This will contain spoilers upto the end of episode 2.
Absolutely terrible. To me at least - I suppose it's a real marmite show - so if you really like it then great but I couldn't get into it or empathise with any of the characters.
I mean take a premise of 2% of the world vanishing and then deliver a crushing bore of a story afterwards. I thought the opening which ironically a lot seem to think is a turn off was well done. The point of the screaming child is that it is the one constant throughout until it stops and his mother realises. For me what follows is the best part of the show where confusion reigns as people come to realise what has happened. Let's run with that confusion shall we for at least an episode as people come to terms with it but no we get a fade to black and a "Three Years Later" thus robbing us of the "missing" arc of the story. What follows must be the drabbest hour of television I've seen in a long time. People are trying to compare this to Lost because Damon Lindeloff co-created it but Lost at least grabbed you from the beginning and through the initial flashbacks left you with a sense of mystery - there is no mystery here - except people have vanished. The characters are incredibly unlikeable. I feel no empathy with any of them. The cult GR (yes I did try and take an interest) were so mysterious with their chain smoking and white clothes that when it came time for them to actually do something interesting it actually wasn't. Why are they following Meg around? What are they planning for Heroes' day / why are they looking at files of people including Meg? Oh here they come over the hill, it's all going to kick off - they are holding up letters - it says...excitement builds "why waste your breath" - oh is that it? But some people aren't happy and cause a fight anyway. Oh I get it, they are a peaceful cult, creepy but peaceful. Whoop-de-Doo. The daughter - the point of her story? Please? Except to cram in as much shock value as possible. The son - works for a mysterious bloke who can take troubles away - the congressman? Oh are they going to kill him - no, they are just going to take him home.
The one mystery worth noting - the man who shot the dog, turns up at the end "they're not out dogs" and the Sherriff starts firing. Great - that's that cleared up. The Sheriffs wife - part of GR (who didn't see that coming, despite the fact they came within feet of each other and didn't look at each other during the big fight) - it was a shambles from almost the start to finish. It didn't go anywhere -
I watched the next episode to see if it got any better - despite a rather good opening where the police storm the commune where the Sheriffs son is - it soon settled down to it's morose snail paced bore-fest. Was there anything else interesting about this episode. Not really Meg tried to cut down a tree - a task she returns to in the closing minutes as if it's an epiphany (I don't care how deep and profound this is supposed to signify it was still dull). The daughter continued her pointless storyline. Now she's staking the one character in the entire show who deserves our sympathy. The Sherriff visited a shrink and followsup on Meg jointing GR. His dad's in an asylum too. Anything else. His son saved a girl, couldn't start the van and in possibly the most over-acted tantrum I've seen on film lost it in the cab. That was painful to watch and not for the reasons the director meant for it. The second episode was possibly worse than the pilot or could have been the same level. It's pretty difficult to go from the bottom, down. By the end I'd had enough. I read up on a few things about it afterwards to see if it was possible I should give it any longer but seeing a review that said "episode 3 sucked what little enthusiasm I had left for the show out of me" I knew I'd feel the same.
The thing is, I wanted to enjoy this show - I thought the premise was great. I thought HBO might give it a more edgy feel than a network would but even the swearing and the gratuitous nudity and sex just seemed forced because it's HBO and I'm someone who normally wouldn't care. I watched ep2 to give it a chance but it didn't help. If you enjoy it fine, good luck but I won't be watching anymore. I've got Boardwalk Empire for my HBO fix.
The premise is interesting but then it does become about the people and not the mystery of why they vanished
Its a very weird show but I'm not bothering with it if they are only going to ficus on the left behind ones
Well one thing I really need in a drama are characters I empathise with and root for, Lost had them in abundance, Game of Thrones has them, Life On Mars had them, Buffy, Six Feet Under and all the other great dramas & cult classics have them in spades.
Yes, I liked FF, did they only ever make one season? I want to know what happened next.
I quite liked FF as well but it was indeed binned after a single season. It was a great concept, but they made a bit of a hash of how it was presented.
Apparently they'd ill not go into why or how they vanished . It's about those still here. So basically the vanishing could have been anything. A natural disaster, a terrorist attack,...etc...it's about how people cope after, like Treme but without the brilliant characters, likeability and plot. Fantastic.
Apparently they'd ill not go into why or how they vanished . It's about those still here. So basically the vanishing could have been anything. A natural disaster, a terrorist attack,...etc...it's about how people cope after, like Treme but without the brilliant characters, likeability and plot. Fantastic.
It is too much of a 'get out clause'.
As far as we know, a super natural (or alien) event, HAS happened. This isn't a 9/11 or Tsunami event. People have disappeared in an unexplained way.
Yet this show focuses too much on the personal tribulations of a sheriff and his dis-likable family.
After the disappointment that was the ending of 'Lost' I am now weary of shows offering profound stories but giving mediocrity,
I don't mind a series that focuses on characters rather than mystery solving. I get that the show is about the exploration of grief. I don't mind characters that are likeable, unlikeable, annoying or otherwise, but they do have to be engaging. So far I'm not finding them so. But it's early days yet, I'll give it a few more episodes, but at the moment the whole thing seems I bit too far up its own backside.
That was a bit much to be fair - there didn't seem to be any hints as to why the dogs had to be killed.
I've just seen the thread in "cult" so I'll probably leave this one alone - it still doesn't really feel like a "cult" show though, mainly because .. and this isn't plot specific, more of a direction the show will apparently take ..
They're apparently never going to address why the people disappeared.
The dogs were being killed as they were killing wild animals and were possibly become and endangerment to public safety, I think they made it quite clear in the scene where Garvey kills the dogs with the other guy.
Regards your spoiler;
Of course not, the characters in the show don't know what happened, they won't tell you as it adds suspense and is probably going to form a fundamental plot line, that would be like The Walking Dead finding a cure that prevents them from turning into walkers.
Comparing a show to another show is a valid form of discussion,
You're going beyond comparison, someone said they liked it and you felt the need to go into specifics as to why you didn't. That's not comparing, it's steering the conversation away from the topic of the thread.
That idea turned into The Leftovers, where 2 percent of the world's population has just disappeared without any explanation. There's no scientific or religious narrative that can make sense of the event; it just seems random. I wanted to tell an apocalyptic story that didn't involve a nuclear holocaust or a zombie invasion. The Leftovers takes place in a world that looks exactly like the world we live in now. It's not about how we survive when there's no food and no clean water, but how we endure when everything we believed has been, if not obliterated, then seriously challenged.
People have pointed out that there's some similarity to Lost in that the characters are dealing with a profoundly mysterious situation. But it's not set on a desert island; it's set in a recognizable suburban town. (Coincidentally, Damon and I grew up about 20 minutes apart in New Jersey.) In some ways, this has put Damon in a very different storytelling universe than Lost. But The Leftovers will probably provoke some of the same reactions from the audience—the excitement of exploring the mystery through the lives of a broad range of characters and, possibly, some frustration when the show doesn't produce a simple explanation for what happened.
You're going beyond comparison, someone said they liked it and you felt the need to go into specifics as to why you didn't. That's not comparing, it's steering the conversation away from the topic of the thread.
You are the only person trying to steer the conversation.
I don't get why there's barely any concern over the mystery of why everyone vanished and if it could happen again
The concern is there, but it is hidden amongst all the personal angst.
It is why I find shows like this frustrating. There is this big event that could help answer the 'Meaning of life' question, yet people end up just worrying about the little things still.
One of the big questions I fear they'll tease us with is, if it was the Rapture, have the 'Good' people been taken and if so, does that mean all those who are left are the 'Bad' people?
And if it is the 'Bad' people who are left, can they ever be redeemed?
OMG I just discovered Damon Lindelof wrote 'Prometheus' as well. Another film that dangled 'Meaning of life' questions in front of us but failed to come up with any satisfying answers.
I'm going to stick with it for season 1 at least, there must be some interesting and thought provoking issues to explore. It can't be anywhere near as bad as Revolution or Falling Skies.
Comments
Absolutely terrible. To me at least - I suppose it's a real marmite show - so if you really like it then great but I couldn't get into it or empathise with any of the characters.
I mean take a premise of 2% of the world vanishing and then deliver a crushing bore of a story afterwards. I thought the opening which ironically a lot seem to think is a turn off was well done. The point of the screaming child is that it is the one constant throughout until it stops and his mother realises. For me what follows is the best part of the show where confusion reigns as people come to realise what has happened. Let's run with that confusion shall we for at least an episode as people come to terms with it but no we get a fade to black and a "Three Years Later" thus robbing us of the "missing" arc of the story. What follows must be the drabbest hour of television I've seen in a long time. People are trying to compare this to Lost because Damon Lindeloff co-created it but Lost at least grabbed you from the beginning and through the initial flashbacks left you with a sense of mystery - there is no mystery here - except people have vanished. The characters are incredibly unlikeable. I feel no empathy with any of them. The cult GR (yes I did try and take an interest) were so mysterious with their chain smoking and white clothes that when it came time for them to actually do something interesting it actually wasn't. Why are they following Meg around? What are they planning for Heroes' day / why are they looking at files of people including Meg? Oh here they come over the hill, it's all going to kick off - they are holding up letters - it says...excitement builds "why waste your breath" - oh is that it? But some people aren't happy and cause a fight anyway. Oh I get it, they are a peaceful cult, creepy but peaceful. Whoop-de-Doo. The daughter - the point of her story? Please? Except to cram in as much shock value as possible. The son - works for a mysterious bloke who can take troubles away - the congressman? Oh are they going to kill him - no, they are just going to take him home.
The one mystery worth noting - the man who shot the dog, turns up at the end "they're not out dogs" and the Sherriff starts firing. Great - that's that cleared up. The Sheriffs wife - part of GR (who didn't see that coming, despite the fact they came within feet of each other and didn't look at each other during the big fight) - it was a shambles from almost the start to finish. It didn't go anywhere -
I watched the next episode to see if it got any better - despite a rather good opening where the police storm the commune where the Sheriffs son is - it soon settled down to it's morose snail paced bore-fest. Was there anything else interesting about this episode. Not really Meg tried to cut down a tree - a task she returns to in the closing minutes as if it's an epiphany (I don't care how deep and profound this is supposed to signify it was still dull). The daughter continued her pointless storyline. Now she's staking the one character in the entire show who deserves our sympathy. The Sherriff visited a shrink and followsup on Meg jointing GR. His dad's in an asylum too. Anything else. His son saved a girl, couldn't start the van and in possibly the most over-acted tantrum I've seen on film lost it in the cab. That was painful to watch and not for the reasons the director meant for it. The second episode was possibly worse than the pilot or could have been the same level. It's pretty difficult to go from the bottom, down. By the end I'd had enough. I read up on a few things about it afterwards to see if it was possible I should give it any longer but seeing a review that said "episode 3 sucked what little enthusiasm I had left for the show out of me" I knew I'd feel the same.
The thing is, I wanted to enjoy this show - I thought the premise was great. I thought HBO might give it a more edgy feel than a network would but even the swearing and the gratuitous nudity and sex just seemed forced because it's HBO and I'm someone who normally wouldn't care. I watched ep2 to give it a chance but it didn't help. If you enjoy it fine, good luck but I won't be watching anymore. I've got Boardwalk Empire for my HBO fix.
Its a very weird show but I'm not bothering with it if they are only going to ficus on the left behind ones
This show has big boots to fill, here's hoping.
Yes, I liked FF, did they only ever make one season? I want to know what happened next.
Not for me, but I can certainly see how though.
I quite liked FF as well but it was indeed binned after a single season. It was a great concept, but they made a bit of a hash of how it was presented.
It is too much of a 'get out clause'.
As far as we know, a super natural (or alien) event, HAS happened. This isn't a 9/11 or Tsunami event. People have disappeared in an unexplained way.
Yet this show focuses too much on the personal tribulations of a sheriff and his dis-likable family.
After the disappointment that was the ending of 'Lost' I am now weary of shows offering profound stories but giving mediocrity,
The dogs were being killed as they were killing wild animals and were possibly become and endangerment to public safety, I think they made it quite clear in the scene where Garvey kills the dogs with the other guy.
Regards your spoiler;
This is why there's a spoiler tag.
The first 3 seasons were very good and had so much promise but they wasted it in the last 2 seasons and the ending was a literal 'Deus Ex'.
Ah well, some will agree/disagree with you so there you do. Anyway, this a thread for The Leftovers thread. Can we focus on that?
Comparing a show to another show is a valid form of discussion especially when the creators of one show work on the other show.
You're going beyond comparison, someone said they liked it and you felt the need to go into specifics as to why you didn't. That's not comparing, it's steering the conversation away from the topic of the thread.
***** May contain spoilers in the article not the quote *******
http://www.wired.com/2014/06/the-leftovers-tom-perrotta/
Settle petal, I'm not falling for your nonsense. So, do you think you'll be sticking with it for the whole season?
Yes I like to watch people pretend the Emperor is really clothed.
The concern is there, but it is hidden amongst all the personal angst.
It is why I find shows like this frustrating. There is this big event that could help answer the 'Meaning of life' question, yet people end up just worrying about the little things still.
One of the big questions I fear they'll tease us with is, if it was the Rapture, have the 'Good' people been taken and if so, does that mean all those who are left are the 'Bad' people?
And if it is the 'Bad' people who are left, can they ever be redeemed?