Catch-22 - General Discussion

[formerlyfreedom]

The place to discuss the upcoming Hulu limited series Catch-22!

[BetterButter]

Christopher Abbott To Star In George Clooney’s ‘Catch-22’ Hulu Series

[BetterButter]

Hugh Laurie Joins George Clooney in ‘Catch-22’

[formerlyfreedom]

‘Catch-22’: George Clooney’s Hulu Limited Series – First Photos

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We’re getting a first look at Catch-22, Hulu’s high-profile limited series from George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Paramount Television and Anonymous Content. Hulu has released nine episodic photos for the series (see above and below), which is slated for premiere this spring.

Just one picture, cuz he's so pretty to look at...

[BetterButter]

[BetterButter]

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Daniel David Stewart discusses Catch-22

[formerlyfreedom]

Tara Ariano gives us a Who's Who for the show (which dropped today).

[ganesh]

The soundtrack for this show is incredible. 

[ganesh]

It's got to be over 10 years since I read the book, and I'm surprised how much I remember. I'm dying over the mess hall officer running all the game. They made a great casting choice with him because the actor is spouting the ridiculous dialogue so well. 

[ganesh]

Is there another season planned? Because the way it ended isn't how I remember the book. 

[Danny Franks]

This is one of my favourite novels, and something I recommend anyone read. If they don't enjoy it, that's their problem.

As adaptations go, the first episode was a solid introduction. They've clearly abandoned the book's non-linear storytelling, which is a good idea for a TV show. But I enjoyed being able to read a reference to something, then actually understand what that reference meant later on. I enjoy the way the book doubles back once, then twice, then a third time.

It took me a while to get clear in my head which of the cadets was which, apart from Yossarian. Some of them seemed to struggle with the bits of dialogue that were lifted from the book. The pacing and rhythm was a little off in parts.

I was laughing out loud at Clevinger being brought up on charges for, among other things, "stumbling without authority". The absurdity of the situation was just right. Scheisskopf's obsession with parading, his fervent belief that it will be important in winning the war. The conversational cul-de-sacs and loops.

There are so many minor bits of the book that I'd forgotten, and was reminded of as I watched the episode - Yossarian's affair with Scheisskopf's wife, the dead man in Yossarian's tent, Orr and his tinkering, Major Major being promoted by mistake.

[ganesh]

Wasn't there a whole bit in the book about Yoss signing 'Washington Irving' and 'Irving Washington' and a whole investigation? 

[Danny Franks]

18 hours ago, ganesh said:

Wasn't there a whole bit in the book about Yoss signing 'Washington Irving' and 'Irving Washington' and a whole investigation? 

Yeah, but it wasn't really a major part of the story. Just him being bored and censoring the enlisted men's mail in various ways, and signing a fake name to avoid being caught.

[ganesh]

I think it speaks to the overall theme of futility though. 

[Danny Franks]

Definitely. There are so many different strands in the book, and while I've only seen the first episode of the show, I expect a number of them will be cut.

The bit with Mudd has always been a favourite of mine - The guy was assigned to Yossarian's tent, and then killed. But he's not acknowledged as being in Yossarian's tent, because he never reported for duty properly, so the army can't remove his personal effects. Because they're not there. Even though they are there.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Danny Franks

[nodorothyparker]

Finally getting around to seeing this.  It's one of my all time favorite books too.  I like to tell people it's one of the funniest most painful things I've ever read.

Christopher Abbott in the first episode is doing a fine job doing all the heavy lifting in setting up the rest of the story.  It's good he has an expressive enough face to stand out because I'll be honest that I'm so far having a difficult time telling any of the other enlisted men apart.  They got a few bigger names to play the bit parts of commanding officers, but even quickly slapping titles over their faces in the beginning didn't really help me much with most of the rank and file.  I'll agree that some of the actors seem to be having some trouble with the timing of some of the dialogue that's lifted straight from the book.

The soundtrack so far is fun and I like that most of the scenes are bathed in light that seems to vary from golden to almost beige, depending on the shot.  I love that we got the dead man in Yossarian's tent from the get go as that's one of those seemingly minor complaints throughout the book that's clearly driving him nuts.

[Danny Franks]

I feel like the adaptation kind of ran out of steam, once they decided to reduce the role of Nately's Whore and pass up on Yossarian deciding to desert. The ending was a disappointing anti-climax, rather than a really funny one.

I also didn't like the change to make Scheisskopf aware of Yossarian's affair with his wife. Because it meant that someone specifically did have it in for him, when one of the major conceits of the novel was that he just thought someone did. And the fact that people were trying to kill him was proof that they had it in for him.

But on the whole, it was a good adaptation of a book that's really, really tough to adapt (and tough to read, unless you're ready to abandon the idea that plots should flow linearly).

[nodorothyparker]

I've only made it through the first two episodes so far and I'm mostly liking what they did with it.  What little I've gotten so far about their time with the whores and the old guy whose name is escaping me didn't really feel like it was going anywhere, or I'm at least pretty sure that's what I'd have thought had I not read the book.  The promotion of Major Major Major for no other reason than sergeant major is an actual thing and was too confusing to keep straight was a hoot, and the timing and execution of the back and forth about how people can only see him when he's not in was terrific.

But yeah, this has to be a tough tough book to adapt into a coherent narrative.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Critics' Choice Award nominations!

Best Limited Series

Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television – Christopher Abbott

Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television – George Clooney

[chocolatine]

I couldn't bring myself to watch this for a long time because I thought it would be too sad to see all the deaths and not just read about them, and I was right. The young actors playing Clevinger, Orr, Nately, Mudd, Kid Sampson, McWatt, and Snowden broke my heart. I didn't imagine them as *that* young and innocent-looking when reading the book.

I thought Christopher Abbott was perfectly cast as Yossarian and also loved Kyle Chandler, Hugh Laurie, and George Clooney in their respective roles. I noticed that the show left out Milo bombing his own squadron because he'd made a deal with the Nazis, which made him seem like a fun, harmless character instead of the unscrupulous traitor that he was. I guess that was needed to balance out the gruesomeness of the soldiers' deaths.

[TheLovelyAnomaly]

I watched this not long ago. I haven’t read the book (I intend to at some point but I’m a little apprehensive about it because I often struggle to follow nonlinear stories) so I can’t compare the two, but I thoroughly loved the show—the acting, the cinematography, the soundtrack, the unapologetic brutality, and of course, the satire. It walked a delicate line between gritty realism and comedic absurdity, and in my opinion it did so very well. 

[Danny Franks]

8 hours ago, TheLovelyAnomaly said:

I watched this not long ago. I haven’t read the book (I intend to at some point but I’m a little apprehensive about it because I often struggle to follow nonlinear stories) so I can’t compare the two, but I thoroughly loved the show—the acting, the cinematography, the soundtrack, the unapologetic brutality, and of course, the satire. It walked a delicate line between gritty realism and comedic absurdity, and in my opinion it did so very well. 

The book does have non-linear elements, but I think a more accurate term would be 'non-chronological' because, while it jumps backwards and forwards between events, it still has a narrative arc for Yossarian and for the other characters. My advice for reading the book is to approach it almost as an episodic TV show. Each chapter is a 'what's Yossarian up to this week? Will Milo's latest scheme cause havoc?' episode, but it still builds towards a climax.

There are lots of references to things that you haven't read yet. Like the dead man in Yossarian's tent being mentioned several times before it's explained. but it's not that confusing. Each chapter is titled with a different character, and focuses mainly on that character, with Yossarian as an ever-constant presence. 

It's disorienting at first, but Heller obviously intended it to be, as a way of depicting the confusion and insanity of warfare and of the belligerent logic of military structure.

 

[TheLovelyAnomaly]

On 2/17/2020 at 1:10 AM, chocolatine said:

I couldn't bring myself to watch this for a long time because I thought it would be too sad to see all the deaths and not just read about them, and I was right. The young actors playing Clevinger, Orr, Nately, Mudd, Kid Sampson, McWatt, and Snowden broke my heart. I didn't imagine them as *that* young and innocent-looking when reading the book.

I haven't read the book but I feel you on the deaths. I watch a lot of gritty stuff and am not easily bothered, but some of the deaths in this show were just gut-wrenching. I'm hard-pressed to cry, but this show managed to jerk a few tears out of me. Kid Sampson and Snowden got me the worst. Good God.    

Edited July 23, 2020 by TheLovelyAnomaly

[chocolatine]

I agree with @Danny Franks, it's not the easiest read, but definitely worth it. I've read hundreds of literary novels in my lifetime and this one is in my top 10. Nobody else writes satire like Joseph Heller, and even the show, while great in its own right, couldn't quite do it justice.