Luck

[Kasept]

Tim Goodman: In Defense Of Difficult Shows
Why HBO's 'Luck' and other series demand patience, effort.

Subcultures are not instantaneously familiar for the obvious reason. For people who haven’t been to the horse track, bet on the ponies or been around that environment, Luck will seem like a foreign world. But hell, trying to figure out the land-rights issue and why Lord and Lady Grantham were going to lose Downton Abbey wasn’t super understandable either.

If investing your time in unfamiliar subjects is too hard for you, if it’s too much of a commitment, then by all means watch network television instead. And stop whining, so the rest of the people who want to be challenged can focus.

So Luck has an indirect comparison to War and Peace.

And now the show gets the label it was screaming for from the beginning:


Pretentious

[TouchOfGrey]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

So Luck has an indirect comparison to War and Peace.

And now the show gets the label it was screaming for from the beginning:


Pretentious

As the article says:

This is not to say that Luck will ever be a masterpiece on those levels. Not at all. The point is that we live in a television culture where every element is either spoon-fed to us for easy digestion or hammered upon our heads like we were idiots. Even very good shows on network television do this.

I happen to agree.

I know that.

The article is borderline insulting. You can't compare this show to The Wire with a straight face. That show was intriguing from episode 1. It didn't rely on known actors and borderline self-indulgent casting like the annoying asian poker player that was in Big Trouble in Little China.

The content is lacking on the show. The characters are lacking. To compare it to one of the best series in the past 30 years is laughable.

[mclem0822]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

I know that.

The article is borderline insulting. You can't compare this show to The Wire with a straight face. That show was intriguing from episode 1. It didn't rely on known actors and borderline self-indulgent casting like the annoying asian poker player that was in Big Trouble in Little China.

The content is lacking on the show. The characters are lacking. To compare it to one of the best series in the past 30 years is laughable.

Coach I have not seen The Wire, from all accounts I have heard it was outstanding. I have a problem with in general comparing one show to another. Each of these series should stand on their own. It's a matter of opinion, some like it, some don't but each of these shows should be judged on it's own merits.

[Rudeboyelvis]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

I know that.

The article is borderline insulting. You can't compare this show to The Wire with a straight face. That show was intriguing from episode 1. It didn't rely on known actors and borderline self-indulgent casting like the annoying asian poker player that was in Big Trouble in Little China.

The content is lacking on the show. The characters are lacking. To compare it to one of the best series in the past 30 years is laughable.

That review is a joke - there was nothing difficult about following The Wire and I didn't need close captioning to decipher the dialogue either.

[3kings]

Originally Posted by Rudeboyelvis

That review is a joke - there was noting difficult about following The Wire and I didn't need close captioning to decipher the dialogue either.

I agree with the deciphering, unless they are going to introduce that the Nolte character had a stroke there is no reason to make it so painfull on the viewer. I'm not bothered by difficulty understanding the Ortiz diologue but the Nolte character makes me want to turn off the show.

Also The Wire had 13 episodes for season 1 and the same number for season 2.

We're getting 19 shows with Luck. You can have slow pacing when the characters are fascinating. These characters suck.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

So Luck has an indirect comparison to War and Peace.

And now the show gets the label it was screaming for from the beginning:


Pretentious

haven't watched luck, don't plan to.

war and peace was a very, very good book.

[mclem0822]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Tim Goodman: In Defense Of Difficult Shows
Why HBO's 'Luck' and other series demand patience, effort.

Subcultures are not instantaneously familiar for the obvious reason. For people who haven’t been to the horse track, bet on the ponies or been around that environment, Luck will seem like a foreign world. But hell, trying to figure out the land-rights issue and why Lord and Lady Grantham were going to lose Downton Abbey wasn’t super understandable either.

If investing your time in unfamiliar subjects is too hard for you, if it’s too much of a commitment, then by all means watch network television instead. And stop whining, so the rest of the people who want to be challenged can focus.

[GenuineRisk]

Subcultures are not instantaneously familiar for the obvious reason. For people who haven’t been to the horse track, bet on the ponies or been around that environment, Luck will seem like a foreign world. But hell, trying to figure out the land-rights issue and why Lord and Lady Grantham were going to lose Downton Abbey wasn’t super understandable either.

Actually, no, that was explained pretty quickly. Downton Abbey is not a complicated show.

But Luck is also a better show than Downton Abbey (which I also like).

Good article; thanks for posting it. Excellent point about the difference between TV designed to keep you amused in between commercials and TV that is actually about the show.

[richard]

A useful synopsis of Luck through episode 3...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luck_(TV_series)

[tector]

Sorry, Hoffman is bad here--and he's been weak for years. There is no one here who is a greater admirer of his best work--Midnight Cowboy, Lenny, Marathon Man, The Graduate, Straw Dogs and several others. But that is ancient history. I think the last thing I saw him in that I'd watch again was American Buffalo, and that is no great shakes.

PS: If you want to the greatest portrayal of real world criminality I've ever seen on screen, check out one of his more obscure films, Straight Time (1978). It's not a great film, but he is great in it.

[Indian Charlie]

Wag the Dog was solid.

[tector]

Same timeframe, mid-90s I think. After that....

[mclem0822]

Originally Posted by tector

Same timeframe, mid-90s I think. After that....

2008 "Lance Chance Harvey"

[mclem0822]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Wag the Dog was solid.

Great film! He was very funny in that, in my opinion.