S01.E01: Pilot

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I haven't even watched this (yet), but after reading the first couple pages of this thread, I have the overwhelming urge to go re-watch the Fringe pilot episode - plus more, cause can't stop at just one - instead of taking a chance on this.  Different circumstances and shows, but I already know I'm going to like it vs unsure about this show.

If you've seen Fringe, you know why I found that the discussion of this show brings up sci-fi/mystery conscious thoughts, and thus, urges to go watch 1.1 (& 1.16, I believe) again.

[Raja]

On 9/27/2018 at 6:35 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

I had such high hopes.  This is a great premise, imo.  I'm going to hang in there a little longer.  I just kept thinking........so...this is it?  Man, okay. 

And when the lady started hearing the voices, "Set them free," I just felt like I was watching some old lifetime movie, (no offense to those fans).

 I won't even go in to why they were congratulating the lady, since, she entered a locked building on defendant's property without a search warrant nor probable cause (no exigent circumstances unless she claims otherwise and I don't think hearing voices qualifies) and so, the girl victims will actually be inadmissible in court as evidence and what do that have against him without them?  She was technically reinstated as an officer, right?  But, I'll just move on from that.  Maybe, I should adjust my expectations. 

First save the lives, making a prosecutor's job easier is secondary in the scenario given. At worst the police now have a new suspect to check when children are victimized compared to the best. two children returned to their families in less than 5 years 

[Chaos Theory]

I don’t know if this deserves all the negativity it’s been getting.  It’s not bad.  It has potential.  Maybe if it hadn’t been on a couple of”must watch” lists people would be happier with it because it actually is a pretty good show.    

I hate comparing one show to another because you will always find a show that relates to your favorite show ever and therefore triggers the hell out of you.  This show has a weird blend of science fiction and mysticism that may or may not work.  I am stil hoping it leans more toward the 4400 then Lost.  

I am in for at least awhile 

[SunnyBeBe]

I actually watched it again over the weekend and I do think I like it more than I thought initially.  What bothers me the most are the voices inside the girl's head.  

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

On September 27, 2018 at 8:35 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

 I won't even go in to why they were congratulating the lady, since, she entered a locked building on defendant's property without a search warrant nor probable cause (no exigent circumstances unless she claims otherwise and I don't think hearing voices qualifies) and so, the girl victims will actually be inadmissible in court as evidence and what do that have against him without them?  She was technically reinstated as an officer, right?  But, I'll just move on from that.  Maybe, I should adjust my expectations. 

First save the lives, making a prosecutor's job easier is secondary in the scenario given. At worst the police now have a new suspect to check when children are victimized compared to the best. two children returned to their families in less than 5 years 

If there was even a scintilla of room for humor in this show, Detective Ex-fiancé would've come along just as she began breaking the lock and trope-ily said,"Is that cries for help I here?" to which she would've replied between swings of the handy iron pipe,"Yes  [ungh]  I  [ungh] hear  [ungh]  cries  [ungh]  for  [ungh]  help  [ungh]  don't  [ungh]  you  [ungh] ?"

[SunnyBeBe]

53 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

If there was even a scintilla of room for humor in this show, Detective Ex-fiancé would've come along just as she began breaking the lock and trope-ily said,"Is that cries for help I here?" to which she would've replied between swings of the handy iron pipe,"Yes  [ungh]  I  [ungh] hear  [ungh]  cries  [ungh]  for  [ungh]  help  [ungh]  don't  [ungh]  you  [ungh] ?"

Oh yes.....hearing their cries for help would do it.  But, I can't recall if the girls were gagged or not.  Still, you can make whimpering noises even if in that condition.  

[peachmangosteen]

On 9/29/2018 at 11:01 PM, Camera One said:

I had to laugh at the NBC promo I just watched that said this show "has become America's newest obsession" ...

That's probably a bit much, but I was surprised to see that on TVGuide's 'love it or hate it' poll thing for all the new shows it's something like 83% 'love it,' which is much higher than any of the other shows got. I think it's probably more popular in general than it is on here.

I wanted to like it more than I did, but I still liked it. And I'm certainly intrigued to see where it goes since it was a lot different than I expected it to be.

Edited October 1, 2018 by peachmangosteen

[vmcd88]

I was happy the girls were saved with the whole "set them free" voices in the cops head.  However I was wondering if the charges would stick against the kidnapper since there would be no probable cause the search his property.  Perhaps I've watched too much Law and Order.

[shapeshifter]

6 minutes ago, vmcd88 said:

I was happy the girls were saved with the whole "set them free" voices in the cops head.  However I was wondering if the charges would stick against the kidnapper since there would be no probable cause the search his property.  Perhaps I've watched too much Law and Order.

26 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

If there was even a scintilla of room for humor in this show, Detective Ex-fiancé would've come along just as she began breaking the lock and trope-ily said,"Is that cries for help I here?" to which she would've replied between swings of the handy iron pipe,"Yes  [ungh]  I  [ungh] hear  [ungh]  cries  [ungh]  for  [ungh]  help  [ungh]  don't  [ungh]  you  [ungh] ?"

Oh yes.....hearing their cries for help would do it.  But, I can't recall if the girls were gagged or not.  Still, you can make whimpering noises even if in that condition.  

Heh. Actually I wasn't suggesting real cries for help. I was thinking of Munch or Fin on L&O SVU or Flynn and Provenza on The Closer or other comic relief character detectives pretending they heard cries for help.

[Raja]

25 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Heh. Actually I wasn't suggesting real cries for help. I was thinking of Munch or Fin on L&O SVU or Flynn and Provenza on The Closer or other comic relief character detectives pretending they heard cries for help.

On L&O Detective  Briscoe would convince himself that he did hear them while Rey Curtis refused to testi-lie in court. In the end it would be excluded while Jack looked for a legal way to still get a conviction.

[shapeshifter]

23 minutes ago, Raja said:

51 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Heh. Actually I wasn't suggesting real cries for help. I was thinking of Munch or Fin on L&O SVU or Flynn and Provenza on The Closer or other comic relief character detectives pretending they heard cries for help.

On L&O Detective  Briscoe would convince himself that he did hear them while Rey Curtis refused to testi-lie in court. In the end it would be excluded while Jack looked for a legal way to still get a conviction.

True. That's why a comic pair of detectives in cahoots works best.
Too bad Detective Ex-fiance is so humorless.

[ashleylm]

On 9/30/2018 at 7:08 AM, cathmed said:

the premise might be a bit incredulous

Actually (sorry to be that person) you're incredulous, whereas the premise is incredible (as in hard-to-credit, unbelievable, unconvincing, etc., not the other meaning of fantastic, amazing, etc.).  To be incredulous means you have trouble believing something.

[green]

9 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

I don’t know if this deserves all the negativity it’s been getting.  It’s not bad.  It has potential.  Maybe if it hadn’t been on a couple of”must watch” lists people would be happier with it because it actually is a pretty good show.

I respectfully disagree as in, yep, it deserves the negativity.  And yep it is that bad.  And yep I am here to rag on this show after the pilot at this point.  Well until that ridiculous Knights Templar show ever returns that is.  Then I'm off to blow my wad on ragging on unhistorical history.

And please what the heck is a "must watch" list?  Do people have to go online and read stuff like that to decide what to watch these days?  And who makes up "must watch" lists?  Vladimir Putin maybe?  I mean he seems to be hacking everything else in America today so why not American TV "must watch" lists.

Edited October 1, 2018 by green

[ottoDbusdriver]

Heck, I'm still disappointed that the 'set them free' that they were hearing in their heads wasn't the voice of Sting (from Track 1 of his 'Dream of the Blue Turtles' album).

[Miles]

Oh my fucking god. I think that sappy music and cliched opening naration gave me an aneurism. Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea? This better get better fast.

Okay, guy tells them that they have been missing for five years and their reaction is shock and not laughter at this obvious weird prank (from their persepective). Sure...

The brother lying to the sister about hearing voices. *groan*

Rest of the episode was okay. Except for crappy CGI plane explosion.

Edited October 2, 2018 by Miles

[eel2178]

On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 8:21 AM, cathmed said:

That is funny; I've heard that same tag line on several of the new shows!

They say this every year about every new show, even the ones that end up being cancelled after four episodes.

[shapeshifter]

44 minutes ago, eel2178 said:

They say this every year about every new show, even the ones that end up being cancelled after four episodes.

Every new show? Or do the really good ones not get that treatment? I can't recall.

[Clanstarling]

32 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Every new show? Or do the really good ones not get that treatment? I can't recall.

I think they change up what they claim for each show, but will use similarly extravagant phrases about them all.

[green]

6 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Every new show? Or do the really good ones not get that treatment? I can't recall.

Yep every new show every single year.  Worded differently per show but the same thing.  All lies of course.

[topanga]

On 10/1/2018 at 10:08 AM, vmcd88 said:

I was happy the girls were saved with the whole "set them free" voices in the cops head.  However I was wondering if the charges would stick against the kidnapper since there would be no probable cause the search his property.  Perhaps I've watched too much Law and Order.

I was thinking the exact same thing. And yes, I watch too much Law and Order. I was imagining the officers telling the DAs or Van Buren they heard banging in the backyard, thereby establishing probable cause. 

[chitowngirl]

I learned a long time in my radio job-everyone is #1 in something. Favorite new comedy, favorite new drama, Sunday nights best new show...

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

So, I pulled the trigger on watching the pilot... and as intriguing as the mysterious mythology might end up being, I am not sure I wanna stick around for all the personal melodrama. 

I mean, FFS there are two potential love triangles set up right in this very first episode alone, each one which has a side taken by the main brother and sister.  Just once I'd like to see a show let the mystery/scifi/etc-themed mythology get a chance to run a bit and stretch its legs before getting all the cliched romantic-angst tropes that runs rampant in most TV fare these days dumped on me as an audience member.

I didn't really have a huge problem with the main actress as some people did, but it was hard to feel the gravitas of her bitchiness and personality with no lead up to the flight itself.  All we got was a quick couple minutes in a terminal and then the big event happens and her attitude and such just doesn't feel earned or worthy of sympathy.

Honestly, I felt the brother was the more wooden actor of the two mains.  I didn't believe the emoting, it didn't read as genuine.  He had some decent rapport with Cal at times, but most of the rest it felt like he was just reciting lines.

Is this going to be a procedural, where Michaela and/or Ben and/or OtherPassengerOfTheWeek solve a crime/save lives by following the voices in each episode?  That would be hella boring after a short while.

I was glad to hear - for those that will keep watching, even if I don't - that the end monologue implied that we'd see some splitting focus with the rest of those that came to the plane explosion, because spending all the time with Michaela/ex-fiance/best friend & Ben/Cal/wife(?) & her side piece/daughter would get old, and fast.

I found the story and focus of the lady, whose research led to the new breakthrough in pediatric leukemia treatments, to be much more intriguing and engaging than the rest of it.  Then her standing up for what's right.

First impression implies I was wrong in my hopes that the main mythology behind the plane incident wouldn't be theological in origin.  Considering, the show started off with a quoted portion of a bible verse - which was brought back into focus numerous times - and then constant and/or numerous things brought up such as; lives saved by the event, could be saved (Cal), a miracle, the voices being of the 'do good deeds/save lives' variety, etc.  And then Michaela sitting in a church and reading the bible.  Unless they pull a big bait & switch, its looking like a "God works in mysterious ways" type of show.  The only question is why are the voices they hear their own, instead of one unique voice.   Other than that, this would be better recorded and watched on Sunday afternoon (or whatever day it is you attend church on).

Edited October 9, 2018 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

The only question is why are the voices they hear their own, instead of one unique voice.   

The same reason they aren't in Klingon?

[Ailianna]

I was happy that Michaela, whom I am not that interested in, biked to the yard to free the two dogs with apparently no real plan, while Ben (LOVE Josh Dallas--he is the only reason I gave this show a look) remembered to bring bolt cutters.

And as expected, Josh Dallas is a wonder at playing a dad who loves his kids more than anything.

[Friendly kitty]

Started to watch!

The situation is intriguing. I would understand if exactly 5 years have passed, but no ... 5 years and 6 months, and nn days. And where were they? Unknown! I think in the future, given the voices in head that tell them what to do.

And I immediately guessed about dogs! They do not need to release, and the missing girls. So it happened !!!

Therefore, the police and said she heard her own voice in head. Apparently, they were all in the distant past and know what would have happened if everything were different ...

And yes, the explosion was awesome! I think someone from the audience blew up the plane itself. Heard a voice in head, yes.

Edited April 19, 2019 by Friendly kitty

[EarlGreyTea]

On 9/25/2018 at 12:20 AM, BitterApple said:

I'm trying to give it a chance, but yeah. If two hundred people landed and were told they'd advanced five years into the future, I'd expect hardcore panic and freaking out, not a few gasps and a wave of murmurs. I understand they're trying to cram a lot of detail into a pilot, but that was glossed over way too fast.

So I know you posted this years ago, but I am watching the pilot for the first time and this is my main issue. There was not NEARLY enough hysteria. My presumed dead relative shows up, and if my immediate reaction is not to drop to my knees in gratitude/hysteria/confusion, it's not realistic. The scene where all the families were reunited at the airport was really undersold. There should have been more hysterics, more tears, and maybe some fainting. Maybe that would have been too over the top, but it would have sold it better for me. The medical researcher, upon her return to work, was greeted with mere hugs as if she'd been gone for a few weeks on vacation.

Also would have been nice to see the characters acknowledge historical events between 2013 and 2018. I mean, a reality show star is now the president? Give me something to work with, people.

Also, I wish they had taken more time to establish the characters  before the plane. Some more exposition about the characters' family dynamics would have been nice. I didn't have enough time to care about any of them before, so why should I care now that they're back?

 

Edited June 12, 2021 by EarlGreyTea

[Bellatrix]

On 9/26/2018 at 4:40 PM, HazelEyes4325 said:

You're a few steps ahead of me.  I remembered "Michaela" only because of course she'd be named Michaela.  Angel figures are frequently named Michael (Michaela, Michelle, Mike, etc).  Until reading this thread, Ben was still "the brother" in my mind, along with ex-boyfriend, wife, sick kid, teenaged daughter, doctor lady, doctor guy, etc.  None of the characters stood out enough for me to actually remember their non-significant names.  Sigh.

I thought Michaela and her brother was Michaela and her brother-in-law for some reason. Went half the episode thinking his wife would have moved on and the two of them would get together.

Would have made for a far more interesting show.