It’s that time of year again, Amazon’s Pilot Season. Amazon releases a set of pilots and Amazon Prime Members get to vote on the next Amazon Original series. This year Amazon has released five pilots, four of them are comedies and one is a Sci-Fi foray.
First up is the half-hour comedy “Budding Prospects”. Taking place in 1983 San Francisco where three friends are taken away from their sex and drugs lifestyle in the city and move to the countryside to grow marijuana. The show had its comedic moments but the pilot was a half an hour that focused more on each individual character’s backstory instead of focusing on how the three friends all know each other. The selling point of the show was the pot farm, be we never actually got to see them grow it, so a lot of the promise seemed underwhelming.
“The New V.I.P’s” is an adult animated sitcom where a group of low level employees accidently murder their boss and decide to run the corporation themselves. The animation of the show seems a bit unfinished, it might be because shows like the Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park have near perfect animation and this new show doesn’t meet up to the other adult animations in terms of looks and aesthetics. Story wise the New V.I.P’s has a great plot. It had its funny moments but no real big outburst of laughter, a hallmark of that genre.
“The Legend of Master Legend” is a half hour pilot which follows the story of a real-life superhero, Master Legend, and his drive to reunite with his family. The show is based on an article by the same name published in the Rolling Stones back in 2008. “The Legend of Master Legend” had its moments of comedy as well as moments of sincerity and absurdity, and felt like a balanced offering admits the other debuts.
Amazon’s “Oasis” is a Sci-Fi show based on Michel Faber’s “The Book of New Things”. The show revolves a Scottish chaplain who embarks on a mission to Mars. The show has incredible writing, making it a sort of darker, grittier version of “The Martian”. This show defiantly has a bigger story to tell than the synopsis leads on. Oasis viewers will be wondering what will happen next, and hopefully this manages to be picked up for a full season.
The final pilot, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, takes place in 1958 Manhattan, were housewife Midge’s perfect life takes a turn for the worse. In her quest to deal with the situation she discovers a new talent, stand-up comedy. This is arguably one Amazon best pilots, focusing on a woman in her 50’s attempting stand-up comedy is amazing and truly ground breaking. Within the first few minutes the show makes you laugh. This show will have audiences hooked on the main character and be rooting for her to succeed in her new hobby.
This program that Amazon has started is meant for audiences to get a chance to choose which show they would like to see. It’s a break from the networks choosing which pilots will be aired and will get picked up for a season run, so if you have a membership be sure to chime in!