Star - General Discussion

[Primetimer]

It's going to take more than wishes to make this thing worth watching.

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[Meredith Quill]

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[Meredith Quill]

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[SoapDoc]

I actually really liked all three songs by the group -- enough to buy the album like I did for the first season of Empire. I hope the music continued to be a draw for me.

[GaT]

I started to watch, but when they got to the party & they were doing their singing/dancing routine, I had to turn it off. This show is not for me.

[spiritof76]

I tried. I really, really tried with this show. I mean I adore Queen Latifah, and she did the best she could with what she was given to work with. But this was just not good. 

[Lyinfait]

I made it to the end but will not be watching again. There was so much I didn't like but I don't remember much of what it was now. Shallow but I can't get past Star's average voice impressing everyone. This was a made for tv plot stretched into a series.

On 12/16/2016 at 8:36 PM, spiritof76 said:

I tried really, really tried with this show. I mean I adore Queen Latifah, and she did the best she could with what she was given to work with. But this was just not good. 

This too. I love her voice but even that wasn't enough for me.

[spiritof76]

12 minutes ago, Lyinfait said:

I made it to the end but will not be watching again. There was so much I didn't like but I don't remember much of what it was now. Shallow but I can't get past Star's average voice impressing everyone. This was a made for tv plot stretched into a series.

The bolded part. The commercials were better than the actual show. "Star" (the character) just didn't have a lot of star power. She just didn't have it. There were interesting parts. I was kind of interested in the rich girl and Lenny Kravitz , who played her father. Queen Latifah and her beauty shop was kind of interesting. The boy next door was a cutie. But Star and her sister? Nope. Just not enough there to keep me watching.

[Lyinfait]

Not enough there there which is hilarious and awful considering the sheer number of storylines introduced in this episode. Was any dramatic stone left unturned? 

[ParadoxLost]

Add me to the chorus of not liking the premiere.  Its too bad because I would like to watch a show with Queen Latifah and Lenny Kravitz.

But I just can't deal with the girl group. 

I think that Star stabbing the guy should have elicited a different reaction than, 'and you think its a good idea to become famous, dumbass'.  That tells me that the actress isn't good enough to carry the weight of the material.  And not many would be, but that means they either needed an actress that could or not go the OMG shocking! route for her introduction and revealed what she was capable because of her background more gradually after the audience was invested in the character.

I think that the actress playing the younger sister is doing a pretty good job.  She really came across as damaged and stoned and not quite right.  I'm just not sure how that is sustainable on this type of show.  And it seems like it will become exhausting and not in a good way.

But what had me turning the show off right before they performed at amateur night was the rich girl.  I gave up when she screeched about not having made any progress after one whole week of practicing together and they had to sing at amateur night because industry people would be there.  The daughter of a rock start can't be that naïve.  And with her attitude, I'm not buying that she wants to do this on her own without Daddy's help.

I do have to say that the promo monkeys did an artful job of taking snippets of the premiere and turning it into a show about likable characters that care deeply for each other working hard to make their dreams come true.  But seriously, that was some blatant false advertising going on.  This was not the show I just watched.

[portfino]

It's always tricky to hinge a show on the charisma of one person "in-verse." It's like Smash where everyone was just wowed by Karen despite the fact that other people were more talented.

They fixed Empire by focusing more on Cookie, and the easy solution would be to do the same with Queen Latifah's character. But I'm not sure that can work here. I mean, the show is named after Star.

On 12/16/2016 at 10:00 PM, spiritof76 said:

The boy next door was a cutie.

True, and the football player coming out of the pool deserved that slo mo. That's not enough to get me to stick around though.

[janeta]

It was ok, but the singing was so obviously dubbed in, and to the point of disbelief, that i probably won't be watching again. (I mean, seriously--starting upstairs and coming downstairs and no change in volume or tone or the effect of the rooms.... And i heard at least some vocoding, and--yeah. Completely beyond belief.)

[shantown]

On 12/16/2016 at 9:41 PM, Lyinfait said:

This was a made for tv plot stretched into a series.

Maybe I've spent too much time watching Lifetime holiday movies lately, but the "made-for-tv movie" aspect of it endeared me to the show. It was bad, but in a sort of "awesomely bad" way that kept my attention through the whole episode. The stabbing was too over-the-top though, but I guess that's so there can be some draaama later now that the foster dad has survived.

As for the songs, I admit I downloaded the "I Can Be" song the group performed at the party at the end of the episode. It's an earworm.

[luckyroll3]

I requested this forum, but forgot to come back to check if it was created.  Glad to see other people also watched.  I was fully prepared to love this (singing, dancing, and drama....just my type!), but good lord was it awful.

On 12/16/2016 at 10:00 PM, spiritof76 said:

"Star" (the character) just didn't have a lot of star power. She just didn't have it.

My thoughts exactly.  The actress completely lacks the charisma necessary to make Star believable as someone with the "it factor" that would inspire people to want to believe in her talent, follow her, and help get her to the next level.  She's also not a great actress at all.  That scene early in the episode at the child protective services office where she yells at the lady and then starts to cry was so weak; after that I was checked out.

The girl group also felt a lot like Menage a Trois from Empire.  I think I would have probably liked it more if this was a direct spinoff and the show followed Menage and the difficulties they encounter trying to get a new record deal outside of Empire.

[Enero]

I agree with the consensus. This was awful. "Star" is very ordinary. Nothing interesting or charismatic about her at all. Her voice was mediocre at best and there's NO WAY Benjamin Bratt's character would've invited her to sing at the football player's party after a lukewarm lap dance (with all her clothes on mind you) and below average singing. She would've at the very least had to f*ck him. 

I like Queen Latifah but even she couldn't save this. She tried but just could not make her character or the material interesting either. I think the only character that peaked my interest was the one played by Lenny Kravitz and he was only on screen for two seconds. 

I too was baffled with how Star could kill a man then ride off into the sunset believing she and her sister are going to have a successful music career without the murder of the foster dad coming back to haunt them. This isn't the 50s where you could kill someone and start a new life without anyone knowing who you were and what you did. Now there's fingerprinting and DNA. Both she and her sister are in the system. Once an investigation is done it won't be hard to figure out who killed the foster dad.  The whole scenario just didn't make since.

That said, I could sonewhat appreciate them mentioning some staples of Atlanta, the Cookout and Magic City. LOL. And it was interesting to see Al.B.Sure's son in the mix. I think he'd tried to get on Empire at one point but P. Diddy (his stepfather, because he raised him as his own) talked him out of it because the producers on that show wanted an insane cut of the profits generated by his songs that would be used on the show. Anyway, I guess they worked something more reasonable out (or he's now ignoring P. Diddy's advice) since he's now on this show. 

Edited December 21, 2016 by Enero

[Kromm]

Saw only bits and pieces of this on a TV in the background.

It was too much. Even that little exposure to little blocks of it made me wince. What I saw was PAINFULLY bad.

[In2You]

Yeah Lee was selling fantasies for sure between that murder and meeting the producer at the strip club.  For the most part I could believe everything else outside of that but it was so glaring and hard to ignore. He could've left the shock value crap out. It's the same nonsense that ruined Empire by the end of season 1 for me

[In2You]

I thought the music was better and more believable as mainstream hits than the music Ive heard from Empire

[Neurochick]

I didn't like this show.  The actress who played Star wasn't very good to me.  I don't have an issue with the murder because, shit, the guy was raping Star's sister.  But, the show seemed to forget that Star did kill the guy, unless it's brought up later in the season (which would be very soapy), the two of them didn't even talk about it, it was as if it never happened.  

I don't even understand why this show was made.  

[formerlyfreedom]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[Kromm]

21 hours ago, Neurochick said:

I don't even understand why this show was made.  

$$$

 

They felt it would appeal/draw in the same audience that Empire does--or more--because it's got names like Benjamin Bratt and Queen Latifah who Ma and Pa middle America already know in it.  They also probably have some delusion that Jude Demorest is better than she is (and if we're being honest, that because she's blond(ish) and blue eyed that will also have additional cross audience appeal, even if at the same time they have legit stories about being multiracial to talk about). Also, she's one of L.A. Reid's pet projects if you google her... so she's connected in the industry (as if Reid hasn't made some awful talent choices in the past, even though all we tend to hear about are his big successes). 

[BabyVegas]

Fox finally wore me down with their eleventy trillion commercials for this show and my boredom over the last week, so I watched the pilot on demand. It was not great. Everything felt so heavy-handed and like a transparent effort to duplicate Empire. Which is a bummer because Queen Latifah is super charismatic and I was interested in her story with her daughter. And the girl group is certainly just as talented and charming as the other girl groups out there on the pop scene, but the material doesn't really make me care about them other than finding that one song catchy and the actors don't grab me. I agree with everyone saying that the commercials were better than the show itself. I doubt I'll be back unless it suddenly gets a lot better.

[BigBlueMastiff]

Started watching but could not finish this inane crap. Star is awful, and her around the way girl act is grating. Not one of these characters is interesting, and it feels so thrown together last minute, with minimal thought into plot lines and follow through. The only interesting moment was Lenny Kravitz. His daughter is ridiculous, good luck on your own. Never watching this crap again, but will look forward to the weekly snark here.

[luckyroll3]

So this didn't improve at all.  Although I did enjoy Lenny Kravitz' character. 

I see they're trying to go the Glee route with the fantasy performances.  the only difference is Glee recognized and embraced its ridiculousness and didn't take itself as seriously as this show is trying to.

Also, Star's ass is not nice/big enough to be in those booty shorts every week.

[In2You]

On 1/5/2017 at 7:19 PM, luckyroll3 said:

So this didn't improve at all.  Although I did enjoy Lenny Kravitz' character. 

I see they're trying to go the Glee route with the fantasy performances.  the only difference is Glee recognized and embraced its ridiculousness and didn't take itself as seriously as this show is trying to.

Also, Star's ass is not nice/big enough to be in those booty shorts every week.

Star is supposed to be on the verge of 18 right? And Simone younger so why do they keep trying to sexualize these young girls?

[statslady]

Huh.  I guess I'm in the minority here - I liked it.  Liked it enough to also watch the second episode.  There was a lot of ridiculousness but I was able to overlook most of it.  We never actually hear Star sing solo which makes it hard to believe she's as awesome as they want us to think she is.  There was a lot of over the top dramatic behavior ("I'm leaving!"  "I'm so done!"  etc) which I was sort of willing to accept because they are teenage girls.  I actually thought the younger sister might be the best singer & actress.  I totally bought that they would not talk about their respective ghastly foster experiences.  Star just wanted to make like it never existed and sister (Simone?) is obviously self-medicating to forget.  But why didn't they have microphones on either in the club or at the house party?  The club was a silly place that reminded me of Flashdance - high end talent for what must be a pretty seedy place - and she just walks in and sings?  OK.  But at least hand the girl a microphone!

LIked: Queen Latifah and most of the cast (except for Naomi Campbell), the music, the easy to follow plot (so tired of cryptic mysteries the writers don't even know the answers to), the set-up.

Disliked: Over the top drama and some bad acting moments, silliness during the singing scenes.

Anyway, I'm in for now hoping for better than 'Smash'

[GreatKazu]

Terrible.

I watched this show for Queen Lstifah. She owes me now. I wasted my time.

Everything was rushed. Bam! Bam! Unrealistic.

[vmcd88]

I am already tired of Queen Latifah's struggle singing.  Can she rap instead of sing? 

[wanderingstar]

Am I the only one weirded out to see Tyrese as a pastor.

ETA: This show is awful. I felt dirty watching it.

Edited January 12, 2017 by Gillian Rosh

[Pemyquid]

I've been really liking the music too, especially I Bring Me, and the duet between the two sisters and their dead mother in the cold open of episode 3 season 1 (no idea what that one is called, maybe Come On Baby?

 

 I do wonder who is actually singing these songs. Some or all of the 3 lead actresses?  Sometimes their voices sound so similar, although in the duet I just mentioned, Star definitely sounded different from Simone. 

 

Dead mama had a wonderful bluesy, raspy sound while belting briefly in mid-upper register. Hope we will get to hear her sing more. 

[Pemyquid]

I'm with vteal. Liked it. Enjoyed the songs enough, especially I Bring Me. Never seen Empire, so maybe that's why I'm more open to this. I was on board with all of it except the cold blooded stabbing scene after the most cliche'd portrayal of foster care ever. 

I do think Star has star quality, mainly because she's ambitious as hell and owns it. Kinda like Madonna with more talent. Sure, if this was on HBO she'd have slept with the potential manager with full frontal nudity. I'm not sure I need another uber dark, gritty show about the 101 ways these young women must debase themselves in order to make it. I'm OK with a bit of fluff, magically perfect performance sequences, etc. I enjoy the back and forth interaction in the hair salon, as it's a glimpse into a world I doubt I'll ever see in real life.

Certainly this fictional group of girls have better singing voices and better material than 90% of what's being put out on mainstream radio. The closest comparison is 5th Harmony, as girl groups are hardly thick on the ground these days, and I've not found any of their songs as catchy as the ones on this show (sad state of affairs). I do wonder who is actually doing the singing...

I'm in for now, which means it will likely be cancelled soon. 

[luckyroll3]

7 hours ago, Pemyquid said:

Certainly this fictional group of girls have better singing voices and better material than 90% of what's being put out on mainstream radio. The closest comparison is 5th Harmony, as girl groups are hardly thick on the ground these days, and I've not found any of their songs as catchy as the ones on this show (sad state of affairs). I do wonder who is actually doing the singing...

Funny enough, the actress playing Star apparently wrote 5th Harmony's Work From Home song.

[luckyroll3]

I'm also really enjoying the music, despite the show.  But then again, I'm a sucker for a good pop song.

[Pollock]

14 minutes ago, luckyroll3 said:

I'm also really enjoying the music, despite the show.  But then again, I'm a sucker for a good pop song.

Same here! This show sucks, really really sucks, three episodes in and it's not getting any better, it's even comically bad at times but the music is really catchy. 

[In2You]

All the actresses are singing their parts. All three are somewhat accomplished in their own rights as singers. Jonhta Austin does the music for this show

[Court]

It's like a train wreck I can't look away from.

[NorthstarATL]

That last music video borrowed heavily from Pat Benatar, but the song was actually pretty decent. We're supposed to like Star, the character, right? Because I am not getting what there is to like about her. Even the protectiveness toward her sister isn't selling well, because she sure doesn't mind yelling at her when Simone is in a fragile state. I guess Latifah's character is too guilt-ridden to backhand Star, but I can think of some women in my family who would find it quite easy to do. Glad to see Chad Buchanan all filled out. I remember when he started modeling and he was waif-like. The beef looks good on him, but from certain angles you can still see the waif in his face.

[DrSparkles]

I wanted to watch & like this for the Queen, Lenny K & Naomi. But I can't. It took me too much thinking time to figure out who Star reminds me of. In the stank personality, the belief that she is THE shit, the horrible acting & the fact that she's pretty in certain light, but brrrrrr in other light: JADE, from ANTM, season 6.

[jay741982]

On 1/7/2017 at 4:46 PM, In2You said:

Star is supposed to be on the verge of 18 right? And Simone younger so why do they keep trying to sexualize these young girls?

Star is 18. It's mentioned in the pilot cause she wanted to find her sister and have her live with her 

[In2You]

51 minutes ago, jay741982 said:

Star is 18. It's mentioned in the pilot cause she wanted to find her sister and have her live with her 

It was mentioned in the pilot she is 17 turning 18 soon.  She begged the lady to process her out of the system early

[jay741982]

44 minutes ago, In2You said:

It was mentioned in the pilot she is 17 turning 18 soon.  She begged the lady to process her out of the system early

Oooh that's right D'oh 

[rose711]

This was so terrible that I feel bad. I mean I was just the worst possible cliches thrown together in a nonsensical way with very poor acting. Apparently they had extensive nationwide casting and this was the best they could do? The casting agents need to be fired.

they could have cut the entire beginning storyline. Had Star simply age out of foster care and go pick up her sister. That they so casually threw in child sexual abuse was horrifying and executed in the worst possible way. Could they have shown the sister still being messed up even if she was from a good foster home? 

i actually hated that someone thought any of that was acceptable. They should all be fired.

Edited January 17, 2017 by rose711

[fellini]

I'm surprised more people don't watch or talk about this show. I know it's not a good show but is it that bad that no one wants to watch it? I don't like musicals, so that part of the show I find annoying.

[SoapDoc]

I watch it -- you are not alone.

For me, I like the music and while the show is not good, it is entertaining. So there's that.

[Court]

I'm still watching it. It's really bad but it's a mindless watch and I enjoy the music.

[shantown]

I'm watching because like others have said the music is catchy. The storylines are ridiculous, but kind of in a fun, TV movie sort of way. My only real problem with it is how awful the main character (Star) is. She's outright rude to EVERYONE on the show - to her football player boyfriend giving her money, to her manager trying to promote the group, to Carlotta who isn't obligated to provide a bed or a job or anything, to her own sister who she claims to love so much! I'd be all for over-the-top cheesy dramatics with musical interludes. But Star ruins Star for me.

[Dream Boy]

I'm watching too. It's trashy but fun and the show seems to be finding it's footing.

And I agree that the music is pretty good. 

On 1/27/2017 at 1:13 PM, shantown said:

My only real problem with it is how awful the main character (Star) is. She's outright rude to EVERYONE on the show - to her football player boyfriend giving her money, to her manager trying to promote the group, to Carlotta who isn't obligated to provide a bed or a job or anything, to her own sister who she claims to love so much! I'd be all for over-the-top cheesy dramatics with musical interludes. But Star ruins Star for me.

Yeah, Star almost feels like a villain. And you just know she's going to milk the paparazzi catching her Walk of Shame moment. 

[Dream Boy]

So, we get our answer. Star is indeed this show's villain. lol Unfortunately, you don't end up loving to hate her. You just hate her lol I'm #TeamHunter'sMom and #TeamDerek'sGrandmom

I felt bad for Alex tonight. She and Simone are too good for Star. 

I liked the awkwardness that was dinner with Carlotta, Cotton, and the Pastor. And I am dying to know what ol' boy whispered in Cotton's ear that had her change her turn so fast. 

I know Danielle was just a minor character but what happened to her still sucks. I cringe to think of what next week could look like though. Sometimes mixing fluff with the serious can be a disaster. 

Edited February 2, 2017 by Dream Boy

[Court]

Exactly. I think the show wants us to feel sympathy for Star? Or understand her? I don't. I just hate her. 

Yeah, she had a crappy childhood but so did her sister and Simone isn't an awful person.

Edited February 3, 2017 by Court

[Dee]

Tonight's episode was really good. The show is still a mess but it has potential.