well that was an incredible series premiere with perhaps one of the best opening rants i've ever seen. it's like if The Daily Show was a proper nightly news show. oh and how has no one mentioned Sam Waterston yet? easily my favorite character in the show so far, he stole every scene he was in (his "I was a marine and I'll beat the #### out of you no matter how many protein bars you ate" line absolutely floored me). i just hope the rest of this season is half as good as that premiere
It was like watching the first episode of The West Wing all over - mind blowingly intelligent, sharp & witty & not something that panders to the lowest common denominator of Jersey Shore fans. Definitely a series you can sink your teeth into which is all too rare in the summer!
Anybody else catch Jessie Eisenberg's cameo last night over the phone?
I really like Allison Pill. She's just been in great project after great project.
I didnt' but now I'll have to go back and try and catch it. Was he the MMS guy?
There was an awesome plug by Sorkin to the Simpsons last night too (I think).
So we all know how Comic Book Guy coined the phrase Worst. Something. Ever. At least I think he did, perhaps it predated him, in which case ignore this whole post.
Anyway during Daniels' rant to the hot college student he said something like "and that's why you're part of the worst period, generation period, ever period".
Last edited by Cecil Terwilliger; 06-26-2012 at 10:19 AM.
Nowhere close to Rome or Game of Thrones but still pretty good.
A little unrealistic, or should I say I would have preferred it to be more realistic.
Opening speech was amazing and 100% bang on, cool to hear an American TV show unleash something like that, even if it's just fiction / TV show.
Sometimes the witty banter seemed over the top or too quick. I feel like virtually nobody talks like that but I guess if this news cast is the smartest and wittiest team ever assembled it could be.
Clearly lining up some love interest stuff between a bunch of them.
Will be interesting to see the follow up, I don't think news items of BP Oil Spill magnitude happen everyday, so they're going to need to rely on relationships and drama to build the story.
I wouldn't consider the opening speech to be 100% bang on. It started off all well and good but then he starts to talk about the US not being afraid, and blaming problems on the younger generation. The US has always been in a state of fear, and to blame 20-somethings on the problem is a little backwards considering it's been the Boomers that have been at the helm of the country, steering it into the wrong direction.
I still enjoyed the show, but the end of the speech kind of annoyed me.
The feeling I got from the first episode is good but not great. After reading some of the reviews/feedback from this thread, and in combination with Sorkins writing I thought this would be something special, but in that expectation I was left feeling underwhelmed. Certainly not up to par with HBO pilots like The Sopranos or Six Feet Under.
I thought the main characters (Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer) were very strong, but the supporting cast was flat in my mind. If I wanted to watch a bunch of white quirky college kids and their problems I’d turn on some network trash, at times I felt like I was watching The Real World and not HBO. The beginning rant from Daniels was fantastic and the high point of the episode, but I felt like they didn’t build off it enough, but maybe they will in later episodes. Things got preachy when Emily Mortimer is in his office and going on a rant of her own, just a bit too much idealism in one hour of television.
I was a bit weary when it was revealed that Daniels and Mortimers past relationship was a romantic one. HBO’s best series have had amazingly complex romantic relationships with lead characters (Tony and Carmela) (Nate and Brenda) but this one seems to be the tired story of an old relationship, were feelings still linger, and are reignited by unknowingly being forced to associate with one another. That storyline is fine for a cheap romantic comedy, not for primetime HBO.
Overall the entire episode was coated in this unappealing sanctimonious tone, as if Sorkin thought “I’m smarter than the American public, my opinion is right, and this show is going to show you why”. I’ll give it another watch but the second episode will have to do a lot more for me to spend an hour of week getting told how stupid I am.
Have you never watched a Sorkin show before? Yes, he tends to be preachy and sanctimonious. That won't change in future episodes. For me, that's part of the appeal of his shows: he isn't going to dumb down the dialog and isn't going to be afraid to call stupid people or ideas stupid.
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Watched the first episode and wasn't particularly impressed.
From the first scene, it felt like it was trying to lecture to me much more that trying to entertain me. It seemed like events occurred and characters made choices not to forward story or a plot, but just to allow the show to bludgeon me with its message with all the subtlety of a kick in the nuts.
Don't get me wrong, I'm left of centre on social issues, and more or less agree with the message, but I don't watch hour long dramas to be lectured to.
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Yeah, I had a tough time getting through the first episode to be totally honest. I didn't find it all that smart either, talky sure but not overly smart. If talky was smart Verve would be the best poster here and every homer thing he said about the Oilers would be true.
I loved the Social Network but that was paced beautifully this was just a wall of words. I'll admit it is probably something you have to be in the right mood for, atleast for me.
Buddy from Law and Order was good though and Allision Pill is in fact, a cutie.
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Yeah, I had a tough time getting through the first episode to be totally honest. I didn't find it all that smart either, talky sure but not overly smart. If talky was smart Verve would be the best poster here and every homer thing he said about the Oilers would be true.
I loved the Social Network but that was paced beautifully this was just a wall of words. I'll admit it is probably something you have to be in the right mood for, atleast for me.
Buddy from Law and Order was good though and Allision Pill is in fact, a cutie.
agree totally with the "talky" smart point, which sways a lot of people. But then when you sit back and realize people don't actually talk this way, or if they do, they are punched in the face and given swirlies, it lends credence to the argument that this dialogue can get irritating quickly and is overrated.
I once read that an Aaron Sorkin script is like an action movie for your brain. Words instead of bullets, sentences instead of car chases and speeches instead of explosions. Walking away from one of his shows or movies feeling insulted or "lectured" is like walking away from a Sylvester Stallone movie feeling weak or "bullied."
It's just entertainment. The difference is it's for your brain instead of your eyes.
