Topic: My PILOT Marathon

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Criminal Minds: The First Season

Extreme Aggressor
After a fourth woman goes missing in Seattle in a period of four months, the BAU is brought in to track down the abductor before he kidnaps again. Meanwhile, SSA Aaron Hotchner is asked to evaluate SSA Jason Gideon secretly to determine if he is really ready to work full-time again after returning from a six-month leave of absence.




Criminal Minds revolves around an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again.

Disappointing pilot episode, the coincidentalness of the plot and its solving was just too much to swallow, if it were really that easy the FBI would be catching serial killers every 5 minutes.
Similar in an inferior way to CSI, the 1st episode lacks the disturbing punch I have read follows in later episodes, where of course a different story is told each time. I didn't warm to the actor who plays the lead Gideon, and the remainder of the cast I felt were banal and wooden.
Will persevere with the series in due course based on so many highly praising reviews, but if based solely on the pilot it would have gathered dust.
If you want a more credible series in this vain, definately invest in my previously reviewed Cracker.
 

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Chancer

1. Weapons from the Wall
When an inferno destroys the Douglas family sports car factory, their only hope of escaping ruin is devious financier Stephen Crane.



Clive Owen stars as financial whizzkid Stephen Crane, out to save a struggling sports car factory in the Midlands using his bosses (Jimmy Blake played by Leslie Phillips) money and making many enemies along the way.

Badly dated drama series from 1990, Clive Owen is fairly awful in the lead, but is saved embarrassment and made to look good by a cringeworthy carry-on style role from the annoying Leslie Phillips.
The whole feel of the show is cheesy, the writing similar to many poor 80's series that swam around at the time, the plot totally uninteresting, and the characterisations were notable by their absences. Lot of familiar faces appear clearly early in their careers, and I bet if they had the opportunity they would wipe this from their resumes.
The only unconnected interest you may draw from the programme would be to get the laughs out of the fashion of the day, mullet haircuts, and bricks for phones.
 

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Dollhouse

1/ Ghost (apparently there was an unaired pilot prior to this)
Echo is one of the "Actives" in the elite and illegal Dollhouse. Through different personality downloads, she plays the role of a lovestruck girl on a romantic weekend, and then a ruthlessly efficient kidnapping negotiator.
Meanwhile, FBI Agent Paul Ballard is struggling with his assignment to uncover information on the Dollhouse. The chase has destroyed his marriage and is wrecking his career, and it doesn't seem that he'll stop until he uncovers the truth.



FROM JOSS WHEDON, CREATIVE MASTERMIND BEHIND Buffy the Vampire Slayer  and Angel, comes the provocative Dollhouse, a sexy, suspenseful thriller starring the stunningly talented Eliza Dushku.
As an "Active," the mysterious Echo (Dushku) serves as an unwitting agent of Dollhouse, an illegal undergroound organization that provides its elite clientele with programmable human beings.  Actives receivve persoonality imprints, allowing them to temporarily become anyone or anything - the perfect burglar, lover, spy, or assassin.  Now, with the FBI and her own shadowy past closing in, Echo must face a rogue Activve who will stop at nothing to bring Dollhouse down - forever.

As has been mentioned several times before, this series began very slowly and picked up around the 5th episode.
The first episode is quite confusing to follow and understand exactly what is going on, who is who, are the dolls victims or volunteers, what is what, why the Dollhouse, are they good or bad?? The idea of wiping a 'persons' mind and imprinting a new one, whether that be an assassin, lover, fighter etc, is quite novel and shows promise.
It is eye candy gone mad with a host of bronzed beauties to appeal to both sexes, but the majority unfortunately on first showing appearing rather lightweight in the acting skills. Adele DeWitt looks like she has secured a great role, and I am interested to see how this develops through the series.
Certainly a pilot that could put you off a series as it was just too confusing, but with the knowledge of how this improves and where it leads to I will be watching the remainder of series 1 very soon.
 

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The Royle Family - Series 1

Bills, Bills, Bills
Jim is annoyed when the latest phone bill arrives, before his daughter's wedding, and finds out someones been calling Aberdeen. Cheryl brings over the catalogue, and she and Denise decide to buy leather jackets. Meanwhile, Barbara is nervous about starting her new job at the bakers.




Sit down, put your feet up, light a fag and join Britain's first family in their sitting room, for the complete first series of The Royle Family.
The Royle Family is a real-life comedy set in a Manchester council house. Imagine a secret camera placed in the living room of an average working class family. The intense drama and emotions of everyday life, such as whose turn it is to go to the off-licence, is set against the continuous hum of the television. The rosy hue of their life is yellowed only by a nicotine haze.

When series 1 first aired on TV in UK I didn't bother with it, the whole premis of a 'sitcom' that was 99% based in a families front room sounded ridiculous. Fortunately I was convinced to watch series one on dvd and ever since I have been hooked and could not praise this masterpiece in British comedy enough. It rates only slightly below Fawlty Towers in my book, and similar to that series you can watch it again and again, and every time find something new to amuse.
The writing is inspired, the characters are so deep and convincing you recognise parts of yourself, family or friends in each one. The actors, each and every one of them, are top drawer and appear made for the roles. Their timing, facial expressions, appearance and demeanour oozes class and polish. You feel by series 2 that you know them very well, and fully relate to so many scenarios.
The first episode is a good introduction to the characters and the 'feel' of the series, but it is only after a few more episodes that you realise you are fully addicted.
Pure understated humour that will have you laughing for years, if you have never given this series a chance you are missing out on perhaps the best UK comedy in decades.
 

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Pulling - Series 1

Episode 1
29 year old Donna comes to to the sudden realisation, that she doesn't want to get married to her boyfriend Karl - one day before the wedding...



A sitcom about a thirtysomething woman who ditches her reliable fiance to move in with a group of single girls. Donna isn't dull, she isn't ordinary and she's definitely meant for big things in life, so dumping her ultra-dependable and slightly beige fiancé Karl just days before their wedding isn't such a major thing for her.

A BBC3 series that was missed by many, but for the few that have given it a chance, the reward was a hilarious, black and original comedy, in the mould of Gavin & Stacey or Shameless, and a better series than many that have plagued the major channels in recent years. Series 2 has just finished, and I believe it has now been scrapped.
The comedy revolves around three crass and common girls flat sharing in London, a desperate ex fiancé, and the many cringeworthy scenarios they find themselves in. It is most definately adult humour, from the very first scene in the pilot! It is extremely well written, some great acting, and storylines to make your belly hurt from laughing. This should have been a major hit, but without the mass appeal of the more mainstream family-friendly comedy programmes, it was never given much of a chance on the lesser Beeb channel.
Completely underrated and overlooked, I highly recommend it.
 

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Roseanne - Season One

Life and Stuff
Roseanne and Dan clash over how to divide the household responsibilities. Roseanne deals with her daughter, Darlene, barking in class.



In 1988, it exploded on to TV full of unprecedented honesty, attitude and flat-out hilarity. In this ground-breaking first season, meet the working-class Conners of Landford, Illinois.

A show that you can pick up at any point or watch wherever in any season, it was great to revisit the first ever episode, and note the humour, the good vibe of the show, and all the characters that did not change a great deal right through the 9 season run. Seeing the kids at such a young age was a good reminder of how long this successful show ran for.
This 1st episode did not feel like a pilot, the elements that made this show a success were evident from the first joke Roseanne made.
Good show, who's humour works well in UK as well as the States.
 

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Supernatural - First Season

Pilot
Sam is about to graduate from college and has an interview set up to join one of the most prestigious law schools in the country. His brother Dean, whom he has not seen since he went to college, shows up in the middle of the night and tells him their father is missing while on a hunting trip. Leaving his girlfriend behind to find their dad, Sam joins Dean in an effort to find their father in a little town called Jericho, where unmarried men disappear without a trace.



Scary just got sexy... After the mysterious disappearance of their father, two brothers seek out and combat paranormal and supernatural events to figure the meaning linking their mother's death whom was killed years earlier by a malevolent poltergeist

This pilot was a pleasant surprise, I went into it knowing nothing about the show and assumed the worst.
Within 5 minutes I had gosebumps

(click to show/hide)

and nearly shat myself twice as the entity pinned the mother on ceiling and set fire to her

, and several times during the episode I was 'disturbed' 
It was really well put together, effects appeared as though funded by big bucks, the characteris were introduced well, and I am particularly interested to see Jensen Ackles ongoing role as he is new actor to me. The suspense was good, and as said a few hair-raising moments along the way.
I will use this series as filler during my October marathon.
 

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William & Mary - Series 1

Episode 1
William, an undertaker, falls for Mary, a midwife. He's reluctant to tell her that he's an undertaker. They have a meal together that turns into a mess and Mary has to leave to attend a birth to a woman who has cancer. The death of the lady helps Mary learn the truth about William's occupation and brings her and William closer together.



William Shawcross' (Martin Clunes) search for love is hampered by his work: not many women want to date an undertaker. He decides to take matters into his own hands and registers with a dating agency. Things start to look up when he is captivated by dark haired beauty Mary (Julie Graham) on one of the agency videos. Mary's an attractive, divorced mother of two; and working as a midwife, she only meets men who are expectant fathers and married doctors. Once the two get together, there is an obvious chemistry but the course of true love doesn't run smooth.

Again a pleasant surprise for a series bought for my daughter to wach, I found this romantic comedy pilot touching, adult and full of promise.
The storyline is interesting and very watchable, and makes you want to view more episodes to see how everything works out. Martin Clunes underlines his diverse acting talent, in a role perfectly suited to his mid-life age. TV series regular Julie Graham is the perfect foil, with legs to die for, and a sweet disposition.
Excellent viewing and a series to take note of.
 

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Waking the Dead - Series One

Pilot - Waking The Dead
A new team of detectives, the Cold Case Squad, is put together to re-examine evidence of unsolved murders using advanced technology. In their first investigation DCI Peter Boyd has a second go at nailing the murderer of Alice Miller, a young girl who disappeared five years ago. Trouble is, the perpetrator is as keen as Boyd to act again, and abducts another girl...



Led by Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd (Trevor Eve) the Cold Case Squad investigates serious crimes which have gone unsolved. Armed with the latest technological advances and old fashioned hard work, Psychological Profiler Grace Foley (Sue Johnston), Forensic Pathologist Frankie Wharton (Holly Aird), Detective Constable Mel Silver (Claire Goose) and Detective Sergeant Spencer Jordan (Wil Johnson) wake the dead for clues and answers.

Brutishly long 2 part pilot special, the near 2 hour marathon was quite a slog and the epsiodes felt padded out. This very popular UK series did not hook me with this first episode, I did not warm to either of the 2 leads, Eve and Johnston, and felt they were too old and past it for the roles intended. The actual storyline was ok but surprisingly unoriginal, and there was very little suspense built up over the kidnapping drama.
Altogether not very inspiring.
 

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Thin Blue Line - Series 1

Episode 1 - The Queen's Birthday Present
Inspector Fowler and Sergeant Patricia Dawkins are celebrating their 10-year anniversary. Patricia is under the impression that Raymond is looking frantically for an ideal gift for her, when instead he's preparing for the birthday of the Queen.



The star (Rowan Atkinson) and cowriter (Ben Elton) of the phenomenally successful Black Adder series turned to a more traditional sitcom format in The Thin Blue Line. Atkinson plays Inspector Fowler, a rather plodding policeman whose officers are, to say the least, unlikely to strike fear into the hearts of hardened criminals. Fowler's nemesis is the local plain-clothes detective Inspector Grim, who thinks that the key to his job is wearing a leather jacket and shouting, "Go, go, go!" a lot.

How this dreadful 'comedy' lasted 2 series is a mystery, it is junk for the masses and a dreadful shame to see some good actors wasted. I would liken it to a modern day Dad's Army, without the humour or class.
The 1st episode is used to introduce the characters, their relationships and rivalries, and their particular quirks. The characters are stereotypes from a bygone era, and none appeal, leaving you searching for a reason to view this series further.
For me a real misfire from some pretty good writers and acting talent. In fact the only blue line I could probably stomach again in a hurry would be a motorcycle tyre mark after it had ridden over this dvd!
 

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Torchwood - Series 1

Everything Changes
WPC Gwen Cooper is at the scene of a brutal murder, when the "special ops", known only as Torchwood, arrive. After witnessing the group bring the dead man back to life, Gwen goes in pursuit of this mysterious organisation, only to see weirder things than she could ever imagine existed. Soon after, she begins to regret giving in to her curiosity, when she meets Captain Jack Harkness.



This exciting and leftfield DOCTOR WHO spin-off finds philanderer of the future, Jack Harness arriving in contemporary Cardiff and being inducted into Torchwood – a covert extra terrestrial and paranormal investigation agency

For the first half an hour or so I enjoyed this fresh series, the mix of sci-fi, special powers, aliens etc blended well with some light hearted banter and a few interesting characters. But towards the end when the lovely Indira Darma (Rome) was killed off in ridiculous fashion, and the constant horrendous Welsh accents started grating, I was glad it finished.
The budget is noticably small, production feels a bit cheap and nasty, the main character is too comical to be taken seriously, and the insertion of swear words made me feel this programme may lose it's identity in terms of intended audience.
A promising idea spoilt.
 

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The Vice - Series One

Daughters
Pt1 - DI Chappel has to contend with a dead prostitute and a turf war between two violent pimps. He needs a prostitute to give a statement, but she is torn between her her affection for the DI and her fear of the pimps.
Pt2 - Chappel renews his efforts to nail a pimp after her attempted murder, but when he fails to persuade her to testify, the squad is left combing the streets of London.



Ken Stott (FEVER PITCH) is Inspector Chappel in this gritty television drama. He and his colleagues in the Metropolitan Police's vice unit investigate the seedy London underworld of crime, prostitution and pornography.

Well-written detective series, this pilot was a 2 parter and quite a marathon watch.
On the whole the cast is pretty slick, but i am not a great fan of Ken Stott so this was aleays a challenge to enjoy. The storyline was fairly interesting and well developed, but there was very little in terms of suspense or drama as it plodded from one situation to another. Given the focus of the series - vice - it could have been made grittier and a bit more realistic, but I guess when this was originally broadcast on terrestrial TV they had to stay within specific boundaries.
Not a series I will rush back to watch further episodes.
 

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The Simpsons - Series 1

Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
It is up to Homer to save Christmas, when bonuses are cut at the nuclear power plant and Marge is forced to use the Christmas savings on an emergency.



Interesting to revisit such a successful series as the Simpsons and view its starting point. The winning formula is evident from the pilot, the animation and production may be certainly slicker now, but little has changed in the humour and feel of the show.
I will never be the biggest fan of the show, they were and are purchased for my son, but I respect how and why this programme is so popular.
As a pilot, it did a good job introducing all the major characters, their roles in the show, and the many nuances that have become so familiar over the years.
 

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Spooks - Series 1

1.Thou Shalt Not Kill
An abortion doctor and her daughter are killed by a bomb placed by Mary Kane, an American "pro-life" terrorist. An informant reveals that this is just the tip of the iceberg as 20 bombs have gone missing. Kane has started training more pro-life groups within the UK and is planning more attacks. Meanwhile, Tom struggles with issues of duplicity and juggling two identities



MI5 agents, living a different life every moment, facing a different threat every day. In the dangerous shadow-world of the intelligence community, the enemy is never far away. Hidden. Waiting. Planning. All MI5 have to go on are glimpses and fragments. Our lives depend on them seeing the full picture...

Very impressive pilot, I was blown away with the excellent and techy start, and I thought on the whole all of the characters were promising.
Missing some of the glossy finish of similar US shows like 24, this UK production based on pilot demonstrates solid storyline, dependable acting and a true feeling of topical realism sadly lacking in similar series.
High calibre spy series, certainly worth a few quid investment.
 

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Chef - Series 1

Personnel
Gareth Blackstock is the executive chef at Le Chateau Anglais, and he is infuriated when management cuts his budget. He is one up on the budget when Everton shows up and volunteers his service as a chef for no compensation in order that he can train in the most famous kitchen in England.



Meet Britain's finest -- and most ill-tempered -- chef, Gareth Blackstock (Lenny Henry), of the prestigious Le Chateau Anglais restaurant. Each meal is a masterpiece. Just don't ask for salt. Chef Blackstock rules his kitchen with an iron ladle and puts up with no slacking. Tuck in and prepare to double over in laughter with this hilarious and much loved comedy series from the BBC!

British comedy at its most lazy and worst. Canned laughter was essential, as there was nothing that even made me titter. Lenny Henry lost his comedy skills after Tiswas, and his character in this, obviously based on a black Gordon Ramsey, is simply pathetic. The remainder of the cast are a hodge-podge of familiar character actors, and all look totally bored and uninterested in this dire pilot show.
Ebay here we come.