When Yahoo picked up Community, it seemed fitting that this weird little show would land in the most unlikely and random place. I hadn’t heard of Yahoo’s free video service, but I thought it was a smart marketing decision to pick up Community and boost Yahoo Screen’s numbers with one of sitcom television’s most outspoken and loyal fan bases.
Now the show’s 6th season (a milestone I honestly never thought the show would reach) is here. The first two episodes premiered today with new episodes made available each Tuesday. All of which are available on a free app from a site that gave me my first email address almost two decades ago. Continue reading →
Yesterday NBC released a trailer for Season 5 of Community
It’s no secret that Community has had its fair share of struggles and controversy in the past. It’s never had impressive ratings (or average ratings for that matter,) there have been issues with cast members (notably Chevy Chase,) it lost its showrunner and creator at the end of the third season, and all of these issues culminated in a disappointing season 4. In fact, disappointing doesn’t really describe it well enough. So one can’t really be blamed for looking forward to Season five of Community with more than a bit of apprehension. Continue reading →
Pilots are interesting beasts in the television world. They’re used to convince a studio to shell out more money for more episodes. In order to do that, a pilot needs to succeed on several more fronts of storytelling than any other single episode. A pilot needs to introduce the major characters of a series in an engaging, often standalone, story that will leave the audience clamoring for more.
Furthermore, a good pilot needs to rely on a strong cast to build a rapport in a short period of time. Writers working on pilots also have to gauge possible long-term onscreen relationships completely blind of actors’ chemistry. Because of these factors, I live by one steadfast television-viewing rule:
Never judge a show by its pilot.
But some series have such strong pilot episodes that you can and should judge them on the pilots. And so, here I have compiled a list of some of my favorite pilot episodes. They aren’t necessarily my favorite shows ever, and they aren’t exactly the best episodes of said shows. These episodes are just the most engaging series-starters that I’ve seen. They also introduce the characters and story arcs in a highly satisfying way.
You can click the episode titles in the list to buy them digitally on Amazon.
El Camino is a surprisingly excellent coda to the Breaking Bad story and strong conclusion to Jesse Pinkman's character arc. At times it gets a little close to being too much of a stroll down memory lane rather than its own story. But Aaron Paul's performance is as incredible as expected.It's also such a treat to see Jesse Plemmons return to t […]
With the release of Doctor Sleep, Mike Flanagan continues to carve a niche for himself as a filmmaker who’s unafraid to adapt the more difficult of Stephen King’s work.Read my full review in a guest post over at Hypable.com.Doctor Sleep had more references to The Dark Tower than The Dark Tower movie did! 😂
Am absolute blast! Rian Johnson spins a compelling yarn but the real mystery is how he managed to juggle an impeccable ensemble to create one of the smoothest, well-paced whodunits I've seen in a long while.
How do I find the words to articulate my thoughts on Parasite? Especially so soon after seeing it.I left the theater about an hour ago and I'm just so gobsmacked by Parasite. The storytelling alone is absolutely masterful. The cinematography and set design is stunning! This movie leads to some unexpected places that I wasn't prepared for. Incredibl […]
Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson give mind-blowing performances in this movie. It's surreal, confusing, and every single frame is gorgeous. I really need to sit on this for a bit. Will be reviewing it on the podcast this week with Ben Sears.
