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S01.E01: Pilot


Drogo

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I really, strangely enjoyed this, and want to see where this story is going. I was able to keep the dual James Franco roles from distracting me, except for one moment; the scene where Frankie comes to the bar while Vinnie is working. They did some pretty good stuff with the camera work but Frankie's reflection in the mirror bothered me. I realized later it was because it was too crisp; if it were two actors, that reflection would be a bit blurry, but it's almost like they were congratulating themselves on the whole process, look, we have seamlessly integrated him into the scene in two characters! Um, no, no you did not.

I really wasn't sure how I would feel about this show, and I can say I'm still not sure, but I enjoyed Candy's story, and getting to know some of the players. There are SOO many characters. So many pimps especially...The prostitutes seemed more developed as characters, and I liked getting to know them. I think I'm hooked, and will be back for more.

  • Love 10

I really enjoyed this. I tuned in for Maggie G. and she was awesome. I liked everyone except for the girl from the Leftovers (name?). Franco didn't bother me until the twin thing. The cinematography and production values are really great; it looked so much like the 70s. The student was the only character I didn't understand. I assume all the main characters will be working together at some point?

  • Love 4
On September 2, 2017 at 7:17 PM, Drogo said:

I like Franco in this, and I don't like Franco in anything. 

Darlene is so sweet and likeable and this is HBO so I fear for her future. 

Adored her in "Show Me A Hero" so thrilled to see her in this! BTW, is this the first Simon series that Clarke Peters has NOT been in? Can we hope for a cameo just to keep the streak going? 

  • Love 4

Double the Franco, double the fun?

Definitely enjoyed all the time I saw someone from The Wire pop up here.  Hope they keep it up.  And, yes, they better get Clarke Peters and his awesome voice here for at least one scene.

Fun seeing Zoe Kazan as Frankie's (or is it Vincent's?) wife after seeing her in The Big Sick.

Overall, I was intrigued, even if it was a bit slow, but from I what I remember from The Wire, it took a few episodes to really set in, so I think David Simon shows just have slow burns in general.  A lot of characters though, so I'm looking forward to seeing them fleshed out (err, not in that way.)  Eileen/Maggie Gyllenhall was my favorite and Darlene was nice too.  The only one that felt kind of out of place was Abby/the college student, but hopefully her story will factor in with the rest later on (and Margarita Levieva sure is one stunning woman.)

The production values were top notch.  And, hey, it's Michelle MacLaren in the director's chair!

  • Love 5

This kind of gritty, life on the streets, everybody's life sucks drama generally is not my thing, but the re-airing came on after John Oliver, so I decided to give it a try.   And I was hooked.  I'll definitely be watching from now on.

1 hour ago, thuganomics85 said:

And, hey, it's Michelle MacLaren in the director's chair!

From Breaking Bad?  No wonder it's good.

I have always liked James Franco, he's very talented and weird, so this was a must for me. And it's really good, really well done, the cast is fabulous, it looks authentic, but I do not know if I can hang with it. It's just so ugly. I can handle grit and violence generally, but I felt like I needed a Karen Silkwood shower after watching this; it's all so bleak and sordid. I admired the show, but I can't say I enjoyed a second of it. I'm sure I'll try another episode just to see if I can handle it, but I am on the fence.

I kind of wish one twin was mustache-free.

When Frankie is strutting down the street in his tight pants and pointy shoes, I swear I could hear "Stayin' Alive' playing.

The actress who plays Lori has a Jennifer Jason Leigh vibe about her.

Pimps are fucking assholes.

  • Love 11
11 hours ago, luna1122 said:

I kind of wish one twin was mustache-free.

Me too.  The cut on the head isn't enough to tell the twins apart, especially since they're not strikingly dissimilar in personality. When they first cut to the twin on the street, I thought the entire sequence was about the bar owner, not the gambler (I'm still not clear on names, even after a second viewing). The "cut on the head" trick also wasn't very helpful to differentiate present day from flashbacks in "13 Reasons Why." Also, when the same actor plays twins it can take me out of the story, as the actor usually overacts to seem like different people. For me, the only exceptions so far are Sam Rockwell in "Moon" and Jake Gyllenhaal in "Enemy" (the characters aren't twins but you get what I'm saying).

11 hours ago, luna1122 said:

When Frankie is strutting down the street in his tight pants and pointy shoes, I swear I could hear "Stayin' Alive' playing.

Yup. I'm sure that was a shout-out to the movie, which was also very character-driven IIRC.

Edited by numbnut
grammar!
  • Love 4

I usually like James Franco, even when he is doing his "perpetually stoned" thing, and I thought he was really good here. Granted, I am still having trouble telling the two twins apart, but hopefully I will figure it out soon. I third the desire for one of the Francos to shave their mustache, but I fear that a mustache was an actual legal requirement of New York based men in the 70s. 

Speaking of, I know that pimps did dress like that back then (with the pimp cane and the feathers in their hats), but everytime I saw those guys, I felt like I was watching that scene with the Council of Pimps from Black Dynamite. The guy who plays CC is really good. He is so likable and charming one moment, and scary as hell the next. Really, I like the whole cast as of now, and they all really fit the period. 

I love that the show looks really grimy and grim, in the cinematography and the set design, it really looks like a film of that era. I am really excited to see where the show goes next.  

  • Love 4

I've never really had a strong feeling about James Franco one way or the other with the exception of my eternal adoration of "Freaks and Geeks" and thinking he was perfect in that. I've respected that he seems to choose his projects without really giving AF what others say ...

But now, between Deuce (which I already love) AND the upcoming "Disaster Artist" and his involvement in getting that to screen I am totally on board with all things JF (if we had little photos for our avatars mine would be the dinosaur coloring book page where my daughter's friend turned hers into a "Wiseausaurus" screaming "You're tearing me apart, Lisa!")

  • Love 2

Twins was just done on the last season of Fargo.  One was balding on top, the other not.  

I like the setting.  Same as Vinyl last year, but with the promise maybe of a better story?

As is, it is indeed very scummy feeling.  The pimps seem like caricatures almost.  

I want to see where it goes, but there needs to be something to root for.

I'm not sure I understand Abby's decision-making at the end there.  She makes it to her Econ test on time and then... decides to blow it off to do what? Go help a married guy run a Korean bar with unitard-clad waitresses?

  • Love 6

WOW! Here I am about to be the odd man out! I didn't care for this pilot much at all. For me, and I suspect for a few others, nowadays, a show just needs to dive in and show some semblance of working on getting to the point. This pilot was slow as all out to the point of boredom.  I don't think it helps that the show seems to have way too many characters. What's the plot going to evolve to with all of these people on the canvas? It looks like one of those shows with a thousand aimless subplots SLOWLY leading nowhere! All this being said, I NEVER give up on a show after its pilot. I'll give it another whirl to see what else goes.

  • Like 1
  • Love 1

I'm not sure what to make of this show.  It's visually interesting, and they clearly went to great lengths to recreate early 1970s New York, but I was kind of lost with all the characters and the plot.  I also felt a little grimy after watching the episode.  I'll say this, I couldn't make it through the first episode of Vinyl, so the fact I want to see where this goes is probably a good sign.        

  • Love 1

The cut on the head reminded me of the two Gwyneth Paltrows in Sliding Doors.  In Gwyneth's case, it was just kind of a "place holder" until one of the characters cut and bleached her hair.  Maybe one of the Dueling Francos will make a similar change in appearance.  As mentioned above, shaving off the mustache would be a plus.

Edited by MamaBird
  • Love 1
On ‎9‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 3:05 PM, Syndicate said:

WOW! Here I am about to be the odd man out! I didn't care for this pilot much at all. For me, and I suspect for a few others, nowadays, a show just needs to dive in and show some semblance of working on getting to the point. This pilot was slow as all out to the point of boredom.  I don't think it helps that the show seems to have way too many characters. What's the plot going to evolve to with all of these people on the canvas? It looks like one of those shows with a thousand aimless subplots SLOWLY leading nowhere! All this being said, I NEVER give up on a show after its pilot. I'll give it another whirl to see what else goes.

I'll join you in that assessment....very slow and downright boring.  I do have to commend the makers of the series that they really got early 70's NY right....really looked authentic and much more so than other recent period pieces.  The cast is also top notch HOWEVER, it seems that all of these new shows that need to take place in the 70's come up with the look, the basic premise, the characters and then have NOTHING to say about them or makes the audience care one way or another about them.  HBO should have learned a lesson from last year's 70's misstep Vinyl and in The Deuce's defense, it's a little better than that so far....

While I understand that there would be advance anticipation and interest in a new series from a team that gave us The Wire, I suspect that this may not have been the most suitable series for the "release the pilot early to build up interest" technique. Their shows were almost the inventors of the "chapters of a novel" model for episodes, wherein characters become more identifiable, story lines get moving, themes develop power as we continue from one episode to the next. I absolutely disagree about this being "slow" (not that slow is inherently bad) -- there was a ton happening. But it's hard to sort it out at this point and really take it in. That will probably happen once we have Episode 2, and 3, and onward. So I plan to watch it again once the series starts for real.

On September 12, 2017 at 11:15 AM, lazylou said:

First time I have noticed D'Angelo in awhile!

I've seen Lawrence Gilliard Jr. in roles on Elementary, Graceland, and The Good Wife. But yes, it's nice to see him as a regular on a new show. And on a different side of the law!

Edited by Rinaldo
  • Love 2

I liked the first episode - very gritty and realistic. I watch anything with MG - if you haven't seen it, check her out in the movie "Sherry Baby." As for Franco, I always feel like he is one step away from brilliant acting. The supporting actors are great. I remember when waitresses wore Danskin leotards in many colors here in DC.

My only hesitation is whether the twin Francos will play out like a gimmick, rather than really serving the story (and Franco's sizable ego). I lost track of and interest in the two stories.

I just watched the pilot and I'm hooked. I'm one of those The Wire fans that were crazy waiting for this show to premiere. And I also like James Franco.

Also I'm quite interested in the female characters. The Wire was majorly masculine, so I'm curious to see how Simons will handle them. I'm already interested in Candy, Darlene, the college girl, the prostitute hurted in the end and Vinnie's wife.

And about the twins, I really don't think it's necessary to have a big physical difference to tell them apart. I think the characters are very different from each other and Franco's acting was enough for me. At least for now.

 

On 11/09/2017 at 1:32 AM, thuganomics85 said:

Overall, I was intrigued, even if it was a bit slow, but from I what I remember from The Wire, it took a few episodes to really set in, so I think David Simon shows just have slow burns in general.  A lot of characters though, so I'm looking forward to seeing them fleshed out (err, not in that way.)  Eileen/Maggie Gyllenhall was my favorite and Darlene was nice too.  The only one that felt kind of out of place was Abby/the college student, but hopefully her story will factor in with the rest later on (and Margarita Levieva sure is one stunning woman.)

 

Well, it's David Simons, so I sure expect that those storylines will either collide or lead to something important. I don't expect loose ends.

Edited by planet17
On 9/14/2017 at 8:26 AM, Rinaldo said:

I suspect that this may not have been the most suitable series for the "release the pilot early to build up interest" technique...I absolutely disagree about this being "slow" (not that slow is inherently bad) -- there was a ton happening. But it's hard to sort it out at this point and really take it in. That will probably happen once we have Episode 2, and 3, and onward. So I plan to watch it again once the series starts for real.

This is the first I've heard that the series hasn't started for real! Damn--I was looking forward to seeing the next episode this Sunday. (The reason I was so looking forward to it is that the first episode totally hooked me.) I guess not?

Edited by Milburn Stone
On 9/12/2017 at 8:34 PM, txhorns79 said:

I'm not sure what to make of this show.  It's visually interesting, and they clearly went to great lengths to recreate early 1970s New York, but I was kind of lost with all the characters and the plot.  I also felt a little grimy after watching the episode.  I'll say this, I couldn't make it through the first episode of Vinyl, so the fact I want to see where this goes is probably a good sign.        

very realistic, the streets, the interiors. good job.

 when i was young and my friends and i were restless and bored in the wee hours, we would go to the city, times square in particular because it was alive.  it was dirty and scary but made you feel. 

i have good memories of this time though, of course this is because  we were bystanders (and young! )and did not have to live with that going