the pimp storylines are so weird in tone - like, am I really supposed to care about the existential struggles of some of the worst people alive? like, oh no suddenly they feel unnecessary, what are they going to do?! and, why, this other pimp, he has *feelings*! How ever will they grow and evolve? Method Man at least knows to keep it alternately funny or scary... but idgaf about any of them, they could all be murdered like Reggie Love and my reaction would be "huh, well that was well-deserved".
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 16 November 2017 23:41 (six years ago) link
fwiw the second season is meant to be set five years later
so we might not see any direct resolution to a lot of the stories set up this season
― Number None, Thursday, 16 November 2017 23:43 (six years ago) link
whoah waht?!
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 16 November 2017 23:46 (six years ago) link
I liked that this season all basically led up to the release of Deep Throat, skipping ahead to '76 is an interesting decision
David Simon has a three-season plan for this series. Is that something you’re game for?FRANCO: Of course! I had to be, signing on. One of the interesting things about this show is that it’s a hybrid between a limited series and a regular series. There are only eight episodes a season, and if we go, which it looks like we will, there will only be three seasons. It gives it this perfectly encapsulated, very concise, economical power punch feeling to it. From the beginning, the plan was to cover 14 years. The first season is ‘71-‘72, and the dawn of pornography. The second season is ‘77, ‘78 and ‘79, or somewhere in there. And then, the third season will be ‘84-‘85 when everything imploded and the old 42nd Street was shut down by Mayor Koch. I think if we pull it off, it will be a really nice encapsulation of a time and a place.
FRANCO: Of course! I had to be, signing on. One of the interesting things about this show is that it’s a hybrid between a limited series and a regular series. There are only eight episodes a season, and if we go, which it looks like we will, there will only be three seasons. It gives it this perfectly encapsulated, very concise, economical power punch feeling to it. From the beginning, the plan was to cover 14 years. The first season is ‘71-‘72, and the dawn of pornography. The second season is ‘77, ‘78 and ‘79, or somewhere in there. And then, the third season will be ‘84-‘85 when everything imploded and the old 42nd Street was shut down by Mayor Koch. I think if we pull it off, it will be a really nice encapsulation of a time and a place.
― Number None, Thursday, 16 November 2017 23:51 (six years ago) link
late 70s is kind of the "golden era" of pretentious feature-length porn films. (No idea what that means in terms of 42nd St in particular)
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 16 November 2017 23:54 (six years ago) link
Wow, I had no idea about the three season plan! Fantastic. I love this idea.
― Karl Malone, Friday, 17 November 2017 00:09 (six years ago) link
This was great! I'm wondering if Simon needs a good collaborator to make a good (mini-)series (Ed Burns, Richard Wright).
I had a omg moment when I saw that B'Elanna Torres directed an episode!
― Entree 3000 (Leee), Sunday, 19 November 2017 00:11 (six years ago) link
Also, if the brothers weren't identical, Ziggy would've been perfect to play Frankie.
― Entree 3000 (Leee), Sunday, 19 November 2017 06:31 (six years ago) link
Oh my gosh you're right, I knew he reminded me of someone
― paolo, Sunday, 19 November 2017 11:45 (six years ago) link
Just binged the whole thing this weekend
So much better than I expected. Loved the way the women all feel like real characters, the way the hookers interacted with each other etc was a huge selling point for me, and Maggie G killed it, so great.
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 27 November 2017 05:13 (six years ago) link
Ruby tho ;_; I screamed when that john pushed her out the window. Pelecanos said in the behind the scenes clip that Ruby was based on a real woman & she died exactly the same way.
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 27 November 2017 05:15 (six years ago) link
I think the show did a good job of showing how much of their job is survival, how tough those girls have to be to live that life. Also the desperate shitty nature of pimps. etc. And I loved that final reverse tracking shot of the Parlor hallway, shiny wallpaper & all but the noises are the same, it’s still basically another Lionel Hotel for the girls. Just another hallway.
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 27 November 2017 05:19 (six years ago) link
also (sorry for multiposting)totally did not clock Ralph Macchio at first l, had to look him up to work out who he played after i saw his name in the creditsi want a whole season just of Maggie’s character directing porn
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 27 November 2017 05:29 (six years ago) link
Yeah that was def the most interesting plotline/characters imo
― Οὖτις, Monday, 27 November 2017 05:44 (six years ago) link
She just lit up the screen in every scene. Damn. I have always liked her but this felt like a new level
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 27 November 2017 05:46 (six years ago) link
Some of the conversational riffing and background that's put into verbal exposition doesn't quite land. I was kind of left wondering, is anyone who's working on writing/production end of things actually gay?
It's a much more enjoyable show than I was expecting, especially the decision to make most of the season a slow burn.
― mh, Monday, 27 November 2017 16:57 (six years ago) link
Maggie G is a treat in this, for sure, and seeing her on the list of producers seems significant
― mh, Monday, 27 November 2017 16:58 (six years ago) link
i'm really excited to see where this goes next season, when the narrative leaps forward a few years. they did a good job developing the minor characters. guys like franco's brother in law, bobby, who ends the first season making a ton of money managing the sex parlor in cahoots with the mafia (and bizarro franco) - when the series resumes, will he be a full-time mafia guy, bossing around regular bartender franco? or will his life just be completely shattered already?
― Karl Malone, Monday, 27 November 2017 17:07 (six years ago) link
there are gay and trans writers on staff apparently
― Number None, Monday, 27 November 2017 17:08 (six years ago) link
Feel like the death of Ruby was a case of the show pulling its punches, it would have been bleaker if it had been Ashley (a more tragic character than Ruby) who was killed. During the previous episode I was convinced CC was going to catch up with her and prevent her from getting on that bus to freedom.
― heaven parker (anagram), Monday, 27 November 2017 17:17 (six years ago) link
xp ok then!
― mh, Monday, 27 November 2017 17:20 (six years ago) link
Loved the bit where Vincent asked the junior mafia guy, "I'm not a made man am I?"
― Hava Nagilum (Leee), Monday, 27 November 2017 18:48 (six years ago) link
Watched the first episode tonight--good start. Franco quite restrained. Lisa P!
― clemenza, Monday, 12 March 2018 02:11 (six years ago) link
hah, I only made that connection after the fact
― mh, Monday, 12 March 2018 03:22 (six years ago) link
This was better than I thought it'd be--very low-key, good performances all around, lots of room for a second season. My two favourite characters are Harvey Wasserman, the Ron Jeremy-like director ("Get in there, my son"), and Rudy the Mob Guy. I wonder if Maggie Gyllenhaal partly modeled the Candy half of her performance on Nancy Allen in Blow Out. I expected Franco to be in full-blown Scorsese overdrive the whole way, but he's very restrained, even as Frankie. Ruby's death was a sad ending. The music's kind of buried in the background, but I liked the Undisputed Truth and (surprise) the Guess Who.
― clemenza, Monday, 19 March 2018 03:01 (six years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlKU8POYQsk
― DJI, Monday, 13 August 2018 19:30 (five years ago) link
pretty enjoyable premiere, I love a bunch of these characters (say, 2/3rds of them). And sometimes I like the use of the diagetic music/ppl listening to the same thing on the radio and other times I feel like whoever the music producer is is just fucking up left and right. Like, "This Year's Girl" as the opening music is very on-the-nose but I felt like it worked until for no apparent reason they overdubbed a woman's voice over certain lines? And then having "Cosmic Slop" and "Roadrunner" being played on the radio? what fucking radio station that pimps + pornstars listened to was doing that in 1977
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 13 September 2018 17:11 (five years ago) link
otoh Barry White and whatever Moroder song that was in the gay disco were very well placed
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 13 September 2018 17:12 (five years ago) link
lol nobody's watching this, are they
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 19:46 (five years ago) link
I am, but I'm watching season 1.
I didn't realize Megan Abbott was a writer and story editor on this; she's my friend's wife too, you'd think he'd more loudly socialize shit like this
― akm, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 19:48 (five years ago) link
also: this is really a great series. I echo everything poositive everyone said up above. when it was originally being touted it was very much along the lines of 'here's the start of the porn industry!" which is selling it short. It's about a lot more than that. I appreciate shows like this that give me a picture of what NYC was like at that time; the first time I went to NYC was 1997 by which time all of that had been completely cleaned up. It's hard for me to fathom a big chunk of a city even being like this these days.
― akm, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 19:50 (five years ago) link
I didn't know they were up and running again. I will definitely watch the second season, but I don't have HBO, so I'll have to wait for my bootleg DVD place to get it.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 19:53 (five years ago) link
I'm still watching, but behind by a few weeks. Tough to watch this on the bus!
― DJI, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 19:53 (five years ago) link
yeah it is *really* broad in scope. Almost too broad, I think. I'm generally enjoying it because it's so well shot and acted, and if I don't like one storyline hey don't worry in 5 minutes the show will be shift focus to somewhere else. But I think it does lack a certain dramatic tension, there's a distinct lack of real conflict. Everybody is made sympathetic in one way or another, there's no real villains, and no real stakes to anything - none of the characters really seem to be in opposition to one another, so what you get is just kind of a bunch of semi-interesting (and usually lurid) stuff happening. It ends up feeling oddly inert.
the one minor character I miss from season 1 was the porn store owner. that guy was just too perfectly cast.
xp
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 19:54 (five years ago) link
Been watching it ( missed this week's) and still loving the attention to detail. Some of the storylines are becoming yawnsome, though ( Gyllenhaal's (sp!) and the troublesome Franco "twin" especially). Love the cop stuff but I think I see where a lot of stuff is heading ( Maggie G's son prob inadvertently catching a porno starring mom / hooker porn starlet tries to leave pimp and trouble ensues/ etc etc). Girl who plays bar owner Franco's girlfriend should play Joan Jett in a biopic. Gorgeous.
― An Uphill Battle For Legumes (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 10 October 2018 19:55 (five years ago) link
Girl who plays bar owner Franco's girlfriend should play Joan Jett in a biopic. Gorgeous.
not gonna deny that she is v pretty but her character is so fucking annoying and unrealistic, that person did not exist in 1977.
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 19:57 (five years ago) link
What do you find annoying and unrealistic about the character?
― An Uphill Battle For Legumes (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 10 October 2018 20:01 (five years ago) link
"yeah it is *really* broad in scope. Almost too broad, I think. I'm generally enjoying it because it's so well shot and acted, and if I don't like one storyline hey don't worry in 5 minutes the show will be shift focus to somewhere else. But I think it does lack a certain dramatic tension, there's a distinct lack of real conflict. Everybody is made sympathetic in one way or another, there's no real villains, and no real stakes to anything - none of the characters really seem to be in opposition to one another, so what you get is just kind of a bunch of semi-interesting ... stuff happening. It ends up feeling oddly inert."
Haven't seen any of this yet, but sounds like Treme, which I watched a season plus of and eventually wandered away from. Hard to get excited about.
― circa1916, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 20:04 (five years ago) link
middle-class feminist studies girl drops out of college to dabble in sex-work activism also happens to have impeccable cutting edge taste in up-and-coming punk bands and happens to be a dead ringer for Joan Jett, I mean come on that is some v idealized hindsight-is-20/20 screenwriter nonsense
maybe if she was modeled on Andrea Dworkin I would buy it
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 20:04 (five years ago) link
it was clear from the Wire that Simon (and I suppose Pellecanos?) like to show the moral grey areas that most real people live in and that that militates against having outsized evil villains, but I feel like the genuine uber-ugly levels of brutality that are deeply ingrained in being a pimp (or a mobster, or a corrupt cop) are overly obscured in this show - at least one of these types could be credibly expected to be a real monster, but that's not really how Rudy or CC or any of these types are written. This one wants to be an actor! This one's kinda nice sometimes! Rudy looks out for his guys! Stories without villains or at least some sense of struggle, of opposing forces, just tend to be less engaging, and this show is no exception.
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 20:09 (five years ago) link
I'm watching it too, and haven't seen this week either, but like most I'm sticking with it because it's well made and the actors are good rather than the plot which is all over the place and, as others have said, far too broad.
Larry is the standout character this season I think.
So many penises, it feels like.
― Bimlo Horsewagon became Wheelbarrow Horseflesh (aldo), Wednesday, 10 October 2018 20:17 (five years ago) link
Larry's on-set dick reveal + smile was by far the funniest moment of the season
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 20:18 (five years ago) link
The real villain of Simon's shows is the SYSTEM, man.
― DJI, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 20:19 (five years ago) link
"dead ringer for Joan Jett"
is her hair black in season 2? I don't see the resemblance myself
― akm, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 20:21 (five years ago) link
how about Suzi Quatro
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 20:23 (five years ago) link
I'd say CC is unambiguously a bad guy
― Number None, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 20:24 (five years ago) link
(i'm watching too, but don't have an awful lot to say about S2 so far. Just seems to be ticking along)
xpost Yeah her hair's black now she's booking punk and new wave bands for the bar.
I don't care at all about the other nightclub.
― Bimlo Horsewagon became Wheelbarrow Horseflesh (aldo), Wednesday, 10 October 2018 20:25 (five years ago) link
https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iur/?f=1&image_host=http%3A%2F%2Fc7.alamy.com%2Fcomp%2FG4TDDK%2Fsinger-suzi-quatro-heathrow-airport-london-G4TDDK.jpg&u=https://c7.alamy.com/comp/G4TDDK/singer-suzi-quatro-heathrow-airport-london-G4TDDK.jpghttps://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn1-www.comingsoon.net%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F09%2FThe-Deuce-S2E3-3.jpg&f=1
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 10 October 2018 20:25 (five years ago) link