S01.E07: The King & I

[Drogo]

Looking to raise cash for his label, a newly sober Richie  flies to LA with Zak, hoping to sell the company jet to Lou Meshejian, a rival record exec. After attending a beachfront party teeming with many of Lou’s music clients, Richie and Zak head to Las Vegas in hopes of somehow convincing Elvis Presley and his manager, Colonel Parker, that the King should ditch his label and sign with American Century. The detour includes a steamy encounter in which Zak’s fantasies come true, at a price.

[susannot]

https://www.facebook.com/ShawnKlush/

 

Elvis played by Shawn Klush, a leading Elvis impersonator.  The whole scene with Elvis was sad and also creepy, when the Colonel entered at the end.  I think Elvis died 3 or 4 years later, in 1977.

 

ETA:  I don't know what this episode had to do with the arrival of punk in the early 70s.  We saw Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Jackson Browne, and Mama Cass at the Malibu party.  Yeah, they were all popular in the early 70s.  How does that advance the supposed theme?  Answer: the supposed theme is a fraud.  

Edited March 28, 2016 by susannot

[Muffyn]

The Elvis scene went on forever.  We saw no one related to punk.  The thought of Elvis recording with The Nasty Bits is all kinds of whack.   And yet again we see that Richie is the worst ever.  Yeah, this episode was par for the course.  Unfortunately the course is a decrepit mini golf course that hasn't been used in years.   

[The Solution]

Did Richie lose or pocket the money? I couldn't figure that out. Maybe because I wasn't paying total attention.

[thuganomics85]

I believe Richie lost the money, because he realized he kept seeing 18 over and over again throughout the day, so I guess he thought it meant something and get gambling at the roulette table.  And lost.  And then set it up so Zak would think he did it.  Because even sober, Richie is an asshole.  Zak's no saint for cheating on his wife like he did, but Richie?  Is the worst.  It's been ages since I found a lead this despicable.

 

The guy playing Elvis did a good enough job, but his scene felt way too long, and their was no suspense, since I know there is no way he's going to American Century.

 

Still don't care about Clark and him having issues working with the other guys in the mail room.

 

After thinking last week was an improvement, I felt like this episode regressed in a lot of ways.  I just feel like this show has no idea what it wants to be, and it feels pointless.  Only real positive thing I have to say about this one was that Ray Romano did a pretty good job.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I loved that they showed the utter pointlessness of everything.  If the King himself loses everything worth having, what chance does a POS like Richie have coming?  The Colonel, in the end, wins.  He always wins.

 

I have also come to enjoy how the put-upon rich girl who thinks she knows it all is so utterly and fully putting herself on a course for ruin and she is supposed to be the true protagonist of this wretched show.  

 

At least we are now about to see what a truly bankrupt company looks like.  

 

Finally, I love, love, love Hocus Pocus.  It is entirely devoid of any high-ordered (Hey!   Look at me!  Maslow!!!!) meaning, but it kicks major ass.  If only this show could at least do that on occasion despite it's absurd pretensions.

[Cramps]

Graham, Big Star, the NY Dolls, The Velvet Underground. If you are an idolized performer who didn't sell records, Richie and this show will cross paths with you!

The Elvis hotel room scene was pretty good but felt somewhat fan fictiony but the airplane heart to heart between Richie and Zack was actually quite good. I enjoyed the fact that Ernst the Unfriendly Ghost wasn't there this week. And Richie not snorting coke was more appealing. Initially.

Why is this show so unlikable, and yet why do I keep watching it?

[LuciaMia]

 

Ernst the Unfriendly Ghost

Honestly, last weeks massive car wreck felt like a season end cliff-hanger. (I just started watching the show). Richie covered in blood, people lying in the street. And the new episode starts with everybody apparently okay and not a mention made of the crash…except for Richie's new vow of sobriety.

[Cramps]

The car crash was a flashback to earlier in the characters' lives. This was illustrated by the hairdos and makeup, which we'd seen in earlier flashbacks. The point of it was that it's been haunting Richie. Unfortunately, they did this with the heavy handed ghost of Ernst actually haunting him.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Cramps

[Flodence]

Which one was Juno Temples mum? I am losing interest in this show and mustn't have been paying attention. For some reason I thought she lived with an aunt. God I hate Richie. And not in a good "love to hate him" way.

[Hanahope]

Why is this show so unlikable, and yet why do I keep watching it?

 

After reading this thread, I have no desire to watch this episode at all.  Since its already recorded, maybe I'll play it just to fast forward to the beach seem with the music stars and that's it.

[pasdetrois]

I think Lena Olin plays June Temple's mom - the red head. The blonde woman in this latest episode must have been an aunt or grandmother.

[jamblastx]

Graham, Big Star, the NY Dolls, The Velvet Underground. If you are an idolized performer who didn't sell records, Richie and this show will cross paths with you!

The Elvis hotel room scene was pretty good but felt somewhat fan fictiony but the airplane heart to heart between Richie and Zack was actually quite good. I enjoyed the fact that Ernst the Unfriendly Ghost wasn't there this week. And Richie not snorting coke was more appealing. Initially.

Why is this show so unlikable, and yet why do I keep watching it?

 

I completely agree that this show is completely unwatchable other than the little music nuggets here and there and the mostly fantastic jobs by the real musician impersonators.  When I heard the Law and Order DA mention yodeling and Focus, I was impressed that they would throw in a reference that like 1% of the viewership would understand.  But then there is our lead....the most unlikeable character on television who when sober, does not seem all that bad and then in the end proves he is even more of a dick sober than high/drunk. 

 

But maybe this is a comedic parody of what a good HBO show should be?  Because I was laughing when on the private jet, Ritchie was longingly looking at the bottle of whiskey...I mean, that face that Bobby Cannavale made couldn't have been serious...right?  Also I really REALLY wish that Elvis shot Ritchie just so we can write this character off the show.  As I have said, there is a good show in here but it is being killed and buried by the Richie/Devin melodrama...especially when we are being given no reason to even remotely like or care about these characters.  And that goes for the secondary characters...oh Juno Temple may be kicked out of her house and the mail room dude is being bullied....yawn

[dinkysquid]

Does anyone know if this got renewed for a second season because I'm finding it hard just making it through this one!

 

Just when I thought that Richie couldn't raise the douchebag bar any higher, he does. Sneaking in and stealing that money, only to lose it all gambling, was a new height in stupidity, even for him. So much for sobriety. 

 

This show just annoys the shit out of me and like others here, I don't know why I keep watching. Are we waiting for it to magically get better? 

 

Again...this is supposed to be the same guys who did Boardwalk?!! These characters are all so idiotic! Those mailroom guys? I'd fire those assholes in a heartbeat. They keep bitching about their buddy who got shown the door...so, now they want the same to happen to them? Ever heard that expression "don't bite the hand that feeds you?" Obviously not.

 

So now Zack is a cheating, sleazy jerk. Congratulations.

Edited March 29, 2016 by dinkysquid

[ElectricBoogaloo]

[Hanahope]

Just when I thought that Richie couldn't raise the douchebag bar any higher, he does. Sneaking in and stealing that money, only to lose it all gambling, was a new height in stupidity, even for him. So much for sobriety.

 

Plus allowing Zack to think it was his fault that the money was stolen by the girls.

 

I don't understand why the company is employing, what was it, 5 mail room guys?  That place looks like they need 2 tops.

 

Have to admit, it did look nostalgic to see all that room in economy class on the airplane.  Zack looked a bit squished, but not very much, in the middle seat, and only because he was next to a very large guy, and both had legroom that looked more than double what you get nowadays.

[StevieRocks]

Co-sign almost everything written here and STILL at a loss for why I'm watching this horrible show. One thing that just continues to mystify me is the utter cornball factor of both Richie and Zach. They are lame, gross, unattractive, corny, unimaginative, and uninteresting in every way. I cringe every time they open their mouths. When Richie came in last week singing//squawking "Saw Her Standing There," he looked like a mental patient, and I did not for a second buy that the young girls in Vegas would go anywhere near these creepers unless they were working girls. Everyone in the company--except Juno--looks and acts like lame and uncool losers/poseurs who are trying too hard and coming off as desperate. And the mailroom guy busts out a joint, and suddenly everyone likes him and thinks he's 'cool'? <eyeroll> This is one of the worst shows ever. <smh> It's an embarrassment.

[revbfc]

I really take issue with the Elvis concert scene. If this is still 1973, then this is the same year Big E did the "Aloha From Hawaii" concert. He was in pretty good shape and could do all the moves. Not saying he didn't have off days, but that show wasn't indicative of Elvis's physique or energy level that year.

Also, was that band playing on the beach supposed to be the Pink Fairies? Despite playing "Do It," it sure didn't look like it.

Edited April 2, 2016 by revbfc

[Cramps]

Yes, the final credits said they were definitely supposed to be the Pink Fairies.

Edited April 3, 2016 by Cramps

[lucindabelle]

I thought dissoluted Elvis was sad. He seemed sad and would have liked s return to rock and roll. I guess I'm alone, I like the series, though this episode wasn't my favorite.

[vb68]

While it's just a small thing and doesn't really matter, the Mama Cass- buffet joke was mean and unnecessary.

 

But yeah, the Colonel was a major asshole.  I think everybody knows that.

[Cramps]

True about the Mama Cass joke, but extremely common for the time period.

[qtpye]

I loved Mama Cass.  Don't give a shit about what size she was and how much she ate.  However, it was in keeping with the nastiness of the main male characters of the show.