Battle of the Sci-fi Pilots: Touch Versus Awake

It's that time of year when the mid-season pilots are premiering, and if you've been watching FOX and NBC, you've likely seen promos for Touch and Awake. I was intrigued by these shows because they both feature science fiction premises. While neither of these shows are actually currently airing, both have already previewed their pilots. FOX's Touch aired its pilot at the end of January, but the show is set to actually premiere on March 19. NBC's Awake released its pilot last Thursday and is set to premiere on March 1. While the premises of the show aren't really similar, there are few enough sci-fi shows on network television that I think it's fair to compare the two. Having seen both pilots, I'm going to do just that.

Touch

Premise:

Widower Martin Bohm (Kiefer Sutherland) is having trouble connecting with his mute son Jake (David Mazouz), but he starts to suspect that Jake is using numbers to communicate. These numbers bring about unlikely connections, and it appears that Jake can see things that others can't.

The Good: 

Part of my motivation for watching Touch stemmed from the fact that it comes from Tim Kring, the creator of Heroes. As an avid fan of Heroes' first season, I was hoping for something similar. In that manner, Touch didn't totally disappoint. Much like Heroes, it portrayed a wide variety of people around the world and then began to bring them together. This was an interesting aspect, and I liked the way that the storylines connected.


Additionally, I appreciated that there were some likable and familiar faces among the cast. Having never watched 24, I'm not really familiar with Kiefer Sutherland's work. That being said, there's something likable about him (although it may partially be that Kiefer is a super fun name to say). As a recent Doctor Who fan, I was excited to see Gugu Mbatha-Raw who I recognized as Tish Jones, Martha's sister. Although I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't recognize him until I did a quick IMDB search, What I Like About You's David de Lautour had a small role in the pilot of Touch as well.

The Bad:

Probably the biggest issue I had with Touch is that the pilot was cloying sappy. The show was so desperate to make me feel sorry for Sutherland's character and his son that it didn't quite feel genuine. For a show called Touch that's about the connections between people, I really failed to connect with any of the characters. They seemed more like sob stories than actual people.

Another issue I had with the pilot is that it was honestly kind of dull. I think I paused the episode 2 or 3 times before actually finishing it. While the idea of kid who knows things that he shouldn't is somewhat intriguing, it's just not that interesting to watch. I'd take Heroes-esque superpowers over that any day.

Will I Keep Watching:

When I first finished Touch's pilot, I thought that I might watch a couple more episodes to see where the show is going. However, the more I think about the pilot, the less I'm motivated to watch any more of Touch. Even writing this review, I was kind of surprised at how negative I felt towards it. It wasn't completely irredeemable, but it wasn't very interesting either. As I have plenty of shows to watch at the moment, it's doubtful that I'll keep watching.

When It Airs:

You can currently watch Touch's pilot at Hulu or on FOX's website. The show officially premieres on FOX on Monday, March 19 at 9/8c.

Awake

Premise:

After suffering a car accident with his wife and son, police detective Michael Britten (Jason Issacs) finds himself switching between two realities every time he goes to sleep. In one reality, his son is alive and his wife is dead; in the other reality, the reverse is true. Additionally, Michael's different cases in the two realities start to bleed together.

The Good:

I thought Awake's pilot was a solid start to the show. The premise is definitely intriguing and is a large part of what hooked me into watching the show, but it's not the show's only strength. I think Awake's cast was chosen well, and they all, particularly Issacs, put forth good performances. There was some sentimentality in the pilot in dealing with the deaths of Michael's family. However, it felt naturally derived from the plot rather than tacked only solely for the sake of stirring the audience's emotions. I felt connected enough to the main characters that I could feel bad for Michael's and his family's pain.

One of the best aspects of the pilot is simply that it made me excited to see where the show is headed. I want to know what's going to happen; I want to find out why Michael's experiencing two realities. It's a good sign when a pilot stirs curiosity in its viewers.

The Bad:

I don't have many complaints about Awake's pilot. I suppose the two cases that were featured were somewhat generic. As the pilot set up the show's slightly complicated premise in addition to featuring Michael's cases, however, I suspect that future episodes will improve in this aspect. To be honest, I'm just assuming that they're going to keep a crime-of-the-week aspect to show, but I don't know for certain.

My only other issue is that it became slightly confusing to keep the two realities straight. However, it wasn't too difficult, and the fact that Michael has different partners and wears different colored bracelets in each reality helped greatly.

Will I Keep Watching:

I'm going to answer this with a definite yes. I am slightly skeptical of how the concept of Awake will work past the pilot. The show could certainly lose its luster and focus over time, but I'm just going to hope the writers have inventive plans for the rest of the series. I'm certainly interested to see where the show is going, and I feel like I'm going to have some fun speculating about Awake.

When It Airs:

You can currently watch Awake's pilot at Hulu or on NBC's website. The show officially premieres on NBC on Thursday, March 1 at 10/9c.

 Bottom Line

I think Awake is a much superior show to Touch, and it's the only one of the two that I plan to keep watching. I found it to be a much fresher, genuine, and intriguing show. Particularly with sci-fi shows, it can often be hard to tell where the show is headed by simply viewing the pilot. However, judging solely by their pilots, Awake is going to be worth your time far more than Touch is.

How I Met Your Mother: 7x16, "The Drunk Train"

Last week's episode of How I Met Your Mother, "The Burning Beekeeper," was pretty bad. It was clear that the segmented format of the episode was an attempt to recreate the magic of an episode like "Brunch," but it was almost sad how much it failed to do so. With "The Burning Beekeeper" fresh in my mind, I didn't have great expectations for this week's episode, "The Drunk Train." Perhaps it's partially because my expectations were so low, but I surprisingly really enjoyed "The Drunk Train."

Photo: Ron P. Jaffe/CBS © 2012 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This week's storylines featured the following pairs: Barney and Ted, Lily and Marshall, and Robin and Kevin.

Barney and Ted received the title storyline, the drunk train. In addition to Barney and Ted's attempts to capitalize on a train full of drunk girls, there was also a focus on Barney's infatuation with Quinn, a girl who's smart enough not to fall for his tricks. Barney and Ted being paired up often leads to some pretty fun storylines, and this episode was no exception. The drunk train bit was fun, and it's the kind of storyline I could see fitting into an episode from some of the earlier seasons. I particularly liked Ted's realization that the key to the drunk train is to "get drunk." (Side note: Between "This ain't my first word search" and "Last week, I went out with a girl whose favorite band is Glee," Ted had some great lines tonight). The "girl who's wise to Barney's lines" storyline feels like territory that the show's covered before (Nora springs to mind), but I thought it worked pretty well. Quinn was likable, and I liked the reveal that she knew so much about Barney because she works at the Lusty Leopard (I had to rewind that last scene to make sure it wasn't just one of Barney's fantasies).

The Lily and Marshall storyline was cute, albeit a bit forgettable. I enjoyed the absence of Lily's father because his character has become overused. I can't quite remember if he moved out in the last episode or if he was just missing for this episode, but either way, it was a good move not to include him in "The Drunk Train." The look forward to Lily and Marshall post-baby was interesting, and I'm curious how their characters are going to handled once they become parents.

The first comment I'd like to make about the Robin and Kevin storyline is Hallelujah. Kevin and Robin's breakup was probably the best thing to come out of this episode. I have nothing against Kal Penn, but I'm of the fairly common opinion that Kevin has been this season's Zoe. Both characters dragged down the show and were much too unlikable to appear in as many episodes as they did. It's a credit to Cobie Smulder's acting that I felt so bad for Robin despite my joy at what is hopefully the end of Kevin. I think their breakup was handled really well. I love that Robin was open and honest to Kevin, and it was refreshing there wasn't any wacky sitcom shenanigans involved in their split.

I'd be remiss if I didn't address that scene between Robin and Ted near the end of the episode. I'm not quite sure what to think about Ted's declaration of love, but my gut reaction was "not this again." I've always liked Robin and Ted together, and I think they made a really cute couple. However, it just seems like the show's treading water at this point. We already know the Robin's not the mother, and they've already even briefly revisited the idea of Ted and Robin. It seems odd that Ted would express feelings for Robin when they broke up for similar reasons to those that Kevin and Robin broke up for. Ted's outburst could have several different outcomes, so I'll wait to see what happens before fully making a judgment on the scene. Still, I'm somewhat skeptical about it.

Did you watch "The Drunk Train?" What are your thoughts on the episode? How do you feel about Kevin and Robin splitting up? What are your thoughts on Ted declaring his feelings for Robin? If you want to share, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

In Medias Res: 90210, 4x14 "Mama Can You Hear Me?"

In Medias Res is a post in which I watch a current episode of show that I haven't been following. Thus, I start in medias res or "into the middle of things." This allows me to give an outsider's perspective on the show.


This is my second In Medias Res post. It's been almost a year since my first one on The Event, and I thought I'd give it another go. For this post, I've chosen the most recent episode (it's no longer the most recent, but it was when I started writing this recap) of 90210 that's available on the CW website, "Mama Can You Hear Me?" I think I watched part of one episode a couple of years ago plus I've seen some promos, but I really don't know much about the show. All my screencaps are from CWtv.com. That's about all the pre-recap info I want to cover. So in the words of Coolio in the "Keenan & Kel" theme song, "Aw, here it goes..."

Luckily, the previously segment gives me a glimpse into the show. It features the following things: cheating or perhaps faux cheating, a break-up, baby drama, Lexi aka Lindsay (depending on if you're a Vampire Diaries or Gilmore Girls fan), and a "no, I don't know her" that's filled with double meaning. It's certainly not enough to catch me up completely on all that's gone down in the infamous ZIP code, but it's a start.

I'm going to take a guess and say that Naomi gets a lot of screen time.

The episode begins with some couch-crasher making his opinion on The Civil Wars quite clear.  F.Y.I he calls their song "broken-hearted country crap." Some other guy disses their music as well. But you know you does like country music?

Shirtless guy does! 

Shirtless guy (presumably the one who Naomi broke up with) walks into the room shirtless, pours the last of couch-crasher's cereal, and then abandons it for a beer. I'd probably just nab the box of cereal to enjoy in my room, but I guess we all grieve in different ways. Anyway, the point is his depression is annoying his roommates, and some of them are prepared to leave if he doesn't shape up soon. The guy who I suppose is the only official roommate of shirtless guy agrees to comfort him. Until I find out his name, he will be the "comforter."

Meanwhile, Naomi (I do know a couple of names) walks in wearing this.

What can I say? I'm not a big fan of jumpsuits and fedoras. 

I'm assuming she works in fashion because she compares her boss to Miranda from "The Devil Wears Prada." This outfit looks kind of awful to me, but I guess I'm not a fashionista. Anyway Annie basically calls Naomi a slut and tells her that's why her boss doesn't like her. Naomi retorts by essentially calling Annie a psycho ex-stalker. That's got to mean they're BFFs, right? While some random girl in another questionable outfit joins their conversation, Annie defends her case with some sassy head bobbing. 

Homeless chic, anyone? I guess I really just don't understand fashion.

Next thing you know, Holly (thanks 90210 for mentioning a name) is bumping into Naomi. Look out guys, I think we've got a mean girl on our hands. I might just have to side with Holly though because she's the only one whose outfit I can get behind. Plus, she has the guts to do this.

I feel they all must be looking at her dress with envy.

Annie walks up to Naomi, and I realized that the gap in her black mourning gown is not a belt, but rather it's just a gap of flesh. Anyway, she's wondering where Naomi's fighting spirit is. Naomi assures her that she just needs to solve Holly's mommy issues therapist-style, and everything will be just peachy. 

Homeless Chic and some photographer have a conversation about his going to Afghanistan to pursue his dreams, and that's about that.

Then, one of the brunette girls (I know one is named Silver, but I get the girl from the beginning and this one confused. Until I learn their names, the one in the first scene is Brunette #1 and this girl is Brunette #2) walks down the street with some professor. He tells her that he's booked a table at a swanky restaurant because of "crabs" and his divorce. She tells him that his divorce is none of her business, and I start to think maybe she's just the babysitter for the kid in the intro (that's supposedly her birth kid???). Then they reference "our relationship," and he asks her to move with him. So I guess they're dating. If his kid really is her birth kid, that really does mean that there's drama a'brewing. If not, I'm really misreading things.

If that's not enough drama, there's a run in with Silver's (They named her! Now if they'd just mention Brunette #1's name.) ex, Couch-crasher, and his friend, the Comforter. These storylines are just starting to come together like an intricate tapestry! It's an awkward run-in, and even worse, it appears Couch-crasher vaguely recognizes the Professor. Maybe he just took his class or something, but because this is the CW, I'm thinking Silver's got a secret, guys. Maybe it has something to do with the kid drama.

"I wore my armless shirt in honor of this occasion."

Meanwhile, Lexi shows off her muscles to some guy. Okay, it was actually a tattoo. He wants the deets on it. She says it's a boring story. He wants to get to know her. She protests that she's a boring girl. This steamy flirting session is interrupted by Annie. Apparently, Some Guy is Annie's ex, and Lexi is the girl with the fake IDs. I guess this run-in with the ex explains Annie's midriff-bearing outfit. Annie threatens that Lexi needs to make like a banana and split, but I just don't think it's going to be that easy.

During a meeting with her boss, Naomi tries to make nice with Holly, but it just backfires on her. Poor Naomi, she just can't figure out how to mend fences with this girl.

Twelve minutes into the show, its theme song appears. I'd just about given up on it having opening credits. That was one heck of a cold open. At twelve minutes long, can you even call it a cold open? Anyway, the credits are totally unhelpful at telling me anything about the show. It's mostly just a bunch of random images like this.

I suddenly understand everything.

After the opening credits, we see Naomi working on her super-posh event. She gains points because I actually kind of like her dress in this scene (although the magically appearing bracelets that resemble rolls of duct tape aren't much my style), but she loses some for throwing out a humble brag about the stomach ache she's getting from all the movie stars, tv stars, and models that are attending the upcoming event she's working on. Homeless Chic (who's wearing a very similar sweater to the one she wore the day before) doesn't seem to mind the humble brag, but that's probably because she's trying to scam her photographer boyfriend (aka Nick) into a gig at the party. There's little drama there because Naomi quickly agrees.

No duct tape bracelets.

Duct tape bracelets!

Next thing you know, Holly's entering the kitchen in her best puffy shirt. Seriously, is there a rule that only one of these girls can look decent at a time? Anyway, there's some tension between the two which only escalates when Holly informs Naomi that her coffee contained a trip to the dentist, although she just refers to it as spit. Naomi's still desperate to make nice with Holly. So she gives her the all important job of transporting a VIP to the event. That sounds like a great plan, right?

There's a brief scene where we learn that shirtless guy has put on a shirt but is still down in the dumps. Annie's still obsessing over her ex's girlfriend. Based on the number of people who have told her that she's crazy, I'd say there's about a .05 percent chance that Lexi's not hiding something big. Brunette #1 tells her to chill, and what Annie gets from this is that she needs to do some serious Googling.

Meanwhile, Holly shows up to the party sans the celebrity, and her mom is not pleased. There's not that much to say about this scene other than to point out a mullet dress of note and for me to admit that Naomi actually looks really nice in this scene.

If Macgyver were a dress, he would be this one.

Coach crasher and Brunette #1 have a nice little bonding session where she talks about Maisy, the girl she gave up. I'm kind of bummed that it was her child instead of Silver's because I was hoping for the drama that would come with Silver dating the guy who adopted her kid. Oh well. 

Back at the local bar, Shirted Guy is listening to some more country music. Listen, I'm not buying the idea that this country music correlates with his depression. I mean anyone who owns a denim shirt such as this probably listens to country music regardless of the mood he's in. 

Couch surfer decides to pay Silver a visit, but it turns out that her boyfriend is the only one there. There's some awkwardness, but then this happens.

According to her dad, this child is a cell-phone using, Angry-Bird playing child prodigy. 

I guess I wasn't so crazy for thinking that the Professor is Maisy's dad after all. Sure, I got a little confused about which brunette was which, but I was closer to the truth than I thought. I apologize for my disappointment a few scenes ago; this storyline is pretty juicy. Apparently, Silver is well aware of her boyfriend's connection to Maisy. More importantly, Brunette #1 is revealed to be named Adrianna (or "Ade" as her non-friends like Silver call her), Couch Crasher is Navid, and the Professor is Greg. They're just throwing these names out there like crazy.

Going back to the Holly/Naomi storyline, they manage to find their VIP at his hotel, and he's drunk with a capital D. Could this be good news for their friendship? After all, nothing brings enemies together better than co-managing a drunk celebrity.

In the Lexi/Annie's ex's storyline, we finally find out what Lexi's big secret is: she hit him while he was on his motorcycle or something like that. I'm assuming this secret is relying on some knowledge from previous episodes because I'm little bit fuzzy about the accident. The ex acts like it was a pretty serious accident, but the only evidence of it I see is a small scar on his face. Anyway, Annie appears post-confession to share the secret with her ex. He calls her a crazy Google stalker, and he returns to the girl that marred his face.

Look at that hideous scar.

Naomi's event takes a turn for the worse when the drunk VIP throws up in medias carpet. Holly's mom starts to chew Holly out, and by now, you'd think Naomi would have learned to just let well enough alone. Instead she tries to take all the blame and goes on a self-righteous tirade about how she was attempting to repair Holly's relationship with her mom. Holly's mom is not having that nonsense, and she fires Naomi. If Naomi gets her job back, I sincerely hope that she'll learn to just mind her own business and not play the part of smug family therapist.

"Basically, I'm a saint."

Homeless Chic and Annie have yet another conversation about how crazy Annie is. Then Annie decides  she's going to mind her own business until everything comes crashing down around her ex. Then she'll be there to pick up the pieces because that totally sounds like the plan of a sane person. Some of the conversation is also devoted to Homeless Chic being worried about her boyfriend becoming a war photographer, but that's much saner stuff and therefore, kind of boring.

I feeling like Torrey DeVitto should be playing this character.

Guess what? Naomi's dumb family therapist plan actually kind of worked. Holly and her mom bond, presumably over their mutual hatred of Naomi. Now that she's taken over Naomi's job, Holly feels like she can afford to show some kindness to Naomi and gets her a possibly client, the drunk VIP. Naomi becomes smug once again and starts rambling about having her own company.

Homeless Chic's brush with true insanity (aka Annie) scares her into apologizing to Nick. Both of them acted fairly rationally in this storyline, and therefore, I'm not that interested. Still, good for her.

Finally, we reach the last scene of the episode. Navid's back in his natural habitat, the couch. This time, however, he's plagued by Silver's secret rather than country music. He tells Adrianna to take a seat and prepares to tell her the secret.

I honestly have to give 90210 props for not dragging that secret storyline out, and I feel like it's going to bring some drama on the next installment.

I can't say I'm going to add 90210 to my TV viewing schedule, but it was somewhat entertaining to watch for an episode. There were a couple of things I was confused about, and I'm sure some of my speculations were wrong. Still, I thought it was pretty easy to follow. All in all, it wasn't a bad pick for In Medias Res.

90210 fans, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the episode, my review, or even just the show in general. If you're not a fan, but just stumbled upon this review, I'd love to hear your thoughts as well. As always, feel free to leave a comment.