Show: Kyle XY (ABC Family)
Episode: Pilot – Series Premiere (Season 1)
Originally Aired: Monday, June 26th 2006
Rating: 3 out of 4 stars
Download: This episode at or get a Season 1 Pass

Quick Synopsis: Teenager wakes up in forest with no knowledge of who he is.

Long Synopsis: A boy who comes to be known as Kyle awakes in the forest covered in clear goo. He knows absolutely nothing. Similar to what a baby must be thinking after being born. Yet he has quick reflexes and a keen sense of sound along with an ability to learn fast. He is taken in by a social worker until the state can find a place for him, as he does not belong at the children’s detention center. At the home of the Trager family, who don’t seem interested in having moms work follow her home, he starts to pick up on things like talking and music and math. A stranger in a beater pickup seems to have an interest in him. By the end of the episode the family has accepted that he might be there for a while.

Review: The comparisons to John Doe, the short-lived FOX show, are inevitable. I mean a person wakes up naked in the forest not knowing who he is or how he got there. The comparisons end there as Kyle is like a baby in a teenager’s body. He is learning everything for the first time. John Doe seemed to know everything except who he was.

They did a good job in this opening episode of setting up plenty to wonder about besides the big “Who is Kyle XY?” question. Like who is that guy in the beater truck with a file about Kyle or who he used to be maybe? Is he a suped up clone? Is he an alien? What is the deal with the lack of belly button? Has he gone through some sort of experiment that rebooted him with the full use of his entire brain? Is he a danger? Is he in danger? Well we will have a 10-episode season to maybe get some answers to these questions and more.

They also did a good job with the learning of new things yet the voice over thing is a bit cheesy at times. It tries to be a highbrow look at life as a human and how we interact with each other. If they can provide more insight than silliness it may prove to be a solid part of the show. Kyle seems to be looking back on his life from somewhere in the future and narrating what it was like to partake of this world from a completely blank slate.

The show setup an interesting premise and did it well. It left you wanting to know more about this person, being, creature, alien or whatever. Can’t ask much more from a show than to be entertaining and leave you wanting more. I just hope ABC Family doesn’t John Doe us and take us through a season and then leave with the “Who is Kyle XY?” question left unanswered.

What did you think of the series premiere of Kyle XY? Leave your thoughts in the comments.