Feed The Beast - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Feed The Beast Here!

[SimoneS]

After watching David Schwimmer's outstanding performance in the OJ Simpson series, I cannot wait to see him in this series.

[AmandaPanda]

I'm getting super excited for this show. The trailer looks great. I was mainly going to watch for Jim Sturgess, but then David Schwimmer was so great in American Crime Story, that I'm even more pumped now.

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

In debt with the mob, Dion tries to convince Tommy to go after their dream of opening a restaurant in the Bronx.

[Primetimer]

AMC's new drama is what happens when No Reservations meets The Sopranos. Are you ready to order?

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[Margherita Erdman]

Are these witty yellow-boxed quiz-sounding things that are showing up in many articles supposed to be interactive? They appear as flattened bulleted lists on my iPad.

[Margherita Erdman]

I agree. David Schwimmer as a lead role would have kept me away from this show before American Crime Story, but he was such a revelation that now I can't wait to see what else he's got to show us. Who could imagine that Bob Kardashian might be a career-changing role?

[Margherita Erdman]

Yes — as I mentioned I the other thread, that performance has so transformed my perception of him as an actor — from dully one-dimensional to "who knows how the hell he might surprise us next, and how wonderful!" — that I'd argue the thread title itself is unfair and dated at this point. Let's allow Schwimmer at least a provisional parole from the prison of his Friends persona — I think he's finally earned it as his compadres also have from their characters' limitations over the years.

[Matt LeBlanc probably took the second-longest to shed his Friends skin, until Episodes comes along. He punches his way out of the suffocating Joey creature's skin with a magnificent and contradictory performance that elevates (degrades? both?) Joey's signature traits to ever more absurd "real life" extremes while honing a self-awareness almost Brechtian in its simple yet brutal self-parody.]

So if we must reference Ross, may I suggest something like "Milquetoast Manchild No More: Meet the Bronx Entrepreneur Who Mostly Gives No Fucks Except for His Young Motherless Son" — too long but you get what I'm going for I think. Just a bit more dignity and acknowledgment of his acting chops than the equivalent of "The One Where Ross Opens a Restaurant."

/I am not a crackpot

[although I maybe took a muscle relaxant and Vicodin for a migraine because my stingy insurance company allots only 4 1/2 doses per month of the non-opioid painkillers which REALLY WORK WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS to get my near-chronic migraine condition under control, and maybe that is making me a little more prolix and excessively passionate than strictly warranted sorry.]

I look forward to seeing how restaurant worker/cheffing/foodie cultures (all of them different in substantial ways) are incorporated with the gangster throughline. Not as interested in the poor motherless boy thread.

Edited June 4, 2016 by Margherita Erdman
Realized I was violating my own dictum never to tear down or criticiE without proposing a solution/alternative

[Syndicate]

I think I actually kinda liked this. It was nothing super special but it held my attention throughout the episode. The coke addict guy is clearly going to be this show's whipping boy all the way through. I'm guessing the restaurant is going to become a dumping ground for every seedy character the show introduces.

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

Tommy's estranged father becomes an unlikely investor; TJ's school troubles cause a misunderstanding at home.

[numbnut]

I didn't make it past the first 10 minutes; it felt silly and forced. This isn't being pitched as a drama, is it?

[thuganomics85]

It was OK, I guess.  Nothing really new to the table and Jim Sturgess was a bit over-the-top at times, but I like all the moments with food, and I'm curious to see David Schwimmer in this role.  I never disliked him, but I always associate him with Ross and Friends.  But after surprising me as Robert Kardashian on American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson, I'm kind of looking forward to seeing him branch out some more.

Fun supporting cast with the always great John Doman, David Patrick Kelly, Christine Adams, and Erin Cummings.  Oh, and Michael Gladis!  As a mobster.  It was weird seeing Mad Men's Paul Kinsey threatening to yank people's teeth out and breaking fingers.  Had he done that in SCDP, they never would have fired him!

That woman Tommy met at the meeting is making me suspicious.  She was just a bitt too forward and open with him, that I wonder if she isn't just being set up as an obvious love interest, and there will be more to it.

[justmehere]

Well, it was a pilot, so I'll see how it goes in regular episodes. It could be interesting. I actually thought the way everything stopped for the food was a bit distracting -- plus, I'm vegetarian, and it really bothers me to see chopped up animals. It also felt too much like, Oh, look what we can show!

I agree about the woman at the grief meeting. It would be a nice twist if she wasn't anyone suspicious.

Anyway, I like Jim Sturgess (though I wish he got to use his own accent), and I thought David Schwimmer was good. I'll watch at least one more, but I will be out quickly if that kind of cooking focus continues. (I love some cooking shows; it just felt off, here, and was personally disturbing.)

[zxy556575]

4 hours ago, justmehere said:

Well, it was a pilot, so I'll see how it goes in regular episodes. It could be interesting. I actually thought the way everything stopped for the food was a bit distracting -- plus, I'm vegetarian, and it really bothers me to see chopped up animals. It also felt too much like, Oh, look what we can show!

I found the cooking scenes to be distracting as well, in a "we're going to stop all the action and pretend something magical is happening" sort of way. Am I really supposed to overlook Dion's transgressions and exalt him solely because of his supposed cooking skills?

It was also a little too violent for me and my heart broke for TJ. If various goons keep smashing people and pulling teeth (which I wasn't buying as a thing) I may tap out.

[Skyfall]

I think I'm in! If done correctly this can be the new Mad Men/Breaking Bad for AMC. Also without knowing the son's history and the timeline I think he's on some type of spectrum and hasn't been diagnosed yet (of course this falls apart somewhat if he was completely different before his mom died).

[AmandaPanda]

I really liked this first episode. I need Jim Sturgess to turn down the strung-out junkie vibe just a bit, but it's promising so far. I'm definitely interested in everything to do with Tommy and his grieving process. As long as it becomes more of a focus on the brothers opening this restaurant and going through their problems together and less on the violence of the gang stuff, I'm definitely on board for a full season.

[meep.meep]

They're not supposed to be brothers.  Just friends - or since Schwimmer is in this, I guess "friends" not "Friends"

The kid is supposed to be traumatized, not austistic.

The woman from the support group is one of the worst actresses I've ever seen.  I bet she has a nice big role.

Paul Kinsey must be over his devotion to Buddha.

[Skyfall]

3 hours ago, meep.meep said:

They're not supposed to be brothers.  Just friends - or since Schwimmer is in this, I guess "friends" not "Friends"

The kid is supposed to be traumatized, not austistic.

The woman from the support group is one of the worst actresses I've ever seen.  I bet she has a nice big role.

Paul Kinsey must be over his devotion to Buddha.

So traumatized he doesn't speak even to his dad? Yeah not buying it. And I didn't say autistic I say some type of spectrum.

[riverheightsnancy]

38 minutes ago, Skyfall said:

So traumatized he doesn't speak even to his dad? Yeah not buying it. And I didn't say autistic I say some type of spectrum.

It absolutely can happen. It is called selective mutism. It is considered intentional by the person not to speak, even if the person (or child) does not think that it is intentional. Tends to be anxiety based, and that could be related to trauma. In many cases the child will talk to people they know and trust, but there are cases where they do not.  I knew a young girl in my daughter's taekwondo class that had this issue. I often wondered if there had been some type of trauma in her background (like sexual abuse). It could also be related to being angry or upset at the dad as well. Who knows, maybe the kid blames the dad in some way, so his not speaking is partly upset or trauma based and part of it may be anger at the father (i.e., his drinking) which may be TJ perceives as a reason for his mother's death?  Just spit balling, but I could see that happening. The term "spectrum" is generally associated with autism. It is called "being on the spectrum". While many of the diagnostic categories for mental illnesses are like a spectrum, we now view many diagnoses as being "dimensional", but the spectrum is very much associated with autism. This is new criteria. They just made major changes to the DSM last year.  I liked the show. 

[metalchik]

On 6/6/2016 at 1:38 AM, numbnut said:

 

I didn't make it past the first 10 minutes; it felt silly and forced. This isn't being pitched as a drama, is it?

 

I watched the whole episode but I agree it does feel silly and forced.  The acting isn't that great either.  I'll probably give the next episode a watch as my boyfriend convinced me that this was after all the "pilot".

[atlantaloves]

yeah, it was pretty bad, but I will give it one more episode. 

[Primetimer]

The feral chef is scrambling to stay ahead of mobsters and cops alike, so he's abusing his friends' trust and cheerfully setting them up for ruin in subsequent episodes; Lisa Schmeiser ranks the episode's meals from worst to first.

View the full article

[Syndicate]

This show clearly runs a comedic dynamic but it seems to strive more for drama in the end. Tommy thinks that his racist father beat his son, but Dion knows that the school bully is responsible. It also seems that Tommy was a victim of abuse from said racist father. On a shallow note, Rie was very pretty.

[candall]

Oh, I liked it a lot.  I need a new show where the characters are simply regular-damaged and not beset by bad supernatural ju-ju, vampires, aliens or dead things.

That guy has to stop waving his pliers around, though, because ripping out peoples' teeth makes me sick.  If I owed $600k to the (blerg!) Tooth Fairy, I'd just go ahead and sneak off to Paris.  Percentages are not good for being in debt for years to a psycho.

(The casual scenes with the animal butchering and processing aren't great either, but as an omnivore, I don't feel entitled to fast-forward.)

Deion might have been the hit and run driver, but I hope not--there's no coming back from there, and besides, it looks like there are plenty of likely candidates.

[candall]

Uh oh, they went just a leeeetle bit too strong, on several fronts, with this one.  Like ever paying off $600k--to a guy who loves plier mutilation--with your 25% stake in a brand new high risk restaurant. 

Or handwaving multiple dealbreaker clauses in a contract because you feel so sympathetic to the guy who's in danger of being thoroughly screwed, you decide to spare him the disappointing news.

How delusional do you have to be to pour out your heart to your dead wife at her grave, and then fudge the story with lies?  There's a Dark Ross Geller move.

I got my second hint of stupid Dark Ross when he went bazooka over an incorrect assumption, attacked an old man in a wheelchair, and was then bested by the old coot.  Kid, we know you can shake your head; when daddy demands to know if grandpa pounded you to a bloody pulp, do it.

I'm still in, though!  heee

[zxy556575]

Oy. Too many bad decisions and stupidity for me. Am I supposed to care and/or be rooting for these pitiful and unlikable men to succeed?

[BananaRama]

I will watch the next episodes.  Jim Sturgess's acting was a little distracting in the pilot.

[Ohwell]

Just watched this for the first time last night.  It's a little bit intriguing so I'll stick around for a couple of episodes more to give it a chance.  

The main problem is that I've never been a big fan of David Schwimmer.  I don't dislike him but he's just meh for me.  However, I already know that I don't care for the woman who's in the grief counseling sessions with him.  She's a bad actress.  

[AmandaPanda]

I liked this episode more than the pilot. I'm really intrigued by TJ and his relationship with Tommy. Maybe it's because I have a social work background, but I'm most interested in the grieving process they're showing. Jim Sturgess definitely toned down the junkie chef bit this time. 

Agreed that Pilar is not the best actress. I wish they had waited to introduce any sort of love interest for a while. With what we know about Tommy, he's nowhere near ready to start dating again. 

[Dowel Jones]

On 6/6/2016 at 5:37 PM, riverheightsnancy said:

It absolutely can happen. It is called selective mutism.

Yeah, I think Pete Townsend may have made a reference or two about it in his songs. :)

[Dowel Jones]

So, I'm getting the impression this show is not endorsed by the Bronx Chamber of Commerce.

That (Chekhov's)cocaine habit is going to come back to bit him.  How is he paying for it?  Sorry, but dealers don't just give it away for free, just because they were buds way back when. 

No disrespect toward the handicapped, but, jeez, Tommy, you got decked by a guy in a chair?

I do get a bit hungry after watching the show, to be honest.  But not hungry enough to pay $40 for some quail.

[riverheightsnancy]

2 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Yeah, I think Pete Townsend may have made a reference or two about it in his songs. :)

Yeah? I'm not familiar with his music too much. 

[Uncle Benzene]

For crying out loud, Dion. Think you could lay off the damned fennel for half a damn second?

[Ohwell]

Tommy mentioned sauterne in either this episode or the pilot.  It's been years since I've bought some.  Think I'll go out and get a bottle.

[thuganomics85]

Thought it was a bit better then the pilot, although between Dion's impulsiveness, temper, and inability not to keep snorting cocaine, and Tommy being so weak that he can get his ass beat by an old man in a wheelchair (sure, John Doman is pretty badass, but that's still kind of embarrassing), I don't see how this doesn't end with these two royally fucking things up.  Kind of get the feeling that the Rie being put on a pedestal isn't actually that big of an exaggeration, and she was the reason those two haven't been screw-ups before.

I really can't figure out Pilar.  I think they are going for her simply having a crush on Tommy (I guess she always had a thing for Ross whenever she watched Friends?) and is just awkward because of that, but the way Lorenza Izzo keeps playing her, she really comes off more like she is hiding something big, and is interested in him for other, possible nefarious reasons.  At this rate, I'm waiting for some crazy twist where she is working for Woichik/Michael Gladis this entire time.  Either way, I'm sure her lying about the contract will come back to haunt her and Tommy's relationship; whatever that might be.

At least they avoided a love triangle.  I was worried Dion might go for her when they first met, but he seems all about trying to push Tommy to her instead.  Also, it looked like he might be into TJ's counselor, which should something.

So, Michael Rispoli's vengeful, violent cop, just happens to be the father of Erin Cummings' lawyer?  Small world?  Or is there a reason for all of this?

Moran's a dick, but he's still the character I'm most interested in; mainly due to John Doman.  And I really want him to meet Woichik, so I can see Doman and Michael Gladis face-off against each other.

[qtpye]

Like many of you I am watching this, because I was blown away by David Swhimmer's performance in American Crime Story.  He is pretty good here as well.

I thought it was interesting that many people who watched the pilot said that Dion's cooking just was not that magical.  I am not knowledgeable enough to be a foodie, but I love watching shows about food.  I have seen many brilliant chefs compose dishes and Dion just does not seem that special.

I can buy that he is an excellent chef with a great knowledge of Greek cuisine.  However, everything he has cooked has been done before a million times.  I know in this episode he kept things simple for the tasting, but a brilliant chef can make even simple dishes new and unique.

Those lamb chops looked good, but nothing special.  The seared scallop with the reduction was pretty basic.

Manhattan is the place for hoity toity cuisine enjoyed by the super wealthy.   Brooklyn is for the hipster gastro-pub farm to table cutting edge hipster crowd.  There was nothing in the proposed menu in the previous episode that would attract either of these groups to eat at this restaurant in the Bronx.

In fact, I am more intrigued by DS's character's knowledge of wine, since I am very ignorant on that subject.

So, I just do not buy that Dion is a total piece of shit garbage person, who get a pass because of his genius story line.

Does anyone know if the idea that the Bronx is going to get gentrified have any merit?  The neighborhood they are in now looks pretty rough.

[Ohwell]

16 minutes ago, qtpye said:

Manhattan is the place for hoity toity cuisine enjoyed by the super wealthy.   Brooklyn is for the hipster gastro-pub farm to table cutting edge hipster crowd.  There was nothing in the proposed menu in the previous episode that would attract either of these groups to eat at this restaurant in the Bronx

That's interesting to know.  I know around DC the farm to table hipster food is pretty popular now.  It'll be interesting to see how long that lasts before the hipsters start craving Big Macs.  

[zxy556575]

1 hour ago, qtpye said:

In fact, I am more intrigued by DS's character's knowledge of wine, since I am very ignorant on that subject.

So, I just do not buy that Dion is a total piece of shit garbage person, who get a pass because of his genius story line.

Are you not buying that Dion is a POS or that his cooking skills give him a pass?

There's a really interesting documentary called Somm that follows four men who are trying to pass the Master Sommelier exam; I learned a lot from it. Currently on Netflix. The same director also made SOMM: Into the Bottle, which I haven't seen but which has a slightly higher viewer ranking on IMDB.

[qtpye]

Just now, lordonia said:

Are you not buying that Dion is a POS or that his cooking skills give him a pass?

It feels like the character is a mess and has got by in life on his charm and amazing skills as a chef.  Heck, David Schwimmer's character should be angry at him.  The guy burns down their restaurant because he is coked out and he finds him doing coke in his home (with his son).

However, the series is still young, so it might pan out to be something more complex.

Thanks for the suggestions...I love documentaries and will have to check them out.

[cmfran]

Didn't like the pilot, but figured I'd give it one more chance. Even after the second ep, I'm finding the whole setup so ridiculous. Also, Sturgess' scenery chewing is laughable. Was Aaron Paul not available for that role? I don't think I'm gonna be continuing with this one.

[walnutqueen]

I like this show so far, and am curious to see where it goes.  Admittedly, I don't have such high standards for entertainment, and don't spend much time nitpicking details to death - I just enjoy my pleasant diversions for what they are.  :-)

[Margherita Erdman]

On June 8, 2016 at 8:17 AM, lordonia said:

Oy. Too many bad decisions and stupidity for me. Am I supposed to care and/or be rooting for these pitiful and unlikable men to succeed?

 

On June 8, 2016 at 4:12 PM, Ohwell said:

...I don't care for the woman who's in the grief counseling sessions with him.  She's a bad actress.  

I wanted to like this show, I really did — I like many of the actors and thought the premise was interesting, a mashup of many topics and genres that are right in my wheelhouse...

But the comments ⬆️⬆️⬆️ sum up the fatal problem in my mind, one that has rendered this show unwatchable for me with a quickness: this show is populated with men (and one woman!) who are relentlessly, unrelievedly repulsive, weak, selfish, nasty inside and out — many of them, like the cop and The Tooth Fairy, outright caricatures, although I can't tell whether that's intentional. This parade of human scum is broken only by the wife, the young boy, and the school counselor (and note that those good guy/at least not obvious reprobate characters are dead, mute, and one-dimensional, respectively).

i just don't want to spend time with these people. They're not interesting or funny or intense or unique enough for me to overlook what awful human beings they are.

[Dowel Jones]

It's difficult to root for the characters when you wouldn't let any of them inside your house in the first place.

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

Tommy and Dion bring Thirio to life with Rie's designs. But in order to pay for it all, the guys have to resort to crime.

[SoSueMe]

On 6/10/2016 at 10:53 AM, Ohwell said:

That's interesting to know.  I know around DC the farm to table hipster food is pretty popular now.  It'll be interesting to see how long that lasts before the hipsters start craving Big Macs.  

Oh, is that what Panera Bread is going for? So annoying.

[Madding crowd]

I'm really turned off by how antagonistic the school social worker is towards Schwimmer's character, who recently lost his wife. I work as a elementary school teacher and our school social workers are very polite with parents and actually spend almost no time with the parents; it's all about the kids. All school employees are mandatory abuse reporters, but barring abuse, the social workers report to the school administration and a parent would report the constant threats immediately.  When a child's parent dies, its assumed there will be trauma of one sort or another, for her to constantly threaten to have his son taken away from him is terrible.

I like the concept of the men opening up the place  in the Bronx , but I don't want endless scenes of Dion almost getting clobbered or dealing with threatening mobsters every other minute. 

[Primetimer]

We get a tragic origin story which is eerily similar to the Caped Crusader's, but it only serves as a reminder that if you don't have the Wayne fortune behind you, you don't end in the Justice League. You end up being an Injustice Gang of one.

View the full article

[editorgrrl]

The recap says Dion recorded Tommy saying the title of the show for future blackmail. But I had thought the phone was dark, and they were just play acting?

Chekhov's cocaine might be discovered on the premises. But I assume Dion's going to keep using it. (And Jim Sturgess'll keep chewing the scenery. At least he doesn't make Bobby Cannavale coke faces.)

[Ohwell]

Tragic childhood aside, I don't know how much more of Dion I can take.  He's determined to take everyone down with him.  

[AmandaPanda]

Quote

Tommy and Dion make a plan to reclaim Thirio from Aidan's chef; Dion's scramble to pay the Tooth Fairy puts TJ at risk.