What TV SHOWS are you watching?

ChristopherMD wrote:

jason10mm wrote: I think you should just watch the first season of Deadwood and then switch to Justified and pretend it is in universe.

I was not a fan of all the Hurst stuff.

Hurst grew on me. I wasn't a fan of the theater people. I get its to show the progression of the town towards civilization but their character scenes never amounted to much.

Hurst was fine and presented a worthy adversary. The theatre arc was a waste of Brian Cox’s talents. I think the goal was to, in future seasons, show the transformation of Swearengen’s bar into a theater, as IIRC that’s what happened IRL.

The fight between Dan Doherty and Hurst’s man was easily the most brutal fight I’ve ever seen on TV.

Whoops, I heard Ricky Schroeder was in a great western show years ago, and I got Lonesome Dove (which I also haven't seen) confused with Deadwood. In that case, that dude who is resentful of Wild Bill is not played by Ricky Schroeder and he will likely be taking a dirt nap soon.

And that is the only problem that I have with Deadwood after two episodes: Olyphant and McShane are so good on this show that it's obvious they won't get killed anytime soon. Otherwise, this show is just shimmering with tension and profanity, constantly on the edge of spilling over into mayhem. Some other actors are fine, like the guy playing Wild Bill, but they lack the impressive range of Olyphant and McShane.

I love the performance, but I would not call Olyphant's performance one with range. He pretty much only has one character.

McShane, on the other hand...

Gary Sax wrote: I love the performance, but I would not call Olyphant's performance one with range. He pretty much only has one character.

McShane, on the other hand...

Olyphant may not have range, but he’s damn good at what he does. See: JUSTIFIED. I am looking forward to his stint on THE MANDALORIAN this season.

Shellhead wrote: Whoops, I heard Ricky Schroeder was in a great western show years ago, and I got Lonesome Dove (which I also haven't seen) confused with Deadwood. In that case, that dude who is resentful of Wild Bill is not played by Ricky Schroeder and he will likely be taking a dirt nap soon.

Put Lonesome Dove on your list.

Olyphant was able to show range in Santa Clarita Diet as a husband trying to hold on to some scrap of sanity and keep repairing that thin veneer of normalcy while his wife is a zombie. His Justified and Deadwood characters are the same though.

I would say that McShane is pretty one note though. Hard to find differences in him between American Gods, Deadwood, and John Wick roles. The one note is pretty fun, but you know exactly who you are getting when his name is in the credits.

And Olyphant was pretty great as a porn director in The Girl Next Door. Not so much a cowboy in that.

Pretty solid cast in it. Young Paul Dano, Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert and an uncredited blonde Olivia Wilde.

the_jake_1973 wrote: Olyphant was able to show range in Santa Clarita Diet as a husband trying to hold on to some scrap of sanity and keep repairing that thin veneer of normalcy while his wife is a zombie. His Justified and Deadwood characters are the same though.

Was just about to say the same thing. Santa Clarita Diet is fantastic. And Olyphant is great at comedy. Go on youtube and check his various visits to Conan O'Brien some time.

Olyphant has that ability to go from goofy cheery to dead pan killer in a split second that is just so hard to pull off. Lots of actors flub one side or the other, either fake laughing or looking constipated. Nathan Fillion and Danny Devito have it as well, sadly underutilized for both of them.

the_jake_1973 wrote: I would say that McShane is pretty one note though. Hard to find differences in him between American Gods, Deadwood, and John Wick roles. The one note is pretty fun, but you know exactly who you are getting when his name is in the credits.

Well there's a big freakin' gap between all of that and Lovejoy so I guess that's something? When I first heard of Deadwood my initial reaction was "who is playing who in what now?!?" as prior to that he was always filling roles for "handsome charming rogue who gets away with being a bit of a shit because he's so loveable" and Al Swearengen was a bit of a hard turn on his typical casting. If anything I think that his role in Deadwood was so well regarded that it's kind of fixed him into a pop-culture persona and it's easy to forget his more diversive roles in stuff like Lovejoy and Pillars of the Earth.

I think I saw Pillars of the Earth after Deadwood so the lack of "Build me my church, c*$ksucker!!" was palpable

The other entertaining thing about JUSTIFIED is that several DEADWOOD alumnae make guest appearances. Dan Doherty, the Reverend, Johnny, Jack McCall, Ellsworth in a season long arc, and many other minor roles.

Shame Walton Goggins didn't appear om Deadwood.

Modern Love is the best TV I've seen in years.

Deep into season one of Deadwood, and really enjoying it. I was surprised to see a young Kristen Bell show up, and she did well with her limited role. The writing is the best part about the show, but the attention to detail in the sets and costumes really sells the stories. I am fascinated by Al Swearengen, who is no ordinary villain. It appears that he will be on a fake redemption arc, not really becoming a better person so much as a more respectable citizen as the camp becomes a town. But what I find really fascinating is that he works so hard and suffers so much that his misdeeds often seem almost necessary. And on certain occasions, he decides to forgo a given cruelty or crime and it humanizes him more than it should. His competitor Cy (played by Powers Boothe) across the street often seems very similar, though initially seeming more polished and decent. And yet I get the impression that Cy will not see a comparable character arc.

I just finished up season 2 of The Boys on amazon. Overall still pretty good if only for the incredible shocking brutality it can so easily deliver. But narratively it is even more of a mess than season1 with multiple storylines that aren't really connected. There are some real cringe moments that while emotionally satisfying are still just hamfisted as all get out.

Not sure where they go with season 3. There are so many open threads from S2 but without a significant time skip it's gonna be hard to keep it going.

I do expect them to take this from the comics though