I liked the mention of the X-men, almost in a way that made them acknowledge that they are almost ripping its origins off entirely, but not without “respecting” the original comic property. The whole comic storyline might actually play out well, but I think it could be a real detriment to bringing in the bigger mainstream audience they’re pushing for with that timeslot.
Did you notice the very obvious Matrix reference? When the villain (the cheerleader’s adopted father) was in the cab talking with the researcher, he said in a very Hugo-like way something to the extent of “over there, that’s probably like a Smith, or an Anderson.” when talking about the guy’s name.
I wholly despise the movie-nerd phrase “nod to”, but that pilot had a crapload of them.

It did borrow liberally, but that’s okay aslong as they do something different with it. I love the psychic painter idea. And while they do owe the Xmen a lot these are people getting their powers at adulthood, which adds a slightly different twist. Like I said over at TFL it’s not greatness, but it could be if given room to breathe. If they didn’t mainstream it a bit then they’d go the way of Firefly then.

At first it wasn’t cohesive for me, and I was spoiled by a lot of the teaser commercials, of which the first half of the episode was a collage. But the twists at the end, the painting, the bit with the brothers, and the cheerleader’s stepdad, all pulled it together for me and now I have to see the next episode. The budget is obvious, especially the flying scene, but overall it’s a great concept, more DP7 than X-men, though I loved Hiro’s nod to the comic. It was both homage and saying that’s comics; this is real.
And though I remember the Smith or Anderson line, I can’t believe the Matrix connection flew right over my head. Awesome catch.
Will you continue to use Wrandom Wramblings for anything or should I change the link in my sidebar to this site completely?

Change the link if you would. This will be it for me. And I won’t miss blogger one bit.