"Reno 911!," the cult "Cops" spoof, is the subject of Episode 68 of Pilot Study. This begins a dive into some of the more memorable programming choices in the history of Comedy Central. Chris and Grimes talk the unaired pilot and the program's history at Fox, using the "blurry face" to their advantage, and more. Note: The pilot is available at the Comedy Central website. Note 2: "The State" ran for 4 seasons ('93-'95).
"Alex, Inc.," the (loose) adaptation of Alex Blumberg's "StartUp" podcast, is the newest series opening to be dissected on Pilot Study. Chris and Grimes discuss Zach Braff's return to network TV, the utilization of real-life investor Chris Sacca, and Pilot Study categories like Most Pilot-y Moment and MVP. Note: You can watch the pilot through ABC.go.com for free.
Pilot Study returns with a look at "Mulaney," the John Mulaney Fox pilot that was cancelled following its first season. Chris and Grimes discuss a poorly written female lead, botched sitcom stereotypes and the Pilot Study categories of Title Talk, Pilot Study MVP, Name Change and Most Pilot-y Moment. Note: The Griffin Newman part from the previous pilot was not just recast. He was originally cast as someone named "Seymour." Courtesy of Deadline Hollywood: "Gould and Pedrad will reprise their rol...
On its 10-year anniversary, the Pilot Study crew talks "Breaking Bad" and its depiction of Walter White's first steps into anti-hero territory. Assisted by Andrew Bloom (The Andrew Blog, Consequence of Sound), we talk the show's inception and pitch process, some casting what-ifs, and wonder if "Wipe Down This" would be an appropriate title change for this episode. Special Guest: Andrew Bloom.
"It's a show for no one." The newest episode of Pilot Study takes on the short-lived Fox drama, "Profit." An attempt at Peak TV before Peak TV, the title character of Jim Profit (really giving away his goals with that fake moniker) attempts to scheme his way up the corporate ladder. Oh...btw, he makes out with his stepmom a bunch and sleeps in a cardboard box. Special Guest: Brock Wilbur.
Podcasts aren't the thing. They're the thing that gets us to the thing. The spiritual successor to AMC's "Mad Men" wasn't a ratings bonanza, but grew into a critically-adored, cult hit. The pilot for "Halt and Catch Fire" is the next to be dissected on Pilot Study, including talk on its beautiful title sequence, the "Power Move Power Rankings" of Joe MacMillan, and much more.
Tonight, on a "very special" Pilot Study. Chris and Grimes welcome comedian and writer Brock Wilbur to the program to discuss the pilot of "Clone High." From its all-timer of a theme song, to the crazy circumstances surrounding its cancellation, we dive deep into the MTV animated program. Correction: Bill Lawrence was not involved in "The Drew Carey Show" (but he was a creator on "Spin City"). We apologize for the error. Special Guest: Brock Wilbur.
If you're gonna rip off X-Files, you better do it right. Craig Robinson and Adam Scott get their long-awaited "Hot Tub Time Machine 2" reunion (thank you IMDB trivia) in "Ghosted," the new Fox half-hour comedy. Alan Miller, horror superfan joins us, helping deliver....well, it's not exactly a love fest. Special Guest: Alan Miller.
You better listen to this podcast....by sundown. On the newest episode of Pilot Study, Chris and Grimes talk "Curb Your Enthusiasm," the long-running, recently restarted HBO comedy. Beginning with the mockumentary before the show, the hosts also talk the program's music and the magic of its improvised nature. Listen to this podcast. The relationship's at stake.
Step into a world where twins cannot simply look alike, but where twins have the exact same mustache. Step into the world of "The Deuce." Chris and Grimes talk the newest HBO drama from David Simon, along with the idea of Franco twins, a pilot without the show's hook, and of course, the half-smoke sausage. At the end, we name our Pilot Study MVP for the episode.
Podcast listeners. Take your position in our roped off "Podcast Listeners" section. In the newest Pilot Study, the crew talks David Lynch and Mark Frost's "Twin Peaks" follow-up, "On The Air." Alan Miller joins to talk the quickly canceled sitcom, what Lynch finds funny (hint, he LOVES communication breakdowns), and fan-favorite Blinky. We also do some reviews and a round of "Spin-off." Note: There's some background noise in the first 10-15 minutes. It's not too distracting, but we apologize. Al...
The Pilot Study chums, joined by Nick Spacek (From & Inspired By), talk the newest iteration of "The Tick," which recently premiered its first 6 episodes on Amazon. The Flag 3 compare it to the previous Fox live action series, talk the increased attention on Arthur and mental health, along with much more. NEAT!
Chris and Grimes dive into South Park's debut episode, "Cartman Gets An Anal Probe." It begins with a story about Grimes' high school popularity (it was very situational, let's be honest), while then getting into the program's history, some of the weird moments present, and a dismissive Hollywood Reporter review.
The Pilot Study crew discusses the newest addition to the "Wet Hot American Summer" mythology, the "10 Years Later" Netflix sequel. Here we talk how successful each character has become in their "Wet Hot" lives (and if that's a good thing), we obsess over JJ's video store, and Chris tries to compare the show to "The Hobbit."
Pilot Study is back with an episode on the long-running CBS series "How I Met Your Mother." We dig into the first 20 minutes for the 5 main characters, tackling who gets the best pilot and why Ted is so annoying. As usual, you'll get some history of the show's development and reviews.
Today's episode features our discussion on the 1974 "Land of The Lost" pilot. We talk its unexpectedly required theme, if the show is weird enough to actually revisit, and much, much more. This concludes our "Saturday Morning" theme month.
We continue our "Saturday Morning" theme month with a look at CBS's animation version of the Bill & Ted franchise. The two season show, starring the real Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, begins with an episode titled "One Sweet and Sour Chinese Adventure to Go." On the back end, we continue our extended Saturday Morning talk, discussing our favorite Pop-Tart flavors. Watch the pilot here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60kqk0Z_cWM...
We continue our "Saturday Morning" theme month with a look at NBC's "Saved By The Bell." We talk the history of the show, and its beginnings with "Good Morning, Miss Bliss," along with the pilot's Zack/Jessie relationship and of course, some title talk. On the back end, we continue our extended Saturday Morning talk (27:52), discussing discontinued cereal products.
Today we kick off both season 3 and our "Saturday Morning" theme month with "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers." Joined by guest Michael Escanuelas (@missingartwork), we talk the show's numerous connections to "Zyuranger," Zack's constant dancing and of course, the terrifying-as-hell putty patrol.
The newest episode of Pilot Study and our season finale features talk on both "The Life & Times Of Tim" and "The Leftovers." In this finale, the co-hosts each suggest a show for one another, while Chris and Grimes then talk the pilots. Will either of them continue on to episode 2? See you in season 3, beginning on May 23.
The newest episode of Pilot Study and our finish of "Heightened" theme month centers on the FX series "Louie." We discuss the lead-up to the show, how the stand-up is cleverly worked into the plotlines, and the program's music. Stay tuned next week for our season finale.
Our SXSW live episode talks both "Flight Of The Conchords" and "Tenacious D." We discuss how each show looks in 2017 — with Flight on its 10-year anniversary and Tenacious on its 20th — and how music assists narrative in each. We end with a live round of the IMDB Game. Michael Escanuelas of Missing Artwork/The Modern Vinyl Podcast guests. Special Guest: Michael Escanuelas.
The newest episode of Pilot Study takes on "Maron," in our first entry of "Heightened" theme month. We discuss the WTF podcast origins, being afraid of silence, and the title sequence/blues riffs. We end with a round of "Spin Out" where Grimes pitches an animated show that kinda has to happen.
The newest episode of Pilot Study takes on "Riverdale," and its "Archie Got Hot" tagline. Chris is joined by Modern Vinyl staffers James Cassar and Meghin Moore, while they discuss the Ms. Grundy conundrum, Josie & The Pussycats, female friendship and much more.
The newest episode of Pilot Study takes on "Legion," the new FX series set within the "X-Men" universe. Noah Hawley (Fargo) serves as showrunner and the cast is led by Dan Stevens (The Guest). Garth Watson of Film Brew guests and plays a round of The IMDB Game. https://soundcloud.com/filmbrew
The newest episode of Pilot Study is our first "Pilot Preview" episode. Here, we look at "Greenmount," a 14-minute proof of concept that stars Shane Kippel and Samantha Munro (Degrassi: The Next Generation). You can watch the pilot, here: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.prior.58/posts/1428728183827663 . You can donate to their GoFund Me, here: https://www.gofundme.com/greenmount-television-series...
The newest episode of Pilot Study takes on the recent premiere of "The Young Pope" on HBO. We talk the opening dream sequence, the "meme culture" surrounding the show, and how the present day Pope affects this show.
The newest episode of Pilot Study takes on the first of "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia," a show now unexpectedly lasting into its 12th season. We talk the original, $200 pilot, how that evolved into the FX show, along with how the show's structure hasn't changed all that much. Timeline 1:21, The show’s music 3:05, Plot summary/What surprised us 6:44, Quiet comedy/teasing what’s to come 9:30, The “$200 Pilot” 18:35, Random Notes
We continue "Murder Month" with an hour-long discussion on True Detective. We dive into the Rust/Marty dynamic, some of Rust's more memorable musings on life, along with much, much more. Timeline 2:30, Specs for “The Long Bright Dark” 7:08, Title Talk 9:55, Structure, Shortcuts 18:40, Plot breakdown Identifying with Rust 23:40, Marty and Rust Dynamic The dinner scene 28:06, Line-O-Rama 34:30, Random Roles Michelle Monaghan 37:30, Random Notes + Reviews 49:00, Casting + Season 2 52:42, Reviews co...
The beginning of "Murder Month" is all about "Dexter," the Michael C. Hall-led show that hit its 10-year anniversary earlier in 2016. We discuss if this show represents peak anti-hero in concept, how it'd be seen today and introduce a couple new segments: Guess The Rent & Random Roles. Next week: "True Detective." Timeline 1:50, A finale coloring an entire series 3:55, “Guess The Rent” 9:15, Talking the cast Dexter as peak anti-hero Mistrust in the system 20:10, Preference in pilot wrap-up 2...
