Comments on: The Lowdown

By: Matt Blankman

Matt Blankman — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:53:31 +0000

[40] 3 horses died, and after the bad press they got about the first 2, when the third happened, they shut down production. The third was a truly fluky occurrence and the fact is that the show was singled out because it is about thoroughbred racing. The attacks on the treatment of the animals on the set were apparently packed with half-truths and distortions and chances are if the show were a big hit, HBO would have fought back and kept it on (if 3 horses die during the filming of Game of Thrones – which conceivably could have happened – I doubt you’ll see HBO pull the plug). Read Matt Zoller Seitz’s excellent interview with David Milch and Michael Mann.

http://www.vulture.com/2012/03/michael-mann-david-milch-interview-luck-horses-cancellation.html

This is great too:
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/interview-luck-creator-david-milch-on-the-series-premature-end

By: NoamSane

NoamSane — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:47:33 +0000

[32] agree.
[30] I like those. But as The Hawk said The Wire is more than A-Rod. I would say The Wire is Bonds (he’s the best I’ve ever seen) but that would probably rankle a lot of folks. The Wire is Pedro. His injury-prone aspect is McNulty’s unfortunate accent.
[41] I think it was the best of any possible ending and a perfect culmination for “the Sopranos”.
[34] I’ll have to check out Larry Sanders Show. Has it aged well?

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:26:52 +0000

I’ll go on record here and say I think the ending of The Sopranos is genius. Or at least inspired.

By: Jon DeRosa

Jon DeRosa — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:01:09 +0000

[39] Matt, what happened to “Luck”? I have only heard two things about it, 1) it was good, 2) horses were dying.

By: Matt Blankman

Matt Blankman — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:55:36 +0000

[38] No worries, Jon.

I was emphatic about “Luck” because I really feel strongly about it and it just didn’t connect with enough people. I’m not surprised, but I am disappointed. It was the kind of show you needed to watch multiple episodes of to really get a handle on, and most people are unwilling to make that commitment (understandably).

By: Jon DeRosa

Jon DeRosa — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:49:53 +0000

[37] I blame myself for posting at 7am. Who am I kidding, I blame my kids for being crazy at 7am.

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:46:30 +0000

Yeah I was just butting in. I didn’t think it was insulting or anything, just that the two statements weren’t really comparable.

By: Jon DeRosa

Jon DeRosa — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:15:06 +0000

[33] No offense intended Matt. [31] didn’t work at all as I intended, sorry about that. I was going for a simple joke like [25] and it didn’t come off.

I just wanted to point out in a non-aggressive way by using your previous comment that you were anxious to defend “Luck” against a non-existant slight (calling it decent was just a way to re-use Alex’s first comment) lest “Luck” be deemed in the same class as “John in Cincinatti” and yet were critical of someone else not wanting The Sopranos to be judged behind than The Wire.

I also think if you and Hawk re-read the whole thread, you’ll see I had only playful intentions. But again, I am sorry if you are rankled.

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:36:43 +0000

[33] Not my row to hoe, necessarily, but I agree.

By: Matt Blankman

Matt Blankman — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:33:42 +0000

The Sopranos totally changed the game, but it owes a debt of thanks to The Larry Sanders Show, oddly enough. Sanders was the show that really changed the perception of a series on a subscription cable network.

By: Matt Blankman

Matt Blankman — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:32:02 +0000

[31] How is “I’m sorry more people didn’t give it a chance” the same thing as “If you don’t like it, you’re a jerk?” Not sure why you’re intent on baiting me, but you keep twisting my words.

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:12:08 +0000

[30] Good one w/The Sopranos because it really did change everything.

I also think the Sopranos had more inconsistency than The Wire or Mad Men, and that’s probably because they experimented more. And I think they experimented more because it was a phenomenon – they had cache and they used it, which I’m all for. I don’t penalize the show for experimenting, actually – I think it’s commendable and it usually worked to one degree (Tony’s coma) or another (Vito’s life in the sticks).

But anyway, The Wire is more than A Rod. Its flaws are very few. (The fact that one of the main characters’ accent is dicey as hell is one of them.)

By: Jon DeRosa

Jon DeRosa — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:19:55 +0000

[29] “I love something, so if you don’t, you’re a jerk.”

By: Boatzilla

Boatzilla — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:16:28 +0000

Mad Men is Mantle. No doubt. (Crazy, sick good and just sick)

Sopranos is Jackie. (Groundbreaking)

Wire. I haven’t seen enough, but from what I’ve seen: A-Rod. (Complex, gifted, flawed and brilliant).

Haven’t seen the others.

By: Matt Blankman

Matt Blankman — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:43:26 +0000

[25] “Luck” wasn’t decent, it was fucking great. Sorry more people didn’t give it a chance.

By: Ara Just Fair

Ara Just Fair — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:38:17 +0000

This is way too late but I’ll take The Wire over The Sopranos any day. Breaking Bad is good times. Game of Thrones season 2 begins on Sunday and that show is intense. Kenny Powers on Eastbound and Down makes the wife and I laugh. And we watched the freaking end of Luck tonight. They can’t end that show tonight. Forever. Oi! The racing scenes are amazing. Oh, and the Irish lass.

By: Jon DeRosa

Jon DeRosa — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:03:22 +0000

By: Alex Belth

Alex Belth — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:02:19 +0000

25) LOL

By: Jon DeRosa

Jon DeRosa — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 02:55:17 +0000

[22] Can’t they just both be decent?

By: The Hawk

The Hawk — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 02:08:36 +0000

[18] [19] [20] Wow thanks. It’s funny, I’d never read about that aspect of the show. Or maybe I had but it didn’t really register. That’s pretty great. I am officially going to check it out now!