Hello, world! My name is Lydia, I continue to be alive, and I continue to enjoy watching Channel 101 shows! How about you? Are you doing okay out there? I’m talking to you, whoever visited this page twenty-two times on February 1st. Yes, WordPress is watching you, and consequently, so am I. It’s been a few months since I wrote anything here, and in part that’s because there hasn’t been a screening since October. But I really did have plans to write some other Channel 101-related articles during the break, I just didn’t do it. Maybe 2019 will be the year I am finally reunited with my lost work ethic.

The podcast sure has been busy since October! I think they’re up to eight episodes released since the last time I posted here? And I’m even in one of them (the ninth one)! Who would have thought Brad Gage and Nick Hurley would want to talk to a poor nobody like me, just because I wield the power to either affirm or crush their dreams with my words! After I got off the phone with the podcast hosts, I spent the next two weeks worried that I gave a bad interview, or that I sounded like a complete idiot and a disgrace to my family – I’m strictly a behind-the-scenes gal, see, not one of those acting types, and sometimes I don’t talk so good. But thanks to the magic of editing, they made me sound more or less like a functional human being. Thanks, dudes.

The very same Gage and Hurley also hosted the 2018 Channy Awards in December: congratulations to all the winners, all the nominees, and to everyone who submitted anything to Channel 101 last year! KP Parker did some great short interviews that were shown during the ceremony, and those are my personal pick for the imaginary award category of Best Award Show Segment. Oh, and I guess I was kind of in the awards ceremony, too, as Kelsy Abbott got to reprise her role as me. Honestly, mixed feelings about that, but now I know that not everyone appreciates anagrams as much as me, or Demetri Martin. That’s okay, I was going to have to confront that life lesson some day anyway.

Well would you believe it, this was the seventh straight screening with a new pilot in 3rd place. And with that random observation, here we go with the reviews!

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Retired – Wednesday Morning Cartoons, Ep. 5 [Created by Tyler March and Eric Paperth]

Ever since the first episode of Wednesday Morning Cartoons, I have said two things about the show: first, that it just doesn’t seem like a cohesive series, and second, that the theme songs are really good. To the first, I could say now that even without recurring characters or a continuous story, March and Paperth used common stylistic and story elements to build a different kind of continuity across the run of their show. And to the second, well, Team WMC leaned into their strengths and gave us a musical episode for the series finale. Like previous episodes, the premise is a truly inspired level of dumb – they’re rocks, and they sing! – but what, they’re too good to say ‘rock opera’? Musically the songs resemble an acoustic take on American Idiot-era Green Day, or maybe Abandoned Pools if you want me to drop a more obscure band name. Lyrically this is classic storytelling done as well as anything I’ve seen on Broadway (disclaimer: I haven’t seen that much on Broadway) and anyone with a heart may be surprised at the humanity and emotion in the songs that bring these rocks to life. Finally, for anyone who missed it, the brand of beer Karen drinks is ‘Tumbling Stone’, a Rolling Rock parody I failed to notice until my third time through.

Grade: A-



9th place – After Life [Created by Alan Fang]

A son goes missing and his father dies after he trips down some stairs, I think. I’m hedging on the plot summary because there were a couple key moments where it wasn’t clear what was happening. Like how the missing son is just kind of there again at the end, or when one character asks, ‘Who are you?’ and the response ‘Who do you think?’ doesn’t really answer the question. In the best moments of After Life, creator/writer/actor Alan Fang (not to be confused with this similarly-named fictional dog) brings a Ricky Gervais-ish comic timing to this failed pilot, while demonstrating the range to play every role on screen. With stronger editing and plot, and perhaps with more jokes in the slow first half, this could have contended for a prime time spot (you’ll see exactly which spot I mean in a minute). Fang’s stock music lullaby to end the pilot was a great moment that 101 historians should not soon forget.

Grade: C+



8th place – The Roses in the Garden Cry Too [Created by Magi Calcagne]

Calcagne’s absurdly-dressed Kenny Ken Moran leads a lovable cast of caricatures in this tale of a salesman who dreams of becoming a singer. (What is it with salesmen named Ken who talk in that accent, by the way? Is that a thing?) This is one that I liked more after seeing it a few times, which unfortunately is no help with the live audience, who can only see each show once before voting. Admittedly the production value is lower here than with some of the other January shows, but I hope that wasn’t a factor for the audience, because some of Channel 101’s greatest moments have happened in a backyard in front of a camcorder held by the proverbial cousin Andy. For me, the biggest shortcoming with Roses is that the events in the episode don’t really serve the plot established at the start: instead of going after the singing career, we watch Kenny get caught up in family drama. Now we may never get to see Kenny’s leap at stardom, but if Calcagne graces the world with a full-length rendition of Mr. Moran singing ‘Don’t Know Why’, it would be more than we deserve. (Trivia bonus: this is at least the second appearance of Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights at Channel 101.)

Grade: B



7th place – ;), Ep. 3 [Created by Mike McCafferty]

What started as a mysterious drama about a war between worlds and families concludes with a disjointed third episode that calls itself a ‘cat-scratcher’. (I’m just gullible enough and not-in-the-industry enough to have searched the words ‘cat scratcher episode’ on the internet, and all I found was Catscratch, that decade-old animated show from the creator of Sockbaby. You got me, McCafferty.) This episode is a sharp break from the first two both in tone and in content, featuring the sort of deconstructionist meta-humour that McCafferty is very good at writing, but which feels like a crutch here. It’s as though the show didn’t know how to continue, or how to solve the mysteries presented in the previous episodes. I can’t say it’s not funny, or that I won’t miss David Jackdaw, but something about this phone-made creation felt phoned in.

Grade: B-

6th place – Demon$, Ep. 2 [Created by Nick Hurley]

Okay, let’s look at this one from the first scene. Two exorcists-for-pay, Christopher and Christina, are talking with Bruce, a man who is clearly depressed and suicidal, about treatments for demonic possession, which he does not need. The exorcists go through the motions of treating him; Bruce, with similar ennui, pays them, then walks out of frame. A single gunshot. Then, a single exasperated sigh. But is that Christopher sighing, or is it me, as I watch the last drop of joy evaporate out of the scene? Demon$ Part Two is bleak and sad – and, sure, Channel 101 shows are allowed to be bleak and sad (although Adam Garland might make fun of you for it). In terms of visuals and acting performances, Demon$ is executed beautifully. But for a dark comedy, the comedy in this one is far outweighed by the darkness, and I just don’t know if I want rape threats, predatory behaviour, and suicide in my show about opportunistic exorcists. Something feels off about the dynamics in this episode, and I think it’s this: for a couple of nihilists who claim to live by that Nietzsche quote, neither Christopher nor Christina seem to be remotely enjoying themselves.

Grade: C+



5th place – Poolside Chat, Ep. 1 [Created by Tucker & Pano]

As a general rule, I try to be positive and encouraging with these reviews, because I’m doing this out of love for Channel 101, and because Channel 101 exists for the development of new artistic voices, not just for our personal entertainment. But what on earth is Poolside Chat? This is the sort of thing I expect the prime time panel to filter out 99 percent of the time. Two people making noises and giggling at their own middling attempts to deconstruct observational comedy for 65 seconds is not a show, and yet somehow this got voted back, like a low-stakes repeat of November 2016. The website calls it “Ninja Heatwave for a new generation”, but at least with Ninja Heatwave you could see the effort and creativity that went into it, whereas Poolside Chat is just nothing. My standard for an ‘F’ grade (which I have yet to give out) is that it has to completely fail as a show, and I have to actively dislike the content. Poolside Chat gets a D because there’s just not enough substance to bother disliking – and, I concede, everyone is indeed glued to their phones.

Grade: D

4th place – Cybercrime City Mysteries, Ep. 2 [Created by Aaron Moles]

Apparently I had no need to worry about the first episode of Cybercrime closing up its story so well that there would be nowhere left to go. Aaron Moles and co-writer/lead actor Spencer Strauss delivered a dark and compelling second installment that explores the classic theme of what it means to be a hero or a villain. Framing the show as a video game means that the viewer is sometimes addressed directly, a unique immersive element that was used to great effect in this episode. The all-star quartet of Strauss, Kelsy Abbott, Nick Hurley, and Willy Roberts all gave great performances, and I loved the soundtrack, whatever uncredited person or source it may be from. Cybercrime is quickly finding a place among my favourite 101 shows of all time. (Math bonus: How many Willy Robertses does Spencer Strauss shoot? I counted 83 – am I right, Aaron? The last Willy Roberts on screen said he had 200 brothers, so if my count is correct, that means 118 of them are still alive! Or at the very least, not shot by Spencer Strauss.)

Grade: A+



3rd place – Trash Planet, Ep. 1 [Created by Daniel Broderick]

The recent age of animation at Channel 101 continues with Trash Planet, a new show from first-time creator Daniel Broderick and co-writer/voice actor Bruce Cooper. I love the art style and character design (post-apocalyptic Bob’s Burgers in space, perhaps) and I hope future episodes show us more of the Trash Planet world. As it is, we only see two characters for any significant length of time (although I secretly hope the fish at the top of the trailer park turns out to be a character too). We don’t learn anyone’s name, and most of the episode is a pretty banal discussion of some very earthly bathroom habits. ‘Yes,’ you may be saying, ‘that’s the joke,’ and while I see that, I still want Trash Planet to dream bigger. Kudos on the closing gag for still making me laugh even when I saw it coming.

Grade: B



2nd place – The Bachelor But With Dads, Ep. 2 [Created by Josh Bressler, Stephen Flowers, Brett Sherriff, Chad Rietschel, and Chase Omark]

With one more month, one more competitor is eliminated from the competition to be Lance’s new dad. This episode is a great mix of reality show tropes turned on their head (the lawnmower competition) and things that blatantly don’t belong in a reality show (the police investigation). The ads for other shows were a nice touch, too. I’m still rooting for Timeloop Dad to win, but this month he demonstrated a hubris that may become his downfall, as it might have been the first 300 times. Also, if there ever was a curse that cancelled shows that previewed the next episode, consider that curse lifted.

Grade: A-



1st place – Bleeding Out, Ep. 1 [Created by David Seger]

They say you can’t squeeze blood from a stone, but Bleeding Out’s Joey Testerosa can squeeze blood from the gunshot wound in his abdomen, as surely as David Seger can squeeze drama from absurd situations. This show about a perpetually bleeding protagonist (does he have hemophilia? and wouldn’t hemophilia literally mean ‘love of blood’ in Greek? what is up with that etymology?) took first place at the screening with votes from nearly 90% of the audience, edging out Dad-chelor by a single vote. Much like the first episode of Seger’s 2015 project Caveman Hate Technology, Bleeding Out plays out a patently ridiculous scenario as if it were a deadly serious high-stakes action-adventure, complete with intense, dynamic cinematography. I’m a fan of Testerosa’s lingo (“run a correction on that, amigo”), and the full-length credits sequence at the end, rare for 101 shows not called The Credits. It’s fun for an episode, but I’m docking the show a few points in the ‘do I want to see more of this’ column – how many different ways can Seger bleed? I guess we will find out! (Hemoglobin bonus: Looking for more bleeding out? Check out one of my favourite failed pilots of all time, 2010’s thoroughly bizarre Correctamundo, featuring a drug dealer suffering from a very Testerosa-like wound.)

Grade: B+



My ranking:

1st: Cybercrime City Mysteries, Ep. 2 (A+)

2nd: Wednesday Morning Cartoons, Ep. 5 (A-)

3rd: The Bachelor But With Dads, Ep. 2 (A-)

4th: Bleeding Out, Ep. 1 (B+)

5th: The Roses in the Garden Cry Too (B)

6th: Trash Planet, Ep. 1 (B)

7th: ;), Ep. 3 (B-)

8th: Demon$, Ep. 2 (C+)

9th: After Life (C+)

10th: Poolside Chat, Ep. 1 (D)

Screening date: 26 January 2019

This review published: 5 February 2019