The Foot: Review of the Hellcats pilot--A World Full of Strangers

I have a love-hate relationship with television Pilots. I don't trust them. Heroes had a magnificent pilot and then the series went to hell around the final act of the first season. The ANGEL pilot isn't very good but the series is terrific. Jane Espensen said pilots serve as a prologue to an entire series. Dan Harmon, in an interview, said he wrote the Community pilot differently than the rest of the series would be written because it was a pilot. Jeff Winger is a character who wants to remain separated from this group because that's how he lived his life. His barrier breaks down by episode's end because...it's a pilot. It really is a prologue until the actual story begins in episode two.

This is why I put much more stock in an series' second episode or third episode than the pilot. After the LOST pilot, we got Tabula Rasa and Walkabout. Two episodes that clearly showed where the show would go, how the narrative would be structured and better examples of how awesome the show would be. Networks, however, will tell showrunners to produce a variation of the pilot in the first six episodes in case new viewers tune in late. Such a request from network mostly hurts a show's quality. Just ask Joss Whedon how that process worked out for Dollhouse. He and Eliza Dushku ended up devoting a lot of energy and time to promoting the series' sixth episode because it was the episode that captured everything Joss wanted the show to be. EPISODE SIX. That's INSANE.

You know what else is insane? The fact that my review/recap/whatever of the pilot for Hellcats is getting this kind of intro. Hellcats is the first new show to premiere this Fall so it received my brief rant about pilots.

The first episode of the series is titled "A World Full of Strangers." Well, ladies and gentlemen, I'm a complete stranger to the world of cheerleading and the story this show is going to tell throughout its first season. Perhaps, the title is a nod to The Foot. I jest.



In a sentence, Hellcats is a series about a Memphis cheerleading squad faced with the possibility that they won't be able to compete in any more tournaments if they fail to win Nationals because the President of Lancer University will cut their funding.

The show follows Marti Perkins (Aly Michalka), a pre-law student who loses her scholarship even though her mother works at the college. Marti isn't supposed to lose her scholarship because she is the child of someone who works at the college. Listen, this is an actual scene in the episode. Wanda, Marti's mother, has no answer for why the college took the scholarship away and swears the union is taking the college to court; however, Marti needs to pay her tuition in a week or her classes will be dropped.

Marti wants to graduate, pass the bar exam and get the heck out of Memphis because she is annoyed by her mother. She meets with someone who tells her the economy is the reason why her scholarship was pulled. The reason given seems entirely illegal but I'll roll with it. The gentleman tells Marti there are a few alternative scholarships she can get. Specifically, cheerleading can get her scholarship.

Marti dislikes the world of cheerleading. She is an outsider. She dresses like a punk-rocker and bikes around downtown Memphis. After a yelling match with the captain of the cheerleading squad, Savannah (Ashley Tisdale), in which she learns about the scholarship, she tries out for the team and wows the coach with her inventiveness and originality. The potential drama between Marti and Savannah disappears quickly because Savannah is all about the team. She's a girl who lives by routine. The character archetypes define the kind of role they serve on the squad. Marti's an outsider who thinks outside the box so she'll break routine and dance like a stripper while Savannah is a girl who struggles once routine is broken because she always wants a plan.

Marti makes friends quickly. Savannah's sweetness dissolves any sourness between the girls. The rest of the girls are friendly, too. She makes an enemy of the girl she replaced, Alice (Heather Hemmens), who dislikes her because the show needs an additional antagonist. Alice is a rather bland villain and I wouldn't be surprised if she and Marti become friends around November sweeps when Hellcats is in even more danger. I mean the squad, not the show.

The episode was energetic and the actors gave it a lot of life. The storylines are what you'd expect. The cheerleading coach, Vanessa Lodge (Sharon Peal), dates the team doctor (D.B. Woodside, who portrayed Principal Wood in Buffy's 7th season). Her ex-boyfriend, Red Redmond, is the new football coach who might make life hard for the hellcats as they try to survive. Marti quit gymnastics because her mom would embarrass her at competitions. Yes, that is really the heart of the issue between mother and daughter. Also, her best friend Dan warns her about drifting apart now that she's in the hellcats. Marti dismisses it but I know that's a 3-5 episode arc in the making.

Overall, Hellcats is what you expect it to be. It won't win any Emmys. It isn't trying to. It appeals to an audience that doesn't include me. Ashley Tisdale is very sweet in her role. I'm a fan. Aly Michalka has some room for improvement but I don't mind watching her dance. Her body is great. I'll continue reviewing the series on a weekly basis.

Tomorrow, I'll have my weekly recap of the latest Man Vs. Wild. My thoughts on FX's new show Terriers will be posted tomorrow as well as my NFL picks. Thoughts on The Vampire Diaries might get a late night post. We'll see. Probably not because NFL Football rules all tomorrow night.

THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK