To kick off The Geeked Podcast, Tessa and Princess talk pilots. That's right. They’re doing a pilot episode about pilots, baby, because they are just. that. meta. Did Princess and Tessa overlook any iconically epic/epically awful pilots? Let us know @NetflixGeeked on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok!
To kick off The Geeked Podcast, Tessa and Princess talk pilots. That's right. They’re doing a pilot episode about pilots, baby, because they are just. that. meta.
Pilots Mentioned:
Did Princess and Tessa overlook any iconically epic/epically awful pilots? Let us know @NetflixGeeked on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok!
PRINCESS: Hello, geeks. I'm Princess Weekes.
TESSA: And I'm Tessa Netting.
PRINCESS: And you're listening to the Geeked podcast, your weekly energy boost of the worlds, fandoms and stories you love.
TESSA: Every week we're going to skim the surface of what's popular and then deep dive into the lore of Netflix worlds bigger than our own. And today is our first episode ever. Some may call it the pilot.
PRINCESS: Which leads us to today's theme: pilots. That's right. We're doing a pilot episode about pilots, baby, because we are just that meta. We'll be talking all about our favorite TV pilots and some we wish were never made. But before we get into that, let's tell the people who the heck we are, because you're like, Who are these beautiful voices we're hearing? I am Princess Weekes. I am a writer, YouTuber, fan girl for life. I geek out about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, anime, Fire Emblem, and really about just how amazing my co-host is.
TESSA: Stop it. I think you're amazing. Guys, I think I have the best co-host. Seriously, Princess and I like, connected immediately, and I just can't wait for us to become fandom besties. So, anyway, my turn. Hello. Hello, everyone. My name is Tessa. I am an actress. I make geeky things on the internet and I will forever have an obsession with musical theater, Harry Potter, pop culture, animation, Halloween and karaoke. Also, if a story has a sexy villain in it, I will 100% fall in love with them. Yeah.
PRINCESS: And then we'll fight over who gets to have them.
TESSA: We can share.
PRINCESS: Yes, but sometimes we don't want to share.
TESSA: Okay, fine, we can fight. I'm going to win. So let's. Let's do it.
PRINCESS: Alright. Alright, Ravenclaw. Let's see. Let's see what you got.
PRINCESS: So, Tessa.
TESSA: Yes, Princess.
PRINCESS: What is geeked to you?
TESSA: Oh, man, what a question. Let's see. Um. Geek to me means being, like, fully yourself as a fan. Not feeling like, ashamed or embarrassed about the things that you love. It's like it's outwardly expressing that pure joy and pure excitement and then sharing what you love with other people that love the same thing. It's like that feeling of a fandom community. It just warms my heart and it's my favorite thing in the whole world. So yeah, to me, geeked is like fandom community plus your own personal excitement and love. So what about you?
PRINCESS: I'd like to add that like being a geek is also the fever of finding new information in your fandom and really enjoying that process of like discovering new things and really engaging with that world. Like, I love when I find a fandom community and I'm in the Wikipedia for like 6 hours trying to figure out how everyone's married. What's the history of this wand? What's the best kind of wand to build out of? You know, I love that. I love all the tangible things about being a nerd, the books, the art, the things you can look at and admire what people make. So the creativity and the passion and the like nerdiness of it all is all perfect to me.
TESSA: I love it so much. So guys, you can probably tell from both of our answers like geeked can mean literally anything.
PRINCESS: Geeked is simply an emotion taking us over.
TESSA: So, Princess, what's got you geeked this week?
PRINCESS: There is so much to be excited about right now, Tessa. I mean, like, obviously, we're biased, but the geeked week trailer literally just came out, and there were so many things that I was just so excited to see. Like Sandman, School for Good and Evil, First Kill, like I'm- There's so much going on that's so cool there. I'm so geeked out about everything that's coming out.
TESSA: Yeah, the hype is definitely real, and it's going to be so exciting to see all of the announcements and the behind the scenes and just- I just really love when the cast gets to talk about their experiences and it gets me even more hyped for something I'm about to watch. So that makes me really, really excited. And I am personally so hype for Stranger Things. I can't even, like, control myself. So, like, Stranger Things: Volume One is coming out tomorrow, so I'm losing my mind for everyone to see.
PRINCESS: So good.
TESSA: And then we're going to talk about it the next week. So everyone make sure that you are doing your homework and watching Stranger Things.
PRINCESS: Yeah, like Stranger Things is going to be so epic. But also like Sandman. Like Sandman looks so, so amazing. Like sand has never looked so epic. Anakin Skywalker, you're an idiot for not liking sand. So what if it's coarse. Deal with it. But yeah, I love Neil Gaiman's work. So being able to see it in this big budget way I'm- It's so cool, like I literally, my most anticipated thing ever especially because American Gods ended up being so disappointing. I'm so ready to see what Sandman does.
TESSA: You want a redemption. You're ready for the redemption.
PRINCESS: I- he deserves it. Like he's made such epic stuff. I'm like,.
TESSA: Oh the most epic.
PRINCESS: How are you ruining such epic work? And thankfully, Sandman is like the perfect kind of book series, comic series where you can expand and do a bunch of different things with it. So I'm ready.
TESSA: I mean, it looks amazing.
PRINCESS: Yeah. I'm so excited to see how this turns out, and I think that it says a lot that they only give us teases of Sandman.
TESSA: Yes.
PRINCESS: Like, it's all just like, look at this angular white man, and look at this sand. And I'm like, yes, that is, that is it. That is exactly what you should have done.
TESSA: Well, I don't want too much anyway. Like I don't like when things get-
PRINCESS: Exactly.
TESSA: Too spoiled, so I don't want too much. But also, like, this is the perfect tease. You're like, ah yes, it looks good. I am intrigued. This is kind of what I pictured. Great. Let's, let's keep going. Give me more.
PRINCESS: Exactly. Just tease me. Tease me, Daddy. And let's get this show on the road. Yeah.
TESSA: Tease me then. Give me the entire show. Like I don't want, yeah.
PRINCESS: Why tease me and now stop.
TESSA: Yes and enough, no more. Yeah. Perfect.
TESSA: Just so you guys know, geeked week is happening from June 6th to 10th. So put it in your calendars.
PRINCESS: And during geek week, I think we both have special segments.
TESSA: Yeah. What are you doing, princess?
PRINCESS: I am, of course, doing gay vampires and hosting the First Kill segment during Geeked Week. What about you?
TESSA: I'm doing a little panel for the School for Good and Evil.
PRINCESS: Which I, was so, so good. I loved those books. When I was working at Barnes and Noble, I and my friend Paige Turner. Hi, Paige, if you're listening, which you should be. We read these books over and over again. We had so much fun. I'm so glad it's finally being adapted because this has been worked on for like ever, so. This is so cool. I can't wait to see your set.
TESSA: Oh, it was incredible. I had the best time. And the girls are. I just, I don't want to spoil anything or say anything, but they are amazing. Their chemistry is perfect and the whole thing is perfect. So.
PRINCESS: I believe it because you're in it. So.
TESSA: So also, I got to tell you, Princess, I finally am all caught up with Bridgerton.
PRINCES:L Yes! Finally.
TESSA: I know, I know, I know. I- it was one of those things where, like everyone else. This happens to me sometimes. I get overwhelmed when everybody watches things at the same time. And then there's- when I'm like, ahh, I can't finish in time, so I need to just, like, wait until the time passes and then have my own moment.
PRINCESS: You know, I always said I was going to do that with Supernatural. And then here I am not watching it. But I will say I'm very glad that you have finally caught up, especially because it was announced that next season is going to be all about Colin and Penelope and first of all, Penelope girl, you deserve better. But we are praying that they will do the same fixing of personality with Colin that they did with Anthony this season because, girl, does he need it.
TESSA: I mean, Anthony was amazing, that- it was like-
PRINCESS: Anthony is so good this season.
TESSA: So good.
PRINCESS: Like, they did such a really amazing job with him.
TESSA: Yes.
PRINCESS: And so I'm so excited to see- because it just proves that when it is time for the focus, they know what to do. So I'm, I'm sitting here, I'm waiting, I'm excited.
TESSA: They've done it right so far. I loved the second season even more than the first personally, just because-
PRINCESS: Same.
TESSA: I love that good kind of like angsty vibes of, of the feelings. I love a good slow burn.
PRINCESS: There is nothing more erotic than a man realizing- like, when he went up to her and was like, Do you know all the ways you could be seduced? I was like, Shut up! Shut up, stop ruining men for me. Because right now, like, what am I supposed to do with this? I was like, it was big sploosh energy.
TESSA: Yeah.
PRINCESS: And I loved it. And I watched it with my partner and we both like giggled like children, when that happened. It was fantastic. I need more.
TESSA: It was perfect.
PRINCESS: Absolutely. Yeah. It was so perfectly done. And I just love the chemistry between the actors. I loved Kate. I'm glad Daphne got decent bangs this time, sort of those weird baby bangs she had in the first season. We love growth, we love change.
TESSA: We love bang growth.
PRINCESS: We love bang growth especially. So, yeah, it's, it's a romance world and I'm ready for more of it.
TESSA: On TikTok they created this, like, Bridgerton musical. Have you heard of this?
PRINCESS: Yeah, I've heard of it, but I haven't seen.
TESSA: It, so. Okay, so I don't think they've put it on anywhere, but they recorded these two girls, Barlow and Bear. So it's Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. They created this Bridgerton musical and it is. It's so insane. It's amazing. And it just won a Grammy, like, by the way. PS. And like, that's how good it is. But it's just I'm obsessed with it here. Let's just play a clip of it right now so everyone can hear.
BRIDGERTON MUSICAL: What a beautiful party. I look up at the ceiling a lot. The chandelier is so sparkly. You never said sorry. Guess you forgot.
TESSA: And I became so obsessed with their songs that I rewatched all of Bridgerton like after listening to the whole musical and it just deeply like it. It made me love it so much more. And I was like, Oh my gosh, this is so perfect for a musical. Like this is so good. And it just.
PRINCESS: It would be an amazing musical.
TESSA: Right.
PRINCESS: That sounds. That sounds so good. I loved that. Oh, my God. You actually just brought me back in time to because we both were like, potterheads. Do you remember A Very Potter Musical?
TESSA: Girl.
PRINCESS: With Darren Criss?
TESSA: Girl. Do you know that I'm married to.
PRINCESS: Pig farts pig farts.
TESSA: Girl You know I'm married to Snape.
A VERY POTTER MUSICAL: All hail Voldemort.
TESSA: He's literally Joe Moses from A Very Potter Musical is my husband. So.
PRINCESS: That's your husband?
TESSA: That's my husband! So yes.
PRINCESS: Clearly I didn't stalk you enough on online. Oh, my God. That is hilarious.
TESSA: Yepp. So, yes, I know A Very Potter Musical very, very well.
PRINCESS: You, you can say that you're intimately. That is fantastic
TESSA: The Snape thing creeps me out, though. He cannot do it. I hate when he does it. He gets into it. I was like, no, I don't like this. I don't like it at all.
PRINCESS: She's like, You forget I'm a Ravenclaw. I'm a Ravenclaw. Take that somewhere else.
TESSA: Right. I was like no.
PRINCESS: That is so funny.
TESSA: Yeah, he's a lawyer now. Can you believe? It's beautiful. Snape turned a lawyer.
PRINCESS: Congratulations. The Snape to lawyer pipeline.
TESSA: Exactly. It's a beautiful thing. But yes, I loved A Very Potter Musical so much for that exact reason, because it really was the first time that you had seen this whole musical production. This is beautiful. But now, like TikTok is this whole new place where people are like putting their little songs that they've written for fan appreciation and it's just being spread and other fans are like commenting. And also creating their own versions, like the whole Ratatouille musical. I don't know if you've heard about that, but it was.
PRINCESS: I know. No, I heard about that. It was so. Like this is the thing about like the geek community is like they have this longing to to just create such great art.
TESSA: Yes.
PRINCESS: And it comes out so beautifully and it's so exciting to see that. Like, I'm glad Bridgerton has that because part of the reason why I love Bridgerton is that like I got into the series since I started to like understand the romance genre. And when I tell you that the romance genre goes so hard for like nerdy, progressive, all these kind of good stuff. I read so many amazing, like, nerdy girl novels, and I'm just like, you know, this just I'm so glad that this show has shown that, like, romance is poppin'. Like I know so many people who have never picked out a romance novel, but are like because of Bridgerton. Because of just how like compelling it was, they're like, oh, I'll check it out. And because that's such a, you know, a socialized female genre, it's so good to see that, like, not just doing well, but like thriving so big on a platform like Netflix that like people are makingTikToks for them. That's so. That warms my heart.
TESSA: Perfect.
PRINCESS: Alright, alright, alright. To get us into the pilot mood, let's do a quote unquote lightning round of really, really bad pilots and decide if they were ahead of their time or need to stay locked away in a vault forever. In this segment, we are calling Fly or Flop. So I want to first thank the people of IGN for doing the work so that we didn't have to for some of the ones I'm about to ask. So first one is Heil Honey I'm Home from 1992 soon. A sitcom about Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, who have trouble getting along with their wacky Jewish neighbors.
TESSA: No, absolutely not. No, I hate it. Absolutely not. No.
PRINCESS: Yeah, that's a flop.
TESSA: Flop. Like the ultimate flop. Like, I don't know if anything can flop harder than that.
PRINCESS: It invented flop.
TESSA: Yes, exactly. Exactly. I hate it. We need to move on immediately. Okay. Next we have Who's Afraid of Diana Prince. And this happened in 1967 and it was a pilot about Diana Prince, Wonder Woman, a wallflower who wants to save Steve Trevor from a deadly storm, but instead spends the majority of the episode arguing with her overbearing mother about why she's still single. So what are we thinking?
PRINCESS: Dear god. That's. That's flop-age. Like, why is Wonder Woman so cursed?
TESSA: I say fly.
PRINCESS: You're going to let it fly?
TESSA: Fly!
PRINCESS: Why fly? Because that's actually interesting. Why do you want this to fly?
TESSA: Because this is so ridiculous. It's so absurd that I want to see it. I want to see it like frigging Wonder Woman going on dates and being like I'm single, but also trying to save the world. Like, mom, like, get off of me. It's almost like like the overbearing mother superhero thing is almost like in The Boys where she's like, the mom is too much like a stage mom. So it's like Wonder Woman's mom being like the ultimate stage mom and her being like, I just want to go, like, go to school, mom. I'm into it. I think it's really weird and it would be cursed, but I love it.
PRINCESS: All right. So that's a fly from Tessa. All right. Next one. No, I mean, I. One woman can fly, so. So can this show. All right, next is Poochinski. A Chicago cop.
TESSA: What?
PRINCESS: Oh, God. This is from 1990. Jesus, a Chicago cop who gets killed on the job and winds up possessing the body of an English bulldog, or rather a horrifying animatronic bulldog that talks, bites crotches, and has off putting existential crises. I want it. I want it. I think it's great.
TESSA: Why is the bulldog animatronic, though? Like, why? Why?
PRINCESS: Because they were cheap.
TESSA: They're like no dog actors. We can't like we don't want to mess with that. We just want to have this weird robot dog, like, does the dog talk? If the dog talks, then. Oh he does talk!
PRINCESS: Yeah. He talks and bites crotches. Get you a dog that can do both. I just. And it's Peter Boyle. Wow. Wow. Someone made that and it was meant to be for children. And children were like, how dare you?
TESSA: I mean, it's really weird. It is so bizarre that like, I don't know, I'm thinking of like, wish I loved the show Wishbone growing up.
PRINCESS: Yeah.
TESSA: And so like, that's a dog that they did well. This sounds more cursed than Wishbone, but, like, you know, if the dog is funny, then it depends on how funny the dog is.
PRINCESS: The one that I really liked is the amazing screw on head from 2006. Because I love Mike Mignola because Hellboy amazing. And so it's this story about a robot secret agent with a screw on head and like a bunch of different like body parts with modifications and abilities. And he works for President Abraham Lincoln and protects the world from supernatural threats to like national security. Now, of course, he he won't be strong enough to stop him from being shot by John Wilkes Booth, but at least he can get the vampires I love. It's like vampire, like Abraham Lincoln, vampire hunter with his friend, his boyfriend, the amazing screw on head.
TESSA: Oh, my gosh. I okay. This one I got to flop. Personally, I can't do the different heads screw on head thing. I used to have this doll as a kid and its name was like, okay, it was my mom's doll that she gave to me. I swear it was cursed. It was like head. It was named Heada Cabetta or something.
PRINCESS: Ew.
TESSA: And you would like screw its head face around and then it would like change expressions. And I hated it so much. It was so creepy. And it like, was too scary. Way too scary. So this reminds me of that. And I can't do with like taking your head off and putting on different heads. So this is it's a no for me dog. For this one, but.
PRINCESS: It's a flop for trauma reasons, which is which is a legitimate reason to not want to put something to pilot. So I get it.
TESSA: Yeah, no thank you.
PRINCESS: I'm rooting for you, screw on head. But Tessa says nah. Well, that's the end of that segment. Thank goodness for parachutes. Some of those pilots were truly horrendous, but in a way that you can't help but love.
TESSA: So, Princess, let's start out with what do you think makes a good pilot?
PRINCESS: I think a really good pilot sets up the dynamics of the characters really early on. I was rewatching the original Charmed Serious Pilot, and what's really good about it is that it sets up what all the women do, where they're at in their lives, and their dynamic as sisters. You know, Prue and Phoebe have some beef from the past, and their relationship feels very lived in. You know, Piper is very much being a middle sister. We understand that there just was a death in the family and they've all moved back in together at this house. The magic is set up really quickly in the series, and it's very good at letting the mythology lead the way and trusting in the dynamic of these three sisters fighting each other again to really be your entry point into the series, like special effects is like, that's cute, but you're really here to see how these three women who were so far apart come back together. And I'm like, that's a good.
TESSA: Yeah.
PRINCESS: Pilot. And I think just to like if you watch the test pilot of Charmed, which if you have certain Blu Rays, they contain it. And while the actress who played Phoebe because she was the one who was replaced to be Alyssa Milano in the final cut, the chemistry isn't as tight.
TESSA: Yeah.
PRINCESS: And it's like it used to actually be very important to chemistry read all your actors together and. And I say that because with the new Charmed series, I remember when I did an interview and I was interviewing them, they said that they didn't test the sisters together. And it's like and I'm like, How do you do a series about sisterhood and you don't chemistry test all your leads? That's so bizarre to me.
TESSA: That blows my mind. Yeah, that seems like the first thing you need to do is to make sure that the relationships feel real. Like the actors need to nail that. And if they don't nail that, then it's hard to dive into the world if you don't believe the characters and their relationships.
PRINCESS: Yeah.
TESSA: That's the number one thing.
PRINCESS: Absolutely. And that and that's what I think stands out really well about the Charmed OG pilot versus the newer pilot. Like it's not so much special effects because those are always hit and miss.
TESSA: Right.
PRINCESS: It's really about the emphasis on what does it mean for this sisterhood to be brought back together. And it's the thing that makes me love rewatching that pilot despite like having my ifs and buts about the series. It's a really strong pilot.
TESSA: A pilot that I think is incredible is Stranger Things.
STRANGER THINGS: Told You.
TESSA: I honestly think it's one of the most perfect pilots to ever exist like it is. It's so well-done. It's so well done. A reason that I really, really fell in love with that show almost immediately is it felt grounded in reality. The emotions and the stakes felt like human emotions and human stakes. And then there is a supernatural element on top of that. It wasn't just like, let's dive into the mystery or, you know, look at this human legend, let's do this. It's like, no, my son is missing, my friend is missing. Like, this is why we're going into this and then we find a supernatural thing like that's so. Having those human emotions like underneath these fantasy shows are so important because otherwise you'll get you'll get caught up in everything else and you'll forget.
PRINCESS: Absolutely. Yeah. And and I really miss this. And I will say, like on the flip side, a show that I think really does use the pilot streaming thing really well would be The Witcher, because I think The Witcher was built along the lines like, yes, this is going to be a little confusing, but if you choose to be invested in the series, it'll all pay off. And for me as a like a like a fantasy nerd, I was like, okay, I'm ready to be confused. I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready.
TESSA: I love that, too. I do.
PRINCESS: Yeah. I was like I was like, okay, like, you're going to tell me everything at once. I don't know what's going on, but like, you're giving me spectacle, you're giving me stakes, and you actively are building the pilot about it being a journey, not a destination. And I'm like, okay, let's do it then. And I think that was a really well done use in my opinion. I know some people don't like it, but I loved it and I thought it was a really well-done use of how to take what could be a very straight forward fantasy setup exposition story and just be like, Okay, we're just taking you on a journey into this world.
TESSA: Yes.
PRINCESS: With different vignettes that's showing you these characters in and out of time, so that when they come together, you feel fulfilled because you've seen how they've all individually gotten to this point collectively. And I thought that was really, really well done of blending that episodic vibe with an overarching plot together in one.
TESSA: So, Princess, I need to confess something.
PRINCESS: Oh, God. Here we go.
TESSA: So I've actually never seen any of these pilots that you're talking about. I have not seen The Witcher yet.
CLIP: I'm getting out of here.
TESSA: I haven't seen I haven't seen any of these. So I'm putting.
PRINCESS: Cut my life into pieces. This is my last.
TESSA: Oh, I know. I'm breaking your heart. I can feel it.
PRINCESS: It's really.
TESSA: A show that I liked, a pilot that I liked is Supernatural. I love, love, love the show Supernatural so much that pilot, it aired in 2005 and it was one of those things where.
PRINCESS: Oh my god.
TESSA: Supernatural. It has like something like 15 seasons and it also had 22 episodes that were 40 minutes each. There's so much there that it is overwhelming and ridiculous, but that first season is so solid and that first episode does such a good job of showing, like, the relationship between Sam and Dean. But it's so like this show is so different than shows now. Like, I don't even know if this show could work now because it does spend a lot of time that first season, like sitting with the characters and like doing like a Monster of the Week episode and not doing like, Oh, we must follow the overarching plot. They do that later on. But I missed that too, because it just feel you really get to know like the characters underneath and then when you know them so well, I think it's because both of us really like books as well, because we can you know. We like to just.
PRINCESS: Hug them.
TESSA: Feel really nice with the characters and then sort of go on adventures with them. That I do miss that. But I understand because that was a lot of television and there's so much to watch.
PRINCESS: It's a lot of TV it's it's and you any but you name supernatural which is like Buffy boy Buffy as I call it like with Supernatural because I was on Tumblr in the era of the SuperWhoLock Fandom.
TESSAL: SuperWhoLock. Yeah.
PRINCESS: Girl. So, so to me Supernatural.
TESSA: A moment.
PRINCESS: Is like this is like this moment in time, but also like the literal Tower of Babel. Like no one language about the topic is completely accurate. So like you talking about it, I'm like, Oh, it's a good pilot, okay? Because I've literally not seen a singular episode of Supernatural.
TESSA: That's so wild.
PRINCESS: Not even the ending. Yeah. And it's like. But like, I'll see the discourse and I'd be like, maybe I should stay away from this girl because this is dangerous.
TESSA: It's an intense fandom. I don't know what it is. Supernatural to me is perfect. I am trash. I'm so trashy. I love going to Vegas. I love hotel rooms. I love going on like road trips and Supernatural just brings together like these two brothers on a road trip, like, you know, going around the United States and hunting monsters. And I love ghosty stuff. I'm a little witchy, witchy bitch. So I was it was just everything to me. But is it like good is it a good pilot? I don't think so. Like Stranger Things is a good pilot. Like, I don't think that Supernatural is a good pilot, but it's a good pilot to me because it got me hooked, you know?
PRINCESS: Yeah, that's what matters because like in a lot of ways, like, that's how Lost Girl is to me. So, like, so going back to this Tumblr year. So like, I loved Doctor Who. But I also knew that everyone's opinions on Doctor Who, I was like, Well, I disagree with all these people opinions. So when SuperWhoLock was a big thing, I was like, Well, y'all are wrong about all these other things, so I'm not going to trust you going to watch this. I'm going to like and so I just took a very bisexual pivot and I was like, I'm going to watch the show with the bisexual succubus instead. I'm going to watch Merlin.
TESSA: Oh, my gosh. These are all you literally every show you mentioned are shows that people crucify me for not watching. They're like, Tessa what are you doing? Like, I swear to God, like all of these shows, I'm like. Oh my gosh, this is like my secret list in the back of my head that is coming to haunt me. All of these shows.
PRINCESS: It's all right. We're here to balance each other out because, like, it really is. Like, that was like my pivot because you like, I did not like I said, Supernatural is a huge fan base.
TESSA: No I'm a basic fandom bitch, so we're good.
PRINCESS: So I'm just sitting here like, yeah, I was watching like that. I was watching Killjoys, like watching Wynonna Earp. So like I just had no space for Supernatural.
TESSA: That's so interesting.
PRINCESS: But I love and I never watch. I still haven't watched Sherlock. I was, I was like in the Elementary versus Sherlock wars. I went to Elementary.
ELEMENTARY: My name is Joan Watson.
PRINCESS: And it was great. I love elementary. Elementary. Oh, so all right, we're going to so producers, pin this. We're going to have a Sherlock Holmes off episode.
TESSA: Oh, my God. Please, I will. I will defend Benedict Cumberbatch with everything in my body.
SHERLOCK: The name's Sherlock Holmes.
PRINCESS: And. I will defend Lucy Liu Watson. All right. We're going to make a note of this. We're going to have an entire episode about Sherlock Holmes and going off. And, you know, it's perfect because then we can bring in Henry Cavill as like thick Holmes you know just like.
TESSA: And here's another one. Here you go.
PRINCESS: And here's a man.
TESSA: Oh, my God, that's so perfect.
SHERLOCK: That's flattering.
TESSA: One thing that I want to bring up real quick. So when I was thinking about good pilots, like in my brain. I mentioned three. I had like a list. I made a list of three things that in my brain made a good pilot. So the first thing was something that grabs my attention. Like something in the beginning that immediately just, like, grabs my attention, makes my heart happy. That could be like an attractive or interesting character. Intriguing plot point, the style tone. Something I mean, something that's going to keep me watching. So that's number one. Number two, I said good character intros, which you talked about. It's like you got to feel the relationships. The actors have to nail it. You got to feel the chemistry, it needs to feel real. And then my third thing, which I think is might be one of the most important things in a pilot to me is a WTF moment. I need a moment in the pilot where I audibly scream gasp or there is a reveal or twist or something that makes my brain melt. I need something to make me go, oh, like either it's something visual or something where I'm like, I need to figure this out. What? This is like this or just like I may fandom brain needs to explode. So that was like, I'm wondering is are there any WTF moments in your favorite pilots or pick one specific one that just really like made you feel all the feelings?
PRINCESS: That's a good one. I think if I go back to to Lost Girl, I think just like honestly, the reveal that she was a succubus was a really big deal to me because like well you have to remember this was like 2009 ten. This was vampire werewolf central.
TESSA: Right, because of Twilight, all that. Yeah.
PRINCESS: And then, like, they very much show her from the beginning to be attracted to men and women. So I'm like, oh, so she's like. So, like, it was a smaller WTF of like, oh, they're doing like a succubus. So this has to include sex. And she's like, attracted to all genders and like, oh, like, they're actually going to make this kind of show. Okay, I have to see where this goes because we get so many where it's like there is a gay sister or a gay best friend, but to like have the lead, be bisexual, I was like, Oh, we haven't done this before. So like, my Xena heart was like, okay, we're off to the races. So that was definitely a big WTF moment for me. And then in Charmed the original pilot, the WTF for moment for me is when you find out that Piper's boyfriend is a demon, like he tries to kill her in the.
TESSA: Love that.
PRINCESS: Like they get their keys, he's like a witch murdering demon. She doesn't have her powers. So she doesn't know yet. Her powers awaken, and immediately she gets attacked by a demon and it's her boyfriend. I'm just kind of like, love that. It's such a good. It's such a good, like, oh, shit. Moment.
TESSA: Yes. And then another one that I can think of is, again, Stranger Things. Like they did it so brilliantly where they had this sort of beginning set up where you felt like the ET 80s vibes, like kids on bikes, you know, DnD. Spooky scary, like scientist. What's going on? And then like then you just start following Will, and then he just goes and you're like, Oh, my gosh, it's coming. It's following him. Run run, run, run. His parents, like, his mom's not there. His brother's not there. He runs into the shed. He has like gets the gun. And then it like you look up and like the camera pans and you like nothing is there. You don't see anything, but you hear, hear the demogorgon sound. Then you see the light bulb, it goes to black and then he's gone. And then the freaking like title credits start and you're like, Yes, this is it. Like I just love a good title credit moment too where it's just like it goes right into it and you're like, This show hasn't even started yet, and this is it, you know?
PRINCESS: Right. Yeah.
TESSA: So I just like,.
PRINCESS: That's a good one.
TESSA: Ugh. So brilliant. I love a good title title card moment before. So good, so good. I love these shows. Obsessed.
PRINCESS: We love television here.
TESSA: We do.
PRINCESS: At Geeked.
TESSA: We love good TV.
PRINCESS: So we've been we've been positive. We've been light talking about what we love. So let's talk about the bad stuff.
TESSA: Oh, man. So the first bad pilot that I can think of, like it pains my soul because it's a show that I love so, so much. It's Black Mirror. The first episode of Black Mirror is unwatchable to me because so many of the other Black Mirror episodes are so smart. They're so like diving into more of the technology thing. Not just like This is what how horrible people are these days. Like, I don't know. It just I don't like it. I literally whenever I told people to watch Black Mirror, I told them to skip the first episode and then to go back to it. It pains my heart so much because that show is everything to me. I love that show. It's so it just blows my mind that it just hurts my heart.
PRINCESS: It says a lot that that that pilot is iconic for one reason and one reason alone. And like. But no one actually enjoys that episode. But the rest of the series is so interesting. Like the same show that gave us one of the great episodes of all time, San Junipero. Also made.
TESSA: Yes. Made this.
PRINCESS: The pig fucking episode. And I was just like, and I just was like. And I remember thinking to myself, like, he's not going to do this. You know, he's not going to with the pig. He's just not. And then it happens and you're just like.
TESSA: Just doesn't even set you up for the brilliance of the rest of it. Like, I understand that it's not following a specific plot or anything, but still it could have. There's so many better episodes that could have just had people like get into it. And I feel like so many people aren't haven't watched it because they watch that and like, no way, I'm not watching this, I'm not going to watch. And you're like, This isn't every episode. This is just this one weird episode like.
PRINCESS: Yeah, that is.
TESSA: The WTF moment went too far. It went too far.
PRINCESS: It touched the stars and landed among the pigs, you know, it's just like. It feels weird to say that for me going back to pilots that I that I dislike it's The Vampire Diaries pilot which.
TESSA: Interesting.
PRINCESS: Here's the thing. It is the biggest it was until Arrow came out, the most successful CW pilot ever. And like,.
TESSA: Really,.
PRINCESS: Here's here's the thing. The Vampire Diaries first couple of seasons is lowkey excellent. Like, it was actually a very solid suspense show. The character writing was really good and like, overall, I do really like it. The big problem though is that they include a voice over.
TESSA: Oh no.
PRINCESS: Of the characters talking like Dear Diary.
VAMPIRE DIARIES: Dear diary. I couldn't have been more wrong.
PRINCESS: I was just like, Girl, if you don't. Stop. Like, it's really like.
TESSA: It's distracting.
PRINCESS: It's, you know, it's like. It's like the most cliche. Like the CW is really known for, like, the cliche of being like, a very white, very, like,.
TESSA: Pretty.
PRINCESS: Saccharine network. Yeah. And this pilot is all of those things in one like erg.
TESSA: I see.
PRINCESS: And it's just like. Like the characters are just so they're at their least developed. And it feels so cringe to like, listen to the voice over to, like, all of the like you're here like all of the like tension and like, you know, they changed because like it's based on a book series and they change a lot of like, like Elena's supposed to be like this icy blonde. They very much made her, like, more Twilight-y.
TESSA: Yeah.
PRINCESS: And I just like and like and I already had beef with Nina Dobrev, because she's the reason that JT got shot in Degrassi or stabbed in Degrassi. So me and her have beef from then. So I was already like,.
TESSA: You already are coming in like ready to fight.
PRINCESS: Cause I was like, Elena. You mean me, you mean Mia. And she and I got words but like it and like Riverdale are like just so.
TESSA: I love Riverdale. I'm trash.
PRINCESS: So here's the thing, here's the thing. So the first season of Riverdale is trash. The second season is when it's like, okay, because here's the thing. I didn't like Cheryl Blossom until second season happened. And she does that dramatic hair flipping way. And I'm just like I've been wrong this whole time.
TESSA: Riverdale is.
PRINCESS: She's actually great.
TESSA: Is so nonsensical at this point. It is it is so beautiful. It is it makes no sense. And it is it is gone balls to the wall. It's like I don't even know.
PRINCESS: It's like baby's first Twin Peaks. It's like Baby's first Twin Peaks. It's so weird.
TESSA: I love it. I love how weird it is. It is weird. It makes no sense. No sense.
PRINCESS: I stuck with all of that. Even even my favorite thing, the serial killer gene, which is there's an episode of Law and Order SVU. Where Lili Reinhart is it. I'm just kind of like it's that serial killer gene.
TESSA: It's like, I know, I know your secrets.
PRINCESS: But to me, the thing that I that I really, really dislike about the Riverdale pilot is that kiss between Betty and Veronica that they put in there. Like the queer. See you may not remember.
TESSA: I don't even remember.
PRINCESS: But in the pilot episode, they set up Betty being like someone who like is implied to self-harm with her, like gripping her nails. Veronica comes. They do like a little routine in front of Cheryl and then at the end of it they just make out for no reason. And it was just like, and Cheryl's just like, this is boring. Which was our first indicator that Cheryl was queer because she's very like, I don't believe in queer baiting actually, like in a season and a half you're about to feel really ridiculous about this, but it was, it was like one of the moments that was just like, oh, like, rather than like actually do anything interesting with, like the fact that people do ship Betty and Veronica, you have them do this very cliche, very like early aughts, like same sex kiss,.
TESSA: Right.
PRINCESS: It just felt very weird. And to me, not indicative of what the rest of the show is really about.
TESSA: Yeah. I don't even remember it.
PRINCESS: Like the rest of the show is very. Yeah, exactly. It's like it's a very boring, very like trying to play like the Miss Grundy stuff is in there where like she's us, where she's sleeping with Archie and they're just like, Miss Grundy! See, you forget that first season was really, it was really trash hard.
TESSA: Oh it was trash.
PRINCESS: And I was like, but I remember.
TESSA: I will never forget.
PRINCESS: All right. So I think that's all we have for pilot season. But I just want to say one more thing, Tessa, that I really want us to have that Sherlock v. Sherlock Holmes episode because I want to hear your defense of Sherlock and I want to defend Elementary because we both love them very strongly. And I think we could have a fun, meaningful, spirited debate about it.
TESSA: Oh, yes, Princess, I just before I tell you my one more thing, I need to let you know that I made a YouTube video called A Hundred Different Ways to Mispronounce Benedict Cumberbatch's name.
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TESSA: And one of my walls used to be one of the walls of Sherlock, so I was absolutely obsessed with that man, so I can't wait. And Princess. One more thing that I just have to make sure that everyone is aware of and that everyone remembers from this episode is that Stranger Things is the most perfect pilot to ever exist and to rewatch the pilot of Stranger Things, because it's been a while, probably since a lot of you have seen it. And if you watch it again, you will just it blows my mind how perfectly they set up the characters. They it's all through action, not through them, not through them, over explaining things. Just it's it's it's flawless, it's perfect, and it should be celebrated. So rewatch it.
PRINCESS: That is not only a good addition to this conversation, but also good marketing and branding from this Netflix Geeeked podcast.
TESSA: That's right.
PRINCESS: The Geeked podcast is hosted by me, Princess Weekes.
TESSA: And me Tessa Netting.
PRINCESS: Find me on YouTube as Princess Weekes and on Twitter as WeekesPrincess.
TESSA: And you can find me on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. All the Internet's @Tessanetting.
PRINCESS: Thank you, everyone who's listened and thank you to the amazing team at Netflix Geeked for putting this all together with us. We look so forward to talking with you guys and it couldn't be done without our amazing people.
TESSA: Thank you. Guys, this is a Netflix Geeked and Spoke Media production.
PRINCESS: Our executive producers are Keisha TK Dutes, Brigham Mosley, Alia Tavakolian and Keith Reynolds.
TESSA: Kelly Kolff is our producer. Reyes Mendoza is our associate producer. DaLaura Patton is our coordinating producer. And Carson McCain gets a special thanks for being awesome.
PRINCESS: Sound Design in Engineering by Evan Arnett, who also composed and performed our original theme.
TESSA: And to stay updated on all things geared to be sure to follow Netflix Geeked on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
PRINCESS: Thanks so much for listening. Bye!
TESSA: Bye!