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.

So I found this new web series when I was researching distribution for my web series in development. It was being offered through bit torrent on VODO. The set up was interesting. I downloaded the first episode and watched it. I was hooked.

Best line (for Canadians): Can someone get us some coffees from Willie Hortons... Genius! Pioneer One does a great job of presenting a great story with real characters and a minimalist set. The camera work made me feel part of the action without being obvious or invasive to the scene. The lighting was real and I did not feel like I was watching a polished setup. It was rough and raw and real.

The two leads come across dynamic and alive, absolutely believable three dimensional, as do the supporting cast.

This is a great program to watch. The story is tight and develops at the right pace. The first season of 6 episodes will pull you in.

My suggestion is to download, donate, and distribute!

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.

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..

This show is the future in many ways. As resources in the planet dwindle, the "more with less" approach is sure to invade every aspect of economy, including the production and distribution of entertainment.

This show has a tiny budget (less then $10000/episode), and yet the production is technically clean and actor work, while not exceptional, is competent. Since capital investment is so small, the production has to rely on the bag of tricks of the old school of (theatre) drama: first of all good writing (no special effects to distract us from bad lines, like -- from "The Hunt for Red October" -- "listen, I'm a politician which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies I'm stealing their lollipops"), competent acting and a thinking viewer. We've seen some excellent attempts from the industry to move in this direction, but the audiences are not quite there yet. But the days of watching flashy entertainment are numbered.