David Duchovny Stars in The T.V Set.

Sigourney Weaver & Ioan Gruffudd in TV Parody

David Duchovny is in an interesting dichotomy. The X-Files star, known for playing Fox Mulder over 9 years on network television, is in a movie about creating a network television show.

The striking thing about the cast of The TV Set, the 2007 movie from writer/ director Jake Kasdan, is that the cast is mostly made up of relative unknowns. The TV Set is about an idealistic writer (David Duchovny) who's script for a pilot has just been "green lit" for production (meaning the network wants to make it a series).

The show revolves around a personal subject to the writer-- a character who goes home after his brother kills himself. From there, the journey of the movie goes from initial casting through the network launch party as Duchovny's character tries to negotiate with Lenny (played by Sigourney Weaver)-- the headstrong head of the network.

It's important to note Jake Kasdan's experience in network television with the show Freaks And Geeks. Few people realize what networks look for and how much control television executives have over the shows on the air.

As the film states at the beginning, hundreds of thousands of scripts are pitched every year to the major networks. A handful are green lit for production. Fewer actually make it to air.

The TV Set is an entertaining film that showcases the many compromises of television. David Duchovny is perfectly understated, Sigourney Weaver (whose father was a former head of NBC) shines and Ioan Gruffudd redeems himself after The Fantastic Four.