Whooo excessive violence!! And if I had a fiver for everytime Tim Minear got mentioned in connection with Buffy I'd be a rich man.

Simon | June 01, 02:31 CET

Good to see positive press for Tim's new baby :) Can't wait to see it!

zeitgeist | June 01, 02:34 CET

Yeah, "Buffy vet?"

I can't wait to see this, excessive violence or no. (How would a series about the FBI and serial killers avoid excessive violence?)

phlebotinin | June 01, 03:11 CET

"...and it retains some of that epic, mystical feeling."

Mystical feeling? I thought this was more reality based but I do remember reading somewhere that her special insight into crimes may be of a mystical nature - or alternatively, I may have imagined it. But it would be interesting if the famed Angel connection mentioned on AICN was that it was set in the same universe as Angel and Buffy.

Or maybe I'm just being optimistic.

Jackal | June 01, 03:26 CET

I was waitng for a review of The Inside. Glad to see its positive. I think this is perfect time for them to debut the show. No competition and nothing else to watch but reruns.

Gunn 2 N's | June 01, 03:44 CET

I would think Tim Minear would develop more complex stories too.
I watch House for House and House only. I was annoyed when many eps were very stand alone and the same at the beginning of the season, but they did develop more complex story arcs for the second half of the season. It was ok. (The finale was awesome.) I'm sure they knew fans of Hugh Laurie wouldn't keep watching week after week if it stayed so repetitive. Fox really dumbs down those first several eps of new series, don't they?

WhoIsOmega? | June 01, 03:50 CET

Well it makes sense to have stand alones at the beginning. You want people to be able to jump into the show at any point in the beginning. If people tune into the 2nd episode and they feel like they've missed something important then they tend to stop watching(or wait til the season is out on DVD now.) My major problem with The Trainjob on first viewing in 2002 was that I felt like I had missed something important(the introduction to all the characters) in the storyline.

eddy | June 01, 03:59 CET

That scares me. I don´t like that kind of series.
But I trust in Minear, Espenson and Fury.

[ edited by Angel TheVampire on 2005-06-01 02:01 ]

Angel TheVampire | June 01, 03:59 CET

I have pure, burning faith in Tim. Whoo hoo for The Inside.

looking | June 01, 04:06 CET

For as many times as Minear has been burned by Fox in the past few years, you've got to think he is keeping the first run of episodes pretty simple while laying the groundwork for more complex stories if the show is picked up. Can't say as I blame him. Frankly the last thing I want to do is invest myself in another series that just when it starts asking great questions and starts getting really interesting, the plug gets pulled. Let The Inside premiere & suck people in and then when the show comes back have it sucker-punch everyone and really get some buzz going. Besides, the review didn't say the show was bad, just that there a set structure in place for the first few episodes.

NOLA64 | June 01, 07:58 CET

I think when the reviewer speaks of a mystical element it's more about the vibration of the characters, if that makes any sense.

There is a clear problem/twist on problem/solution that gives it teh Law and Order feel, but then, X-Files did that as well. There's at least two arcs happening.

Rebecca doesn't solve problems by using anything more than her mind, but because she was kidnapped and held for a year (and no one knows what happened to her), she has a more specialized insight, like a raw, open nerve. It's almost a sort of Asperger's is how I think of it. Like she has a sort of open channel in her head, but that's due to an arrested development, not a special mystical power. She doesn't do so well in social settings because all her mental strength sort of flows from understanding the mind of the psycho.

The stories are all sort of dusted with clues to why she's like this, what may have happened to her, how she survived, and who did it.

This is why I often say it works on two levels, there's meat on these bones for those who need more than problem/solution to sink their teeth into.

Now that I think of it, there's a sort of three episode mini-arc as well.

And that's a lot packed into the first thirteen.

Still, it is horrifically, graphically frightening. If what's on the page has made it past the censors, you'll need to sleep with the lights on.

I don't know if this is helpful.

Allyson | June 01, 08:27 CET

I thought it was helpful but I see that TV Guide's Ausiello has been less than complimentary about the show.



The above link contains spoilers for US shows, hence the excerpt.

Simon | June 01, 12:28 CET

Ouch! I really hope Ausiello is wrong and just didn't get it or was turned off by the dark.

IrrationaliTV | June 01, 12:34 CET

Matheson's review was decent, except for the fact that Tim NEVER wrote for BUFFY! Different shows people! Can we grasp that concept sometime before the next apocalypse!? Okay, rant over.

MySerenity | June 01, 16:37 CET

I'm really looking forward to this.
I also like the fact that it is being compared to Law & Order. That means my husband (and lots of other people) might actually watch it.

supersymetry | June 01, 17:01 CET

I emailed Ms. Matheson a polite correction regarding Tim Minear's writing credits. Also, a little off-topic, but I notice Ausiello mentioned Spike/James Marsters again!!!

killinj | June 01, 17:02 CET

Ouch! Needless to say, I disagree with Ausiello about this and many other things. I do hope people tune in and make their own decision.

Allyson | June 01, 18:10 CET

Yes, I think the pilot is very good. If you like good story-telling and want an actual plot and not just a huge immediate pay -off, this is deffinatly the show for you.

I too hope people tune in. It has so much great potential. And it's Tim!

FalenAnjl | June 01, 18:23 CET