Shiri Appleby - To Love and Die #6: We Love It!

**Hell on Heels** · 01-02-2009, 10:37 PM

To Love and Die

Shiri Appleby
Tim Matheson
Ivan Sergei
Frances Fisher
Christine Adams
Kristin Dattilo

A young woman (Appleby) deals with her abandonment issues by reconnecting with her estranged dad (Matheson), a contract killer who recruits her into his line of work.

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(Movie) Okay, so after looking into it some more, here’s what I found : this was originally intended to be a (2-hour) pilot episode when it was produced, and we’re talking about two years ago, back in 2006 (!). The 2-hour pilot was shot and USA must have liked it, as they ordered 12 episodes of the series in mid-2007. But apparently something went wrong on the way, as it went nowhere, no more episodes have been produced (as far as I know) and the whole thing just died.

But, instead of forgetting about it USA decided to burn it off last night, airing what they now refer to as a movie, since they won’t be any more of it — which is quite a certainty I’d say, given how it’s been over a year and everyone moved on, starting with Shiri Appleby - now on E.R. - or Tim Matheson. But you might still have watched this as a one-time thing, a movie indeed, and that wouldn’t have been a bad thing at all!

Quite frankly I was a little worried when I turned into this one, because of what I had found out about the project I kinda expected it to suck real bad. You know, so bad it died and went nowhere because everyone was too embarrassed of how bad the original concept - which sounded interesting - turned out in the end. Maybe that helped, as it probably lowered my expectations I guess, but the first minutes were still almost painful to watch.

I really didn’t like what I saw, I wasn’t really buying the characters, the little set ups about how Hildy (Appleby) is gifted all what would later be useful in her new line of work weren’t subtle or entertaining, things seemed way too forced. I’d say this lasted about up to the paintball scene, which I thought was kinda horrible. At this point, I was worried this would turn out to be really bad, which wouldn’t have been surprising considering what we know about the project, and I also started to doubt that Shiri Appleby could sell the character - unless there was simply nothing to sell.

But, oddly enough, that’s also about when things changed, and minutes later she was crossing path with “paintball guy” on the streets, but now we were in a much better place. This little conversation they had was just great I thought, plain fun. This is when all of Appleby’s charm started to shine, as her character became a lot (more) fun to follow around. She was still over-the-top crazy, and she never seems to care about anything but her own little problems (see how killing people for a living doesn’t bother her one bit, but that her father might care or not about her does), but I got used to that, it was soon part of what made her so lovable.

Especially since the entire show started to be really fun and entertaining, I had a great time to see her get herself into mixed up situations and try to find a way out of it. Sure, if you were expecting the production quality of Fringe and the same kind of writing from CSI you’d be disappointed, but here we’re on USA for a fun show, and much like the Psych and other Burn Notice, despite dealing with people killing people and other wrongs, things were simply a lot of fun.

To my surprise, I ended up liking the show - movie, whatever - very much. Shiri Appleby couldn’t have been any more cute, Tim Matheson brought his usual A-game, and the entire show, despite being quite predictable, made up for some great entertainment. And just like you don’t watch Psych for the actual investigation that goes on, this show wasn’t about the actual hit and how it would work out, because we all knew how that wound eventually go down from very early on, it’s the characters and their ways that won us.

Even the scenes when Hildy is talking to her shrink I ended up liking, while at first I thought they were just not working at all. So, sure, not everything was perfect, the little flashbacks as Hildy realizes that all he things she’s good at is what would make her a good “contractor” were way too much, I found her mother and their relationship rather annoying, and that last scene with the lipstick was just ludicrously stupid. But overall, this turned out to be a pleasant surprise, and a very good moment of television.

Yes, I really liked To Love & Die, I thought it was actually a lot of fun, and quite funny, and while I have no idea how things would have worked week after week, I do wish we had the chance to find out, because in the end I really wanted to see more of it. And if you missed it, I can only encourage you to try and catch a rerun (Sunday, January 4th at 2am, and again the next day, Monday, January 5th at 11am, on USA) and stick around past the paintball scene, because after that things start to get better, and you’ll probably have a good time.

To Love & Die: Pilot @ TVoholic.com: Full episode reviews of your favorite TV shows & news about television

I found a website for To Love and Die and what is interesting is the following:

The next episode airs the 20th and the episode will be called 'Love Hurts'. The show will air on Tuesdays at 8 pm.
To Love & Die TV Show - To Love & Die Television Series :: To Love & Die TV Series :: Summary/Synopsis
And here is a review from the same website:

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Most of us have felt out of place at one time or another in our lives. The actress Shiri Appleby pulled us right in with a never-ending play of emotions across her expressive face. (A very pretty one too at that.) She portrays charming, and it does not come across as an act.

The rest of the cast do very well, despite her stealing the show - Ivan Sergei (Blue) cracks us up with his "I am not amused" act. The character of Eddie, played by Christine Adams is excellent - different, yet not stereotypically so. Tim Matheson is absolutely perfect for the role of Dad - mainly because he is believable as a chick magnet.

I found out who the secret "therapist"'s identity is - I screamed in glee. But I won't spoil it for those of you who want the suspense. Great choice there though casting director!

The show is Witty and Silly, but did not reach the gag reflex at all. We laughed and smiled throughout, and cheered a few times as well.

Both the hubby and I hope the writers keep up the great lines - USA has done pretty well so far in keeping up their quality - must be good to work for.

All in all, this gets two thumbs up from the Monster and I - we hope we get to see more!

Oh, and Hildy's ring tone is ZZ Top - La Grange.

Finally!

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To Love and Die - S01E01 - Pilot Review

This is a rare new show that I never heard about until the week of it’s airing. I don’t know why the show didn’t get more of a push by USA Network, but I was impressed by what I saw. This backdoor pilot seems to have been filmed in 2007 and stars Shiri Appleby and Tim Matheson.

Shiri Appleby plays Hildy, a young woman who has a number of daddy issues. She never knew her real father and none of her many step-fathers seem to want anything to do with her. This lack of stability with men has continued into her dating life where she seems to get cold feet and ends the relationship after a few months.

Hildy’s got a sister and a mother, both of whom have their own set of problems. Hildy’s sister doesn’t really care for the man she married and wants out, but admits her husband is pretty good with their children. And Hildy’s mother has lied about the identity of Hildy’s biological father ever since she was born and she’s set on fixing Hildy up on a date in the pilot.

Appleby is a lot of fun to watch in To Love and Die. She’s a little cooky and full of energy. She’s always moving around. It’s almost frantic at times, but not necessarily in a bad way. I thought her energy worked very well here.

Hildy eventually tracks down her father (played by Tim Matheson). Matheson plays James, the leader of a group of hitmen. My biggest disappointment came in the writing of the other hitmen. The young man that Hildy liked initially was good, but I didn’t care for either of the other two. Neither did much for me.

Pretty early on Hildy proved herself to be a very athletic and crafty. I was impressed with her actions throughout the episode. I know it’s a TV show and all, but I’ve seen actresses do a worse job playing similar roles in bigger budget movies.

The pilot went about as anyone would expect. There were some setbacks for Hildy, but everything went to plan in my opinion. I wasn’t really surprised by anything. There weren’t any surprising twists or turns anywhere in this episode, but I really do like what I saw from Shiri Appleby. She did a terrific job as Hildy and I look forward to seeing the remainder of the show. It appears to be scheduled for a twelve episode run, so hopefully this new team of hitmen (including the father-daughter) will work out. There’s already an interesting relationship growing there between James and Hildy.
Rating: 7.7

To Love and Die - S01E01 - Pilot Review @ TV-Reviewed - Episode Reviews and Previews of Your Favorite Television Shows

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I caught this little gem by accident tonight. Appears to be a pilot, but no news on whether it will survive, or if it's already dead. Replay at midnight EST.

It's like Burn Notice but funnier. Like an early BTVS. Good writing, good acting. Short skirts and stripper boots are always appreciated.

Note the "press release" censors the Roswell credit for the star, who did an excellent job. I didn't even recognize her in the role, which she nailed.

Does anybody know if there's an Episode 2? According to the reports below, it's a 2006 pilot that was cancelled. WTF were they thinking? I suspect because you can't have professional assassins as TV stars, especially when they kill mobsters. Too much reality is bad for business.

FIREFLYFANS.NET

A poster on the USA website is saying the next episode airs on Tuesday, January 20th...for what it is worth. I really wish USA would clarify what is going on. If that is true, USA best increase the advertisement. This show is too amazing for people to miss out on simply because they didn't know it exists.

Some more positive comments here: 'To Love and Die' Gets Premiere Date

Mr G · 01-02-2009, 11:18 PM

Thanks for the new thread Mir!!!

EARLBNY · 01-02-2009, 11:27 PM

Thanks for the new thread Mir.

**Hell on Heels** · 01-03-2009, 12:05 AM

No problem.

If anyone has a better title suggestion I'm all ears. I just stuck something in there without much thought.

**..::Lourdes::..** · 01-03-2009, 12:22 AM

Thanks Mir

Pempees · 01-03-2009, 05:08 AM

Thanks, Mir and good work with the OP

And title is right

Negra Luna · 01-03-2009, 06:26 AM

Did anyone feel that Ivan Sergei's character is up to something? Like what was he doing with that briefcase at the Chinese motel? Why did he walk off and pull a gun at the golf course? If this show is picked up, still crossing my fingers, toes and eyes that it does, imo he will be one for Hildy to watch.

ana julia · 01-03-2009, 06:58 AM

I watched it completely last night and couldn't sleep a wink. I was totally excited.
Up to now I can't believe she was SO good... At some point I had to make an effort and realise it was Shiri. Maybe because there was always a "Liz" hidden in each of her characters and Hildy didn't remind Liz at all.

**Hell on Heels** · 01-03-2009, 09:16 AM

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Originally Posted by Negra Luna (View Post)

Did anyone feel that Ivan Sergei's character is up to something? Like what was he doing with that briefcase at the Chinese motel? Why did he walk off and pull a gun at the golf course? If this show is picked up, still crossing my fingers, toes and eyes that it does, imo he will be one for Hildy to watch.

I noticed that too and thought I was the only one.

ana julia · 01-03-2009, 09:25 AM

Ah, now I don't know if it was a good thing to watch this.
It's so good that it's frustrating not knowing if it'll happen or definitely not.

**Hell on Heels** · 01-03-2009, 09:33 AM

I know exactly how you feel.

EARLBNY · 01-03-2009, 02:22 PM

Can I join the club?

**Blackened Sky** · 01-03-2009, 06:12 PM

I'm all for Hildy/Blue

Mr G · 01-03-2009, 06:33 PM

If this show doesn't make it I have an idea for one that will

It's about a bunch of dedicated fans - going crazy waiting for the rest of the world to get a clue.

**Hell on Heels** · 01-03-2009, 07:44 PM