I had (and still have) high hopes for this series. But unfortunately they rushed the plot. All those questions and uncertainties and WTFs could (and should) have been played out over at least 5 to 6 episodes.
All was fine. What with that girl? Draining this creep somehow? And those detectives? FBI? What do they know? And who's that tea-man? From there on the answers rained in before you could come up with the questions. BAM! Those Detectives are not normal. BAM! There are factions and those are their leaders. BAM! Succubus. BAM! Test her, make her choose sides. BAM! Underfey are not nice. BAM! Let her live for now.
It was like watching a whole first season in fast forward. That is not right. OK, I think I know your fears. You didn't want to create another "Lost" or such where you answer one question per episode and find another gazillion new ones so you basically know nothing even when you watched the whole show five times. Right. That's good. I didn't like "Lost". But where is the suspense? You blurted out a lot of information nobody asked for yet. Maybe let her find out she is a succubus and that there is something/someone out there that knows. Episode one. Bring in those police guys for episode two, maybe hint that they know a lot about supernatural stuff and have connections. You bring them together in episode three, ending with the meeting with the faction leaders. Learning what these factions are, how they work, separating friends and foes, is episode four. The Test and the aftermath is episode five.
You can always fill in the non essential plot parts with character studies. Giving them a little depths, some twists, a problem, a family, a hobby. Now, that's how it is done.
If Wheadon had done the Buffy-Pilot in the same way, she would have known everything about Darla, Angel and the Scoobies within 20min, probably killed the Master in episode three. What senseless waste of a good plot line! When you have sooo much information you do not spend everything on the first episode. Be happy and save it for a rainy day. Reveal something but not too much. Leave the audience wanting. The more you put on the table the more they want from you. Slow down. Breath. And let the characters catch their breath.
There is a lot potential in this series if you focus on the characters, the plot and put a lot of work in the background story. Or just put a big "Spoiler Alert!" right before the Pilot^^ OK
23 out of 42 found this helpful