Pioneer One

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.

I downloaded it due to curiosity and didn't watch it for 3 months but when i started watching it OMG i cant stop thinking about how amazing the plot it has and a good storyline which causes you to go on a roller coaster ride of mind bending sci-fi thriller i will say that it is must for a scifi fan or a physics lover or those who like sherlock holmes stories try this new thing it tastes good i am patiently waiting for the next episodes to come i have seen 3 episodes and it made me hungry for more let it come for a homemade series with low budget this has good actors and i would recommend anyone to see this...

don't want to spoil the fun of thrill and suspense so there are no spoilers in this review..

$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.

Maybe there are other stories out there like this, but I haven't run across any with these particular details. It's intriguing, fairly well-paced and feasible (to an uninformed civilian like me).

The acting is a little hollow but generally believable enough to not be distracting. There is a reasonable amount of character development. But I get the impression that someone, at some point, exclaimed "where's the humanity?!!" or the like.

Then they wrote in the blond nurse from the childrens' cancer ward and the pissed off convenience store girlfriend. And farmed the parts out to crushes, girlfriends or granddaughters. The scenes with the childrens' nurse are unwatchable and taint every actor that shares a scene with her. They stand out so starkly, I wish they could be edited out... and replaced with characters summarizing any pertinent information around her character's interaction with the subject. As it is, I just fast forward through them.

Generally good submission from what I assume are less experienced writers, director and actors, at a very low budget. It would be nice to see them in future productions, with more resources, to get a better idea of what they're capable of.

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.