Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll - General Discussion

[ganesh]

Oh so much! Please more.

[Slade347]

I'm still enjoying the show, but I think they're going too heavy on the relationship stuff this season. Or maybe it's just that the whole weird Johnny/Ava/Flash/Gigi dynamic can't help but give me a headache if I think about it too long.

Regardless, I hope we get more music in future episodes.

[Phishbulb]

It's always kind of weird when the characters curse on this show and they have to drop the audio out during the curse word. It's like they want to be making a show for HBO or Showtime but they're not; they obviously know they're going to be on FX. Why put the curse words into the script (and make the actors say them) if they know they're going to be blanked (never bleeped) out? Are there uncensored versions of the episodes that are made for DVD? (I don't have the 1st season DVD)

Edit: OK, I see this was actually addressed in the thread already, never mind

Edited July 23, 2016 by Phishbulb

[ganesh]

Has anyone been watching?

[scrb]

Yeah more or less.  Doesn't really invite much discussion.

Leary's character is kind of a wuss.  Not despicable or anything, just meh.

All the characters are too old to be trying to hit it big, except for Gigi, who wouldn't be surrounded by middle aged rockers who'd mostly be playing state fairs and smaller venues and touring a lot to eke out whatever kind of living they could.

The story arc about the two background guys trying to hit it big with their musical is kind of amusing, if nothing else to satirize the state of theater.

I guess there could be an explosion if Flash and Ava are discovered.  It seemed like the first season, Flash and Gigi becoming an item could have led to a big fallout between the father and his ex bandmate.  But it fizzled, when they could have made all kinds of ball-busting jokes about the guy screwing his old mate's daughter.  Hell American Dad did a better job of that with Bullock trolling Stan about Haley ("Say, do you perchance have any Gatorade? I'm afraid I left all my electrolytes with your daughter.").

[MsTree]

Totally agree with scrb.  Really not a whole lot to discuss. And I fast-forward the entire storyline with the other two guys...in fact, I couldn't even tell you the names of their characters.

As much as I enjoy the 4 main characters, sometimes this show borders on boredom...and glad it's only a half hour program. Yawn.

[ganesh]

I don't like that Johnny still thinks he's this big rock star when clearly he isn't. I thought the show was going to be more about him adjusting to a new role. He and Flash do right good songs, and the band itself is still good. There's a lot of interesting show just in that. 

[Slade347]

I enjoyed the scene with Johnny writing the song with the girl, and I am getting a kick out of Campbell Scott's send up of the pompous self important actor who thinks every idea he has is the greatest thing ever. 

The Ava X stuff is boring me to tears. It's too much of a rehash of Season 1. 

I agree that Gigi being around all these people 20 and 30 years older than her is a little hard to buy. Actually, in some ways, I wish they'd drop both ladies and focus on the band of has beens trying for their one last shot. 

Regardless of what they do, they need to have more Johnny/Flash scenes. Those are more often than not the best parts of show.

[tennisgurl]

Still watching, and it still has its moments, but its certainly a step down from season 1. And, I will be honest, I am really not enjoying the Ava/Flash stuff. It kind of makes them both look like assholes who cheated on their partners, then dumped them both in a pretty cold way, especially considering Ava and Johnny have been together for years. I mean, Johnny and Gigi are hardly innocent, but two wrongs hardly make a right, and we have never gotten any indication they were unfaithful to Ava or Flash. 

[MsTree]

I like Ava & Flash. Gigi needs to find someone closer to her own age. If nothing else, it will expand the storyline a bit more than just the band members.

[Palomar]

The whole Ava/Flash thing squigs me out.  Besides the betrayal of the partners, Ava is also like a mother to Gigi.  That betrayal is perhaps the worst.  I do agree that Ava seems better with Flash than Gigi does but that is besides the point. 

[scrb]

A young woman like Gigi might be hit harder by infidelity than an older one.

She didn't react, she calmly said she was going to swing by Flash's apt. to get her things and then trashed the place?

That's something which you'd expect more from a woman of Ava's age.

[dirtydi]

It is not that funny this year.  I didn't even watch the latest episode.

[scrb]

I think there might be some substance beneath the jokes and the Johnny finding himself in absurd situations like trying to make Ava jealous with the hippy dippy young date, who ends up making out with the black chick who was suppose to be Gigi's friend.

They're carrying this romantic betrayal across several episodes.  Johnny and Gigi are not over it and Flash and Ava feel uncomfortable about what they did and whether they're sincere about each other -- not that Ava's a gold digger but all four seem to think the security represented by Johnny's farm is at play.

As for Rehab and Bam Bam, their play within the show is not played only for satire.  They're obviously trying to produce another Hamilton but the performance isn't suppose to be bad.  They went to some effort to write songs, choreograph some dance set pieces, etc.  

The Big 4 in the band are suppose to be the stars who put this band on the map, but instead they're going  through relationship drama, while the backing players in the band, the background guys, may have produced something that achieves a deserving success.

I'd forgotten that in season 1, Rehab and Bam Bam were already trying to do their own thing, with the DJ thing, which was a sendup of DJ acts.

Then I saw this positive review of this second season by Tim Goodman:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/fxs-sex-drugs-rock-roll-907664

 

Being the best show around about rock and roll is not necessarily a big achievement, since the other contenders are Vinyl and Roadies.

But this show may end up having the emotional resonance that Rescue Me never could reach, despite the presence of 9/11 looming over that show.

[ganesh]

The whole Irish potato play plot (ha!) is killing me. It seems like the play is supposed to be actually good. 

[MonicaM]

Not feeling the love for the show this season.  The first season wasn't exactly on my "must watch" list, but I enjoyed the chemistry of the cast and the basic premise.  Now I'm underwhelmed.  We only get glimpses of the snappy comedy lines that the cast can deliver so well.  Not crazy about the direction the plot has taken either.  However, it's hot outside and there's not much new on television these days, so I'll keep this on the DVR for those times when I'm too tired to do something productive.  

[holly4755]

well, apparently I have been enjoying this show by myself, I guess I have no taste.  I don't expect Johnny and Cat to last, but there is so much circling around it kind of reminds me of my divorce when my ex married someone 20 years younger and then wanted to hang out at the house (that I bought him out) with me. Uh, no. go back to wifey. Then his friends (previously ours, but they chose him) calling to say I was mean, ha ha . Is there going to be a third season> I haven't seen if it was renewed? 

[scrb]

That was the finale so it's a new band, as a way of jettisoning "baggage" of exes and jealousies.

Gigi is probably not going to hit stardom because of a band of Game of Thrones fans.

Is there more to the show than a soap opera about strivers?  Every character is chasing a dream, even the old folks, though Johnny gives up (relents about writing jingles), to hitch his hopes on Gigi.

Yet sexual betrayal is driving the latest plot developments.  They've hinted that the Heathens broke up over personal differences, before they could hit stardom.  So is history repeating?

They didn't follow up with the musical thing though.

 

The credits indicate Leary and one other guy are writing all the original music for the show.  The songs are pretty credible rock songs and Leary sang fairly well.  The musical songs were good too.

[editorgrrl]

http://www.bustle.com/articles/181581-will-sexdrugsrockroll-return-for-season-3-denis-leary-seems-confident

Quote

During its first nine episodes, Season 2 has been averaging 415,000 viewers per week, down since the 613,000 viewers it was averaging in its inaugural season. Those numbers make Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll the lowest-rating scripted series on all of FX.

But given Leary's standing with the network, there's no reason for fans to lose hope just yet. In the immortal words of Journey… don't stop believin'.

[tennisgurl]

That was the finale? Really? I had no idea. That was pretty underwhelming, all things considered. We never even got to see how the famine play turned out. 

This season, while still having some good lines and moments (and the music is pretty solid with performers who are believable professional singers of varying degrees of success) was rather underwhelming, mainly because it spent so much time on relationships and the affair with Ava and Flash, and it seemed to mostly deal with that, and not with the attempts of a new singer to chase her dreams, or veteran performers trying to stay relevant or make a come back, plus the father/daughter relationship with Gigi and Johnny, which was probably my favorite part of the season.  I thought their bonding was nice, especially with the awkwardness of the Ava/Flash stuff. But this was mostly all very underwhelming. Oh well. I will still check out the next season. 

[ganesh]

I'm behind, but I'm catching up today because it's raining. I can get why Ava doesn't want Johnny in the actual band, but I don't really see that him writing songs is that big a deal. He's actually good at it. It seems counter productive to not have him involved somehow because he's just stewing. 

"Guys my own age in alt rock bands all look like they should be shot as Civil War deserters" has to be one of the best lines of dialogue I've ever heard.

I love Feast. I think it's a hilarious plot. All the relationship garbage kind of bores me. Although, for Flash, Gigi did decline his proposal. He decided to move on. Ava is complaining Flash texts one of his exs? Are they in high school now?

They didn't do enough music on the show this season. I wanted to see much more songwriting and what goes into that. There were the Assassins and Ava X. That's two interesting projects. There could have been more of a balance between relationships and music.

I don't know that firing the band was the best decision. Gigi made a good point about an experienced band for a young singer. And the band is good. But Grey Poupon is the Cadillac of mustards.

Quote

The credits indicate Leary and one other guy are writing all the original music for the show.  The songs are pretty credible rock songs and Leary sang fairly well.  The musical songs were good too.

I think the songs are quite good. That's cool. 

Edited September 5, 2016 by ganesh