Television Show Review: The Pitch

The Pitch directed by Philip Lott (Studio Lambert. Premiers Monday, April 30 on AMC.)

Mad Men as Reality TV

Even though I savor the subtle intricacies of character development in AMC’s Mad Men, I can understand how one could be drawn to the business of advertising depicted in the show. With storyboards and persuasive language, the employees of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce seek to persuade by creativity.

With this aspect acting as the foundation of AMC’s most famous show, there is no wonder AMC developed The Pitch, a documentary-style reality television series highlighting two rival ad agencies competing for a client.

Competition: The Core of Capitalism 

In the sneak peak episode, ad agencies McKinney and WDCW fight over the next big SUBWAY® ad campaign. The episode commences with both agencies meeting at SUBWAY® headquarters learning the preliminary guidelines and target audiences of the advertising campaign.

Upon receiving the assignment, both agencies have one week to create an ad campaign before returning to  SUBWAY® headquarters with a pitch. One agency wins; the other returns empty-handed.

On one side, I believe The Pitch carries promise, perhaps becoming the next big reality show highlighting corporate America. On the other side, the series format might become its biggest downfall.

The Pros 

Much like the depiction of the day-to-day at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce in Mad Men, The Pitch flourishes during the scenes in the proverbial kitchen—the work spaces where ideas come to life. With tense brainstorming sessions and gorgeous cinematography of respective workplaces, The Pitch imports the viewer into the agencies.

As a fly on the wall, the viewer gains understanding of the process as the agencies develop a pitch for the client.

The Cons 

However, The Pitch flounders in the character-development department. For starters, those giving the pitch are not those developing the pitch—the high level employees meeting with SUBWAY® entrust pitch development to copywriters.

For this reason, the people we meet at the beginning of the episode step aside during the middle portions while the ideas mature. In fact, the times when the pitch people interact with the copywriters, the senior executives hover over the ideas with insensate opinions.

This schism, coupled with covering two separate agencies, creates surface level characters. The viewer never understands how these ad agencies function. We get a glimpse of the process, mostly from the copywriters as they explain the fear behind proposing an idea, exposing their creativity to criticism.

Lastly, The Pitch covers new ad agencies every week. As such, any traction in character development one week disappears with a new cast of characters the next. Such a position leaves The Pitch prone to inconsistent television with each episode surviving or dying on the strength of that week’s cast of characters.

The Verdict 

Will The Pitch make compelling television? I’m not sure. Certainly, there is a blueprint for success—most viewers find glimpses into alternative careers to be fascinating. Yet, new ad agencies every week create difficulty for overarching stories. Weekly meeting a new ensemble of characters means no connections.

Does a series need connections? Not necessarily. Look at Undercover Boss, a highly successful series where presidents and CEOs go undercover to learn more about their companies. But each episode of Undercover Boss features one person in one company, while The Pitch highlights two ad agencies competing for the business of a third party.

The Pitch has promise, on the whole. If you are curious about marketing, design, and the advertising industry, you might enjoy this show.

Verdict: 3 out of 5

Are you interested in watching the series premier? Does the creative side of capitalism interest you? Is it possible to create art for a client? How about those in the design world. Does this series intrigue you? Share your thoughts below.

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Posted by: Donovan Richards

Television Show Review: The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead: Season Two created by Frank Darabont; produced by Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Robert Kirkman, and Charles H. Eglee (Circle of Confusion and Valhalla Motion Pictures)

Starring Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Steven Yeun, and Chandler Riggs.

A Premature Review

Partly because I’m currently engaged in some lengthy books and need to post some content, I am reviewing the current season of The Walking Dead despite the fact that it is early in its second season.

As I mentioned in my review of the show last year, I am not a fan of the zombie genre. Yet, the more I consider the subtext beneath these post-apocalyptic narratives, the more the genre fascinates me.

Zombie as Metaphor

At its core, a zombie story explores human frailty. The zombie functions as a metaphor for the inevitability of death. Like a contagion, the threat gradually rises until no hope remains for escape. In other words, the zombie genre requires the viewer to encounter his or her own death.

In movie form, zombie stories move quickly with boatloads of action before the narrative resolves in the finality of death. The Walking Dead, however, must unfold slowly due to its serialized nature. As such, a sensory assault seen in most zombie movies would drain the viewer.  With a show format, The Walking Dead needs drama in order to break up the intense zombie scenes.

I Want to Like the Characters before They Die!

And, honestly, this drama is the Achilles’ heel of the show so far. Of course, in light of a dying world, it is nearly impossible to imagine the ways in which humans would cope. But, the attempts to humanize the characters in this show sound hollow. In truth, I am not drawn to any of the characters on this show.  As these people die (and we know they will, let us not deceive ourselves), I want to like them. Stated differently, it is not dramatic if unlikable characters die.

So, despite high ratings and much promise, I find it difficult to give The Walking Dead, a perfect score. The show has promise. In the third episode, we find the kind of cliffhanger that creates real characters. If you love zombies, you need to watch The Walking Dead. As for me, I continue to watch hoping that the writers put everything together.

Verdict: 3 of 5