazy. 

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zxy556575

zxy556575

21 minutes ago, atomationage said:

I always find it amazing that there are actors that I've never seen before. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is one, and I think she's great.

I responded really well to her, too -- she's most of the reason I liked the pilot as much as I did. I can't even be mad at her always carefully tousled hair, which I normally would.

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kirinan

kirinan

16 minutes ago, lordonia said:

I responded really well to her, too -- she's most of the reason I liked the pilot as much as I did. I can't even be mad at her always carefully tousled hair, which I normally would.

I do want to cut off that one strand that sticks straight out from near her jaw/cheek. It kinda drives me nuts. 

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Babalu

Babalu

5 hours ago, Canada said:

Does anyone know who the female news reporter was on the TV, the one with short hair?  She looked familiar but I just can't think who she is.

She's Beth Malone. She plays (adult) Alison Bechdel in Fun Home (or at least used to; I know there have been some cast changes but don't know if that role has changed or not).

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Canada

Canada

34 minutes ago, Babalu said:

She's Beth Malone. She plays (adult) Alison Bechdel in Fun Home (or at least used to; I know there have been some cast changes but don't know if that role has changed or not).

Thank you!  That was bugging me.  Every time she came on the screen, all I could think was "wow, Demi Moore is aging badly".

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smartymarty

smartymarty

  Quote

Don't know the rules on royalties, but I'll be happy for the Cars if they get a nice bonus check from it. 

Me too. I still love "You Might Think". It gives me 80s nostalgia feels.

I liked this episode - the cast is appealing and the premise was quirky enough to hold my interest. But I'm not a big fan of stories based on mind control, mostly because I feel like it's a pretty limited premise. Still I might tune in a couple more times to see what they do with it.

They are no "rules" on royalties. They would enter into a contract for royalties. (Public Domain is only music before 1922.)

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smartymarty

smartymarty

I expected it to be more zany, like Mars Attacks, but if you remove the alien elements what's left is a pretty well written and natural-feeling story about a smart, idealistic Washington outsider trying to make a difference on Capitol Hill. I suppose that's to be expected given the creative team.

The one thing that really cracked me up was at the beginning when the guy at the party lost all interest in Laurel after she said she was a documentary filmmaker visiting Washington, and then tried to glue himself back to her upon seeing that she was a Senator's relative.

I take issue with Laurel coming home to wash off the Smithsonian doctor's brains and blood after the ambulance ride though. After the Ebola scare she and all the ambulance personnel would have been getting Silkwood showers under heavy quarantine.

No need to reference Ebola. Why wouldn't she have gone into the hospital's rest room to wash her face off before going home? Nobody would wait until home to wash that off.

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smartymarty

smartymarty

  On 6/14/2016 at 11:30 AM, Bruinsfan said:

I take issue with Laurel coming home to wash off the Smithsonian doctor's brains and blood after the ambulance ride though. After the Ebola scare she and all the ambulance personnel would have been getting Silkwood showers under heavy quarantine.

I took issue with the notion that a Senator would be washing his own sheets.

Do we know why Smithsonian guy burst? None of the other infected have.

I'm guessing the senator is single. It was a small apartment.

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jhlipton

jhlipton

On 6/13/2016 at 10:25 PM, DeLurker said:

Was thinking to myself "Hey! A woc who isn't light skinned paired with a white guy!".  And then they ate her brains.

Was thinking  "Hey! A woc who isn't light skinned paired with a white guy!" and then she was the only one to be physically restrained to be bug-ified.  Was not happy about that.

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