Pilot Roundup Part 2: The Playboy Club, New Girl, Unforgettable
The Playboy Club
- Chicaaaaaaaago, Chicaaaaaaaaago…..
- Let’s start with this first, just because moral concerns trump writing concerns. Since Playboy is still an actual brand, this show conforms exactly to what Hugh Hefner wants everyone to think of him, which he states nicely at the end (and a few characters take pains to mention): he was awesome for giving women such a great opportunity. This is pretty clearly just an old man trying to shore up his legacy, but it’s concerning that The Playboy Club has bought into it. There’s a false sense of empowerment at the very center that the show doesn’t understand and will never understand. Basically: the show’s very point is inherently flawed. I don’t think I need to explain what’s wrong because it was so obviously misguided I laughed a few times. So…don’t let your daughters watch this.
- The problem isn’t so much with the viewpoint the show takes as with what it does with it: The Playboy Club is dead serious and believes fully in itself. With a little bit of camp this could work, but there’s nothing at the core except for some good ole Hefner voiceovers.
- Let’s get the Mad Men comparisons out of the way: Nick Dalton is a clear Don Draper clone, although you can’t clone Jon Hamm’s acting. This is a fast-paced Mad Men without character, which, yes, means it’s a terrible Mad Men clone.
- How out of place is the Law and Order music throughout? It’s like the suits wouldn’t let a moment of silence on air, so they added a bunch of generic drama-y sounds in the background. This is especially jarring in the murder scene, since we just got out of a big opening 60s dance number, and, whoops! We’re in SVU all of a sudden. I don’t require a copy of Mad Men’s silence-until-the-credits policy, but the music sucks and is anachronistic.
- Do the characters know this is set in 1963? They sure are talking like it’s 2011, especially the female dialogue. It doesn’t feel authentic at all, and that’s a key for a series like this. I think this show would be more appropriate with today as a setting.
- As far as the script goes, the biggest problem by far is how the characters explain each other in a sentence or two. This happens with basically every main character - the Mother Bunny mentions (for the second time!!!!!!) she’s been here longer than the manager, and that she wanted to be good enough to be promoted. I got most of that just from seeing her work - explaining it in the middle of the episode is terrible characterization. This happens with Maureen early on and Nick (a few times). If you took those same conversations and placed them in Season 4, maybe they’d mean something. Right now, they smack of lazy writing.
- Most terrible subplot? The Mattachine Society, an early gay rights group, is a very interesting idea. But our first hint, with the scene in the car (How far will she go?!??!??! “Relax, no one’s going to find out.” “As long as I don’t slip up.” God. How clunky.) Only slightly worse was finding the boyfriend stepping into the frame, and then the girl introducing herself at the meeting. Once again, this reveal a few episodes down the road would be awesome. Not all packed in to the pilot. I keep trying to convince myself I’m just comparing everything to Mad Men, but you have to focus on setting and context early on. This isn’t a contemporary series where you can throw in 12 subplots immediately.
- But I’m not blaming the show for introducing the killing early; it seems like we’ll be staying with it for the season, and that’s a good move. The mob is a little tacky to throw in immediately, but it depends what they do with it. I doubt anything approaching fresh will come out, but I’ll give them a chance. But I do believe I can never see another mob plot in a TV show or movie and die happy.
- There were some good character moments - the Mother Bunny was easily the most interesting, although I could see that changing in weeks to come. I think The Playboy Club is aiming at the Desperate Housewives crowd a lot more than the Mad Men crowd, so I doubt most of them care. I expect more soapy plots to come and a cancellation.
- NBC put a lot of promotion behind this show, and even with its sexy premise, it eked past 5 million viewers. It was a tough night, to be sure, with the Men premiere and Dancing with the Stars, but it’s only competing with Castle and Hawaii Five-O. 5 million isn’t a great number, but considering it’s NBC, it might have to be good enough.
New Girl
- This is definitely the best of the pilots I’ve seen thus far, but I can see how someone would be turned off immediately. Zooey Deschanel isn’t for everyone, and she’s in full Zooey lovable-geek-chick mode here. But it’s enjoyable for this half hour, at least, and while the character is still a stereotype at this point, at least it’s not an offensive one or one that’s been going strong for 50 years.
- Let’s talk about the structure, because it’s what I found most troubling. This is a single-camera sitcom that is almost soul-crushingly slow compared to most, but it also needs more space than a multi-camera would allow. I think single-camera is the right way to go, but the show clearly needs some room to develop. There’s a lot of dead space and the pacing/joke timing is quite off, and so much more could work in here. But right now it’s more of a problem of development, not inherent in the structure.
- One thing I didn’t love are the cutaways, as I thought most weren’t funny and even took away a little bit. Once or twice per episode might be okay, but I think there were five, and it took away from the (predictable, but good) plot on the screen.
- It depends on what you think of her, of course, but Deschanel gives a good performance as Jess, mixing a good amount of physical comedy and charm. She’s quite a strong character already in the sense that I know I will understand her soon, although I’m not quite there yet. That’s a powerful feeling to have as a viewer, one every pilot wishes it has. The supporting cast is exactly that - supporting, but that’s exactly what it needs to be in a pilot. Eventually, they’ll need to carry episodes, but I love that New Girl understands this dynamic. The script is strong and understands exactly what every character should be bringing, which is rare in comedy pilots.
- My favorite part of the episode was the Douchebag Jar, taking a character that would usually merit an entire bullet point of talking about terrible stereotypes and turns him in to a hilarious, slightly self-aware bro. It shouldn’t be overused, but it was brilliant writing, in characterization and comedy.
- One thing I’m looking for is some reason for this show to exist, other than money. I’m not seeing a real strong point-of-view or message yet, and that’s okay. But I’d like there to be something underneath as the season rolls along, and I’ll definitely be checking it out as we go.
- Overall, I had an enjoyable time. I wanted to laugh more, sure, but I didn’t groan, and I didn’t check the clock. I had fun spending time with these characters, and I think that’s the best you can hope for with any comedy pilot.
Unforgettable
- No one should ever watch this show.
Tomorrow: Up All Night, Revenge, and maybe some other ones I can catch up on! Woo!
