Hindsight: PIlot
February 25, 2015 7:41 PM - Season 1, Episode 1 - Subscribe

On the eve of her second wedding, Becca Brady is having misgivings about her life. But most of all, she is missing her best friend, Lolly, whom she hasn't talked to in 10 years. When she goes to spend the night on the eve of her big day, she passes out in an elevator and wakes up on the morning of her first wedding, to Sean, in 1995. The universe has handed her a do-over. This is a funny, breezy dramedy for fans of Gilmore Girls or Felicity, with a soundtrack chockablock with 90s alt-radio hits.
posted by DirtyOldTown (16 comments total)
 
Lolly Levine is a terrific character. She's sort of the more rounded, layered antidote to the classic 90s Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She's a quirky nut in purple Doc Martens, yeah. But her life doesn't revolve around being a loony muse to schlumpy dudes. She tries hard to be a good friend and worries about her nonstarter career and her relationships with family.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:45 PM on February 25, 2015




New VH1 show what now? Okay, I will check it out!
posted by rtha at 9:56 PM on February 25, 2015


This episode wasn't great, but it did lay all the groundwork, so I guess it was ok.

Oh and Lolly is wearing skidz! Hahaha, man.
posted by Literaryhero at 10:07 PM on February 25, 2015


Also, how does a person classify the sex she had with Sean? I know it was just silly, but I felt like it was wrong. She misled him into having sex, no? I realize it may be a stupid question when time travel is involved, but whatever.
posted by Literaryhero at 10:35 PM on February 25, 2015


I have always loved the idea of the premise of this show; what if you could go back and do it again? I think it's a great idea for a TV show or film.

When I watched this pilot, I was a bit unconvinced that it would make good on that premise. But I think it's just that this episode succumbed to pilot syndrome, where you have to sell the show in one episode at the same time that you have to put all these pieces into place, that you don't get to show what really makes your series shine. But since I love the premise so much, I decided to give the second episode a chance, and I'm glad I did. This show gets much better, and surprises me how much it engages with the whole idea of Becca going back and getting another chance. I have to admit that I ended up binging all the episodes that are available right now. It's not Mad Men, but it's definitely some good shit.

Lolly is a great character, I agree, and she has good chemistry with Becca, who is acted well by Laura Ramsey.

The last time I ran into a show with this premise, Being Erica, it wasn't bad so much as it was boring and unimaginative about the idea of going back. That show was well made but it had this monster of the week format that really sucked all the fun out of it. IIRC, every episode was a one off where Erica would go back and change one thing and then return to the present, and it just sucked all the fun out of it.

...although, I just looked up Being Erica, and apparently its been on for four seasons, so I guess that show is doing something right.

I guess, in the end, I agree with the Vulture review linked above: the good thing about Hindsight is that, it's just fun.
posted by malapropist at 5:21 AM on February 26, 2015


So is VH1 exploiting some kind of loophole in the rights rate they pay for songs? They must be. Otherwise, the sheer quantity of famous songs they use would be exorbitant.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:53 AM on February 26, 2015


It looks like they are selling the songs somehow on their website, so think of it as product placement. But yeah, you're right, there is a huge number of musical cues in this show. I like it.
posted by malapropist at 6:19 AM on February 26, 2015


So far I am enjoying this, but.... was there an appearance of a literal Magical Negro there at the newstand?! That was on purpose, right? I hope so, because it made me giggle like crazy.
posted by rtha at 9:06 AM on February 26, 2015


I suspect he may actually be her eventual love interest. His subsequent appearances aren't magical.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:15 PM on February 26, 2015


So the only thing that bugs me, and I know that it's kind of a world-breaker, but you live in NYC and have magically traveled back in time to 1995, don't you think that a glance to downtown would be a huge reminder that you have something very very important to do in the next 6 years?
posted by leotrotsky at 7:47 PM on February 26, 2015


My spouse and I were talking about how this show MUST END within five years. Because it's too light and airy to get near 9/11 without falling apart.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:50 PM on February 26, 2015 [2 favorites]


Yeah they are very deliberately avoiding that subject. Notice all the establishing shots of NYC are centered around the Pan Am building or whatever it's called now. Frankly, I'm glad they are completely sidestepping that subject. I just wanna have some 90s fun, let's not get heavy here.

One thing I wish they would make more of a big deal about is that Becca is basically a 43 year old in a 23 year old's body, and even if you feel like you've made nothing but mistakes in the last 20 years of your adult life, that experience counts for something. I don't mean that in terms of "she knows the future, and how Friends ends," but more that even if you're a complete screwup at 43, you still have to have developed some wisdom about how the world is, and just because you look like you did in college doesn't mean that you're going to act that way. I dunno, maybe that goes against the whole premise.
posted by malapropist at 8:28 PM on February 26, 2015 [1 favorite]


Apple stock is worth like ~72 times what it was in 95. Just saying.
posted by gryftir at 3:33 AM on February 27, 2015


My wife keeps pointing that stuff out. And it's true. BUT... she's an entry level employee in Manhattan. How much could she even afford to invest? $100 a month? $200? I think a show about a person who invests and makes say $150k twenty years later might be the most boring show ever.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:41 AM on February 27, 2015


If she wants to make huge money, she should worm her way into a venture capital firm.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:04 AM on February 27, 2015


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