Roadies Season 1 Episode Guide
1.01. "Life is a Carnival" - Review!
1.02. "What Would Phil Do?" - Review!
1.03. "The Bryce Newman Letter" - Review!
1.04. "The City Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken" - (Airs July 17)
1.05. "Friends and Family" - (Airs July 24)
1.06. "Lost Highway" - (Airs July 31)
1.07. "Carpet Season" - (Airs August 7)
1.08. "The All Night Bus Ride" - (Airs August 14)
1.09. "The Corporate Gig" - (Airs August 21)
1.10. "The Load Out" - (Airs August 28)
Roadies 1.02 What Would Phil Do" - Review:
Directed by Cameron Crowe & Written by Cameron Crowe
In another episode that is written by and directed by Cameron Crowe, the group are faced with a problematic threat from a music critic named Bryce Newman. Just as the Staton-House band have dealt with the Head in the Heart-shaped problem they now find themselves in shock to find the band reviewed so badly by Newman, with the band being accused of being irrelevant which naturally sends shockwaves through the group. This is making the team all the more annoyed, after all, Newman is like one of those people who didn't see the new Ghostbusters movie and is determined to hate it anyway based on the trailers alone.
Kelly Ann is having issues outside of the Bryce Newman-shaped problem and is trying to get accepted by the group and earn a nickname that even Reg has. She spends her time watching videos online about winning over co-workers, but she's struggling. And Bill's time with a woman called Cassie is cut short by the arrival of her roommates, offering to make them breakfast. Bill then returns Cassie's declaration of love by asking her to come to the show with him later that night, the show that Bryce Newman will be attending along with none other than Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac. It was great to see him here especially as Fleetwood Mac are one of my favourite bands (also a Crowe soundtrack regular), and he really stole the show in this episode.
And this is when things go so disastrously wrong for Reg. His plan to give him a cup of coffee that will make Newman high off sugar so that he'll leave in a good mood and change the review, but instead Wes misunderstands his request and ends up buying a drug that will give Newman a little more than just a sugar high. Of course Newman takes it, and starts to see hallucinations such as Lindsey Buckingham being on fire. He is able to escape the massaging of Natalie Shin who was given permission to remain backstage under the condition that she kept an eye on Bryce Newman, who is now crying in the bathroom. This leads to him admitting on stage in a bathrobe that he's a fraud and doesn't listen to the music he reviews, exposing himself to a crowd full of people, causing Puna and the team to go into damage control mode.
This lead to Newman then writing a review of the show following his stint in hospital where he thanks Wes for the coffee, something that earns him an increase in a couple of thousand followers thanks to the people that still listen to Newman. It seems that Reg's plan worked after all, a bit with a different execution than intended. However it's not all good news because it turns out that Cassie not only told Bill that she didn't even come to the show, she's also hooked up with her roommate who walked in on them about to have sex earlier in the episode.
On the whole then, this was a fairly decent episode that didn't set the world alight and probably wasn't as good as What Would Phil Do?, but was still watchable and once again boasted a pretty cool soundtrack as well as involvement from Lindsey Buckingham. I wasn't particularly gripped by the main storyline of the week focusing on Bryce Newman as it needed a little depth, but aside from that, and the frequent attempts to try and force Bill and Shelli together as a couple, it wasn't too bad.
Remember to stay tuned for tonight's episode on Showtime at 10pm and let me know what you thought of The Bryce Newman Letter in the comments below.
Overall Episode Verdict: C+
Positives:
+Lindsey Buckingham
+The Soundtrack, as usual.
Negatives:
-Main storyline could have used more development.
-Trying to force Bill/Shelli together.
Soundtrack:
1. Let's Go - He's My Brother She's My Sister
2. Kick Your Game - TLC
3. Think About Me - Fleetwood Mac (Single Version)
4. Pink Medicine - Bearson
5. Bleed to Love Her - Lindsey Buckingham
6. T for Texas - Lynyrd Skynyrd
7. Cool Kids - Echosmith
8. You're Not Good Enough - Blood Orange
9. Dreadlock Holiday - 10cc
10. Happy Jack - The Who
11. Can't Sleep - Gary Clark Jr.
12. Oh, Atlanta - Little Feat
13. Hold Me - Fleetwood Mac
14. Drinkee - Sofi Tukker
15. Never Going Back Again - Fleetwood Mac
16. Big Love - Lindsey Buckingham
17. I Can't Make You Love Me - Hannah Huston
18. Farewell Angelica - Jeff Buckley & Gary Lucas
19. Bobby (Bonus Track) - Youth Lagoon
