1 Season, 3 Pilots
I have recently watched the first season of Weeds and the pilot episodes of Dead Like Me, The Riches and Saving Grace. Let me just say, they are all worth viewing.
Weeds is great. Creator Jenji Kohan has fashioned a series about a suburban mom, Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker), who sells pot to provide financially for her family. It centers around Nancy, her quirky family and her even quirkier friends. I got addicted after the first episode and I couldn't wait to see where it was going. Mary-Louise Parker is excellent, combining humor, wit and sadness into one amazing and full characterization. Everyone else in the cast is good as well. I'm more than halfway done with season 2 and it's just as good as the first. A
Dead Like Me is very interesting. This series centers around Georgia "George" Lass (Ellen Muth) who has become a Grim Reaper after being blown to bits by a meteoric toilet seat shot down from space. In the pilot we meet George and her family and how her death has a toll on each member. We also get to see George learn the tricks and trades of a Grim Reaper and watch her participate in her first soul collecting experience. Ellen Muth was kind of "meh" at the beginning, but towards the middle and the end of the Pilot, she was way better. Both Mandy Patinkin and Rebecca Gayheart were hilarious. If Ellen Muth can keep up and the writing gets a little tighter, I will surely like the following episodes. Pilot: A-
It's great to see Minnie Driver back in something. After her hilarious stint as "Lorraine Finster" on Will & Grace, she wasn't really in anything. She is now in The Riches, which earned her a completely deserved Emmy nomination (and you can say that even if you have only watched the first episode). She is a big part of why the Pilot episode of The Riches works. Driver plays Dahlia Malloy and she gets paroled from prison where her con artist family picks her up: Wayne (Eddie Izzard), Cael (Noel Fisher), Di Di (Shannon Marie Woodward) and Sam (Aidan Mitchell). The Pilot shows how they become "The Riches" and how they deal with their new lives. The first episode is very good, but I hope the following episodes are great. Pilot: B+
Saving Grace is the second best pilot out of the 4 series (the first being Weeds). This series centers around Grace Hanadarko (Holly Hunter), a police detective who is also a heavy drinker and very promiscuous. She hits a man one night after driving around drunk and asks God to help her. He obliges and sends Earl, who is a guardian angel. He cleans Grace's mess up and offers his help to turn her life around. Earl weighs on Grace's mind throughout the episode and influences her decisions. Holly Hunter is fantastic, Laura San Giacomo is funny as her best friend, Rhetta and Leon Rippy is a scene stealer as Earl. The pilot offers so much: first rate acting, an amazing script and great direction. I really hope that the upcoming episodes are just the same, or even better. Pilot: A
Weeds is great. Creator Jenji Kohan has fashioned a series about a suburban mom, Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker), who sells pot to provide financially for her family. It centers around Nancy, her quirky family and her even quirkier friends. I got addicted after the first episode and I couldn't wait to see where it was going. Mary-Louise Parker is excellent, combining humor, wit and sadness into one amazing and full characterization. Everyone else in the cast is good as well. I'm more than halfway done with season 2 and it's just as good as the first. A
Dead Like Me is very interesting. This series centers around Georgia "George" Lass (Ellen Muth) who has become a Grim Reaper after being blown to bits by a meteoric toilet seat shot down from space. In the pilot we meet George and her family and how her death has a toll on each member. We also get to see George learn the tricks and trades of a Grim Reaper and watch her participate in her first soul collecting experience. Ellen Muth was kind of "meh" at the beginning, but towards the middle and the end of the Pilot, she was way better. Both Mandy Patinkin and Rebecca Gayheart were hilarious. If Ellen Muth can keep up and the writing gets a little tighter, I will surely like the following episodes. Pilot: A-
It's great to see Minnie Driver back in something. After her hilarious stint as "Lorraine Finster" on Will & Grace, she wasn't really in anything. She is now in The Riches, which earned her a completely deserved Emmy nomination (and you can say that even if you have only watched the first episode). She is a big part of why the Pilot episode of The Riches works. Driver plays Dahlia Malloy and she gets paroled from prison where her con artist family picks her up: Wayne (Eddie Izzard), Cael (Noel Fisher), Di Di (Shannon Marie Woodward) and Sam (Aidan Mitchell). The Pilot shows how they become "The Riches" and how they deal with their new lives. The first episode is very good, but I hope the following episodes are great. Pilot: B+
Saving Grace is the second best pilot out of the 4 series (the first being Weeds). This series centers around Grace Hanadarko (Holly Hunter), a police detective who is also a heavy drinker and very promiscuous. She hits a man one night after driving around drunk and asks God to help her. He obliges and sends Earl, who is a guardian angel. He cleans Grace's mess up and offers his help to turn her life around. Earl weighs on Grace's mind throughout the episode and influences her decisions. Holly Hunter is fantastic, Laura San Giacomo is funny as her best friend, Rhetta and Leon Rippy is a scene stealer as Earl. The pilot offers so much: first rate acting, an amazing script and great direction. I really hope that the upcoming episodes are just the same, or even better. Pilot: A
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