Topic: The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon

[DJ Doena]

Knight Rider



What's the show about?
Michael Knight works for Foundation for Law And Government. But he doesn't work alone. He has help in form of his car: The Knight Industries Two Thousand, KITT. KITT is a bullet-proof computer on wheels and it helps Michael on his missions to help people who need help.

"Knight of the Phoenix"
Michael Long works undercover until he is shot by the industrial espionage expert Tanya Walker. Luckily he survices the attack but his face is totally destroyed and has to be surgically repaired. After that Michael Long is officially dead and Michael Knight arises. His surgery was conducted by doctors paid by Wilton Knight who also gives him his new identity. Additionaly Wilton's engineers have done something to Michael's car...

My Opinion
Another 80s classic one simply had to watch back then. Oh gosh, I definitvly watched too much TV in the 80s. And the 90s. And now.

BTW: There was a cultural reference in the pilot: When Michael sees KITT's interior for the first time he says that he feels like being in Darth Vader's bathroom!

[DJ Doena]

MacGyver



What's the show about?
MacGyver is a very gifted man. He knows practically everything about mathematics, physics and chemistry. And he knows how to put that knowledge to practical use, he could build a bomb out of a ball-pen and a chewing gum. He is sent out by the Phoenix Foundation to help out where he is needed.

"Pilot"
After reclaiming a targeting device from a crashed plane and the pilot from the hands of the Russians, MacGyver is needed in New Mexico. In an underground science laboratory happened an explosion. A lot of scientists are trapped within, among them two Nobel price candidates. Additionally an acid leaks threatens to contaminate the groundwater of the entire area...

My Opinion
What could I write without repeating myself? Magnificent show, especially with MacGyver's refusal to use guns. I'll rewatch it this year, after I've got all the seven seasons complete.

[DJ Doena]

ER



What's the show about?
The ER is the Emergency Room of the Cook County Hospital in Chicage, Illinois. We follow the work and the private lives of the medical students, interns, residents and nurses who work at this oftern very chaotic place.

"24 Hours"
Dr. Greene is half-way through his shift when a building collapses and the ER has many incoming casualties. After hours of work handling this he has an appointment in a private practise. The third-year student John Carter has his first day. And then happens the inconceivable...

My Opinion
For me it's the show about John Carter. The show started when he started there and I had always the impression he was more focussed on than any other character. And I really like Carter. I've only watched the first 7 seasons so far but I know there are currently 14. But we'll have to see how long it will keep my interest, especially with most of the original crew having left in the last seasons or leaving over the coming seasons.

[DJ Doena]

24



What's the show about?
Jack Bauer works for the CTU, the Counter Terrorist Unit. He saves the United States more than once but he has only 24 hours to do so and not a minute more. And for this job he has to sacrifice everything: his family life, his health, his career and even his life.

"12:00a.m. - 01:00a.m."
Today is the day of the California presidential primary. Jack Bauer's unit has to prevent an attack on the black senator Palmer, a likely candidate for becoming the next president of the United States. Meanwhile Jack's daughter has sneaked out of the house and has disappeared.

My Opinion
24 is a great show even if the stories have become absurd lateley. They are fast running out of threats they didn't fight before. After watching the trailer of the seventh season I had the feeling it will be a mix of Die Hard 2 and 4, but I am willing to tune in.

[DJ Doena]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer



What's the show about?
Buffy Summers is The Chosen One, a teenage girl that was chosen by destiny to fight vampires, demons and other underworld beings. But she has help in form of her friends, her watcher and even vampires.

What happened before?
She lived in Los Angeles before. There she learnt of her status as The Chosen One and there she began to slay vampires until she had to burn down the school gym.

"Welcome to the Hellmouth" / "The Harvest"
Buffy and her mother have just moved to Sunnydale, California, after the events depicted in the movie. She wants to leave her Slayer days behind her but for that is Sunnydale the completely wrong place. Why? Because Sunnydale lies directly over a Hellmouth, an opening to the hell dimension and The Master has just been awakened...

My Opinion
Didn't like the show. Was very boring with that vampire-killing and so on. Yeah right! That's why I watched all 7 season within a month - and bought "Angel" afterwards.

[DJ Doena]

Angel



What's the show about?
To be honest, I don't really know since I haven't seen it yet. But I presume its about Angel fighting demons and vampires and saving the population of Los Angeles.

What happened before?
Angel left Sunnydale after the third season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" since there's no way of him being together with Buffy.

"City of ..."
After Angel has moved into his basement apartment he comes across Doyle, a half-demon. Doyle gets visions from The Powers That Be regarding people whose lives Angel must touch; true redemption lies not just in saving lives, but in saving souls as well. In an attempt to help a waitress who is harrassed by her former boyfriend he meets a powerful vampire...

My Opinion
Obviously I can't have an opinion - yet.

The End

[Tom]

My Opinion
Obviously I can't have an opinion - yet.

I would be interested what impression the pilot left for you. Does it look like the series is promising to you?

[DJ Doena]

My Opinion
Obviously I can't have an opinion - yet.

I would be interested what impression the pilot left for you. Does it look like the series is promising to you?

That depends heavily on what kind of cases they have to solve.

Although I have to admit that I find the kind of scene changes (this flash effect) a bit disturbing. After Angel was shot he was suddenly at the gate and in his car. I was sure I had missed something and rewinded.

Another thing is this "holy mission" all of a sudden. It would have worked better if we haven't already known Angel. But he was over 3 years in Sunnydale and no one bothered him with such a mission and just when he returns to L.A.?!

But we'll see what they make of it.

[Peter von Frosta]

My Opinion
What could I write without repeating myself? Magnificent show, especially with MacGyver's refusal to use guns. I'll rewatch it this year, after I've got all the seven seasons complete.

It felt weird when McGuyver finally fixed the Stargate and startet shooting at people in strange costumes though...

[DJ Doena]

My Opinion
What could I write without repeating myself? Magnificent show, especially with MacGyver's refusal to use guns. I'll rewatch it this year, after I've got all the seven seasons complete.

It felt weird when McGuyver finally fixed the Stargate and startet shooting at people in strange costumes though...

MacGyver didn't fix the Stargate, Alan Shore did.

[Peter von Frosta]

My Opinion
What could I write without repeating myself? Magnificent show, especially with MacGyver's refusal to use guns. I'll rewatch it this year, after I've got all the seven seasons complete.

It felt weird when McGuyver finally fixed the Stargate and startet shooting at people in strange costumes though...

MacGyver didn't fix the Stargate, Alan Shore did.

No wonder MacGuyver started shooting people...

[DJ Doena]

Since I've purchased quite a number of new TV shows, I thought to resurrect this marathon.

V (1983)

What's the show about?
A group of underground rebels fights against an alien race who have invaded Earth without making it appear as such. The resistance cell is a motley crew with all kinds of backgrounds and their goal is it to expel the aliens again. And their sign is the "V" - for "Victory!".

"V"
One day a number of huge space ships appear all over the world. But they don't come as enemies, but as friends. In exchange for a certain chemical the aliens give us cures for all kinds of diseases and improve our technology. But the aliens and their intentions are not what they appear to be.

My Opinion
The show comprises of the two mini-series V (1983), V: The Final Battle (1984) and the one-season-show V (1984). It has aged quite well, the storytelling stands out for a show of its time and the special effects don't look that bad, either. It's still very watchable and that the subject is still interesting is proven by the fact that a remake of the show will come to television land this fall.

[DJ Doena]

Gossip Girl

What's the show about?
Gossip Girl belongs to a group of students who live in Manhattan's upper east side and they are rich - really rich. The "outsiders" of this group are Dan and Jenny Humphrey who live in Brooklyn but go to the same private school as the others. It's a show about love, life and intrigues and the one person who blogs about all this: Gossip Girl. Nobody knows who she is, but she and her network of "informants" know everything.

"Pilot"
The new school year has begun and Dan is now a junior. And one event will change his life and that of the others forever: Serena van der Woodsen is back from her year on boarding school and she will go to their school again. S is D's big love but she doesn't even know he exists and S and Queen B have some unfinished business.

My Opinion
The show is very intriguing with all these characters that have their own agendas, with their love and revenge plottings and in the middle of it Dan who so doesn't really fit into this world yet is bound to become the ultimate insider. And I love Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) as the voice of Gossip Girl. I never watched shows like Beverly Hills, 90210 or The O.C. but this show I really like, I even bought (and read) the book by Cecily von Ziegesar on which the show is based on:

[DJ Doena]

House M.D.

What's the show about?
Dr. House leads a team of diagnosticians who have specialized in rare and/or extraordinary cases. House himself is a misanthropic cripple who doesn't like to handle the patients personally, basically because "everybody lies". He bounces ideas off his team and together they find the disease but not always fast enough to actually save the patient.

"Pilot"
A young kindergarten teacher is brought to the hospital because she has lost the ability to speak and five different doctors have made five different diagnoses based on the same evidence. House's friend Dr. Wilson tricks House into accepting this patient and he and his team try to diagnose her illness. And the hospital boss Dr. Cuddy forces House to do clinic hours, too.

My Opinion
It's not lupus. Whatever it is, it's never lupus. The case of the week follows a fairly regular pattern. Patient comes in, something makes it interesting for House, they treat, they mistreat, they treat again, they nearly kill the patient and then something totally unrelated to the case gives House the solution. Case closed, patient (maybe still) alive. For me that's not the reason to watch this show. For me it's about House himself and his friend Wilson and Cuddy and his three doctors and how they interact and what they do besides treating the patient. And even though the case always follows the same pattern, the position of the players (even House's) is constantly changing and will change again when the show goes into its sixth season this fall.

[goodguy]

House M.D.

Have you seen S5 and if so, how does it compare to the previous ones? I've read some spoilers I found pretty cringeworthy. IMHO, they always failed when they tried to shake up the formulaic structure of the show, worst so with the cop plot in S3.