Created by Oscar winner Cameron Crowe (“Almost Famous”), Roadies stars Luke Wilson as Bill Hanson, the tour manager for a fictional folk-rock group called the Staton-House Band, and Carla Gugino plays Shelli Anderson, the production manager. In tonight’s Pilot episode, you quickly learn that they were once in a relationship that fizzled. Dumped by his longtime girlfriend, these days Bill tends to have hotel sex with women half his age (or mere “teenagers” as Shelli puts it). Meanwhile, Shelli is married to a guy she barely sees who is off working on the Taylor Swift tour. Clearly, we’re meant to conclude that there are still some sparks between Bill and Shelli, but early signs of any genuine chemistry are sparse.

They are part of a large gang of music-loving folks who seem to be in constant crisis-control mode. It’s not enough that they have to rig up the lights, speakers and sound boards and cater to the eccentric whims of the musicians. They also have to be on the lookout for a crazy female stalker and deal with a gun-toting crew member, Phil (Ron White), who apparently is involved in some kind of criminal activity related to stolen items from Hurricane Katrina victims.

All this, plus there’s the arrival of a ruthless, penny-pinching financial adviser, Reg Whitehead (Rafe Spall), who is about to make life difficult for the crew and the band. He’s all about branding and marketing, and he doesn’t know much about music (he calls Mumford & Sons “The Mumford Sons.” Blasphemy!). He’s such a utter caricature that I found myself wincing and rolling my eyes any time he spoke.

Rafe Spall as Reg Whitehead

More occasional eye-rolling ensues over the oh-so-earnest portrayal of Kelly Ann (Imogen Poots), a roadie who has become disillusioned with the state of the music biz. “I have to be a fan of something, or I’m nothing,” she moans. Her red-eye ticket out of her loser job and on to film school in New York is mentioned more times than I can count in the episode, which makes it almost anti-climatic when she comes running back in the final moments right before the band takes the stage. Rolls eyes again. On the other hand, she does tell Brit-prick Reg Whitehead off right in front of the entire crew, which does score big points in my book because it’s exactly something this rebel, yours truly, would do. Anybody else would be sent packing but Reg appears smitten with Kelly Ann (who wouldn’t!) and even though he’s been sent there for the sole purpose of delivering pink slips, he ends up asking her to stay.

So, Phil is out (unless someone fights for him. Come on, people!). Kelly Ann is staying. And, ass-wipe Reg seems to be hanging around, at least for the time being, until the tour’s bottom-line is shaped up to his boss’ liking.

UMMMM….WHAT JUST HAPPENED AND WHO ARE THESE CHARACTERS AGAIN?

The Pilot of any television series generally has 2 things to accomplish within the small 60-minute time frame: 1) To tell a good, compelling story and make the viewers want to come back for more. 2) Provide a good introduction to each of the characters to where the audience can relate and make a connection. Unfortunately, the show comes up short on both fronts.  First, as has already been hinted, there are several things that do not count as top-notch storytelling. We know, for instance, just how Kelly Ann’s dilemma will resolve itself.  On the same side of this irritant is the fact that she and Spall’s character, Reg, are obviously meant to be an item. Add to this the clear love triangle that will develop with faux Brit Milo (Peter Cambor), and it all becomes a little too predictable. Just as the clear attraction that exists between Bill and Shelli is also a bit annoying. The main difference here is that the two already function as a sort of man and wife facsimile. Appointing nannies to look after the lead singer’s child adds to this illusion.

Lastly, the ending of the episode is also written on the wall early on with the mentioning of firecrackers by Phil so many times that I swear they must think we’re all first-graders. Come on, we get it!

On the other hand, the music of the series is fantastic and is what I consider to be one of the biggest attractions and strengths of the show. There is a stalker, Natalie Shin (played with delightful goofy madness by Jacqueline Byers.) who sneaks into the venue when Kelly Ann’s brother Wesley (Machine Gun Kelly) comes to cry on her shoulder. Wes has been fired from Pearl Jam by Mike McCready himself (but is later hired by Shelli as the new manny for the band’s lead singer’s son).

Jacqueline Byers as Natalie Shin

At this juncture, the soundtrack is not only spot on in terms of adding ambiance to a scene, it matches the action perfectly. A case in point is the entrance of Natalie, who shoves her foot in the door that Wesley has just opened, and waltzes in unnoticed by the backstage technicians.

The music that accompanies her journey, which includes manically shagging one of the backstage crew for his laminate is “Get Free” by Major Lazer and then, “The Wild Life” by Outasight. The music is a perfect fit for the obviously free spirit of Shin who also has little to no inhibitions in terms of getting what she wants.

Then, let’s not forget “I Wish I Were Sober” by the Scotish Indie band Frightened Rabbit and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready. It’s already on Apple iTunes, and you can download it here. Very catchy tune, and it’s quite fittingly at the top of my iTunes playlist now, which hasn’t happened that often and has never happened for a song featured in a television series.

Another big thing going for the show is the punchline of the series, which is that the Staton-House Band can’t seem to hang onto an opening act for any period of time. This also means that great performers like “The Head and The Heart” and Lindsay Buckingham are featured week after week, which is quite entertaining and adds even more to the musical authenticity of the series.