“Losers” TV Pilot
Apr. 22nd, 2015 07:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chuckroI had contributed to the IndieGoGo campaign for the Losers TV Pilot, and got a DVD copy as my backer reward.
Disclaimer: I know Carlos del Rosario personally; I contributed to the campaign when he pitched the show to me at a mutual friends’ party. He’s a cool dude.
In concept, it’s clever: It’s a “magical realism” geek show where two friends deal with the fact that a third has hidden his geeky nature to get engaged to a seemingly-normal girl; and their wacky antics to drag the “real” him out of this. This is complicated by the fact that it happens in a world wherelightsabers laser swords are real and a meat-deprivation-induced coma will allow one to contact a real guardian angel who you can invite to a zombie-apocalypse wedding.
In execution, it’s kinda rocky. Zack has some serious acting chops, but the rest of the cast is only middling—which means they step on what could have been funnier moments in the script. (The script honestly could also have probably used a bit more general tightening—it’s not quite snappy enough for pure comedy, but there aren’t enough character moments for a proper ensemble cast sitcom, either.) Moses, the “magical negro” character, is both unnecessary and unfunny.
Production-wise, it’s really impressive: The special effects look great, and except for maybe a little sound-balance issue (that could also be my speakers), there’s very little that would make you think this wasn’t a professional TV pilot.
I also give them a lot of credit for avoiding the “nerd minstrelsy” problem that Big Bang Theory tends to have: The punchline isn’t just “they’re nerds, ha-ha;” the punchline requires you to understand geek references to fully understand it. You can tell that they really love comics/sci-fi/zombies and approach it from that place of affection.
Overall: There’s potential here. It’s hardly perfect, but hey, that’s a pilot for you. Hopefully they can get it into the hands of someone who’ll appreciate it and get them funding to make more.
Disclaimer: I know Carlos del Rosario personally; I contributed to the campaign when he pitched the show to me at a mutual friends’ party. He’s a cool dude.
In concept, it’s clever: It’s a “magical realism” geek show where two friends deal with the fact that a third has hidden his geeky nature to get engaged to a seemingly-normal girl; and their wacky antics to drag the “real” him out of this. This is complicated by the fact that it happens in a world where
In execution, it’s kinda rocky. Zack has some serious acting chops, but the rest of the cast is only middling—which means they step on what could have been funnier moments in the script. (The script honestly could also have probably used a bit more general tightening—it’s not quite snappy enough for pure comedy, but there aren’t enough character moments for a proper ensemble cast sitcom, either.) Moses, the “magical negro” character, is both unnecessary and unfunny.
Production-wise, it’s really impressive: The special effects look great, and except for maybe a little sound-balance issue (that could also be my speakers), there’s very little that would make you think this wasn’t a professional TV pilot.
I also give them a lot of credit for avoiding the “nerd minstrelsy” problem that Big Bang Theory tends to have: The punchline isn’t just “they’re nerds, ha-ha;” the punchline requires you to understand geek references to fully understand it. You can tell that they really love comics/sci-fi/zombies and approach it from that place of affection.
Overall: There’s potential here. It’s hardly perfect, but hey, that’s a pilot for you. Hopefully they can get it into the hands of someone who’ll appreciate it and get them funding to make more.
