This time around Amazon Unbox
The lineup of free TV pilot/premier episode downloads has expanded as well, and now includes Back to You, Til Death, K-Ville, Prison Break, Big Bang Theory, Journeyman, Bionic Woman, Life, and Chuck.
So far I’ve watched the last five of those, and decided to add a Season Pass for Bionic Woman (which I was going to check out anyway, as BSG fan) and Chuck (which I hadn’t heard of before, so chalk one up for the promo download). Life just totally failed to interest me. JourneyMan just didn’t work for me, I felt the writers tossed in things that weren’t needed and didn’t work. And I see the romantic triangle thing getting old real quick – it was old for me before the end of the first episode. All in all it felt like an attempt at an ‘edgy’ Quantum Leap.
Big Bang Theory I might give another chance, I’m still thinking about it. But it seemed to me mostly juvenile humor with a wrapper of pseudo-geek-speak. I am a big geek (unabashedly so), most of my friends are big geeks. I attended a geek school (WPI), work in the Internet industry (in development and IT), and have been in SF & anime fandom since high school. I’ve even helped run conventions (Anime Expo, AXNY, Pacific Media Expo, etc) since 1992 and I’ve seen many people who make me go “Damn, that person is such a geek it is scary”, and even people who really have no social skills at all – and the characters on the show were still unbelievable to me. Too one-dimensional.
I’ve downloaded K-Ville but haven’t had time to watch it yet. But the description makes me roll my eyes a bit: “…and Trevor Cobb, the redemptive tough and committed cop harboring a dark secret…” What is up with characters “harboring a dark secret” these days? I swear if the networks made a new Smurfs they’d have at least one of them harbor some ‘dark secret’. (Shady Smurf is really an undercover Snork!) It is really getting worn out. Prison Break – never got into it, don’t intend to start now. Back to You and Til Death – just based on the description/clips online I’m giving them a miss. Frankly, I’m reluctant to watch any new programs these days, as it seems most of those I end up liking get canceled anyway.
So, what do you think of these new shows? And what about this kind of marketing, allowing people to download the first episode free to check out ahead of the airing?
