We review Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC), Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (NBC), Miracle Workers: Dark Ages (TBS), FBI: Most Wanted (CBS), and 9-1-1: Lone Star (Fox) on this episode of The Pilot Podcast!
Music, Miracles, Cops and Firefighters!
01:00 - Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC)
09:53 - Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (NBC)
16:49 - Miracle Workers: Dark Ages (TBS)
22:56 - FBI: Most Wanted (CBS)
31:22 - 9-1-1: Lone Star (Fox)
Transcript coming soon
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BJ 0:10
Welcome to the pilot podcast
Mitu 0:12
where we watch the pilot episodes of TV shows and answer your question. Should I watch this?
BJ 0:17
My name is BJ
Mitu 0:18
and my name is mitu.
BJ 0:19
And this week we're checking out Zoe's extraordinary playlist on NBC. Lincoln rhyme hunt for the Bone Collector on NBC miracle workers Dark Ages on TBS, FBI Most Wanted on CBS and 911 Lone Star on Fox.
Mitu 0:35
So stay tuned to the end to see if BJ after all of these cop shows, is inspired to become one himself.
BJ 0:42
You know, I think I'm just gonna stick with listening to music.
Mitu 0:46
What does that have to do with whether or not you'd be a police officer?
BJ 0:50
That's just what I would rather do. Instead of become a law enforcement person of any sort
Mitu 0:57
email in if you want to see BJ as a first responder. alright beej. We'll start off with Zoe's extraordinary playlist. Tell us what happened.
BJ 1:06
So on this show, we have our lead character, Zoe. And the cool premise about this is that she gets an MRI done because she's having some headaches. And during the MRI, there is an earthquake and the technician is also playing music, not on any of the services that he listed though. And then she wakes up with magical powers. So she has like a jukebox playlist mixed with psychic mind reading abilities. And we go through her life at work as a professional software developer and with her family. Where now she can kind of read people's minds through song.
Mitu 1:46
Yes, so a popular song will play in your head representing your mood. And Zoe will listen to that and sometimes you'll look like you're in a music video so you'll perform it for her in her mind.
BJ 2:00
Yes, she's not just hearing it. She also sees you performing the song, which is a whole other level of what is real.
Mitu 2:09
So how did you feel about the magical jukebox psychic?
BJ 2:14
I think it's a fun take on psychic powers. It gave me some izombie vibes another show we really love. We're instead of eating someone's brain to learn about their memories, you just kind of stand near them and have them sing the song to you
Mitu 2:28
true and I think that Jane Levy who I know from suburgatory plays Zoe really well. You believe that she is nervous about the songs but also excited to mind people's business and peer into what they're going through. And then she plays the techie techie person well to like classic Hollywood interpretation of tech, I should say
BJ 2:52
Yes, she does a good job of being uncomfortable with their new powers but also showing us that she does plan to use her powers. To make other people's lives better, so also with this new ability, she shares it with one person so far her neighbor Mo, what did you think of that character?
Mitu 3:10
BJ, I have to come clean. I loved Season One of the Glee Project. I didn't watch glee. And I'm not a musical person. But for some reason, I was obsessed with Season One of the Glee Project and Alex Newell was the runner up, robbed, robbed on that competition. And so I loved seeing them play mo because Alex Newell is such a fantastic singer makes me rethink my thoughts about musicals and musical numbers and how much I dislike them. Do yourself a favor. You and all of our listeners, Alex sings mama will provide from once on this island on Broadway, and it is the most stunning musical number and it's just some video of Alex Newell in the studio with the other Broadway stars singing it and it's so beautiful. So I was excited to see them on the show singing and doing what they do best, which is performance. But they were obviously a magical Negro character.
BJ 4:09
Do you want to go more into that for our listeners who are unfamiliar?
Mitu 4:14
So listeners, if you listened a couple episodes ago to our review of astronomy club, they talk about this in this sketch called damn about magical negros. And basically, that's a character that's written into a show who's often black, often older than the protagonist, and they guide the protagonist through what they're experiencing. And typically the protagonist is a non black person usually white. So think Morgan Freeman as God Morgan Freeman as the driver in Driving Miss Daisy. The Green Mile is a good example of a literal magical Negro. So basically someone who guides you through what you're experiencing and she comes home to mo tells him I am seeing people seeing their innermost thoughts, even though it's not actually happening. And I think I'm losing my mind and mo goes, all right, let's figure it out together. Just ready to serve as the magical Negro character
BJ 5:12
fully accepts This is my position in your life.
Mitu 5:15
Yeah,
BJ 5:16
we literally were not friends. I thought you hated me.
Mitu 5:19
Yes.
BJ 5:19
But now that you need my help, I'm here.
Mitu 5:21
But again, I like it, at least as a vehicle for us to listen to Alex Newell's extraordinary voice. Alex Newell gets to be on NBC on a prime time show. And we got to see them perform at the drag show.
BJ 5:35
Oh, yeah. He's also a DJ. So he has more than just being the magical Negro going on.
Mitu 5:40
Yes.
BJ 5:41
So let's talk about her job as a software developer. She works at a company with Gilmore girl
Mitu 5:48
Lauren Graham,
BJ 5:49
and she's going for promotion. But one thing that stuck out to me was classic primetime network just throwing out all the tech terms they could think of
Mitu 5:59
Yes, they were like the repository, the code, copy the code application. It was. It was like if I showed up to your job and just brought like a bunch of beakers with me to fit in. That's what It made me think.
BJ 6:17
Did you guys mix the reagents and bring the cells? I've got a pipette,
Mitu 6:22
y'all, let me tell you about the powerhouse of the cell, also known as the mitochondria. That's what I would have brought. And so I appreciate that in Hollywood, there's always this moment of introducing someone from a tech or a science background and some shows will take it a step further and actually delve into it. And then sometimes it's just techie techie talk talk,
BJ 6:47
I think that accurately describes her entire job. Yes, kind of moving on. There's not much to her job yet. Maybe it'll be more interesting in future episodes. Actually, the final scene which is a spoiler hints that it will be more interesting.
Mitu 7:01
Yes. And Skyler Austin is her I would say work husband.
BJ 7:04
Yes. Yeah, that is perfect description
Mitu 7:07
and her workplace crush is at her job too. So I think we'll see more Simon
BJ 7:12
and outside of work we do get glimpses of her family life. And I think her interactions with her family in the scene we're not gonna go into, which is a really touching scene brings up the question, what are the rules of her powers?
Mitu 7:27
Yes. So as a little background on her family life, her dad is played by Zaddy Gallagher. And her mom is Mary Steenburgen. And Pete is sick. And she has to navigate that with her family life in addition to dealing with the pressures at work. And so you see that explored more on the show for the rules of the world. I was very confused by when the songs would turn into big musical numbers. Are those people actually moving near her and singing and dancing or is she just imagining them still With her, even though she's left them, because sometimes she picture someone who is in a specific position physically singing, and then when she comes to they're still in that position, just Of course not singing, but sometimes she moves in relationship to the singing and music. And when she comes to they're now in that position. So did they move? And maybe while they were talking, she thought they were singing.
BJ 8:28
And how long Is she standing there? Is this happening in real time?
Mitu 8:32
Yes. And so the show opens with a huge musical number of basically half of San Francisco singing help. And did all those people follow her? They were all in the street because some of them were from the bus, or did she just carry them with her in her mind?
BJ 8:49
We'll have to explore that in future episodes. And the question is, will we watch future episodes? Mitu. What's your rating?
Mitu 8:57
musical hive do not come for me. You're a fan of musicals. You should watch this show because I think it had a lot of heart. there's potential for great plot moving forward, and the songs are great. I don't think this show is for me, so I don't think I'll watch future episodes but I will watch any and all mo numbers so BJ Keep me posted on Alex new all and also listeners, please let me know every single time that person opens their mouth to sing because I want to witness that
BJ 9:26
interesting choice. I'm actually would watch a game casually
Mitu 9:30
okay.
BJ 9:31
I actually enjoyed how much music they put into the episode.
Mitu 9:35
Well, you love musicals.
BJ 9:36
I don't love musicals.
Mitu 9:37
Okay, sure.
BJ 9:38
musicals are different than these contemporary covers. True. I liked the playlist so I will watch more of Zoe's extraordinary playlist.
Mitu 9:47
It was a great selection of songs.
BJ 9:49
It really was. So we have Zoe who was a mind reader, but do you want to go on to someone else who can read minds?
Mitu 9:56
Yes, Lincoln rhyme the hunt for the bone collector on NBC and Lincoln played by Russell Hornsby, who coincidentally starred on Lincoln Heights is a detective. I'm glad you caught that on delay. He is a detective who hunted The Bone Collector, the show title was extremely helpful and letting me know exactly what the plot would be. And the Bone Collector is a notorious serial killer in New York. And because Lincoln has the superior intelligence, it gives him this hubris. And we see in the opening of the episode that he chases this man to his detriment proceeds without backup is sick of waiting to catch this guy and unfortunately falls for one of his traps and ends up paralyzed. And so the show is about Lincoln, who is confined to his bed using his team around him to help him continue his search for the Bone Collector serial killer.
BJ 10:58
Yeah, so what were your initial thought on Lincoln as a character because it's interesting to see him as this very obsessive detective who wants to be the best and even is compared to Sherlock Holmes.
Mitu 11:12
They made that comparison so explicit on the show, and they even had moments where he could see calculations in front of his eyes and see schematics of buildings. And it reminded me actually of the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movie where he did that as well. When you'd be like, if I hit this guy here, he'll go there. It's kind of like a Sherlock Holmes action movie as an aside, but I thought that Lincoln was an interesting character. He clearly is of higher intelligence. I liked the show show that there's different sorts of intelligence because he was so smart underestimated the people around him the Bone Collector and the consequences of always following what his mind thinks he's supposed to do, and his obsession led to his literal downfall. So I thought that was interesting that they put that together for us pretty neatly for this show and his crew around him. I liked his relationship with his crew as well. So he has this core group of people that he trusts to share information with and work with him to hunt for the Bone Collector. He has Felix, the computer expert who you'll recognize assignment from Quantico, he has Kate his scientist. He has Claire, his caregiver. He has Rick, his former partner played by Michael Imperioli, and he has Amelia who will meet who is going to be his basically body on the ground, played by Arielle kibble. And I should add Eric, the other cop whose name he can never get right.
BJ 12:46
Give Eric respect. Yes, I would say Amelia, who also goes by Sach,s officer Sachs. She's probably my favorite character so far. And like you mentioned, she's the one tasked with wearing a body cam. So Lincoln can be out in the field to the point where he's directing her where to look where to go. But I kind of like how she was forced into this not really expecting herself to become a detective not expecting her to work with a team like this yet, we kind of see her adapt really quickly and having her own twist on how to solve these Bone Collector cases.
Mitu 13:25
Yes, it was nice that she got to show her strength and impress Lincoln early on.
BJ 13:31
So I think something that's hard to ignore, because in the title of the show is the Bone Collector. So the interesting thing about this procedural is that while there are cases of the week, there is an ongoing serial killer that the whole series is based off of it's Lincoln's goal to take down the Bone Collector. I think it works well in this series because it's not just about finding the Bone Collector. So the cool way that Introducing the Bone Collector into this series is that his whole signature thing is killing three bodies in a day and pieces of evidence. And so every week, I'm assuming we're going to have three more attempts at murder with three more very vague clues, which this team can somehow turn a scrap of paper into the location of where the next victim is,
Mitu 14:25
well, they're the best of the best BJ
BJ 14:27
My bad, I didn't appreciate their talent.
Mitu 14:32
Thank you for apologizing.
BJ 14:33
What did you think of the Bone Collector and how they're wrapping that into cases of the week
Mitu 14:38
in this first episode, they had a couple red herrings, which led them to some other criminals in addition to continuing their chase for the Bone Collector. So I hope that they keep that up and maybe lean into having other people pop up because I can't imagine it would hold my attention to chase one person. you made this point because the name of the show is hot for Bone Collector as soon as they've hunted him the show's over. So in order to extend it, because I assume they want to be longer than one season, they're going to have to find other people of the week that are of interest. So I hope they turn up those cases more.
BJ 15:20
Yeah, I feel like we're going to mix it up. Maybe have an episode that's not even focused on the Bone Collector that much just to give us variety.
Mitu 15:29
Yes.
BJ 15:29
Okay. Let's head into our ratings. What would you give Lincoln rhyme on for the Bone Collector on NBC?
Mitu 15:36
I am interested enough in the mystery. I don't think I want to watch this seriously. But I can see myself maybe at the end of the season, tuning into an episode to just see if they caught them and then going on about my day for our listeners who like police procedurals, this one isn't bad. So if you want another one, go for it, but I don't think it stands out, necessarily. against the genre enough for it to be worth watching over something else.
BJ 16:05
I think that's reasonable. It's a very crowded genre. I'm a little more favorable, I would watch this again casually. I really like the setup, the dynamic between Lincoln and sachs and his team. I think some of these clues and how they solve them are a little bit of a stretch, but I also kind of like that at the same time, so I'll keep I'll keep checking in.
Mitu 16:27
Okay, so you can just keep me posted Really?
BJ 16:29
Well don't rely on me. I'm casually checking in
Mitu 16:33
listeners, email us at ask the pilot podcast at gmail.com if you want to be on BJ Lincoln rhyme newsletter, and so he can just keep us posted on how close we are to finding the Bone Collector.
BJ 16:46
Mm hmm.
Mitu 16:47
So now you know.
BJ 16:49
So speaking of death, and doom and gloom, another show that is in the same kind of mood is miracle workers Dark Ages on TBS,
Mitu 16:59
nice nice segue BJ. So what happened in miracle workers Dark Ages?
BJ 17:05
Sure. So miracle workers is now an anthology series. And in the second season Dark Ages, we have the same cast, but a new story. We're following our main characters. Al short for Alexandra and Prince Chauncley. And the whole first episode is about our trying to determine what her career is going to be. She and her friends are now at the age where they're starting to work and become productive members of the town. And then Prince Chauncley is dealing with trying to find that what he wants to do with his life and comparing himself to his father, who had accomplished a lot of military achievements and leadership accomplishments at the same age.
Mitu 17:52
Yes, he wants a The like Meg the stallion, Prince Chauncley the something
BJ 17:58
he wants a tagline. So what do you think of this new interpretation of the cast?
Mitu 18:04
I thought it was a cute take. I like the idea of how in the dark ages, young people are just as lost. Now in the sense that in one of the scenes, Geraldine Viswanathan is Al, and she goes to college to try to expand her horizons. And the teacher says something to the effect of the Sun revolves around the Earth, something kills you. And that's all you need to know. That's all the knowledge there is, and that they have a graduation ceremony. And so she had these high hopes about college helping her now she's out a bunch of money with a college degree and no job prospects. And that was triggering for a lot of us who graduated college during the recession. And it was funny to see it in that framing, and all of the characters which you alluded to have last names that indicate what they do. So there's Mary Baker, Ted carpenter. pervert guy, everyone. Everyone plays their role. And so her last name is shitshoveler. And so the idea is she needs to follow in her dad's footsteps and shovel people's excrement. And she doesn't want that life.
BJ 19:17
Yeah, she wants to have some agency over her future and career and doesn't want to just blindly accept the path that people are repeatedly going through. I mean, you have the baker girl who became a baker like her family wanted, and then the next day she's engaged to her brother and she'll probably be pregnant in the next episode. That's a choice.
Mitu 19:39
And there's a moment where Ali turns to her friend Maggie, who becomes a nun. She's played by lolly adefope and goes sometimes I think we're just in the worst time in history. that was one of my first big laughs from the show. That was a good line.
BJ 19:56
So what did you think of the theme of breaking traditions? We also see Prince Chauncley, who is asked to perform some acts that would be typical of a royal family member, but he decides to go against that.
Mitu 20:10
He doesn't want to be the violent ruler that his father is. I don't even know if he's thinking about it that critically, I think he just probably just make some squeamish.
BJ 20:20
He just doesn't want to do the violent.
Mitu 20:22
That's exactly it. listeners. I don't know that there were many moments in this episode that really made me laugh, laugh. But there's a part where he's obviously played by Daniel Radcliffe, one of the stars of the show. There's a part where he's about to go off to war, and in order to avoid going off to war pretends in the most, I think funny part of the show to be injured by this rolling cart that was rolling at a snail's pace. So he has to wait for so long for it to hit him in order to pretend that he can't go off to battle and that is When we knew for sure he's a bit of a scaredy cat.
BJ 21:02
You know, I think one thing that we can all take away from this show is not every role is meant for every person. You gotta find what works well for you. Your interests, your personality, your degrees if you have any,
Mitu 21:16
and it's nice to break tradition, so Steve Buscemi plays Alexandra's dad, and he appreciates at the end of the show. It's a light spoiler, the shovels not being so long. So initially, he thought that you had to stoop down low with a short handle and scoop people's feces and she suggested a long handle shovel, so you don't have to be near it and you don't have to stoop and he eventually was fine with that.
BJ 21:43
And that's how we slowly improve the world.
Mitu 21:46
I do want to tell y'all that after watching this show, BJ told me he doesn't watch pooper scoopers so
BJ 21:54
you spoiled my rating
Mitu 21:58
so I just want y'all to know he's actually Cool now, but he was very opposed to the concept.
BJ 22:03
Anyway, let's just head into our ratings of miracle workers Dark Ages. I'll let y'all know. When I watch again. There was definitely some funny moments, but I'm a pass,
Mitu 22:14
I watched the first season of miracle workers pretty casually, which I think that was my rating, maybe casually or would watch while folding laundry. And I would suggest the same to any of our listeners who are just looking for a kind of funny show that you can drift in and out of, but watch while you're putting away your clothes or cooking your recipe or whatever it is, because I think it's funny enough if you like comedies to give you a couple laughs But from what I've seen of this first episode, not necessarily compelling enough that I need to drop everything and watch it seriously. And the cast is very charming
BJ 22:52
and talk about poop a lot.
Mitu 22:54
That's true. Yes.
BJ 22:56
So speaking of breaking traditions, Don't you love it when a doctor becomes a member of a gang
Mitu 23:01
a biker gang at that yes I do beej
BJ 23:04
well perfect because that happened in FBI Most Wanted on CBS
Mitu 23:09
in FBI most wanted. Jess Lacroix is head of the fugitive Task Force and the FBI which tracks the most notorious runaways. And this show is brought to you by the folks behind the the original FBI that this is a spin off of and also law and order so dick Wolf and Rene balcer and in this first episode, the mystery of the week is they're chasing a doctor who got caught up with this biker gang and is filling illegal prescriptions and cleaning dirty money. And so we're watching Lacroix and his ragtag crew of the fugitive Task Force use any means necessary, including direct members of the doctors nuclear family, estranged or not to figure out where he is because he also in his escape, murdered his wife.
BJ 24:00
murders a lot of people,
Mitu 24:01
a lot of people but the first murder that gets them gets a whiff of their interest is the is the wife's murder. So beej, how did you feel about it?
BJ 24:10
I thought this was really fun for a procedural. It was an interesting cast. I think the fugitive Task Force is made up of a good collection of different personalities, some better than others, but they work well together to keep the show going. And I was telling Mitu this before we started recording, this show just did a good job of holding my attention the entire time.
Mitu 24:35
Yes. Which is tough for I would argue a very typical traditional procedural in the 45 minute format.
BJ 24:44
Mmhmm. Did any members of the task force stand out to you
Mitu 24:48
one Keishia castle-Hughes hive were here. The Oscar nominated actress is Hana Gibson, the tech on the team. She does her techie techie Talk, talk and hacks things And infiltrates networks to find the doctor and I thought she brought such a nice lightness to the show because the rest of it was so serious. You know Lacroix is a single dad and Kenny played by Kellan Lutz on the team is this angry guy who beat someone almost to the point of killing them. And agent Sheryll Barnes is Lacroix's partner played by Roxy Sternberg. But she is the serious logical one. And so Hannah got to be that light character. And I like that
BJ 25:34
you're light hearted. I like agent Barnes because I am getting things done.
Mitu 25:38
That's true. But I mean, between your logic and my techie tech tech will find the guy every time
BJ 25:45
basically we should just sign up for the real fugitive Task Force they need us.
Mitu 25:50
How did you feel about Kenny casually beating a suspect to the point of almost killing him
BJ 25:57
he would have kept going and it would not have been good for that. drug dealer but you know, when you have known documented anger issues, and you have to restrain someone, sometimes you just punch and punch and punch and punch
Mitu 26:12
LaCroix so casually after stopping him goes, I thought you took care of this anger management problems. It's so much more than that if you almost killed a man
BJ 26:23
you didn't close that door, that chapter of your life.
Mitu 26:26
Yeah, you didn't just put that huge issue just boop boop boop just neatly wrapped it up right by you. So did this show stick out to you in terms of this is another procedural brought to you by CBS? does it stand out against the og FBI against all of the different law and orders and NCIS's and CSIs.
BJ 26:49
So as our listeners may know, we did review the first FBI that this is a spin off of but it doesn't seem that related but in terms of the world of CBS, procedurals and procedural in general concept doesn't stand out. But somehow the combination of the task force and the mystery presented or the case presented in this week's episode did stand out. So I don't know what the secret sauce is.
Mitu 27:15
I agree it was such a traditional straightforward plot to the point of you think it's one person and then around the 42 minute mark, it's actually just another person. And once we're in the fourth quarter of the show, we know that the person's about to be revealed it followed that to a tee. But the mystery itself was so fun and interesting to follow that I didn't mind that it was pretty strictly within the typical format of procedurals and I liked the theme of the show of just performance and lying. It was just interesting to see that this doctor character who was part of the biker gang meant so many different things to different people to his biological daughter. She thought he was a war hero a vet someone who had been awarded for his service upstanding community member to his wife. She thought rich doctor Veteran stability she did a charity around veterans to his stepdaughter. She thought the man that took my mom away but at least he has money to his parents that they thought that his mom thought he was this forlorn person who never got approval from his father to the biker gang. Of course, they saw him as the guy who cleans their money to the people that he gives the drugs to. They almost see him as a savior character because he's providing the drugs that they feel that they need because of their addiction. So it was interesting to see also that performance of him traversing all of these different roles.
BJ 28:41
Yeah, I think they really did set up a cool case with this Dr. Brock who means different things to different people is great at living a double life until he gets caught. And you know, of course you gotta bring up things like the opioid crisis, but I think there were some cool twists in this Episode and that is what added to the interest. I will admit there are some things like they're alluding to more backstory from Lacroix, which was not that interesting to me.
Mitu 29:11
Yeah.
BJ 29:12
But at the end of the day, they got me to watch to the end. They are me asking questions like did Megan Curtis get to keep the money? You know, I want to see the backstory of that pharmaceutical sales rep who's also an exotic dancer. That's an interesting character.
Mitu 29:28
That was a little razzle dazzle that they threw on to the show. The one thing that I didn't like was how they treated one of the patients of the doctor who had a child how they treated her addiction so callously and punish her for her addiction in front of the kid and even separate from the kid. I didn't like how they did that, but because you're supposed to treat people with humanity. I just think that she wasn't treated like a human being on that show. But otherwise, like you said, We Had doctors biker gangs, exotic dancer pharmaceutical company reps discussion of the opioid crisis in probably kind of inoffensive way I would say we had techie techie talk talk in this one too. We had a hawk, Lacroix's daughter, nurses, birds of prey back to life and then releases them to the wild. They were like we have this full pot of pasta and we are slaying it and against the wall and every noodle that sticks is going to be a different storyline that we're going to weave into here and you're going to like it
BJ 30:32
and they all stuck
Mitu 30:33
and they all stuck.
BJ 30:35
So I think with all that excitement, we just got to tell our listeners what we thought so mitu what would you rate FBI Most Wanted on CBS.
Mitu 30:44
I would recommend to our listeners who like procedurals, like crime shows, check out this show. I don't think you have to watch it seriously. I certainly don't intend to, but if it's on and I'm on my couch, I'm sitting down and watching it because it was fun. gripping and ridiculous.
BJ 31:02
I agree wholeheartedly, I would put this in a would watch again casually check in every other week, you know you'll have a good time. If you sit down and it's on. You might as well invest, you won't regret it.
Mitu 31:14
You won't regret watching it. That's for sure.
BJ 31:16
So now that we have this kind of paint by the numbers procedural in a good way, yes, let's go out of the box with 911 Lone Star on Fox
Mitu 31:27
beej. Tell us what happened and 911 Lone Star
BJ 31:30
so on 911 Lone Star we have Rob Lowe playing Captain Owen strand, and his son TK they are New York firefighters.
Mitu 31:41
The premise is already so fun. Rob Lowe is a New York firefighter go ahead
BJ 31:46
New York firefighters saving the day. And the next thing you know, the DOJ comes knocking on Rob Lowe's door and it's like there's an accident in Austin that destroyed an entire firehouse. And we need you to rebuild it with diversity. So the whole premise is that Strand and his son moved to Austin to kind of start fresh but also rebuild this firehouse and try to modernize the fire department in Austin. So Mitu. This was a wild ride. We already hinted it was out of the box, what are your thoughts?
Mitu 32:24
So I want to first explore Rob Lowe as a New York firefighter with cowboy tendencies. There is a part of the show where he literally says A man should have to earn his spurs. And I think even the show creators who are part of whom are Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim minear, and you would not be surprised to see that crew behind the show because it is deliciously camp, but even the show creators recognize that Rob Lowe is not exactly a believable lifelong New Yorker and gruff firefighter, so they just say that he was born, I believe in Santa Monica or somewhere out west, I think to explain some of his behavior, but they say that he's been in New York since the 90s. He talked about the 90s in New York, and then he talks about being in New York during the September 11 attacks. And it was just delightful to see him play this character because it made no sense. And Rob Lowe to his credit, I think did the best he could to be this rough and tumble Western kind of guy, but a lifelong New Yorker, but a firefighter but also someone who is really intense about his hair and skincare. And I loved watching him figure that out.
BJ 33:41
He was in control. He has it figured out.
Mitu 33:44
Yeah, it's the rest of us that need to catch up. He even line dances, listeners, he line dances, he boots scoots at the end of the show,
BJ 33:52
and he's keto What else can you ask?
Mitu 33:55
Oh my gosh, when he has to eat the lard cookies that the people in the neighborhood brought to him. Amazing.
BJ 34:02
What did you think of his son TK we see him which was supposed to start off with a very happy moment proposing to his boyfriend. And throughout this episode, he kind of has some rough moments as he's figuring out his life.
Mitu 34:17
So for TK, this is a light spoiler because it's the literal premise of the show, at the very beginning of the show TK attempts to die by suicide because his boyfriend did not accept his marriage proposal. And we know that TK has past issues with drinking
BJ 34:32
and opioids
Mitu 34:33
a callback to FBI, so he relies on opioids to kill himself. And I thought that that was handled a bit callously because Rob Lowe just takes him outside for some fresh air, which I can't say what is a right way or wrong way to react to something but in my mind, if you're a single father, witnessing your child's attempted suicide, perhaps you would try to get them some help. And instead he goes, we need the fresh air of Austin, Texas. So he approves his child and takes him down south and BJ and I never feel comfortable talking about suicide without giving information for where you can get help. If you or a friend is struggling, you can text home to Crisis Text Line at 741741 in the United States, or you can call or online chat with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Or you can look up their online chat via Google.
BJ 35:33
Yeah, it never hurts to ask for help for you or your friends or loved ones.
Mitu 35:38
Yes, there's no shame in helping yourself. In fact, it's a very brave thing to do.
BJ 35:43
You know what is shameful though, forcing diversity,
Mitu 35:46
y'all y'all to borrow a phrase from my beloved south where they are as well. The premise of the show is Rob Lowe having to diversify the Austin fire department because he has to reBuild it because all the firefighters died in a tragic accident, except for one Judd who will meet later in the show. So instead of filling the firehouse with the demographics of the old Fire Department, he is tasked by the DOJ with finding a diverse crew. So he travels the country because there are no talented queer folks, people of color, whatever, in Austin, so he goes to Miami goes to Chicago, and he finds this crew. And there is a moment where he speaks to a Muslim woman and hijab and goes, when I look at you, I don't see a Muslim. I don't see a woman. I just see a firefighter. And you had a really good point about that, which is then you're not seeing her.
BJ 36:47
Yeah, she's very comfortable with her religion and being a woman like she's not trying to diminish or hide that part of herself.
Mitu 36:55
She is not at any point. So I was confused by that. Because all she said was I don't want to be tokenized. Which I respect. That's a question that is natural to ask. And so there was this weird meta moment throughout the show of what does this say about the show itself? That is it transparently going for diversity just for diversity sake without actually exploring these people more deeply and developing them more deeply and why they're there. And then there's a moment again, I couldn't tell if it was meta, where Rob Lowe response to the DOJ shouldn't someone who is diverse lead this diverse mission, and they were like, no, you're the best. And so I couldn't tell if that was the show. craters being like, Rob Lowe is the best one of the characters on the show is a trans black man, you know, he couldn't lead this crew. I can't tell if that's what they were trying to say, you know, except Rob Lowe. Basically,
BJ 37:49
I think they're just saying Rob Lowe, trumps everyone, all people of any type any background because he knows skincare.
Mitu 37:56
Yes. So that's another interesting scene. Paul Strickland. is played by Brian Michael Smith. He's a black trans man portraying a black trans man and he has this moment in the fire house bathroom which is gorgeous.
BJ 38:10
Well they renovated without worrying about cost
Mitu 38:13
that was a love it or list it but better bathroom reno that was like chip and Joanna level. no better than that. That was a spa bathroom. They even had the Kardashian selfie lights around the mirror. I was very impressed by that bathroom. So there's a heart to heart moment between Rob Lowe's Owen and Brian's Paul where Paul turns to Owen and says that his medication for his hormone therapy causes his skin to break out which is something that trans folks have talked about like skin issues from the hormones and Rob pulls out this brief case and explains his skincare routine in order to help him so give him this super expensive face wash to be like, get yourself together because soap and water ain't cutting it for just washing your skin and actually utters the line. This is a promise I make to every crew that I lead. Everybody who clocks in will clock back out. everybody gets a fair shake, and no one gets left behind when it comes to skincare, and he delivers that line with gravitas,
BJ 39:18
you know, when you live a certain lifestyle, that's just how it is.
Mitu 39:22
That's another thing. There were so many one liners on the show that I tried to take notes on the plot itself, but I couldn't not just write one liners. Also, Rob Lowe himself has gotten in trouble a couple times for saying some not great things about different people on Twitter like he had that Native American joke about Elizabeth Warren and some other stuff. So it was interesting to see him on the show. I wonder if he even likes the concept,
BJ 39:49
but that would be hilarious. If he's like this is purely for a check. I don't support the message. So is another important aspect which seems to be in kind of the background to rob Lowes character's opinions in the foreground. There were a few cases this week.
Mitu 40:07
Yes. So we're introduced to Liv Tyler who plays Michelle Blake, the chief paramedic, she and Owen butt heads a bit over who runs Austin and Michelle believes her sister was murdered and we see her introduction in the show is her banging down. The sister's ex boyfriends home and trying to get in and accuses him of murdering her sister and that plotline is immediately discarded. That's one of the mysteries of the week. Don't think that there are any spoilers there are only spoiler for that is it is just let go. And we'll learn about that maybe in a few episodes. And then there is the man who ate the ghost pepper and his esophagus starts to bleed because the pepper burns his throat out basically
BJ 40:58
burns a hole in He's filling with blood. So you will see a lot of blood in this episode.
Mitu 41:04
And they do that classic cop show thing where they always intubate. Always.
BJ 41:08
They love it.
Mitu 41:09
They love it. That's another techie techie Talk Talk moment is they love sticking a straw or a pen straw in someone in
BJ 41:16
anything they can find let's just poke a hole
Mitu 41:19
right in the throat let the blood out. You could have just given him the Heimlich. And then the star moment of the show
BJ 41:27
best case I've ever seen in a procedural
Mitu 41:30
a pregnant woman gets into a terrible wreck her car tumbles and somehow mom vans have now been equipped with eject buttons under the seats of their children, one of the babies so she has one in her belly with her and the other one in the car seat ends up in a tree and listeners like a tree. way way high up takes one of those firefighter ladders to get it down.
BJ 41:58
three stories up maybe
Mitu 42:00
and is just resting on this one little branch. So just a miracle, if you will. And there is that's your miracle workers.
BJ 42:10
It was a miracle that that baby launched itself into a tree away from the car accident. It got out of there. And then as soon as the mom was like, Where are you, baby? It was like now I should cry.
Mitu 42:23
Yes,
BJ 42:24
and let people know where to get me.
Mitu 42:26
The baby saved itself and then took a nap because it was just a lot. But as soon as the baby heard, Okay, looks like some people are gathering. It's time for me. I need to let them know. I'm here
BJ 42:38
up here up. Hey, hey, look, in the tree. Not around the car. Not on the road. Not in the backseat.
Mitu 42:46
Someone actually screamed the baby's in a tree. And then at one point, the baby carrier falls, not the baby. Because I mean, I don't think that's a spoiler. They're not killing a baby on a fox show. And you just hear one of the actors go Oh, no the Baby.
BJ 43:00
That was the amazing final case of the episode and you would think this was already a lot rebuilding a fire department saving all of these people building diversity but they also throw in very tangible love interests and then a hint at another love interest. You want to talk about that
Mitu 43:17
almost immediately. We see sparks fly between Owen and Michelle, especially when they boot scoot during their line dancing. And then potentially between Carlos the cop who arrests Michelle every time she harasses the man that she believes killed her sister and TK the son. So we're saying that TK Not only is ready to work again and be relocated, but also let's throw in some romance,
BJ 43:45
you know, long as he's under Owen's roof. It'll be okay.
Mitu 43:49
The $4500 rented house.
BJ 43:52
great deal. We have to say yes.
Mitu 43:54
They were very excited about that versus New York prices.
BJ 43:57
How much do firefighters make
Mitu 43:59
I don't know. Owen lived in a nice house TK lived in a really nice apartment. He has all of that expensive skincare stuff. I assume he's a Lemaire person, like top top top the line based on that briefcase 4500 is a lot to spend in Austin, Texas, so I'm not sure I didn't think firefighters made I don't know the six figures you would need to sustain the lifestyle that they're sustaining.
BJ 44:25
Maybe he comes from money.
Mitu 44:26
Yes, maybe we'll learn that in a future episode along with why Liv Tyler thinks that her sister has been murdered.
BJ 44:32
Okay, mitu. What would you rate 911 Lone Star on Fox
Mitu 44:37
I would watch again casually and I would suggest the same to our listeners. If you're looking for a completely out of the box show. That is such a fun ride. Then watch the show. I don't think you need to watch it seriously. I mean, I don't think it would hurt too if you want. I just know that I probably won't. But this isn't the last episode. I'll see. I'm definitely going to catch more when I have time because it's so fun.
BJ 45:02
I agree this was surprising for many different reasons I would give it would watch again on an airplane while traveling. I don't need to see every episode in the season, but this was a fun ride. So I think I would come back for at least another one or two fun rides. Agreed. Well, everyone if you want to find more of our reviews, be sure to head to our website at thepilotpodcast.com and you can subscribe to us on your favorite podcast platforms. Also, if you want to hear us take a deep dive into a single pilot episode, check out our more long form show called The pilot podcast deep dive by going to join.thepilotpodcast.com
Mitu 45:45
So that's where you'll find our old style of episodes where we talk about a specific show for around 25 minutes for the full episode. And the next one, a couple listeners recommended to us is Apple TV's See
BJ 45:58
so see it We like it.
Mitu 46:00
Oh beej another good segue you can follow us on Twitter and on Instagram @thepilotpod. You can send thoughts feelings show recommendations feedback to ask the pilot podcast @ gmail.com Thanks for listening
BJ 46:14
bye
Transcribed by https://otter.ai