(Review) 1.01/1.02 – Pilot/Hello

An awesome first double episode!

1.1. Pilot
Favorite quote:
Isaac: “We don’t have time for this!”
Pete: “…and then this hunky shirtless guy comes in–”
Isaac: “Well, we do have some time, the haunting is imminent, go on.”
Most memorable scene: Sam falling extremely violently down an entire flight of stairs for a full minute
Star character: Jay for having the only brain cell
Overall rating: 8.5/10

For those of you who (like myself) are coming to this series as fans of the original BBC show of the same name, this episode might come off as flat at first. Not only are many of the characters redesigned cutouts of the originals, but many of the featured lines are copy and pasted from the BBC pilot as well. On a first viewing this can be frustrating, as it makes this introduction feel like a bit of a lazy cop-out. What I believe explains this show’s incredible rise in popularity is due to several factors: The scripts moving beyond the BBC series further down the line; its
commitment to diversity; and the stunning work from the actors embodying their characters to the fullest and delivering each scene in a new and hilarious way.

Ghosts is an American remake of a BBC sitcom of the same name about Samantha, a freelance journalist who inherits a mansion in upstate New York and moves there with her husband Jay in order to start a B&B; however, after an accident that leaves her legally dead for several minutes, Sam returns only to realize that she can see ghosts, and that their new home is full of them.

The pilot episode, if you have seen the original series, honestly feels a bit like a recap with some extra characters. It follows the same premise, where the ghosts attempt to frighten the new owners away after discovering Sam and Jay’s plan to potentially turn the mansion into a B&B.
Their failure accidentally culminates in Sam tumbling down a hilarious amount of stairs in a scene that nearly rose to Three Stooges level of violent comedy, and subsequently allows her to speak with the dead.

My opinion on the script aside, Ghosts establishes itself distinctly from its predecessor in its tone and visual backdrop. Whereas the BBC series begins its pilot episode with somber piano music and gloomy gray shots of a leaking mansion, the American series takes on an attitude more
similar to a Halloween party, with bright colors and bubbly personalities. The ghosts don’t hold the same contempt for each other as their counterparts, and overall the spirit (ha) of the American Ghosts manages to be kinder and more affectionate without losing any of the laughs. It
is endorsed immensely by the actors’ energy and clear excitement to simply be there, as well as the cutting and condensing of more melancholy scenes from the original series. This really drives home the point that neither the BBC series nor the CBS series is necessarily superior in its tone or any other quality; each way of telling the same story works well for different reasons. (Except for Isaac’s power which I just can’t see myself ever laughing at.)

Ghosts distinguishes itself specifically with its strong focus on morality and ethics, so much so that each episode ends with an informal “What Did We Learn Today?” conversation between the characters. The pilot episode moves with surprisingly little effort from a quick-witted sitcom, to
a reality TV argument between Sam and Jay about their future, to an extended vaudeville-esque fall down a long flight of stairs, to a saccharine monologue from Pete about the importance of not taking your loved ones for granted that feels more at home in Grey’s Anatomy. Where the
BBC series is a bit more biting and willing to leave the ethics of some characters’ actions as an open-ended question, its American counterpart moves away from the “show, don’t tell” approach and prefers to ground itself in clear statements concerning right from wrong. For example,
Julian’s decision to push Alison out of a window to stop her from turning Button House into a hotel is exchanged for Sam tripping on a vase that Trevor pushed over without intending to harm her; in lieu of Julian’s underhanded attempts to absolve himself of responsibility for his
purposeful actions, Trevor defends himself honestly, and is genuinely relieved that the fall didn’t kill her. I think that this really encapsulates the difference between the dry, brittle British humor of the original and the bombastic energy that runs the American remake.

While it’s easy to brush aside one version as not being worth the time to watch, I believe, with a closer look, it’s much more fun to enjoy both for what they are. The pilot episode of CBS’s Ghosts is elevated by its own brand of humor, character interactions, and excellent casting, and will truly fly once it breaks away fully from its source material.