305 replies to this topic

[TWoP Mars]

From TV Guide.com:

In the pilot episode, an FBI agent recruits a brilliant but incarcerated scientist (John Noble) and his estranged, sharp-witted son (Joshua Jackson) to investigate an airborne tragedy that may harbinger a trend of increasingly unsettling phenomena. The executive producers include J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

[AimingforYoko]

Didn't see Mark Valley being a baddie, but I should have. JJ loves his third act twist. Noble was the best thing about the pilot. He nailed the slipping in and out of lucidity. Jackson was fine. If he cuts back on the snark by about 30% he'll have it nailed.
Love the 3-D chyrons.

[mustbekarma]

I couldn't get into this. The line "I pissed my pants....only a squirt" kind of turned me off more than a little bit. Then there was a cow and dream walking and the guy she tried so hard to save was actually a bad guy and the promo says he's not dead after all and runon sentences are about as much fun as this show was for me. Or something like that. I think I'll watch it again, just to see if being a little more alert and in a better mood will improve things for me.

I kept getting an X-Files vibe, with a little bit of La Femme Nikita thrown in at the end. I didn't feel like I was watching anything new. I think I liked Mulder and Scully better.

[whyjen88]

That was AWESOME! The first 30 minutes I was worried it would be a bomb but then pacey and sweetheart pulled those sticks out of their butts and rocked this show. It's like X-Files on LSD.

[TrampForVamps]

Well, that opening sequence on the plane was just delightful. And, by “delightful” I mean horribly disgusting.

You’d think men would know by now not to date any woman created by JJ Abrams. In the first episode, all his female leads have boyfriends who are in jeopardy and die in the end. This incident took place even earlier in the hour than I thought. I didn't see that warehouse explosion coming.

Nice twist at the end. Bad boyfriend! Bad!

The rest of the episode seemed fine. I don’t know if I will be a regular viewer on a weekly basis, though.

[Barracuda]

I wanna be charitable on opening night and all but I'm underwhelmed...all that time devoted to finding a cure for lovely Mark Valley (back to Boston Legal with you!), only to make him a bad guy and kill him off anyways...where's the fun in that? (Realizing he's not really dead...)

Happy to see Jackson back in action tho...

Edited by Barracuda, Sep 9, 2008 @ 8:42 PM.

[silverangelaunt]

I thought the effects were pretty good, but the location graphics were distracting to me. Joshua Jackson looked pretty good. His father I found repellent. Anna Torv I am meh on now but I plan to give this show a go. WTF with a cow in the lab? Unsanitary to say the least.

[alynch]

Pretty good episode. It wasn't spectacular, but there wasn't anything profoundly flawed either, so it has a quite a bit of potential. Besides, I love watching Lance Reddick do his stern authority thing.

[mustbekarma]

Nice twist at the end. Bad boyfriend! Bad!

I thought that was predictable and kind of a cliche.

Well, that opening sequence on the plane was just delightful. And, by “delightful” I mean horribly disgusting.

Hee. I don't mind some GORE!

[Unusual Suspect]

I'm not sold on the main actress, but I love Pacey and his crazy dad and the wacky extreme science. So I'll be tuning in for more.

[Ben]

Well, I sure didn't believe any of that. For example, that Agent Dunham could get Bishop out and get him his old lab before he had given her or the government dick. If the show is entertaining enough, it won't matter that it's unbelievable. John Noble helps with that.

Kind of a cruel twist that she has to kill the lover she went through so much trouble to save. It kind of accounts for why he was so slow to help her when they were mind-melded.

Love Blair Brown's arm.

[sadiegirl]

That was awful. JJ should start hiring actresses who can act - because Olivia, she is not very good. I like the father and son but they are stuck in a sucky show. And Harvard must have more buildings that it knows what to do with - because I can't believe the lab was left as is for 17 years. As someone who has worked at a big university, departments are always looking for more space. I was hoping for XFiles and was disappointed. Bummer.

I also have no respect for agents who are in the middle of a case and stop to discuss their feelings. Oh please.

Edited by sadiegirl, Sep 9, 2008 @ 8:45 PM.

[Josy]

I loved it!!! I waited for this show all summer and I'm happy to say I am not disappointed.

[StarrGazerr]

Well at least there were no polar bears! I think this has got a lot of potential. I especially liked the interactions between Walter and Peter. And I must admit I did not see the twist with John Scott coming. I think I'm going to need to watch this one again. But so far so good.

[Hilo Hello]

That was awesome. Like the interaction between Dr Insane and his son. "Walter, stay here."

I don't mind that the science makes no sense. But then, the suspension of disbelief is strong with me.

[becks477]

wow, that was kind of... hilariously awful. but every now and then, I saw glimmers of something good.

I was reminded of the failed show, Studio 60 -- Stever Weber's character called someone "sister" and it totally worked. Whereas, Joshua Jackson definitely cannot pull off the "sweetheart" and "honey" stuff.

[Haju]

I'm tentatively interested. I wasn't too enthusiastic about the chemistry at the beginning, in the hotel room, but I like the reluctant knight errant role from Bishop Jr. It doesn't hurt that he is very easy on the eyes.

Definitely an X-Files vibe, but I feel like there are elements of something else I've watched and I just can't place it. That doesn't mean it's a rehash - not yet - so I'll probably give it a shot as long as I'm able to continue watching it, right up until AI comes on and everything gets shuffled all over the schedule until dying a quick death.

[Hyzik]

I loved it, but not quite as much as some other recent pilots. If they're making Blair Brown to be the main "villain" of the season/series, I'm on board. She was great in the few minutes she was in.

I'm not completely sold on Kirk Acevedo's character yet. He seemed rather bland to me.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Maybe it's just me .... but that was boring.

Why was it dragged out into the 8:00 - 9:35 time slot ? It could have been easily cut down to an hour, and been mildly meh.

[nellyhug]

I think I might be hooked. I really liked it. This is my new show of the season.

[bluwater]

I was bored, pretty much. The scene with Mark Valley killing Lance from Moonlight with a pillow, reminded me of Twin Peaks, when Leland killed Jacques Renault. It was the exact same way.

Eh...I probably won't return.

[DonitsYum]

The name for this show should be Mission Implausible

Synthesis of LSD, transport of a comatose patient, radical science experiment, indentification, manhunt and FBI interrogation of primary suspect, creation of the antidote....all within 24 hrs??

Doesn't look promising. I don't think I can take one more show where we will find out the secrets to whatever...someday. I liked Joshua Jackson and John Noble though.

[jenmari26]

I liked it. Some of it was a bit hokey, and I rolled my eyes a few times. But overall I really enjoyed it.

Favorite line (and I paraphrase a bit): A cow is the next best thing to a man. Unless you need milk, in which case you really want a cow.

[corgi]

I was unsure at first 'cause I didn't like the effects at the beginning, but by the end I was enjoying it all. Loved the "mostly dead" plot twist, but I think that was sold with the last line of the TV show.

I'll definitely watch again.

[Ecksero]

Not completely terrible, but not great either. Peter Outerbridge who guest starred in this episode as the doctor, did all this before and he did it better in ReGenesis.

[jaybear1701]

During the intro, I thought I was watching a lost episode of the X-Files. Made me nostalgic for the good old days.

It wasn't without flaws (e.g., believability being one -- and I don't mean the paranormal crap, I mean Dunham's ability to find Pacey in Iraq, free his dad from the asylum, get access to a 17-year-old lab with still working equipment, and move her boyfriend's body to said lab), but I am definitely intrigued and think this show has a lot of potential.

Speaking of Dunham, I like her. I thought she was pretty cool, actually. She kinda reminds me of Scully -- strong and kick ass, but also vulnerable. And what can I say... I'll always love Pacey Witter.

[jes004]

Enjoyed everything except the lead actress. Maybe she'll grow on me.

ETA: I assumed the 24 hours was tv time, not real time. You know, the 'time' that allows Jack Bauer to drive across LA in a matter of minutes and children to be babies one week and the next week they are teenagers.

Edited by jes004, Sep 9, 2008 @ 8:58 PM.

[Lunathick]

While, I enjoyed that, I'm not so sure I understand the plot of the show. What's going to happen in the next episode? What are the characters up to? Who are the bad guys? The creatures/aliens from the plane? I have no idea. Typical J.J. Lots of question. No answers. But this was the Pilot, so I'll try to remain judgment-free.

Flight 627. 6+2= 8 6+2+7=15 Flight 815. Nice one, writers.

"Let's make some LSD". BWAH! I love the Doc, already.

I didn't care for John at all. Why? Because a) I didn't know the character's backstory b) I figured it was only a matter of time before Olivia would flirt/eye-fuck the new guy (Peter) and c) I knew that he would turn out to be a bad guy. Predictable.

And TPTB, please, please, don't go all Kate Austen on Olivia. She seems strong and kind of badass. Don't turn her into a mopey, hypocrite loser stuck between two guys. Seriously.

I'll tune in next week for sure.

[Xantar]

I'm not sold. I've seen it all before. Even whole swaths of dialogue were predictable. My brother and I were speaking some of the lines before they left characters' mouths.

It probably doesn't help that I've soured on J.J. Abrams quite a bit in recent years. The man can set up a good premise, but unless he's forced to resolve it within a few hours (e.g. Cloverfield), his storylines resolve into a mess that's pretty clearly being made up as it goes along. To this day I still don't know what a Rambaldi device is, and I fear we may end up with some Macguffin in this series which is similarly inexplicable.

It's not that I found it to be bad, exactly. The special effects were very good, and I think the acting is fine for what it is. But it just didn't grab me, and with so many other good shows on TV and so little time for me to personally watch them all, there's just little reason for me to come back to this one.

[lisin]

I loved it. I really love the whole dynamic between Josh Jackson and his dad. My favorite parts of the episode are when crazy daddy is explaining something scientific (pseudo) and Jackson keeps interrupting with snark to prove how insane whatever his dad is saying is.

Regardless of gross out factor, you've got to admit the effects were awesome.