Amazon does Pilot Season again


Amazon has released another crop of pilots, this time a trio of half hours, to be viewed and reviewed by the public. This is your chance to have a say in what Amazon takes to series. I have watched all three, and I wouldn't classify any of them as comedies, per se. I also wouldn't watch any of them as a series. This is, by far, the worst pilot season Amazon has done yet. Like the networks, they may fast be running out of ideas.

The Tick
Starring: Peter Serafinowicz, Griffin Newman, Valorie Curry, Brendan Hines, and Jackie Earle Haley
About: We've already had a "Tick" live-action series. It was funny, but a little bit weird. This one wants to be funny and a little edgy, I think, but none of that comes through in the pilot. Granted, it's a lot of heavy lifting to introduce characters and world in a half hour series that also wants to be funny and groundbreaking. But this pilot manages to accomplish none of those things. It's a total miss, tonally and in terms of execution.
Pilot Grade: D

I Love Dick
Starring: Kathryn Hahn, Kevin Bacon, and Griffin Dunne
Synopsis: Here is another total miss. I'm not sure what they were going for here, but it was an epic waste of talent. Of all the three pilots released, this is the worst, and that's saying something. Hahn is a talented comedian, and I like Bacon as an actor, but neither of them are given anything good to work with here. The characters are shrill, the story is ridiculous, and the pacing lags to a large degree. Again, a total miss.
Pilot Grade: D-

Jean-Claude Van Johnson
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kat Foster, and Phylicia Rashad
Synopsis: When your best pilot and concept is a comedy starring Van Damme as a version of himself, you know you've missed the mark. This was the best pilot, but I'm not saying it was good or a series that we'd want to watch. It was just the most watchable of a trio of turds. It's about Van Damme coming out of retirement to be a secret agent again, posing as the action star while trying to woo back his lady love. Van Damme doesn't take himself too seriously, which helps, but this isn't a good show, which hurts a lot.
Pilot Grade: D+

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