Cookies and Screams AKA The Empire Pilot
Explicit content warning
06/08/22 • 235 min
3 Listeners
Happy Wine Wednesday! As you'll hear in the intro, this week's episode is one that I've been wanting to do for a very long time. Special guest Candi returns this week to discuss the pilot episode of the messy, messy Fox drama/musical - Empire. We've got the main discussion about the pilot episode and a really fun spoiler segment in which we discuss the top 10 ridiculous Empire moments.
Empire is my current comfort show and having watched the entire series multiple times, unpacking this mess with Candi was like therapy. As for the pilot, we talk about the casting of Cookie and Lucious. Could you see Monique as Cookie or Wesley Snipes as Lucious? We also talk about our impressions of the newcomers to whom we were introduced, including Bryshere Gray, Trai Byers, and Jussie Smollett. If you're looking for commentary about Jussie outside of his role on Empire, you'll have to stick around for the spoiler segment.
You can't talk about Empire without touching on the show's amazing music, so we share our favorite songs from the pilot. We discuss our favorite characters from this introductory episode and share what we liked and what we didn't like overall. In our closing arguments, we share whether or not you should continue with Empire if you've only watched the pilot. And, as always, we get thirsty! Who is so hot you might do a 17-year bid in prison for them?
During the spoiler segment, we talk ridiculous moments, thoughts on the series finale, what Empire got right, and Empire's greatest crime against television writing. We get into the Jussie of it all and remind folks that he wasn't the only one with some off-screen messiness as the series wrapped. Say what you want about Empire, Lee Daniels leveraged his success to attract some serious heavy hitters to the series and we discuss which big name actor appearances we enjoyed. I also stand in my truth about my hatred of musicals, the very limited list of musicals that I actually enjoy, and Candi very kindly reminds me that Empire is in fact a musical show.
As always, we love you for listening. Find and follow Candi on Twitter here.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @MoreWinePod! If you're a Goodpods user, please rate us over there.
Friendly reminder - we drink, we know things, and we use lots of adult language. Did you like this episode of the The Pilot Project series? Be sure to check out our prior episodes on Minx, Sons of Anarchy, Abbott Elementary, Grand Crew, Claws, True Blood,
Follow the pod on IG, Twitter (for now), and Tumblr.
We're also over on Blue Sky - find Candi, Jocelyn, and the pod.
Send longer feedback to [email protected].
Find our full catalog of past episodes at morewinepod.buzzsprout.com.
Happy Wine Wednesday! As you'll hear in the intro, this week's episode is one that I've been wanting to do for a very long time. Special guest Candi returns this week to discuss the pilot episode of the messy, messy Fox drama/musical - Empire. We've got the main discussion about the pilot episode and a really fun spoiler segment in which we discuss the top 10 ridiculous Empire moments.
Empire is my current comfort show and having watched the entire series multiple times, unpacking this mess with Candi was like therapy. As for the pilot, we talk about the casting of Cookie and Lucious. Could you see Monique as Cookie or Wesley Snipes as Lucious? We also talk about our impressions of the newcomers to whom we were introduced, including Bryshere Gray, Trai Byers, and Jussie Smollett. If you're looking for commentary about Jussie outside of his role on Empire, you'll have to stick around for the spoiler segment.
You can't talk about Empire without touching on the show's amazing music, so we share our favorite songs from the pilot. We discuss our favorite characters from this introductory episode and share what we liked and what we didn't like overall. In our closing arguments, we share whether or not you should continue with Empire if you've only watched the pilot. And, as always, we get thirsty! Who is so hot you might do a 17-year bid in prison for them?
During the spoiler segment, we talk ridiculous moments, thoughts on the series finale, what Empire got right, and Empire's greatest crime against television writing. We get into the Jussie of it all and remind folks that he wasn't the only one with some off-screen messiness as the series wrapped. Say what you want about Empire, Lee Daniels leveraged his success to attract some serious heavy hitters to the series and we discuss which big name actor appearances we enjoyed. I also stand in my truth about my hatred of musicals, the very limited list of musicals that I actually enjoy, and Candi very kindly reminds me that Empire is in fact a musical show.
As always, we love you for listening. Find and follow Candi on Twitter here.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @MoreWinePod! If you're a Goodpods user, please rate us over there.
Friendly reminder - we drink, we know things, and we use lots of adult language. Did you like this episode of the The Pilot Project series? Be sure to check out our prior episodes on Minx, Sons of Anarchy, Abbott Elementary, Grand Crew, Claws, True Blood,
Follow the pod on IG, Twitter (for now), and Tumblr.
We're also over on Blue Sky - find Candi, Jocelyn, and the pod.
Send longer feedback to [email protected].
Find our full catalog of past episodes at morewinepod.buzzsprout.com.
Previous Episode
The Pilot Project - Minx
2 RecommendationsHappy Wine Wednesday! I am delighted to have very special guest host Abbey White join me this week to discuss the pilot episode of Minx on Max.
We unpack the pilot, explore what this show set in the 1970s is saying to its audience in 2022, share our thoughts on the standout performances, and of course we get thirsty. No spoiler segment this week because I have not watched the entire first season, but as you'll hear in this week's discussion, I have every intention to continue watching. As always, I LOVE talking to Abbey and we had a fun, tipsy time that included me struggling through a very weird comparison of penises to clean eating.
Friendly reminder - we drink, we know things, and we use adult language.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @MoreWinePod!
Send longer feedback to [email protected].
And be sure to give our amazing guest Abbey a follow over on Twitter and on Instagram.
As always, we love you for listening. And a friendly reminder - we drink, we know things, and we use lots of adult language. Did you like this episode of the The Pilot Project series? Be sure to check out our prior episodes on Sons of Anarchy, Abbott Elementary, Grand Crew, True Blood, The Walking Dead, Teen Wolf, and The Sopranos. And check out our episodes on iconic shows like Pose, Bob's Burgers, and Black Ass Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
Until next time!
Follow the pod on IG, Twitter (for now), and Tumblr.
We're also over on Blue Sky - find Candi, Jocelyn, and the pod.
Send longer feedback to [email protected].
Find our full catalog of past episodes at morewinepod.buzzsprout.com.
Next Episode
The Pilot Project: HBO's Looking
1 RecommendationsHappy Wine Wednesday! I am so happy to welcome Terence B. Johnson back to the podcast this week for another installment of our special series, The Pilot Project. We're heading to the Bay Area to discuss the pilot episode of the HBO's Looking.
We kick off the discussion with our respective Looking origin stories. I examine why this amazing series was not on my radar when it debuted and concluded that it had everything to do with the unfortunate decision to pair the show with Girls. Next, we talk about the decision by the writers to cut to the chase and just drop us right into the action with Paddy and his very awkward foray into cursing. From there, we discuss our initial character impressions from the pilot. This allows for a fun game in which I make predictions about the main characters based on the pilot episode and Terence lets me know if my predictions are right or way off base.
In a world of reboots, we share our thoughts on what our version of Looking what look like in 2022. Returning to the Lena Dunham and Girls of it all, we discuss whether the constant comparison of Looking to Girls by reviewers was fair. We also talking about the timing of Looking and how being set in 2014 informs the pilot's premise. I was surprised to find reviews of the pilot episode that described it as milquetoast - Terence and I talk about why this is wrong and why the understated approach works so well for this pilot.
As always, we discuss standouts from the pilot and end on a thirsty note. It should come as no surprise that the both of these segments focus heavily on Richie. Raúl Castillo is a revelation!
Thanks so much for listening! Friendly reminder - we drink, we know things, and we use adult language.
Be sure to follow and support Terence here: his website, his Twitter account, and his IG.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @MoreWinePod!
Send longer feedback to [email protected].
Did you like this episode of the The Pilot Project series? Be sure to check out our prior episodes on Empire, Minx, Sons of Anarchy, Abbott Elementary, Grand Crew, Claws, True Blood, Orphan Black, The Walking Dead,
Follow the pod on IG, Twitter (for now), and Tumblr.
We're also over on Blue Sky - find Candi, Jocelyn, and the pod.
Send longer feedback to [email protected].
Find our full catalog of past episodes at morewinepod.buzzsprout.com.
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