# Samantha Who? - Pilot **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075 "2007-10-17T19:34:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/1 "2007-10-17T19:34:35Z")
Didn’t see a thread for this show, so he it goes… I really liked this show, and I hope it sticks around all season. And since I’m not a _Heroes_ watcher, there is no scheduling conflict for me. Things I liked: Christina Applegate. Seriously. I thought she rocked as the title character with retrograde amnesia, and acted in a very believable manner (to me). And the flashback to Bad Sam was also completely believable. Jennifer Esposito as the bitchy booze-hound friend. I hope they keep her as one-dimensional as she was in this episode. Any growth in this character towards being a real likable person would kill her as a foil for the Good Sam. Kevin Dunn and Jean Smart as her parents. It’s easy to see, with her mother, how Bad Sam came to be. Dad just kind of stands there on the sidelines, getting run over by the two women in his life. What I didn’t like was Melissa McCarthey playing Dena just like she played Sookie on _Gilmore Girls_. Only maybe a less-popular and less-liked Sookie. I know she can handle this role, and I know the character is necessary for any development of Sam as a good person, but maybe MM could have gave it a pass to keep from being typecast. And it was nice to see Tim Russ as the doorman, Frank, but I’m not sure anyone told him he can be more emotional than Tuvok ever was. But maybe that’s the only way he knows how to act. One big question: Why would Sam want to be a Good person now? Her hooker insult came off her lips pretty quickly and easily, and she obviously relished her life as Bad Sam. Does retrograde amnesia automatically instill an elevated set of morals and ethics? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/2 "2007-10-17T20:50:07Z")
I watched it and liked it okay, but not as much as you did. [QUOTE=Sean Factotum] One big question: Why would Sam want to be a Good person now? Her hooker insult came off her lips pretty quickly and easily, and she obviously relished her life as Bad Sam. Does retrograde amnesia automatically instill an elevated set of morals and ethics? [/QUOTE] See, I didn’t read that as “obvious relish” – she seemed more freaked out about what had just come out of her mouth. I’ll probably keep watching – at least while it’s on immediately after _Dancing with the Stars_ – and will be interested to see how they develop that. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/3 "2007-10-17T21:28:43Z")
I enjoyed it, too. I thought all the performances were great; the idea was good and unusual; and the execution was entertaining. I’m really looking forward to future episodes. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/4 "2007-10-17T21:42:13Z")
I must have a defective sense of humor; I thought it was stupid and found all the characters with the possible exception of her boyfriend (the one she met first, not all the ones she found out about later) annoying. I changed channels after she left the 12 step meeting rather than subject my mind to any more of it. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/5 "2007-10-17T21:45:22Z")
Yeah, that “eating snacks at the 12-step meeting” scene was just kind of … weird. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/6 "2007-10-17T21:56:10Z")
[QUOTE=LurkMeister] I must have a defective sense of humor; I thought it was stupid and found all the characters with the possible exception of her boyfriend (the one she met first, not all the ones she found out about later) annoying. I changed channels after she left the 12 step meeting rather than subject my mind to any more of it. [/QUOTE] I’m with you. I DVRed it and still haven’t been able to watch more than ten minutes. The jokes were not very good and the characters were lack luster. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/7 "2007-10-17T23:11:46Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] Yeah, that “eating snacks at the 12-step meeting” scene was just kind of … weird. [/QUOTE] It felt like that scene was subcontracted to a different set of writers. I loved everything else about the pilot. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/8 "2007-10-18T00:32:34Z")
I liked the snack scene, actually. It made me think how weird that kind of amnesia would be. Imagine _recognizing_ carrot cake, but not knowing whether or not you like it. I thought Samantha’s panic and hyperactivity worked in that context. And I thought it was funny when the leader kicked her out. That’s pretty bad – kicked out of an AA meeting. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/9 "2007-10-18T00:56:29Z")
I think this is one of those shows that could build into something pretty good over time, unlike, say, _Carpoolers_, which I caught a bit of the other night and loathed. It’s pretty hard to introduce a raft of characters, a rather involved premise, and get a bunch of good jokes off, all in about 22 minutes, but I thought the production made a decent fist of it. Most of the characters, as presented, are pretty annoying, and the whole thing was played at a bit too high a pitch for me, but I thought Christina Applegate was absolutely great. Lotta nuances in that character, even though it’s just the first ep. I’ll give it chance (especially, as someone said, since it’ll be on right after DWtS). ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/10 "2007-10-18T01:17:43Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] Jennifer Esposito as the bitchy booze-hound friend. I hope they keep her as one-dimensional as she was in this episode. Any growth in this character towards being a real likable person would kill her as a foil for the Good Sam. [/QUOTE] I dunno – Christine Baranski’s boozy, bitchy friend on “Cybill,” wasn’t nice, but ended up being a character I liked. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/11 "2007-10-18T12:18:23Z")
[QUOTE=jsc1953] It felt like that scene was subcontracted to a different set of writers. I loved everything else about the pilot. [/QUOTE] I agree. It was easily the worst scene of this episode. Food as a metaphor for her life. **twicks** I didn’t mean she liked herself now for saying that, but that when she was Bad Sam, in the flashback and in her conversations with Todd and Andrea about what she was like, she obviously (to me) enjoy her life as it was. And my point about Andrea’s character not being developed in the future is that I like her as she is now. Making her a good person over time would, I think, make that character less effective. Kind of like how Frank Burns in _M_A_S_H\* became less interesting once the audience gained some sympathy for him. Keep her nasty, I say. ---
**Author:** ![Yeeter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/96bed5/32.png) [@Yeeter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeeter)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/12 "2007-10-21T20:33:46Z")
I’m going to watch this show. This week on Monday it up against Rules of Engagement, and I think I like this show better (though I love Megyn Price and Patrick Warburton). I think there will be several things they can do with this character, but after a while it will be difficult to keep it fresh. Hopefully by then they will have a great set of characters to work with. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/13 "2007-10-21T20:46:20Z")
I really like Christina Applegate and always have. But the show is shown opposite of something else that at record regularly. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2007, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/14 "2007-10-30T14:45:32Z")
I missed the pilot but caught the last 15 minutes of last night’s show- holy cow, that’s some bad TV. Every buildup/punchline moment just fell completely flat. There was some terrible acting and the whole premise seems like a dud. I’m wondering if this episode was a fluke, and if the people that liked the pilot liked this one just as much or if the pilot was considerably better. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samantha-who-pilot/423075/15 "2007-10-30T16:04:15Z")
Last night’s ep was the weakest for me too. But I learned something last night. Friends that are worth having are worth working hard for, and you shouldn’t drop them just to be with the popular people. Because, in the end, you’ll just end up ruining their wedding.