We Judge a Show by its Pilot

Today we are traveling back to Victorian era London and explore the world of the mysterious and supernatural. We are judging the pilot for the criminally underrated horror drama: Penny Dreadful. A very unique series where famous characters from classic horror fiction exist in the same universe and ban together to fight evil forces. Along with the pilot, we discuss some horror fiction we love, who would assemble our super team, and ...

What makes a show underrated? Is it a great series that never took off? Can it be a long running series that never received the accolades it deserved? Could it simply be a show that was forgotten in them mix of an infinite number of tv shows. Well we explore that on today's episode where we judge the pilot for According to Jim, an American sitcom that ran for 8 seasons and over 180 episodes yet neither one of us had ever seen a sin...

If your perfect match was standing right in front of you, would you even know it? That's a question frequently asked on the dating reality show: Are You the One? Originally airing on MTV (R.I.P.), Are You the One set itself apart from other dating reality shows in that it introduced the idea of a "perfect match" and an official matchmaking process. Even though the idea is to follow your heart and figure out what you need, not what ...

Yeaaahhhh buddy! We are traveling back to the mysterious year of 2009 when Jeff had just moved back home and was trying to find his place in the world. He didn't find it but thanks to one of his best friends, he did find Jersey Shore. Considered one of the most popular American reality shows of all time, Jersey Shore created a cultural shift in the US. On today's episode, Jeff talks about his origin story with Jersey Shore and wher...

It's guilty pleasure week and we're continuing Jeff Month with a show he's never fully admitted he was a huge fan of... The Hills. Originally a spin-off of Laguna Beach, The Hills follows Lauren Conrad as she moves from the Orange County suburbs to Los Angeles with her bestie, Heidi Montag. On today's episode, Jeff explains why he became glued to this show. Jeff and Anna also confess their favorite guilty pleasure reality shows, st...

We're continuing Jeff Month with his all-time favorite tv show: The Challenge. Originating as a spin-off to Real World and Road Rules, The Challenge is one of the first competition reality shows that pit former cast members of Real World and Road Rules against each other to compete for a cash prize. Today we are discussing the pilot for Season 19: Fresh Meat 2 which premiered on March 31, 2010 and was filmed in the beautiful Whistl...

For Jeff, this was the reality show that started it all for him. If you were a 90s kid that frequently watched The Disney Channel then you might remember Bug Juice, a reality show about kids at summer camp. Best described as "The Real World for middle schoolers", Bug Juice followed a group of young teens attending Camp Waziyatah in Maine. On today's episode, we discuss our favorite summer camp movies, the first time we were away fr...

Put on your Sunday best, bring your best batch of corn puddin', but be sure to avoid the town's rapscallion! Why? Because today we're judging the pilot for Schmigadoon! A comedy that parodies the Golden Age of musicals, this series has a stacked cast including Keegan Michael Key, Cecily Strong, Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen, Kristin Chenoweth, Dove Cameron, and even Martin Short! When a couple on the rocks get lost in the woods on a r...

I hope I get it! No, it's not that musical but it's the same vein. Today we are judging the pilot for Smash, a musical drama that has developed a cult following over the last 10+ years. As lovers of musical theater, we were very interested in seeing the behind the scenes world of developed a Broadway musical. Also as former theater kids, we share audition stories from our past. We also discuss unhealthy work relationships, work spo...

Today we are judging the pilot for a show we both love but is unfortunately surrounded with controversy. At one point in time, Glee was one of the biggest shows on TV. Countless Top 10 singles on iTunes, international tours, and it turned a bunch of unknown young actors into superstars. Some of the cast have gone on to win Emmy's, Golden Globes, and Tony's. Today we discuss our love for the show, some of our favorite moments, and p...

We're traveling to Seattle to visit a hospital with the world's hottest staff. Today we are judging the pilot for Grey's Anatomy. Spanning over the last 2 decades with over 450 episodes and still running, Grey's Anatomy is one of the most popular tv dramas of all time. Along with the pilot we are discussing why we think the show is so popular, Anna talks about what got her into the show when it originally aired, we also discuss wor...

WARNING: This episode might be too sexy for you. We try our best to keep a straight face for this episode but we can't help ourselves. We dive into the sexy, dramatic universe of Red Shoe Diaries, an erotic anthology series that originally aired on Showtime in the early 90s. We discuss our thoughts on why we think people are fixated on erotica, we give our opinion on open relationships and casual hookups, plus we give some colorful...

Thank you for being our friend! We've been waiting to judge the pilot for one of our favorite sitcoms and we're finally doing it. Today we discuss our love for The Golden Girls, an 80s sitcom that became one of the most popular shows on tv while discussing controversial topics in a comedic manner. Along with the pilot, we discuss our LEAST favorite tv theme songs, the first time we felt "old", times people gave us "the ick", and mu...

Have you ever had to "dial back" who you are in order to fit in? That's a topic we discuss as we judge the pilot for the beloved sitcom, Black-ish. A sitcom that broke barriers by having serious, topical conversations while still being a funny series. Along with the pilot, Anna shares what it was like being an American with immigrant parents, we talk about sports/school activities we wanted to do but either our parents wouldn't let...

It's our last episode of the month and our last Tuesday episode. After this we will be releasing an episode once a week on Friday's. We are closing out UK Month with a newer show that recently came out on Netflix... Dept. Q. The series centers around a brilliant detective that has been reassigned to a new department that works on cold cases. Morck, the detective, has recently dealt with a great deal of trauma and grief. Along with ...

Are you good at making friends? How do you go about it? That's our main topic today as we judge the pilot for the UK gem, The Inbetweeners. The series centers around a 16-year-old boy named Will who is starting his first day at a new school and he can't to stop standing out. As we discuss Will trying different ways to make new friends, we also discuss how we are at making friends and how we are with new people. Some may remember th...