Pioneer One

There is a reason TV series generally cost a lot of money to make. Even a bad one needs to pull together a bunch of professionals to put something onscreen that goes beyond a couple of people talking in an office. But that's pretty much what the pilot of Pioneer One is; two or three people have a discussion in a remarkably spare office, and then maybe one of them takes a phone call, and then there's something in a different office. And that's how it goes for a half hour.

Perhaps this would work if the dialogue was gripping, or the performances were remarkable. But neither is the case. The acting isn't really bad, but no one stands out or brings anything to life. The dialogue conveys information, but that's about it.

There are moments of personality here and there, but this is just not an interesting show. But with money for better actors, directors, writers, and set designers, I guess maybe this would have potential.

Assuming all these 10-star reviews are friends of the cast and crew, since there is no way any disinterested party would give this 10 stars.

This show is the future in many ways. As resources in the planet dwindle, the "more with less" approach is sure to invade every aspect of economy, including the production and distribution of entertainment.

This show has a tiny budget (less then $10000/episode), and yet the production is technically clean and actor work, while not exceptional, is competent. Since capital investment is so small, the production has to rely on the bag of tricks of the old school of (theatre) drama: first of all good writing (no special effects to distract us from bad lines, like -- from "The Hunt for Red October" -- "listen, I'm a politician which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies I'm stealing their lollipops"), competent acting and a thinking viewer. We've seen some excellent attempts from the industry to move in this direction, but the audiences are not quite there yet. But the days of watching flashy entertainment are numbered.

Other have already spoken of this series as a "pioneer" for a new model of funding, so I'll focus on the dramatic and entertainment merits of the show.

First of all, the production is surprisingly good for it's low budget (reportedly $6k for the the pilot). There are some instances where the low budget becomes apparent - e.g. when the characters see something that's clearly meant to be amazing or shocking, we see it in the actor's reactions rather than the thing itself - but low budget is the card that the series has been dealt and the team work around it very well.

What surprised me the most was the quality of the acting. Sure, some of the fringe roles are a bit ropey - but the central cast are excellent. If anything, the lack of mainstream TV experience of the stars is a boon - it's refreshing to see characters on screen who behave in a normal human fashion, as opposed to the hyper-emotion that's become standard these days.

There are some clichéd moments that serve to convey character relationships and something more inventive would have been nice - but it's a 6-episode series, so there's less room for subtle development. On the other hand, one of the hallmarks of low-budget film making is that the director is often more interested in a specific moment or shot and less interested in how to get there. Thankfully, that's avoided here and the plot advances in a logical yet organic way.

As with the acting, the low budget actually helps with the special effects. In mainstream TV sci-fi, we're used to slow motion action, big red fireballs and CGI backdrops. This series' low budget means that they couldn't do any of that. Instead, the SFX is quick and brutal and the main focus is on the people dealing with the aftermath - just as it is in real life.

The writers have a belter of a sci-fi concept here. I'd love to see this series come back for a second season. The danger is that more money for season 2 might move the show in a different direction - but I hope that the show runners remember that Pioneer One's greatest strength is its humanity.

I got the chance to see this pilot at the New York Television Festival, and I'm not surprised it won for Best Drama. Other pilots with at least twice the budget were uninspired and predictable, while this pilot was brave in presenting its audience with questions, and no promises as to when they would be answered.

Yes, the HD didn't do some of the scenes justice (in particular, the way the first scene was lit hurt my eyes...I wonder if they just used the fluorescents that were already there, which I think is a pretty bad idea for filming). Yes, the actors' performances twitch and on a rare occasion falter. But the finished product won me over.

I hope that they forge ahead in making their entire first (only?) season, and I appreciate that they've made sure to keep all episodes as available as possible, and their fans as updated as possible (Vodo, Vimeo, timely posts on their sites, etc.). I'm following them on Twitter, I'm a fan on Facebook, I enjoyed the second episode, and I really can't wait for March when the third episode comes out.

Good job, guys. You prove that, when using the web as a tool, successful low-budget screen production is still possible.

$6000 budget entirely donated by fans. Small amateur crew. Released for free through various sources, in particular supporting that swear word in the industry . . . BitTorrents.

So far, I'm seeing this as a fan-made response to the X-Files. Two government agents, a male and a female (complete with all that sexual tension we know and love from that famous TV series), investigate a strange phenomenon involving a space capsule. The plot so far is fairly text book, as far as an X-Files ep is concerned, but the seeds have been sown for something significantly more involved as the series progresses . . . Time travel, aliens, conspiracies, war, twisted history or some good old-fashioned espionage . . . any or all of these story lines is possible with what has been hinted at so far.

While the plot and script are keeping me watching for now, they're not perfect. The acting isn't believable, especially from the civilian characters, but again it isn't so bad that I don't want to watch any more. There's a couple of nice cinematographic moments and it's all cleanly filmed and edited. And they do a good job of cliffhangers, I genuinely want to see more.

The most important aspect of this whole production is that this is the future of entertainment distribution. As the title suggests, this production is *the* Pioneer of what's to come. The first of its kind.