this machine will not communicate

I tend to be pretty lenient with pilots; I always remember that they're not just the first episode of a show, they're also a sales pitch to the network. A pilot has to do a lot: introduce the characters, the setting, the tone, the premise, the visual aesthetic; it has to hook viewers; it has to be open enough that there are possibilities for dozens and dozens of episodes to come, but it has to be closed enough that there's some specificity there; it has to ask some questions and allowed them to remain unanswered, so the show has something to continue to explore, but not so many that you don't feel like you're going anywhere.
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