Topic: Tom's TV Pilots marathon

[Tom]

I am skipping "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles". I think it is a great series and has a great pilot, but I already watched it multiple times and it hasn't been long since I last watched it. I have reviewed it in the past though. You can find my review here.

[Tom]

That's My Bush!: The Definitive Collection (2001/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Comedy Central DVD (United States) Length: 176 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

Plot:
Conceived during the 2000 Presidential Campaign and launched just months after his inauguration, That's My Bush! offers a glimpse into the life of George W. Bush in his very own prime-time television show.

In this definitive collection of all eight episodes, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone provide a unique take on the state of network sitcoms while skillfully dealing with controversial subjects like abortion, the war on drugs, and the death penalty.


That's My Bush!
Season 1.01 An Aborted Dinner Date
Writer: Trey Parker (Writer)
Director: Jeff Melman
Cast: Timothy Bottoms (George W. Bush), Carrie Quinn Dolin (Laura Bush), Kurt Fuller (Karl Rove), Marcia Wallace (Maggie Hawley), Kristen Miller (Princess Stevenson), John D'Aquino (Larry O'Shea), Lisa K. Wyatt (Joyce), Toddy Walters (Tour Guide), George Brandon (Felix's Assistant), Kevin D. Carlson (Lead Puppeteer), Steven Chiodo (Puppeteer #2), Ed Chiodo (Puppeteer #3)

Strangely, it is a fun idea to do a standard sitcom in a White House setting. I have enjoyed this series. But I can understand that it didn't last long. It's a fun premise, but not something I can see working for multiple seasons.
This series was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the guys behind South Park. And their humor is very noticeable here.

Rating:

[Tom]

The Thin Blue Line (1995/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Pictures (United Kingdom) Length: 438 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

Plot:
Written by Ben Elton and starring Rowan Atkinson, The Thin Blue Line is one of the BBC's classic comedy shows. For the first time on DVD all 14 episodes from Series 1 & 2 are available here on one disc.


The Thin Blue Line
Series 1.01 Rag Week
Writer: Ben Elton (Writer)
Director: John Birkin
Cast: Rowan Atkinson (Inspector Fowler), Kevin Allen (D.C. Kray), Mina Anwar (P.C. Habib), James Dreyfus (P.C. Goody), Serena Evans (Sergeant Dawkins), David Haig (D.I. Grim), Rudolph Walker (P.C. Gladstone), Jean Ainslie, Ruth Arnold, Dicken Ashworth (Bank Manager), Gabrielle Blunt (Prosecuting Counsel), Joy Brook (D.C. Crockett), Lloyd McGuire, Bill Moody, Julian Rivett, Walter Sparrow, Paul Williams

This series is one of Rowan Atkinson's less popular ones. It doesn't come close to Blackadder and Mr. Bean. But I still enjoyed it.

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[Tom]

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World (2004/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia ADV Films (United Kingdom) Length: 300 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World
Season 1.01

This is the first time that I have watched an episode of this series. It didn't really caught my attention. Not sure if I will continue watching this series at some point.

Rating:

[Tom]

Three's Company: Season One (1977/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Anchor Bay Entertainment (United States) Length: 146 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 1 Subtitles:

Plot:
In the spring of 1977, ABC network executives gave a six-episode "trial" run to a new sitcom called THREE'S COMPANY. Almost overnight, it became one of the biggest hits of the entire season and more than twenty-five years later, it remains one of the best-loved TV series of all time.

The beloved John Ritter stars as Jack Tripper (the role that won him and Emmy®, a Golden Globe and the hearts of millions), the ever-bumbling bachelor who shares an apartment with down-to-earth Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt) and dim-bulb blonde Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers). Along with their sexually frustrated landlords the Ropers (Norman Fell and Audra Lindley) and Jack's fast-talking pal Larry (Richard Kline), these three outrageous roommates tripped and jiggled through a world of slapstick pratfalls, sexy misunderstanding and some of the most scandalously titillating comedy America had ever seen.

THREE'S COMPANY - SEASON ONE features the original six episodes - including the classic pilot - that started it all, now collected on DVD for the first time ever!


Three's Company
Season 1.01 A Man About The House
Writer: Don Nicholl (Writer), Michael Ross (Writer), Bernie West (Writer), Johnnie Mortimer (Original Characters By), Brian Cooke (Original Characters By)
Director: Bill Hobin
Cast: John Ritter (Jack Tripper), Joyce DeWitt (Janet Wood), Suzanne Somers (Chrissy Snow), Audra Lindley (Helen Roper), Norman Fell (Stanley Roper), Kit McDonough (Patricia Crawford)

I really like the first season of this series. It is quite funny. Later on it gets a little tiring. Also I think Janet looks really hot in the first season (much better than the cover suggests). As far as I remember her hairstyle changed in the second season which I didn't like.
I never quite understood why Jack was lusting after Chrissy. I always preferred Janet. Both in looks and personality.

Rating:

[Tom]

The Tick: The Entire Series! (2001/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 201 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles:

Plot:
In a world where criminals rule the streets, evil has finally met its match. There is a new protector of the weak and oppressed, the hilarious blue defender of goodness, known as... The Tick (Patrick Warburton, TV's "Seinfeld")! Together with his sidekick Arthur (David Burke, TV's "Party of Five") and their friends - the insatiable Batmanuel (Nestor Carbonell, TV's "Suddenly Susan") and the alluring Captain Liberty (Liz Vassey, TV's "Push Nevada") - these heroes will prove they are more than just big, dumb guys in silly-looking suits. Produced by Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black I & II) and Barry Josephson (Like Mike) and based on the hit comic book, this hysterical 2-disc-set contains nine episodes, spanning the entire series. So let this be a warning to naughty people everywhere, for you have met ... The Tick!


The Tick
Season 1.01 Pilot
Writer: Ben Edlund (Created By), Ben Edlund (Writer)
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Cast: Patrick Warburton (The Tick), David Burke (Arthur), Liz Vassey (Captain Liberty), Nestor Carbonell (Batmanuel), William Newman (The Cape), Carrick O'Quinn (Red Scare), Brad Maynard (Jimmy Carter), Lisa Lu (Bartender), Jeff Doucette (Bus Driver), E. J. Callahan (Station Manager), Ray Xifo (Mr. Ferret), Adam Drescher (Salesman), Billy Beck (Octogenarian), Ahmad Stoner (Teenage Employee), Doug Motel (Comrade #1), Derek Mears (Comrade #2), Brian Turk (Comrade #3)

When I see Patrick Warburton in something, I will always think of him in the role of The Tick. He does a great job here. Sadly this series only lasted for six episodes.

Rating:

[Tom]

The Time Tunnel: Volume One (1966/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 710 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 1, French: Dolby Digital 1 Subtitles: English, Spanish

Plot:
FROM THE CREATIVE GENIUS OF IRWIN ALLEN ("Lost in Space," "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno) COMES ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR AND ORIGINAL SCI-FI SHOWS OF THE 1960s!

"THE CONTROL OF TIME IS POTENTIALLY THE MOST VALUABLE TREASURE THAT MAN WILL EVER FIND." Or so believed the scientists of Project Tic Toc. Located beneath the Arizona desert, the ten-year project's focus is the feasibility of time travel. But when the government reconsiders the project, the scientists have only 24 hours to prove their untested "Time Tunnel" will actually work. Determined to save the project, Dr. Tony Newman and Dr. Doug Philips go through the tunnel—and quickly find themselves catapulted from one historical event to another, barely escaping with their lives as their colleagues back in Arizona race to figure out a way to bring them back home.


The Time Tunnel
Season 1.01 Rendezvous with Yesterday 09.09.1966
Writer: Irwin Allen (Created By), Harold Jack Bloom (Screenwriter), Shimon Wincelberg (Screenwriter), Irwin Allen (Story By), Shimon Wincelberg (Story By), Harold Jack Bloom (Story By)
Director: Irwin Allen
Cast: James Darren (Tony Newman), Robert Colbert (Doug Phillips), Michael Rennie (Capt. Malcolm Smith), Susan Hampshire (Althea Hall), Gary Merrill (Senator Leroy Clark), Lee Meriwether (Dr. Ann MacGregor), Wesley Lau (Master Sgt. Jiggs), John Zaremba (Dr. Raymond Swain), Whit Bissell (General Heywood Kirk), Don Knight (Grainger), Jean-Michel Michenaud (Marcel), John Winston (The Guard), Brett Parker (Countdown Technician)

A good introduction to a good series (at least the first half of this series I enjoyed). Compared to later episode, the complex containing the time tunnel is much much bigger here. The sheer size of it is mind-boggling here, but later it seems the project only employs a few people in a much smaller environment.

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[Tom]

Skipping the mini series "Tin Man", which I haven't seen yet. And the mini series "Tipping the Velvet", which I have reviewed here.

[DSig]

Just wondering, if you are talking about Tin Man Staring  Zooey Deschanel, Neal McDonough and Alan Cumming, i am just wondering why you are skipping it.  Just time or ...  I thought it was a pretty interesting 'reimagining' of the Wizard of Oz.  When you get time to watch it I would be interested in what you think.

[Tom]

Yes, I am talking about the one with Zooey Deschanel. I mentioned it in on the first page of the thread (when the first mini series came up) that I will not include mini series in this marathon but that I will still mention them.

[DSig]

Ahh .. guess i should have read all 25 pages 

[Tom]

Titus: Seasons One and Two (2000/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 742 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

Plot:
According to a recent study, 63% of American families are now considered dysfunctional. According to Christopher Titus, that makes him a proud member of the majority. Welcome to the extremely dysfunctional -- and semi-autobiographical -- world of Christopher Titus' screwed-up relationships with his loving girlfriend (Cynthia Watros), his not-too-bright kid brother (Zack Ward), his flamboyantly-anal best friend (David Shatraw), his manic-depressive schizophrenic mother, and most of all, his five-times-divorced, wussy-hating, abusive father (Stacy Keach). It's a darkly hilarious ride through a life filled with suicide, alcoholism, dementia, violence, crime, comas, restraining orders and more. This is not your average 'happy family' sitcom. This is TITUS.

This collection includes 33 complete episodes -- featuring such guest stars as David Hyde Pierce, Jay Leno, Richard Benjamin and Ed Begley Jr. -- of the Emmy®-nominated Fox series that critics hailed as one of the most honest, daring and cutting-edge comedies in television history.


Titus
Season 1.01 Dad's Dead
Writer: Jack Kenny (Writer), Brian Hargrove (Writer), Christopher Titus (Writer)
Director: Michael Lessac
Cast: Christopher Titus (Christopher Titus), Cynthia Watros (Erin Fitzpatrick), Zack Ward (Dave Titus), David Shatraw (Tommy Shafter), Stacy Keach (Ken Titus), Phoenix Forsyth (10 Year Old Titus), Dylan Capannelli (5 Year Old Titus)

A perfect introduction to the series and its humor. How the main characters think their dad his died because he hasn't left his room for four days and are afraid to check on him. And as a viewer you only see the dad in flashbacks and as a first time viewer you think this is how the series will play out.

(click to show/hide)

And the surprise works when the dad shows up alive at the end after all

Rating:

[Tom]

To Heart: Complete Collection (1999/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia Right Stuf (United States) Length: 325 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Plot:
For as long as Akari can remember, she and Hiroyuki have always been friends. But with time, everything changes, and her feelings have turned into something more. As a new semester of high school begins, will the two childhood friends come closer together or drift further apart? Join Hiroyuki, Akari and all their friends - the bubbly Shiho, the quiet Serika, the lovely Kotone, and more - in this heartwarming tale of love, relationships and friendship!


ToHeart
Season 1.01 A Brand New Morning 01.04.1999
Writer: AQUAPLUS (Original Material By), Hiroshi Yamaguchi (Screenwriter)
Director: Naohito Takahashi
Cast: Ayako Kawasumi (Akari Kamigishi), Kazuya Ichijo (Hiroyuki Fujita), Chieko Higuchi (Shiho Nagaoka), Soichiro Hoshi (Masashi Sato), Rumi Kasahara (Lemmy Miyauchi), Aya Hisakawa (Tomoko Hoshina), Miwa Yanagihara (Matsumoto), Akiko Kimura (Okada), Mie Sonozaki (Yoshii), Shinpo Chiba (Teacher), Takanobu Arai (Student), Harunori Miyata (Student), Yui Horie (Student), Eriko Fujimaki (Student), , Rich McNanna (Hiroyuki Fujita), Angora Deb (Akari Kamigishi), Zoe Fries (Shiho Nagaoka), Wayne Grayson (Masashi Sato), Lisa Ortiz (Tomoko Hoshina), Karen Thompson (Lemmy Miyauchi), Joe DiGiorgi (Teacher), Amy Kincaid (Yoshii), Michele Knotz (Matsumoto), Anna Morrow (Okada), Sam Regal (Additional Voices), Liam O'Brien (Additional Voices), Bill Rogers (Additional Voices), Sarah Quill (Additional Voices), Michele Knotz (Additional Voices)

Not much happing in this series but a nice watch anyway. It's a slice-of-life kind of story about a group of Japanese high school students.

Rating:

[Tom]

Tru Calling: The Complete Series (2003/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Length: 1093 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English, Commentary, Swedish

Plot:
What if you had the power to change the future by reliving the past? For Tru Davies, that's the question she faces after her internship to medical school falls through and she takes a job working the graveyard shift at the city morgue. Left alone her first night on the job, she's shocked when a dead woman opens her eyes and asks for help. Tru then awakens to find herself reliving the same day all over again, except now she possesses the power to change the fate of the people wheeled into the morgue the night before-if she can find them before tragedy strikes.

Tru Calling
Season 1.01 Pilot
Writer: Jon Harmon Feldman (Original Characters By), Jon Harmon Feldman (Writer)
Director: Phillip Noyce
Cast: Eliza Dushku (Tru Davies), Shawn Reaves (Harrison Davies), Zach Galifianakis (Davis), A. J. Cook (Lindsay Walker), Jessica Collins (Meredith Davies), Kristoffer Polaha (Mark Evans), Hudson Leick (Rebecca Morgan), Heath Freeman (Cameron), John Haymes Newton (Aaron McCann), Vincent Laresca (Marco), Callum Keith Rennie (Elliott Winter), Brenda Campbell (Allison Evans), Ingrid Tesch (Carol Winter), Sherry Thorson (Mother), Victoria Anderson (Meredith (Age 15)), Victoria Tennant (Tru (Age 12)), Rick Tae (Card Player #1), Phoenix Ly (Mr. Chiang), Jacqueline Ann Steuart (Nurse), Kurt Evans (Priest), Chaka White (Lotto Woman), Woody Jeffreys (Gary), Robert Wisden (Dr. Green)

I still would have preferred if Eliza Dushku had done a Faith spin-off series of Buffy. But she chose to do this series instead. My guess is that she wanted to avoid being type-cast as a "bad girl".
The pilot is okay but not really exciting. Like the rest of the series. Though I haven't seen it completely yet. I stopped watching during the first season when it originally aired. I recently bought the complete series cheap and couldn't resist buying it anyway.

Rating:

[Tom]

True Blood: Season One (2008/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia HBO Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 720 min. Video: Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: DTS 5.1, Spanish: DTS 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: DTS 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

Plot:
Vampires have come "out of the coffin" and are now living among us. Surviving on synthetic blood, they no longer need human blood to survive. Or so it seems...

The small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana boasts a wide array of colorful locals. Meet Sookie Stackhouse (Academy Award® winner Anna Paquin*), a sweet and innocent waitress who hides her powerful ability to read minds; Bill Compton, a 173-year-old vampire who's just moved back to town; Sookie's brother Jason, a ladies' man who can't seem to stay out of trouble; tough-as-nails Tara, Sookie's loyal best friend; Sam, the owner of Merlotte's who tries to keep his feelings for Sookie to himself; Lafayette, a man about town who's always cooking up something illicit and "off the menu" and a quirky cast of characters who each hide their dark secrets in the shadows of night in this series that's like no other.

From Alan Ball, writer of the Oscar®-winning Best Picture American Beauty and creator of the Emmy® Award-winning HBO® series Six Feet Under®, comes the critically acclaimed world of True Blood.

*1993, Actress in a Supporting Role, The Piano


True Blood
Season 1.01 Strange Love
Writer: Alan Ball (Created By), Charlaine Harris (Original Material By), Alan Ball (Writer)
Director: Alan Ball
Cast: Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse), Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton), Sam Trammell (Sam Merlotte), Ryan Kwanten (Jason Stackhouse), Rutina Wesley (Tara Thornton), Chris Bauer (Detective Andy Bellefkeur), Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette Reynolds), Jim Parrack (Hoyt Fortenberry), Carrie Preston (Arlene Fowler), Michael Raymond-James (Rene Lenier), William Sanderson (Sheriff Bud Dearborne), Lynn Collins (Dawn Green), Lois Smith (Adele Hale Stackhouse (Gran)), James Parks (Mack Rattray), Karina Logue (Denise Rattray), Danielle Sapia (Maudette Pickens), Josh Kelly (Frat Boy), Jessica Stroup (Sorority Girl), Lorna Scott (Sav-a-Bunch Shopper), Jessica Tuck (Nan Flanagan), Graham Shiels (Tattooed Vampire), Bill Maher (Himself), P. J. O'Rourke (Himself), Lorin McCraley (Grabbit Quik Clerk), John Henry Canavan (Good Old Boy Vampire), John F. Schaffer (Sav-a-Bunch Manager), Larry Udy (Man at Bar), David Lewis (Teenage Customer), Brendan Patrick Connor (Man with Beer), Jennifer Hasty (Woman with Fries)

I liked the first episode. I also enjoyed the first season. I got bored with the second season. Recently I tried starting to watch the third season, but gave up after the first episode. Not sure if I will ever continue. Most of you probably I think I am crazy, but I prefer "The Vampire Diaries" over this series.

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