Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Vanished: I already have

I feel like I said everything I care to say about "Vanished" in yesterday's column. I may give it one extra week, given that it's summer, but this was one of the few absolute dud drama pilots I saw this season. Anybody watch, and, if so, what did you think?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sucked.

Anonymous said...

The promos for this show failed to grab me weeks ago. I passed on this happily. I would've a 2 hr Prison Break premiere.

Anonymous said...

Banished. Tee-hee!

Toby O'B said...

Got it taped; will watch it in about an hour. I don't hold out much hope for it based on what I've read so far, but I still want it to last at least a month.

That way I can see a friend of mine who's in the episode to air on the 11th of September...

K J Gillenwater said...

Vanished, a dud? Then there must be some other rocking shows on this season. I thought it was really good. Some of the characters have yet to fleshed out (as is true in many pilots), but the mystery grabbed me right from the beginning. And I like that there seem to be lots of different pieces to this puzzle...all of which are running in their own separate world right now. Judy is finding out her own bits of information about the wife's past, the FBI is finding out other clues, the kids are discovering other things.

It was very polished and kept my eyes glued to the set the whole hour. I think you are doing a disservice to your readers by calling it a 'dud.'

Everyone else, give it a chance. I am a picky viewer, and, trust me, it was worth watching.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Kristin, how is giving my honest opinion a disservice? Vanished wasn't even the best serial kidnapping show I watched this year, let alone in the top 10 of drama pilots I watched this year. It was one of the very, very few drama pilots I watched that bored me.

I'm glad you liked it, and I hope that my read on Josh Berman (that he has no idea where this is going) is wrong, but he sure as hell seemed like a man with no plan.

K J Gillenwater said...

I think you did a disservice b/c I think you panned a really good show. Calling something a 'dud' is pretty extreme in my opinion. That would be reserved for the 'Coupling'-type shows...where you hear crickets chirping in the background. Or maybe that sorry Sci-Fi series last year with the ocean monster.

But this? If it's not your cup of tea, I could see you calling it mediocre. But "dud" makes it sound like utter schlock. And it's not.

I just wanted to let your audience know that "Vanished" is definitely worth watching.

Critics panned "Threshold" last year...and that was a kick-ass show! Then I read later that critics had only been allowed to see part of the pilot. That made some of them nervous, so they didn't rate it very high.

On tvguide.com their regular reviewer regretted that he was unable to see a complete pilot, because the entire episode was much better than what he had imagined from the partial pilot he was allowed to see.

Unfortunately, viewers listen to critics like yourself to make adding new shows to their viewing schedule easier. They tend to skip the ones that critics don't like and watch the ones they do like (in general).

I'm a smart viewer. I don't watch just anything. I love "Veronica Mars," "24," "Lost." "Vanished" fits right in there.

Did you see Toby's comment? He is convinced it will be a poor show. Which is just not true.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Kristin, trust me: "dud" is one of the more mild words in my vocabulary for a show I didn't like.

As for "Threshold," I initially liked it the best of last season's sci-fi/invasion type shows, mainly because of the cast, but it lost me pretty early with the amount of time devoted to explaining all of Carla Gugino's special "protocols" (they did an entire scene devoted to explaining why they couldn't order from the same pizza place twice, for the love of God). Much too much Brannon Braga influence for my taste.

Anonymous said...

Alan would only be doing viewers a disservice if he didn't give his honest opinion of the shows he sees. It's up to the individual reader whether or not s/he takes Alan's opinion into account when making his/her viewing choices.

I trust Alan's opinion because I've been reading his stuff for awhile and also because I've known him for a long time. I've found throughout the years that our tastes often coincide, so I give his opinion serious consideration when I'm making my own viewing choices. I also take into account the opinions of other critics and people I know. And sometimes, I just watch or don't watch stuff based on if I think it will appeal to me or not. I didn't plan on watching "Vanished" because it didn't look like something I would like, and Alan's pan reinforced a decision I'd already made.

And I'm certainly not going to change my mind because some self-described "smart viewer" implies that I'm a moron because I listened to the opinion of a someone I know and respect.

Anonymous said...

P.S.--Alan, you're wrong. "Threshold" rocked! ;-)

K J Gillenwater said...

Dez,

That is your choice. As is giving my opinion here. I just think "dud" was a very harsh term to use. Alan doesn't see it that way...but when I heard 'dud,' I think a show deserving of a "D" grade. That is pretty bad.

I liked the show quite a bit. I'm watching it again. Just wanted to let other people out there know that before they wrote it off 'because Alan said so.'

End of story. Go back to your regular blog reading now.

Alan Sepinwall said...

A more detailed explanation of what's wrong with "Vanished" from one of the contributors at Matt's blog: click here.

Anonymous said...

um, anyone here think Kirstin works for Vanished?