User reviews

I can see how this film might not be for everybody, but I make my living writing for television and this movie is actually pretty dead on. The satire works because I felt they keep it real. Stuff that might seem absurd I have seen happen (actually real stuff that happens in the development of a pilot would make people shout at the screen and say "come on - that couldn't happen!!). The film is very well cast - everyone from Lindsay Sloane to Ion Gruffudd give strong performances. Many of my fellow writers begged me to see it, so I finally went and I thought Kasdan does an excellent job. But the film could pretty much play like a documentary - without fail, the nets will almost instantly try and change the ONE thing about a project that makes it unique - they want it to be like everything else (Weaver's character has the great line - "it seems original and original scares me!"). It is a real marathon filled with danger to get a pilot sold, then possibly get it filmed, then edited, then tested and then through literally winning a lottery - getting it on the air!! But at the end of the day - it is the viewers who decide what stays on - if something gets numbers, it stays - if it doesn't - it goes. And every now and then a unique and smart show will get on the air and more times than not - no one will watch it. Viewers SAY they want something different, but most of the time when you try to do that - they go "what the hell is this?? This is too different" and then they go back to watching Jim Belushi.

Just saw this at Tribeca. Interesting, entertaining, often funny. Sigourney Weaver is exception. A Solid 7 -- as good as most independent films and insightful.

I would say that the only draw back are the visuals -- kind of bland photography. which should not detract at all from the films commercial appeal.

Jake Kasden is someone to watch. I also really enjoyed the Q& A after the screening. David D. is very funny. And seems to be expanding beyond the X-FIles persona that must be hard to elude.

Sigourney Weaver is so underrated as an actress -- she can do anything. seems to get better with age.

Hats of to the production team

very depressing insider's story of the difficulty of getting any kind of decent show on network TV. makes me want to reconsider the few TV shows that i actually watch as it's hard to believe anything actually decent could survive this process. the movie is funny, but in a "it's funny how truly mediocre most of our cultural output is" kind of way. Duchovny did a good job and it is a good movie. hopefully Slut Wars and a good sitcom appealing to a narrow demographic can coexist. reminds me that there are still plenty of good books to read. Sigourney Weaver is funny, but her character seems to crush the life out of anything that would express any human emotion.

I really liked the idea for this movie, cast was great (especially David Duchovny and Judy Greer), but when I was expecting the plot to move in the most interesting parts of the TV series production suddenly the end titles showed up...

"The TV Set" is really good project, but unfortunately the creators have only highlighted the process and left a lot of comic potential untouched. I know there is the rule "always leave them hungry", but in this one they've left me starving :)

But above all this it worth watching movie, especially if you want to find out how your favorite TV series were created.

I thought this film was okay, but not great.

Certainly, it is a topic that can be mined for great comedy and social commentary. How does Hollywood, which has so many talented people in it, churn out such crap to put into our living rooms every night?

I think the producers here try to give us a behind the curtain look at that, but they don't really hit it with the edge that they could hit it with.

The plot is that Duchovny's character is a writer who creates a show about a lawyer who is touched by the death of his brother by suicide, and slowly watches as his original concept is bastardized by network executives. Network meddling turns a neat idea into a farce. First, they put in an actor the creator doesn't want, and his inadequacy ruins much of the chemistry. Then they change the premise, and finally the title.

The movie ends abruptly as the main character watches a clip for a show that looks nothing like his original idea.

It works on some levels, but on others, it kind of falls flat.

Sigourny Weaver is brilliant. Duchovny just doesn't work well in this role. You are supposed to get the idea of a man who makes Faustian bargains to get his vision on the air, and then has his vision destroyed. Duchovny's character never really expresses his passion for his original concept, so you don't care all that much when Weaver's character steamrollers him.

I find this interesting, because no doubt they cast Duchovny because of his name recognition. The premise is how a TV show can be ruined by bad casting when this movie was ruined by bad casting.

I readily related to the central plight of David Duchovny's character - writing and submitting what we're to assume is a perfectly good, heartfelt and sincere script only to be asked to compromise it's most significant and defining characteristics in ways that change the entire premise of the story. With real world responsibilities, he's forced to choose between his ability to provide for his family and his artistic integrity. I think we've all been there in one way or another - those REAL compromises in life where either option requires us to face a devastating loss.

This movie was emotionally stirring as well as funny - a troubling funny, a dark funny, where the real laughs are in the subtext - the absurdity of the whole ordeal.

David Duchovny's performance was, imo, perfect. I actually prefer him in more overt comedic roles but he owned this character in all it's deadpan glory.

I think the most surprising performances were from Judy Greer and Sigourney Weaver. I knew Judy did good comedy, but the subtle approach she applied to this character was flawless. Like Duchovny, she was funny without ever seeming like she was actually trying to be. She didn't play the character funny, she played a funny character - if that makes sense to anyone but me.

Weaver, unfortunately, lands on the other end of the spectrum - as the most disappointing performance. She appeared almost desperate for a laugh in most scenes and her character never seemed to have center. Then again, people in Weaver's character's position tend to be over-animated, two-dimensional, self-ingratiating twits with no artistic vision. So, perhaps she played her character perfectly. Decide for yourself.

Extra props to Fran Kranz for his brilliant portrayal of a slightly psychotic bad actor, Ioan Gruffudd for being so damned likable as opposed to the typical "stuffy brit" stereotype found in most American movies...and finally, Justine Bateman and Willie Garson for breathing real life into their relatively small roles. Well done...

Bottom line: This movie touched me. I don't think we can ask for any more from our entertainment than that.

Die-hard fans of network television are sure to get a kick out of "The TV Set," a rib-tickling parody about the making (and possible unmaking) of a TV pilot. Mike Klein (David Duchovny) is the writer who has high hopes for his new dark comedy series entitled "The Wexley Chronicles" - until, that is, he sees the purity of his artistic vision becoming increasingly compromised the longer the filming goes on. Klein views his creation as a cutting-edge mixture of comedy and tragedy, but the powers-that-be seem to have their own concept of where it ought to be heading (i.e., the tragedy is too depressing and the comedy needs to be kicked up a notch or two if the show is to have any chance of achieving broad popular appeal). The foremost liability is that, against his better judgment and strenuous protestations, Klein has been saddled with an actor, Zach Harper, who's a scenery-chewing ham if ever there was one (whom, naturally, the show's ham-fisted producers feel is just perfect for the role). In short, Klein finds his work being undermined and sabotaged every step of the way by bottom-line corporate executives, intrusive producers, sycophantic underlings, temperamental performers, fence-sitting decision-makers, knob-turning test-audiences, and even a pregnant wife who, though supportive of Klein's vision, keeps insisting he hang in there for the sake of the baby on the way.

"The TV Set" succeeds primarily because it has been conceived more as a gentle spoof than as a full-throttled, rip-everything-to-shreds farce. As such, it resists the temptation to go more broad and over-the-top than it needs to in its comedy, thereby allowing us to relate more fully with the characters. Basing the film in part on some of his own personal experiences in the business, writer/director Jake Kasdan has written a sly script filled with subtle humor, laugh-out-loud moments and cunning insight into all the behind-the-scenes compromising that goes into the making of a TV show.

The film is further buoyed by its sharp and delightful cast, consisting of Duchovny (his face all but buried under a bushy beard), Ioan Gruffudd, Judy Greer, Fran Kranz, Lindsay Sloane, Justine Bateman and Philip Baker Hall. Sigourney Weaver deserves special recognition for her juicy turn as the producer whose ratings-driven ruthlessness is barely hidden beneath a thin veneer of faux caring and sweetness (think of this as a somewhat toned-down version of Faye Dunaway's character in "Network").

"The TV Set" makes it clear that's it's hard for any artist to keep true to his principles in a cutthroat industry where business generally comes ahead of art, and where the lowest-common denominator often serves as the sole criterion for deciding which series will be green-lighted and which will be stopped dead in their tracks. But it does so in such a lighthearted, tweaking sort of way that it prevents any potential bitterness or rancor from slipping into the tone.

This movie is for those of us sorry schmucks who have worked our hearts & brains to the bone, only to be told by some soulless corporate suit that our creative efforts are not required.

What, me bitter?

"The TV Set" is a great comedy/drama about a writer who realizes his 1 shot at success requires him to sell out to mediocrity. This paradox leads to some great acidic fun. The movie gets its power from a great script as could only be conceived by a person (writer/director Jake Kasdan) who has seen the spectacle in real life. It builds momentum through brilliant acting, as could only be pulled off by actors who've lived the nightmare in real life. Presented with moments of riotous satire (stick around after the credits to see a scene from the network's golden egg, "Slut Wars"), the humor is spot-on with great deadpan deliveries all around.

I don't usually harp on a film's casting, but in this case it was flawless, from the smallest roles (loved the wardrobe lady!) all the way up to Sigourney Weaver as the "soulless suit" who massacres the script, much to the applause of her corporate toadies.

INTERESTING TRIVIA: Sigourney's character "Lenny" was originally written for a man. But due to late scheduling problems they gave it to Sigourney. She insisted that no changes be made to her lines, and even the male name "Lenny" was kept. The result is possibly the funniest clueless exec you've ever seen. Pay attention to her, as almost every one if her lines is classic, such as: "This is not just an opinion here! We have the research from other shows. Suicide is, like, depressing to 82% of all people."

Omg I had to rewind that one and play it again to get the laughs out.

I will warn you, though, I wouldn't call this "uproarious" the way the DVD box advertises (I'm sure some corporate suit came up with that marketing angle). No, like any good satire, its power is in subtlety. No wisecracking punchlines, no slapstick pratfalls, no fart gags. Well OK, 1 fart gag, but you'll agree it really punctuates the point.

Jake Kasdan, himself a veteran of many ill-fated TV pilots, gives us a film that very few can claim to be: an honest & mercilessly uncompromising joyride til the end. It reminded me of the brilliant Christopher Guest satires of the entertainment industry: "Waiting for Guffman", "For Your Consideration", "Best in Show", and the king of them all: "This is Spinal Tap".

The TV Set has all of the makings of a biting sendup of the TV industry, and you can tell Jake Kasdan is speaking from experience; the guy has been through it, without a doubt. But it's surprisingly bland, given the subject matter, and Kasdan apparently views this film as straight dramedy rather than satire. The process of getting your script sold to a network and on the air is a maddening one, and here was the perfect opportunity to go for the jugular.

But there are definitely high points, mainly in the sight gags and the casting (Judy Greer and Sigourney Weaver are standouts), and the film is consistently amusing. And also restrained.

Despite its short running time, "The TV Set" doesn't quite sustain its humor throughout. There are tremendous lulls in-between some very good jokes. There are a few really big laughs and the premise is awfully enticing. Yet, writer-director Jake Kasdan, who wrote and directed the very funny and hugely under-rated, "Zero Effect" (1998), cannot seem to keep things funny throughout.

The film, to be distributed nationally by ThinkFilm, is a rather rude awakening, albeit a funny one, to anyone who aspires to be a writer, especially a TV writer. Mike (David Duchovny) comes up with an idea for a TV series, only to find he is forced to compromise at every turn - from the lead actor to the tone of the pilot to plot points.

The first 10 minutes or so are very funny. But the film loses steam as it goes along, partly because Kasdan seems to want to make a 21st century version of "Network" (1976) at times. But trying to emulate Paddy Chayefsky is no easy feat. Chayefsky was unique and although Kasdan scores some points, he just cannot overcome these huge dull lulls when exposition takes over for comedy and the film just falls flat.

Sigourney Weaver as Lenny, the studio executive - incidentally, the role was initially written for Ben Stiller, so I suppose it's a blessing that he backed out because the man's not done a good movie in years and has ruined several potentially funny films - seems to be simply replaying her shrill, bitchy Katharine Parker from "Working Girl" (1988). Trouble is, villains need to be interesting and Weaver can't quite find what makes Lenny an intriguing person.

Judy Greer does the best of the lot. She has fine comedic timing, knows how to turn a phrase and realizes that good comedy requires underplaying a role sometimes. It's good to see Justine Bateman back in action, but she truly is wasted as the suffering wife. Ioan Gruffudd brings a semblance of dignity to the proceedings finding the right balance for a character conflicted by personal gain and artistic integrity.

Then, there's Duchovny. I realize he has an incredibly loyal following for whom he can do no wrong. Every performance, in their mind, is Oscar-worthy. (I am a huge Woody Allen fan, but I readily admit the man's made some turkeys. Duchovny fans, on the other hand, can't seem to quite grasp that he isn't all that good an actor.) Duchovny has the emotional range of Patrick Swayze, if that. You want to see how limited his range is? Watch Duchovny's crying scene in "Return to Me" (2000).

Duchovny has a few good moments in "The TV Set," especially reacting to what's happening around him. But, truth be told, he gives the same performance in everything he does, be it television or movies. There's no difference between his performance here and his turn in the wretched "Connie and Carla" (2004). It's impossible to differentiate one Duchovny performance from another. There's a smugness to him that can be appealing, and which occasionally works, but he desperately needs a broader range of emotions to turn him into an average actor.

Kasdan misses several opportunities to get in some great jokes. After a while, the film takes on a typical arc. You sense where the story's going. A couple of digs at TV work. After all, Kasdan has experience having good shows canceled. And some of his best jokes seem to lurk in the background. You have to pay attention, but they're good.

"The TV Set" isn't a bad movie. It just isn't as terrific as it could be or Kasdan wants it to be. He has a lot to say about the state of TV today - which is, with a few exceptions, rather execrable - but he seems to struggle trying to find comedy for his entire story. Writing comedy isn't easy. And Kasdan should be credited for coming up with this. I just wish this had been funnier. Come to think of it, a bit more of "Slut Wars" - written well, of course - might have helped.

I saw this at the Traverse City Film Festival and it was one of my favorite films there.

David Duchovny has written a great script for a new TV show and the studio wants to make the pilot. Unfortunately, before it airs, they want to make some changes to his script. The film follows the script as it goes from one hand to another before it gets turned into the perfect TV sitcom.

The cast is excellent. David Duchovny does a great job as the lead, we all relate to him because we all want to see something new, not just the same clichéd sitcom premise. The TV show cast is great, from the opening moments in the film when they audition for the parts, all of their scenes are perfect. And Sigourney Weaver steals the show playing the evil network boss, every time she's on the screen it's impossible not to laugh.

Jake Kasdan was at the screening and told us afterward that most of the stuff shown in the film has happened to him before on several pilots he's worked on. It's sad that things like this still take place, that so many shows keep dumbing down and are afraid to be different. Hopefully TV executives will take a look at this film and get some ideas.

By the way, be sure to stay for the closing credits.

9 / 10

As the playwright George S. Kaufman used to say, "Satire closes on Saturday night," and I think this applies to this film. Very inside takes on the pilot process, but the characters are two dimensional. However, Justine Bateman was very good in a limited part and I liked David Duchovney's take on the typical television writer forced to make many compromises in order to survive. But in real life, there would have been a large staff of writers tooling the pilot, not just one hapless guy. Why he chooses to stay in television we never know. Characters used terms like "upfronts" without explaining what they meant (for the lay audience). Bottom line: a good DVD rental for a weekend.

Not living in the US, I know little of how the selection process goes for TV series and in which way this shapes up the yearly crop, but even so, I dare my imagination to go in all those places and the stories it tells me are not truly exciting.

Moving on from Orange County, a nice comedy which is nothing more than that, director Jake Kasdan achieves a film that is - like the pilot it portrays - not so much a comedy in its essence, but a comedy out of necessity. The plot is uncomplicated, as it revolves around a writer, his pilot and all ensuing experiences. Often enough, it is themed as a clash between idealism and realism, without being very subtle about it. I don't see it as an "insider" movie so much as it is a movie about TV addiction and the standards this imposes, and while it doesn't go to the level of The Player, it still remains a thoroughly enjoyable watch.

There isn't really much to say, except that it's always nice to see familiar faces again , especially if they're in as good of a shape as Sigourney Weaver or David Duchovny. While Weaver has been taking up roles that still seem to feed off some of that Alien nastiness everyone liked so much, Duchovny has been trying to shape up with small comedies and the sort - of late, his new series Californication has him exploring a more familiar runway. Ironically enough, the film works exactly because it has this star power behind it to compensate for the lack of edge the script "provides". As is well said, "Original scares me a little. You don't wanna be too original.".

Give it a shot!

It was okay, actually. It gives out a good insight, or a little exaggerated or understated(?) reality of how network business is operating. Overall, I found it very interesting that the film can depict the every possible conflict and dilemma for writers and producers at the same time. Acting was good, and the set-up was also interesting. I was surprised by the all the good actors in the film for the characters they were perfectly fitting. Hats off to all the TV writers and conscious producers out there. Hate to admit it, but we are all surrounded by TV shows in dinner time, or for all the left-over hours after an exhausting day of work, right? What could be more possibly interesting than a trashy shows? If we are willing to watch more decent shows at dinner time, more ideally avoid watching the black box at all, we can make TV network to produce better shows. Capitalism can ruin the human decency in any possible way, or is it just a human nature that we are doomed to behave this way, to earn more, to have more, to be richer and happier? I would recommend this movie even though it was not super exciting, but it was so different than other films out there.

David Duchovny stars as Mike Klein, a television show writer who hopes that his heartfelt new pilot that he wrote after his brother's suicide gets picked up for the fall season. But he has to deal with compromising his vision to the network executives' bottom line (ratings) if he wants to see it on the schedule.

Well acted, especially by Duchovny and Sigourney Weaver, if a bit black and white satire. Not as biting or pointed as I sensed that writer/director Jake Kasdan wanted it to or could've been, but entertaining and poignant enough to make it a good watch regardless. And is miles above his much better known, "Walk Hard"

My Grade: B-

David's character Mike Kline was so far removed from Fox Mulder that this should finally shut the critics up that say David can only play one role. David was almost unrecognizable as this down trodden man who had his dream script completely turned inside out by the powers that be. He, in MHO was terrific as was the whole ensemble cast. Justine Bateman was very good as his wife and Sigourney was terrific as the network boss. The expressions on David's face were just amazing. He truly made you feel sorry for the man while you also had to laugh at his pain. I LOVED the film. And I can say for the first time that David was really skuzzy looking. Duchovny's expressions were priceless. This film has a truly wonderful ensemble cast. There is not a bad performance in the bunch. Bottom line . I think that this film is very smart, funny and kind of sad. You feel Mike's pain

I'd give this film 4 stars any day of the week

Its a simple, true story that pulls everybody in, who wants to see the reality of that business and who wants to take for the leading character. When this tragicomedy touches you, you are on the right way, leaving the standard comedy besides you and heading towards the easy listening of truthfulness moments. David Duchovni is much better than I thought and well, you haven't to complain about Sigourney Weaver and Ioan Gruffudd. Also Fran Kranz comes to grips with his role, sometimes more than you can take:). He and Duchovni stands for the best laughters and the most embarrassing moments.

Go out and see that movie.

Perhaps my favorite part of "The TV Set" was the enlarged and mounted review of it from the LA Times that the theater put in the window to presumably attract casual moviegoers who don't know what they want to watch. And there it was, writ in letters as tall as coffin nails: "not that there is anything in this movie that we haven't seen before...". What a tremendous accolade! And perfectly true. The kind of movie that possibly passes for interesting outside of Los Angeles where presumably people think we must be so smart and funny and sensitive and so fail to realize that we are, in fact, as prone to vapid fart-noises as to anything else... Isn't it amazing what passes for thoughtful entertainment today..? "The TV Set" is in every way untrue, hackneyed, inauthentic, dull, uninspired, recycled tedium.

Enjoy!

This is a behind-the-scenes primer on why America gets served a steady diet of mediocre television programming. David Duchovny and Kranz are great, but it's Sigourney Weaver's role and her superb performance that carries the show.

Among the high points are the movie's take on focus groups and their outlandish role in network decision-making -- surpassed only by the inappropriateness of Sigourney Weaver's teen-aged daughter's decision-making power.

Seth Green's cameo as host of Slut Wars is a perfect little gem that hits just the right, sleazy note.

or at least as small apart of it.namely,what it takes to get a script for a TV show to the the pilot stage and beyond.it focuses on one network and one man who pitches his idea to them.one of the network big wigs(Sigourney Weaver)is full of herself and always manages to make things about her.Weaver is brilliant here.David Duchovny plays the writer hoping to get his script picked up.he leaves the character of Fox Mulder in the dust,proving he is no one trick pony.Justine Bateman is almost unrecognizable as his put upon wife.all in all,this is a very clever work,which pokes fun at the television industry and how stupid,plastic and shallow many of the people(mostly the corporate types)behind the scenes are.for me,The TV Set is a 6/10

Ah, another example of everything that is wrong with Hollywood. Garbage script gets "star treatment" and the go-ahead from the big kahunas. Next it is on to the marketing machine. The result? Why, two thumbs up of course!!! Let's put it this way: I picked up the phone and made an appointment with my dentist while watching this movie. One thing just reminded me of the other I guess.

Boring subject matter. Right up there with "Watching paint dry" and "Trading Spaces: They Hated It".

Fake characters. Too many swear words. Some movies choose their one magic F bomb with care; this one fires them out like farts from a teenager.

For David D. fans, save yourself an aneurism and fire up "House of D" again. Sigourney fans, you're on your own, I've never cared for her. Wait, what about "Working Girl"! Of course, there is a soccer game scene, but no fair asking for the final score. You'll just have to rush on over to Blockbuster to find out.

Jake Kasdan chose a fascinating subject to write about and direct. Although the result of such a fantastic premise could have been better, it's still a great 90 minutes to spend for just about anybody with an interest in TV and movie entertainment. Throughout the movie, we get to meet colorful and interesting characters, most of them brilliantly played by a solid cast. Sigourney Weaver's character is probably the one with the best material and injects a dose of comical cynicism that reminds me of a Stanley Tucci. It's nice to see her in that kind of role. The rest of the cast is very good with perhaps David Duchovny struggling a little in the lead role.

But without a doubt, the star of the movie is the premise and Kasdan's commentary on the so-called "creative process" behind TV shows and how he reveals what goes behind the scene. Although we are clearly in fiction, many of us who have been involved in this business will recognize that there is more than a little grain of truth to this story. I have read a lot of comments panning the ending of TV Set, something which I can't agree with. Clearly, a lot more material could have been added to the movie in-between its beginning and its end, but it does seem Jake Kasdan's priority was to showcase the process of a TV show's creation from beginning to end and in this way, it succeeds and its ending is very much on target.

I think this movie could have become an all-time classic if not for some flaws. The first of which is that the material, characters and dialogs vary wildly in tone and quality. And although I don't dislike Duchovny, I really think a better actor with more range would have added a lot of effect. The whole subplot about Klein's back problems was also totally unnecessary and detracts from the effect Kasdan was probably looking for as well. And finally, in a perfect world, Kasdan would have added another 30 minutes and used his mix of drama and comedy to greater effect.

Still a solid 7 for revealing a world that should no doubt depress a lot of TV fans and hopefully, make them question their sense of taste and perspective, or lack thereof.

A hilarious reflection on the process of making a pilot and the state of the TV industry in general. The script, characters and performance style provide a brilliant, subtle humour (far more convincing than the slapstick and gross-out styles that can be found on other projects that Judd Apatow has been involved with). The characters will absorb you instantly, providing a cross section of the weird and wonderful who decide what goes onto our boxes. As we undergo the making of a pilot TV show, so unravels the effects that this has on those involved, and we can observe the relationship between the characters' TV careers and personal lives (although in some cases this could have been explored deeper). You will find yourself laughing out loud, whilst wincing in pain at the injustice of it all! This cringe-worthy comedy is a must-see for anyone who enjoys television!