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The Insanity Principle: How Extremism in Politics Is Threatening Democracy in the 21st Century

  • Episode aired Jun 13, 2016
  • TV-14TV-14
  • 44m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
552
YOUR RATING
Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Danny Pino in BrainDead (2016)
ComedyDramaHorror
When Laurel returns to Washington, D.C., to work for her brother, Sen. Luke Healy, she discovers that budgetary disagreements have halted the government, and mysterious bugs are consuming th... Read allWhen Laurel returns to Washington, D.C., to work for her brother, Sen. Luke Healy, she discovers that budgetary disagreements have halted the government, and mysterious bugs are consuming the brains of Congress members and Capitol Hill staffers.When Laurel returns to Washington, D.C., to work for her brother, Sen. Luke Healy, she discovers that budgetary disagreements have halted the government, and mysterious bugs are consuming the brains of Congress members and Capitol Hill staffers.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
552
YOUR RATING
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Robert King
    • Writers
      • Robert King
      • Michelle King
    • Stars
      • Mary Elizabeth Winstead
      • Danny Pino
      • Aaron Tveit
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Robert King
    • Writers
      • Robert King
      • Michelle King
    • Stars
      • Mary Elizabeth Winstead
      • Danny Pino
      • Aaron Tveit
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1User review
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos6

    Tony Shalhoub and Lewis Cleale in BrainDead (2016)
    Mary Elizabeth Winstead in BrainDead (2016)
    Zach Grenier in BrainDead (2016)
    Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Paige Patterson in BrainDead (2016)
    Tony Shalhoub, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Danny Pino, and Aaron Tveit in BrainDead (2016)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Mary Elizabeth Winstead
    Mary Elizabeth Winstead
    • Laurel Healy
    Danny Pino
    Danny Pino
    • Luke Healy
    Aaron Tveit
    Aaron Tveit
    • Gareth Ritter
    Tony Shalhoub
    Tony Shalhoub
    • Red Wheatus
    Zach Grenier
    Zach Grenier
    • Dean Healy
    Michael Potts
    Michael Potts
    • Dr. Daudier
    Megan Hilty
    Megan Hilty
    • Misty Alise
    Dominic Fumusa
    Dominic Fumusa
    • Randall Burke
    Nilaja Sun
    Nilaja Sun
    • Breanna Burke
    Paige Patterson
    Paige Patterson
    • Scarlett Pierce
    Dan Bittner
    Dan Bittner
    • Hill Staffer Doug
    Beth Malone
    Beth Malone
    • Claudia Monarch
    Chris McKinney
    Chris McKinney
    • Museum Director
    Lily Cowles
    Lily Cowles
    • Germaine Healy
    Lewis Cleale
    • Senator Spitz
    Jack Dimich
    Jack Dimich
    • Dr. Lagunov
    • (as Zeljko Dimic)
    José Ramón Rosario
    José Ramón Rosario
    • Captain Gary Young
    Don Guillory
    Don Guillory
    • Chuck
    • Director
      • Robert King
    • Writers
      • Robert King
      • Michelle King
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In the opening sequence where "A meteor streaks across the sky in Russia" (They used the real footage from the meteor that brightened up the night sky) The 500-kiloton-or-stronger "airburst" over Chelyabinsk on February 15, 2013 (In which over 1500 people were injured from the shock w500-kiloton-or-stronger "airburst" over Chelyabinsk on February 15, 2013ave), created an internet sensation with citizens posting personal cam/dashboard cam footage.
    • Quotes

      Dean Healy: You may hate politics, Laurel, but you're not bad at it.

    • Soundtracks
      You Might Think
      (uncredited)

      Written by Ric Ocasek

      Performed by The Cars

    User reviews1

    Review
    Top review
    Good acting, esp. by lead actress, gives nutty (on purpose) premised satire a solid start
    Gimmicks abound on TV nowadays, as apparently audiences no longer sit still for drama, action or even comedy served up straight. Its crazy horror/sci-fi gimmick is the defect in the otherwise quality show "BrainDead", and my trepidations were only overcome by extremely fine acting.

    The still topical issue (underlined by many specific Trump and Hillary quotes on tape here) of a dysfunctional American political system is treated sarcastically by an "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" premise from show's creators. What if a meteor-based invasion from Outer Space, turning Washington, D.C.'s politicians and staff into mindless slaves was achieving what Jack Finney's iconic pods did in that Don Siegel classic film of the '50s (remade several times since)?

    With Mr. Monk himself recast as a drunken Republican senator getting the gory (aimed seemingly at a Fangoria audience) takeover treatment, the pilot episode certainly had its shock moments. Our Nancy Drew (explicitly name-dropped) heroine is engaging enough to bring us back to reality no matter how far-fetched and silly the action gets, though overall the series is shaping up already for me to be too close to the facetiousness of a Tim Burton ("Mars Attacks") or the recent shoulda-been-a-lot-better "You, Me and the Apocalypse" miniseries.

    Key question, especially for network exec types, is how long can you string out such an absurd concept? "Lost" is the prototypical example of how a narrowly defined series, originally about as expansive as "Gilligan's Island", can be stretched way past its breaking point in order to keep a hit on the air and rake in that moolah. I would put "BrainDead" into the camp of a limited series, with the writers hopefully propelling it sooner rather than later to a slam-bang exciting (and instructive in the vein of speculative fiction) conclusion.
    helpful•7
    0
    • lor_
    • Jun 14, 2016

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 13, 2016 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building - Federal Triangle, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
    • Production companies
      • Scott Free Productions
      • King Size Productions
      • CBS Television Studios
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      44 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 16:9 HD

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