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The Man in the High Castle, Ep. 1.01: “Pilot” presents a world with long-term potential

For fans of Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle will have undoubtedly already been on their radar for quite some time. Dick’s fiction has been adapted into several acclaimed films, including Blade Runner, Minority Report and A Scanner Darkly. In this recent batch of Amazon pilots, Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files) adapts The Man in the High Castle with the vision of turning the source material into a full television series. Those unfamiliar with Dick’s written work need only know that his interest is in science-fiction and that the worlds he creates are generally immersive, vast, and intricately planned-out.

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The New Yorker Presents, Ep. 1.01: “Pilot” is the most interesting premiere in recent memory

Of all the recent pilots released by Amazon, The New Yorker Presents is easily the most interesting. A half hour smorgasbord of content, this first episode is completely fascinating in terms of its form and what that could mean for both Amazon’s original series and television in general going forward.

The conceit of The New Yorker Presents is simple: a little bit of this, a little bit of that. This first episode contains a short film, a conversation/interview with an artist, a short documentary and a recorded performance of a poem. The ultimate success of a series like this is similar to that of a sketch comedy in that episodes and individual segments will be hit or miss week-to-week. Obviously, the goal becomes bringing together a collection of talent that is of a high quality and that mesh well within any given episode.

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Togetherness, Ep. 1.01, “Family Day”: The couch is all set up!

If Togetherness was only about Amanda Peet’s Tina being dishonest with herself about how her behavior around men and friends affects the rest of her life, it could be a great show. Peet is performing far out of her normal lane with this zany, insecure women who either cannot or refuses to acknowledge social cues from men she dates. Long the straight woman in her television and film roles (except for Bent- RIP Bent!), Peet is impossible to look away from here, constantly the most entertaining yet cringe-worthy of the four main characters introduced in the pilot. Her misguided attempts to force a relationship out of what is so obviously a brief hookup with a perfectly cast Ken Marino is only the tip of the iceberg for Tina, as she sets all her hopes on one guy only to see them dashed when he “breaks up with her” via text message.

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Selfie: More Bridget Jones Than My Fair Lady

ABC debuted online today a preview of the pilot of its upcoming half-hour comedy Selfie. Were the leads of this limited but endearing sitcom anyone but the entirely charming, gifted pair of John Cho and Karen Gillan, it would fall flat. Yet, because of them, and a few hints of surprising writing nuance, it ultimately …

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The Strain, Ep. 1.01, “Night Zero” at times very creepy and absolutely hilarious

We live in a burgeoning era of horror television. American Horror Story will begin its fourth season in the fall, and The Walking Dead will start its fifth. Penny Dreadful just finished an excellent debut season, and Netflix’s Hemlock Grove just put up its second season. True Blood, Supernatural, Bates Motel, Sleepy Hollow, Grimm. And of course, the most horrifying show currently on television, Hannibal. Horror is all over our TV screens, but if there’s one person who deserves their shot at it (presuming David Lynch isn’t interested), it’s Guillermo del Toro.

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Halt and Catch Fire, Ep. 1.01, “I/O” boots up a promising new series

Last fall, AMC tried to launch a new show in the hour after Breaking Bad, hoping that the millions of viewers watching and tweeting about Walter White would keep tuning in. But Low Winter Sun was a bonafide flop, a critical and ratings fiasco, and the name itself became a sort of punchline to certain snotty TV viewers. Rather than helping launch the new show, its proximity to Breaking Bad only magnified Low Winter Sun’s shortcomings. It became the poster child for poor quality “quality” television, the skeleton of a dark cable drama with none of the skill or soul needed to sustain itself. The network is taking a different tactic with its new drama, Halt and Catch Fire. By debuting in Mad Men’s timeslot after the veteran show wraps up its truncated demi-season, the newbie can live or die on its own merits rather than forced comparisons to one of the greatest shows of all time. That being said, the fact that this is a period piece and a workplace drama is no accident, and I think Halt and Catch Fire’s superficial similarities to Mad Men might entice viewers hungry for more Don Draper but resigned to the fact that they won’t get him for another year.

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Penny Dreadful, Ep. 1.01, “Night Work” is bloody, goofy, darkly poetic television

There’s nothing like a show confident in what it’s doing. Of the dozens of pilots I watch a year, an overwhelming majority of them feel the need to explain themselves, over and over again: who their characters are, what matters to them, why the exist – and most annoyingly, why this particular story is the most epic, most original, best thing we’ve ever seen: in a world full of short attention spans, supremely critical audiences, and short-lived bombs with anemic audience draw, most pilots have to convince us that we need to be watching their show.

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Fargo Ep. 1.01 “The Crocodile’s Dilemma” introduces Bemidji to the Devil

Our introduction to Fargo, Noah Hawley’s Coen Brothers-produced adaptation of their 1996 cinematic classic, begins with a very goofy looking Billy Bob Thornton, driving down a long, desolate Minnesotan road (sound familiar?) with someone in the trunk. Bathed in the red of his brake lights, our first look at Lorne Malvo (small spoiler here since we don’t learn his name in the pilot; you’ll survive) is littered with homages to its source material and symbolism, drawing ties to the original (a briefcase! snowy roads! People running through snow!) and silently introducing Lorne as the Devil incarnate – not only is he surrounded by the color red in the opening sequence, he also hits and kills a deer, a beacon of innocence and purity that Malvo eventually stuffs in the trunk of his broken down car.

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From Dusk till Dawn: The Series, Ep. 1.01, “Pilot”: Bad Roads

Robert Rodriquez’s 1996 cult classic From Dusk till Dawn is a flawed but ultimately surprising, fun, and witty gore-fest sendup of vampire movies. Surprisingly the TV adaptation, for Rodriquez’s channel the El Rey Network, is just as much fun as its source material.

From Dusk till Dawn: The Series, much like the movie, knows exactly what it is. This is not highbrow entertainment. This is pulpy cult gore at its best. One of the most enjoyable things about the movie was the surprising genre changeup halfway through the film. The show makes up for this lack of surprise by expanding on what we didn’t see in the movie, such as the Gecko brothers’ botched bank robbery, which we see flashes of here. All that being said, half the fun of the pilot comes from the execution. It’s an incredibly confident and tightly wound series opener.

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Dracula, Ep.1.01, “Pilot”: Out of the darkness

Dracula is one of literature’s most enduring and adapted characters. What often sets each production apart is their ability to put a new (and believable) twist on the classic character. Expectations may be low going into any new version but the most surprising aspect of NBC’s take on Dracula is that it’s actually very good.

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The Originals, Ep. 1.01, “Always and Forever”: Solid pilot, despite storytelling obstacles

On this week’s The Originals premiere, Klaus wreaks havoc in New Orleans while Elijah cleans up his mess, Sophie blackmails everybody, Marcel rants about power, Rebekah takes a really long bath, and Hayley contemplates motherhood.

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Masters of Sex, Ep 1.01: “Pilot” an imperfect but accomplished introduction to a fascinating new series

Masters of Sex, Season 1, Episode 1: “Pilot” Written by Michelle Ashford Directed by John Madden Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime The most immediately striking element of Masters of Sex, Showtime’s new hourlong drama based on the lives and work of Dr. William Masters (Michael Sheen) and his assistant Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan), …

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Fall 2013 Network TV Preview: ABC’s new comedies are a white-washed, mostly uninspired trio of shows

Each of ABC’s three new fall comedies have similar problems: they all rely on a gimmicky “hook” to justify their existence; all three of them have bleach-white casts and suffer from “upper middle-class problems” disease; and most of all, all three of them go through the 22-minute exercise of a comedy pilot without ever finding …

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Fall 2013 Network TV Preview: NBC Comedies a mostly forgettable bunch

NBC, at one time a bastion of network comedy, is now down to one two-hour comedy block each week, and with The Office now off the air, they’re hoping at least one of these new sitcoms will find an audience, or at least the critical buzz of Parks and Recreation. The first to premiere will …

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SDCC 2013 Wrapup- Part 1: Preview Night

San Diego Comic Con International 2013 kicked off on Wednesday with Preview Night. The events started up at 6pm, though people had been lined up, sometimes necessarily, sometimes inexplicably, all afternoon. For those so inclined, the exhibit floor was delightfully open and upstairs in Ballroom 20, Warner Bros. once again screened a handful of their …

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Freaks and Geeks Ep 1.01 ‘Pilot’ Welcome to McKinley High

If there’s such thing as a perfect pilot, Freaks and Geeks’s first hour is it. Most pilots are mish-mashed groups of scenes with some overly constructed jokes, an audience-grabbing plot hook, and numerous scenes where characters explain who other characters are. ‘Pilot’ is the exact opposite of that, a beautiful, detailed photograph into a high school in suburban Detroit on the first day back from summer vacation.

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Rectify Ep 1.01/02 ‘Always There/Sexual Peeling’ is a poignant introduction to a lost soul

Midway through the second episode of Sundance’s new drama Rectify, Daniel Holden sits down in the outfield of a local baseball field. He takes a drink from a bottle of water, and lies back on the worn grass in shallow center field, looking up at the sun. Living on death row for 19 years will make a man enjoy the simple things, be it the heat of the sun or the taste of the air.

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Revolution, Ep 1.01, “Pilot” Fully commits to its brave new world

Revolution, Season 1, Episode 1: “Pilot” Written by Eric Kripke Directed by Jon Favreau Airs Mondays at 10pm ET on NBC (starting 9/17) Revolution’s first episode is a must-see introduction to a well-crafted post-apocalyptic world.  Many critics and San Diego ComicCon attendees have ranked it as one of the best of this year’s television crop …

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2012 TV Pilot Preview: August

Thanks to the Olympics, NBC is currently enjoying gangbuster ratings and, understandably, they’ve decided to take advantage of this increased viewer base to launch several of their new series this week. Most of the new fall series won’t be starting up ‘til September, but here’s a look at the August premieres coming up this week. …

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Thurs Comedy: 30 Rock 6.02, Parks and Rec 4.12, Archer 3.04, Unsupervised 1.01

30 Rock, Season 6, Episode 2, “Idiots are People Two!” Written by Robert Carlock Directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller Airs Thursdays at 8pm ET on NBC Tonight on 30 Rock an attempt is made to deal with Tracy Morgan’s homophobic outburst this summer, and I’m not sure they wouldn’t have been better off leaving it alone. …

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Risk vs. Reward: How a Midseason Premiere Can Help

With the holidays out of the way and new episodes of TV starting back up again, it’s time for the networks to start their second round of premieres. The first is of course in the fall, when Premiere Week means a fresh start to all of the returning series and highly anticipated launches for the …

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