Welcome to our list of the best TV show pilots of all time. Pilots are the episodes that hook us. Some shows have gone on to be wildly successful with lousy pilots. Some shows have failed despite terrific pilots. And then some shows launch with a killer pilot and go on to be a successful …
Kim Dickens may be an unrecognizable name, but she is certainly a recognizable face. In the past several years, Dickens has had prominent roles in some of the most acclaimed television shows of all time, Sons of Anarchy, Treme, House of Cards, Lost, and Friday Night Lights just to name a few. In each of …
This week a decade ago, the pilot aired for a show that would go on to become a milestone in television. That show was Lost and over the years, it has been praised and criticised for many things, while spawning a number of similar shows, most of which have failed to capture its magic. One …
The numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 shouldn’t have any special significance to me, especially in that particular order. Yet I distinctly remember one day in high school, when packs of my friends rapidly discussed these numbers, trying to divine their significance. They seemed very agitated–one pack even erupted in a shouting match outside …
Lost was a landmark series for network television, a one-of-a-kind show that producers and executives are still trying, and failing, to recreate. It’s been ten years since it premiered, on September 22, 2004 (which, coincidentally, was the date of the crash of Oceanic 815). Rather than try to make a simple Top 10 Episodes list, …
The sixth episode of Lost was the first Sun episode. “House of the Rising Sun”, which originally aired on October 27, 2004, is one of the best episodes of the show’s first season, and it has stuck with me as the moment when Sun became a fully-formed and truly fascinating character, which she would remain until the end of the series.
The digital age has changed television dramatically within the past two decades. With the advent of cable channels, home video media, dish on demand and the internet, the average TV viewer has a variety of venues to access television programs. With all these ways to access television shows, the viewing audience has become more aware …
The term ‘Plot Hole’ has grown legs and begun a marathon sprint in the last few years. In most cases, the vast majority of accusations were false, revealing a common misunderstanding of what plot hole means.
Last week, I said that The Strain would live or die based on how it balances the silliness with the seriousness. This week, it gave us no indication which direction it will be going in, instead giving us an incredibly boring episode of clichés, which is very disappointing.
The Leftovers, Season 1, Episode 3, “Two Planes and a Helicopter” Written by Damon Lindelof & Jacqueline Hoyt Directed by Keith Gordon Airs Sundays at 10pm EST on HBO What is The Leftovers? A mystery wrapped in an enigma, sure, but what else is on the show’s mind, and most importantly, what does it have …
Jack Shephard was originally supposed to be played by Michael Keaton, and he was going to die in Lost’s pilot episode. After his death, the first to be killed by the smoke monster (that honor ended up going to the plane’s pilot, played by Greg Grunberg), Kate would take over as the leader and primary …
While the pilot was almost pure set up, and in this mostly disappointing second episode we have a further muddling of that set-up, what has at least become clearer now is that despite its literary origins, The Leftovers is definitely shaping up to be, for better or worse, Lost’s direct successor.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Written by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Guillermo del Toro Directed by Peter Jackson New Zealand, United Kingdom, and USA, 2013 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is, no doubt, an improvement over The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, though perhaps because it is the second of three …
They say timing is everything, and somehow, I managed to have good timing with some of the clothes I chose to wear to Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. (Bear with me and my nerdiness.) I had picked out an Epcot-specific T-shirt to wear to Day Two of Fantastic Fest, in some goofy way to tie …
Basic storytelling aside, Randall’s place in this Duracell-free world is now defined. In two brief scenes, we understand both his role in the blackout and his motivation for bringing the might of the U.S. Government’s thunderous power down on electricity. Really effective use of the flashback here.
Bates Motel, Season 1, Episode 1: “First You Dream, Then You Die” Written by Anthony Cipriano Directed by Tucker Gates Airs Mondays at 10pm ET on A&E In 1987, a year after the second Psycho sequel hit the big screen, Universal looked to take the franchise to television by turning it into a weekly anthology …
The Following, Season 1, Episode 6: “The Fall” Written by Shintaro Shimosawa Directed by Marcos Siega Airs Mondays at 9pm (ET) on FOX Is it horrible or amazing that the random joke made at the end of last week’s review, the one about the horny cop (with her wandering eyes) possibly being one of Joe’s …
Zero Dark Thirty Directed by Kathryn Bigelow Written by Mark Boal USA, 2012 So little in this world is tangibly right or wrong that when an opportunity to channel our innate desire to see good triumph over evil comes along, we grab at it with all our strength. Such a chance arose in the aftermath …
The Santa Clause 2 Directed by Michael Lembeck Written by Don Rhymer, Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, Ed Decter, John J. Strauss Starring Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Spencer Breslin, David Krumholtz, Judge Reinhold, Eric Lloyd Why wait eight years between the original Santa Clause and its follow-up, The Santa Clause 2? This is a question I’ve …
David and Goliath. Hamilton and Burr. Spinal Tap and mini Stonehenge? The first two exist among the greatest showdowns in history. The latter is but a sampling of the greatest in film history as depicted in artist Scott Campbell’s collection; The Great Showdowns. Campbell, or Scott C. as he signs his work, has quickly risen …
The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride Directed by Darrell Rooney Written by Flip Kobler and Cindy Marcus Starring Matthew Broderick, Neve Campbell, Jason Marsden, Nathan Lane, Suzanne Pleshette, Andy Dick, Moira Kelly Is it enough for a movie to not be terrible? On the face of it, this question’s pretty easy to tackle. Any movie, …
Once Upon A Time, Season 1, Episode 20: “The Stranger” Written by Ian Goldberg & Andrew Chambliss Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton Airs Sundays at 8pm (ET) on ABC With an average running time of 41 minutes per episode in a 22-episode season, there are bound to be some tangential and nonessential storylines in “Once Upon A …
Eureka, Season 5, Episode 1, “Lost” Written by Jaime Paglia Directed by Matthew Hastings Airs Mondays at 9pm ET on SyFy Eureka is usually a pretty light-hearted and whimsical show, but this week’s season premiere is definitely on the darker, more serious side. To recap last season, Global Dynamics spent a majority of the time preparing …