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.
Shiri Appleby
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.
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