Samantha Who?
former bad-girl with amnesia tries to turn over a new leaf
Type of Pilot: Comedy.
Similar Shows: My Name is Earl (somebody who was formally bad tries to make amends and lead a good life)
The Inner Light: When all else is stripped away... who am I?
Strengths: Fantastic lead actress, snappy script, great concept.
Weaknesses: None.
Impressive Characters: Samantha, herself, is a fascinating new character. Not only because of her situation (she has amnesia) but because of her attitude towards it, and towards life in general. Her parents are flawed and likewise lots of fun to watch. The two best friends combine with Samantha to make a great mis-matched group, and the ex-boyfriend leads to a great slow-burning romance storyline.
Impressive Actors: Christina Applegate is simply perfect as Samantha. She attacks every line of dialogue and every sitation with unadulterated gusto. She is simply fantastic to watch. She is a star. I've been a fan for a long, long time but I've never seen her as funny, or as adorable, as she is in this role. Jean Smart and Kevin Dunn are scene-stealers as her parents. Smart, in particular, gets a lot of laughs. Melissa McCarthy plays Samantha's good friend, trying to help set things right with her life, and Jennifer Esposito plays the bad friend, trying to lead her astray. Both of them are pitch-perfect in their roles. Rounding out the cast are Tim Russ and Barry Watson as friendly doorman and ex-boyfriend respectively. Watson, in common with many others in the cast, is a consumate scene-stealer.
Less-Than-Impressive Characters: None.
Less-Than-Impressive Actors: None.
Continuity: None.
Rewatchability: Huge. This thing is laugh-out-loud funny on several occasions, and - as such - would we well worth watching again.
Other Info: Created by Cecelia Ahern, the daughter of Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach), Bertie Ahern.
Three Things I Really Like About This Pilot:
Christina Applegate
Jean Smart
Barry Watson
Miscellaneous Comments:
Coming in just behind Pushing Daisies and The Sarah Connor Chronicles, this is the best pilot of 2007. Simply brilliant from start to finish. It hits the ground running and - within minutes - not only has the audience up to speed with the characters and situation, but absolutely in love with both. Quite an achievement. Samantha is one of the most truly adorable characters that TV has given us in a while and I look foward to watching her adventures for some time to come.
GRADE: A
2 comments:
I agree completely. They had a 4-episode "mini-marathon" this past weekend and I watched all of it straight in a row, and then watched parts of it again when I rewound and it started to replay and I decided not to bother getting the remote, but rather watching it again. Funny the 2nd and 3rd time through. I am trying to get other people turned on to it so it stays on the air.
Now that it's off the air I really miss it.
In my opinion it just got better and better every week and Sam got more adorable.
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