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[CrankyJay]

*barfs*

Heh, I liked JFC...

 

[Cornballer]

- Season 1 trailer (youtube)

I assume this is the same thing that played after the sneak peek, but I haven't watched either of them.

 

[ThisWreckage]

Heh, I liked JFC...

Yeah. I did too.

 

[Cornballer]

The Luck panel at the TCA event is going on right now, so there should be some articles about the show later. Milch, Mann, Hoffman, and Nolte are all there.


Here's a brief twitter conversation between Sepinwall and Poniewozik:

I watched all 9 eps of "Luck" s1, btw. I really like it.

At what point? It clicked for me about 5-6 eps in. I worry people are tired of hearing "Wait a month you'll like it" for HBO shows.

Episode 4. And I think HBO has enough of a tradition of that (Wire, Deadwood, Sopranos all took until that point) to get slack.

Unsurprisingly, it sounds like it'll take a while to get things going on the series.

 

[Dan]

Heh, I liked JFC...

I loved it too. So weird and interesting and compelling.

I haven't watched the Luck pilot yet. I had no interest in seeing it and then waiting a month for more. Really looking forward to it.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

I loved it too. So weird and interesting and compelling.

O'Neill's monologue in the finale about his wife is one of my favorite Milch scenes ever.

 

[Cornballer]

A few articles from this afternoon:
- Reuters: Why Dustin Hoffman Is Doing TV
- WSJ: HBO Takes Its Money to the Track

Not too much info in these - just a few quotes out of the TCA panel today.



Oh, and Nolte was there, too:

The most off-topic turn during the panel came when Nolte chimed in about television -- which he likes, as long as the dimensions are limited. "3D disconnects the eyeball, the lenses form the brain," said Nolte. "It's like the brain itself is creating the hallucination of 3D... They're going to find out six hours of 3D TV will cause psychotic breaks. Australia is doing the research. I can just tell you that."

 

[brianjones]

I haven't watched the Luck pilot yet. I had no interest in seeing it and then waiting a month for more. Really looking forward to it.

same here

looks to run about until mad men's premier.. should be an awesome stretch

 

[Solo]

Unsurprisingly, it sounds like it'll take a while to get things going on the series.

The pilot gets plenty going.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

I haven't watched the Luck pilot yet. I had no interest in seeing it and then waiting a month for more. Really looking forward to it.

Same here.

Unsurprisingly, it sounds like it'll take a while to get things going on the series.

I expected as much, though I'm okay with it.

 

[Cornballer]

The pilot gets plenty going.

Don't get me wrong, I really liked the pilot. It's just one of the more difficult pilots that I've seen in terms of the broad ensemble cast, use of language, and general complexity. I can imagine people watching it and not wanting to put in the effort to continue. That'd be a shame considering that it could turn out to be a great series.

 

[dead souls]

Don't get me wrong, I really liked the pilot. It's just one of the more difficult pilots that I've seen in terms of the broad ensemble cast, use of language, and general complexity. I can imagine people watching it and not wanting to put in the effort to continue. That'd be a shame considering that it could turn out to be a great series.

I liked it too, but I've seen some pretty negative reactions to it around the net. Even some people in my family who have pretty good taste in television (i.e. Justified/Boardwalk Empire/Treme/Game of Thrones/Breaking Bad viewers) absolutely hated it.

I think Luck may end up being a very polarizing show.

 

[Solo]

I dunno, I could see it ending up being my favorite show of 2012.

 

[Discotheque]

I can definitely see that happening too. Only show I think can give it stiff competition this year is Mad Men if it's comparable to season 3.

 

[Cornballer]

- The New Yorker review

But, starting with the pilot, the drama makes a bad gamble: it takes for granted that we’ll care about the fates of its shutoff, curmudgeonly power brokers, yet never gives us much reason to do so. Like so many love letters, it’s hard to decipher if you haven’t already made the leap. I take no pleasure as I type these words. To the contrary, I feel the ghastly critical chill of admitting that I was bored by such obvious prestige television, created by people whose work I admire.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Bummer... still excited though!

 

[Cornballer]

Bummer... still excited though!

It's just one review, and most of the critics at the TCA were very positive about the show. I'm not worried about it.

 

[Cornballer]

The show premieres next Sunday. There should be a number of reviews this week.

- Tim Goodman @ THR: Luck: TV Review

Like a lot of HBO series, Luck will require patience. It’s telling a dense story with nuanced characters and it doesn’t feel the need to rush in, like a network series, and hammer home the main themes. But each episode is more enriching, more engrossing than the last and there’s Hoffman’s superb turn at the forefront, even though his story unfolds with the least rush. Luck is a smart and ambitious series that looks to truly pay off in the home stretch.

 

[Cornballer]

- LA Times: HBO takes a gamble on 'Luck'

The layered horse racing series 'Luck' is a hard fit for TV. But it has David Milch and Michael Mann in control, and Dustin Hoffman heads the ensemble. So it's got a shot.

- EW.com: The Michael Mann Interview, Part 1: His life and work in television, from 'Starsky and Hutch' to 'Miami Vice' to 'Luck'

 

[RatskyWatsky]

I'm a fan of the Totally Rad Show, and I noticed that their newest episode was a review of the pilot. Here is a link.

 

[Emerson]

So are they re-airing the pilot next week, or does it pick up with the next episode?

Also, 9 episodes? That seems a strange order.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

So are they re-airing the pilot next week?

Also, 9 episodes?

Yes and yes.

 

[dead souls]

So are they re-airing the pilot next week, or does it pick up with the next episode?

Also, 9 episodes? That seems a strange order.

They got an order for 10 but got behind schedule from what I understand.

 

[Clevinger]

I believe if you have HBO Go you get the second episode early that day as well.

 

[Meier]

This is one of my most anticipated shows in years. Love Milch and Mann is a top 3 director for me. Decided to wait to watch the pilot so I wasn't jonesing for next episode for like 6 weeks. Anxious for Sunday.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Can't wait, loved the pilot! And I guess I'll be watching it again on Sunday.

 

[Fjordson]

Missed the pilot's first showing, but can't wait to see it on Sunday. Big new HBO dramas always have me hyped.

Surprisingly, various reviews and opinions I've seen don't seem to be quite as unanimously glowing as they are with some of HBO's past stuff.

 

[Solo]

Which is a shame, because its a pilot that feels very much on par with Deadwood's, for example.

 

[Cornballer]

Surprisingly, various reviews and opinions I've seen don't seem to be quite as unanimously glowing as they are with some of HBO's past stuff.

Most of what I've read so far is preaching patience when it comes to the series. I don't get the feeling this will put up big numbers as far as viewership goes, but hopefully things are really paying off towards the end of the first season for those of us that stick around.

 

[Fjordson]

Ah, okay. Makes sense. I think most of HBO's shows operate like that (which I like).

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

its just an uninteresting subject matter to me. The Dustin Hoffman storyline was the only thing that caught my eye.

 

[Cornballer]

- Matt Zoller Seitz @ NY Magazine: Horse Power

Luck is no Deadwood, nor was it meant to be. But if you stick with Deadwood creator David Milch’s new HBO series about horse racing—buffed to a fine sheen by executive producer and pilot director Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral)—it’s hugely rewarding.

- Mercury News: Chuck Barney: HBO racetrack drama, 'Luck,' not a sure bet

Despite its impressive bloodlines, "Luck" is a real plodder -- a maddeningly deliberate series that stalls right out of the gate and never quite makes up lost ground. So, despite some solid performances and extraordinary visuals, we're left with what might be the midseason's biggest letdown.

- The Atlantic: HBO's Luck goes to the races

Some people will love Luck. Some will find it too slow. And some will consider it too insular to appeal to the broader audience HBO welcomes. Me? I hope the series is a raging success so that it comes back for another season and then another one after that.

- The Boston Phoenix

And there's all that damned macho knowingness about everything. There were similar complaints about the impenetrability of The Wire. But in that show, David Simon and Ed Burns were inviting us to see a different world on its own terms, taking us into their confidence. You get the feeling that Milch and Mann just want to show off what they know about horse racing. When one of Marcus's crew keeps screaming out during the big Pick Six race, "What's going on!?," he speaking for the audience. But it's just a passing acknowledgment. Luck is compelling, and I'll keep watching it. But good luck to us all.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

I wish I could see what people first said about Deadwood...

 

[Timbuktu]

Given HBO's recent track record, it'll get at least two seasons, right?

 

[Solo]

I wish I could see what people first said about Deadwood...

Which is a shame, because its a pilot that feels very much on par with Deadwood's, for example.

.

 

[jett]

Given HBO's recent track record, it'll get at least two seasons, right?

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

The difference between Luck and Deadwood is that deadwood was a western. That alone could keep people somewhat interested. There weren't a whole lot of western options back then.

A horse Track doesn't have the same appeal to most people I would imagine.

 

[Cornballer]

- Sepinwall Review: Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte head to the track in HBO's 'Luck'

The show isn't perfect, but is far closer to "Deadwood" than to Milch's last HBO series, the impenetrable (but occasionally fascinating) "John from Cincinnati."

...

The spiritual elements here are just subtext, and part of a vastly more coherent and cohesive narrative than anything Milch did on "John." I think Milch knew the story he wanted to tell with "John" but didn't know how to tell it in a way that the rest of us could see what was in his head. The world of the track is one he knows so intimately that "Luck" ran the risk of being too inside in a different way, a story by an expert accessible and interesting only to other experts. But it's clear and engaging and moving to this novice. I may still not understand all the details after 9 hours, but when the starting gate opens and the horses take off, I see what Walter and Ace and Marcus and the rest are seeing — and with the talent assembled in front of and behind the camera, that's more than enough.

- NY Times: HBO Bets on Two Thoroughbreds

 

[Cornballer]

- Tim Goodman @ THR: Luck

The series will require patience. But each episode is more enriching, more engrossing than the last, and with Hoffman's superb turn at the forefront, this smart, ambitious show looks to truly pay off in the homestretch.

- Boston Herald: HBO’s horse racing drama a sure bet

With “Deadwood” creator David Milch, director Michael Mann and Dustin Hoffman in the saddle, “Luck” turns out to be a sure thing. B+

- Las Vegas Weekly: HBO horse-racing drama ‘Luck’ gets stuck in the mud

Over the course of the first season’s nine episodes, certain aspects of the horse-racing world do become clearer, but the jargon is still largely impenetrable, and anyone without an inherent interest in gambling or horses is going to have a hard time getting invested in much of what occurs. Beyond the lingo of that closed-off world, Milch and the other writers also favor elliptical, sometimes inscrutable dialogue, so that characters are often uttering poetic riddles instead of communicating directly. 2.5/5.0 stars

- Philadelphia Inquirer: Despite its stars, it's hard to bet on 'Luck'

For most viewers, Luck will prove to be an acquired taste. Several weeks in, after it turns down the intrusive musical score and scales back the overwrought dramatic moments, the series develops a texture and rhythm that are far more enjoyable than the first few episodes. But we TV viewers have never been renowned for our patience. Consequently, Luck is a real long shot.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Reviews kind of sound similar to the reviews for the last couple of Mann movies. One of those turned out great, the other one... had some great moments.

 

[Cornballer]

- 20 minutes of "Luck" discussion on this week's Ryan McGee/Maureen Ryan podcast

Time stamps:
Touch: 0:00 - 19:00
Luck: 19:00 - 39:40
Spartacus: Vengeance: 39:40 - End

 

[Cornballer]

- Sepinwall Interview: 'Luck' producers David Milch and Michael Mann

 

[Cornballer]

- Huffington Post: 'Luck' Interviews: Is HBO's Horse Racing Drama Destined To Be A Winner?


Also, confirmation of what Clevinger mentioned before:

The first episode is set to make its official premiere on HBO this Sunday night (January 29th at 9:00 p.m.). And according to HBO’s recent announcement, Episode 2 will be made available to viewers via HBO’s On Demand website and app, HBO Go “simultaneously with the linear premiere of Episode 1,” which sounds like it means it’ll be on HBO Go at 9:00 p.m. this Sunday.

Episode 2 will be available on HBO Go throughout the week leading up to its premiere on Sunday, February 5th. Given that it’ll have the Super Bowl and all of the festivities that come with it to compete with, an early release via HBO Go is probably a great way to keep people’s interest.

 

[Cornballer]

- Newsday: As 'Luck' has it, we like the handicap

BOTTOM LINE Owner of a pair of thoroughbreds himself, Milch recently told the Los Angeles Times, "To me, the track is what the river was to Mark Twain." Sounds compelling, and "Luck" is too.

GRADE A

- SF Chronicle: 'Luck' review: HBO gives it a run for the money

"Deadwood" fans already know that Milch doesn't make it easy for viewers to get a purchase on his series, but for those willing to do the work, "Luck," premiering Sunday, pays off.

- Esquire: A Thing Called Luck

To get started in horseracing, a grand and deep endeavor, takes a lot of talk. First time through, a horsetrack reads, on its skin, like a nasty, upper-level mix of ciphers, symbols, and codes. It just isn't nice and easy. There's nothing user-friendly about the Racing Form, no single, bottom-line, "moneyball" rule to handicapping, and no one afternoon on the rail that can set you right with betting the horses. I always tell people: Keep it simple, ask questions. It takes some explaining. You suffer a little for that in the first episodes of Luck. Talking. But remember this truth: If you don't like to talk, you don' t belong at the track.

- Washington Post: HBO’s ‘Luck’ is saddled by the details

There’s a lot to like in “Luck,” which is not the same as saying it’s entirely enjoyable. I’d call it tediously fascinating — however contradictory that may seem — and not required viewing.

- NPR: HBO's 'Luck': A Winning TV Show, Set At The Track

It isn't a long shot that David Milch's newest series for HBO, called Luck, will be on par with his HBO series Deadwood. It's a sure thing. HBO sent out all nine episodes of the show's first season for preview, so there's no guesswork here.

- NY Daily News: Dustin Hoffman’s first TV series ‘Luck’ is intriguing bet, but may need to pick up the pace

HBO’S AMBITIOUS and beautifully crafted new “Luck” is the kind of series you want to like, and in which there is much you sense you could. Creator David Milch and pilot episode director Michael Mann do not, however, make it easy.

- NY Times: Thoroughbreds and Degenerates in HBO’s ‘Luck’

There are thrilling, gorgeous horse-racing scenes and some intriguingly weird characters wedged deep inside the narrative, but it takes patience and even charity to wait them out. This nine-episode series is maddeningly and needlessly opaque, and so deferential to the rites and rituals of the track that the storytelling is labored and even joyless. It improves over time, but it’s not really until the finale that “Luck” quickens its pace and builds suspense and a sense of urgency.

- NY Post: ‘Luck’ horse-track characters are best since ‘Sopranos’

With an impossibly good cast, writing so spot-on it’s poetic, and slow-build stories, I, for one, was left wanting more — even after watching the entire season.

 

[Cornballer]

- Poniewozik @ Time.com: The Beautiful Losers of Luck

To put it in terms of Milch’s other shows, this is not the high drama of Deadwood; it’s more like a way of solving the problems of John from Cincinnati. Luck has that show’s theme of connection among down-and-outers and of the community within an insular subculture (there, surfing), but with a more intelligible plot than JFC’s second-coming-ish spiritual enigma. Luck is a Milch show, with his attention to ambiguity and his almost invented language—this is the only show you’re likely to see in which a character figures out he’s been deceived by another character because of their syntax. But it’s about horses, and the people who own, ride, love and profit off them: you will know what’s going on in this story. Decide if for yourself if this is the show for you, but having seen the whole nine-episode first season (which would work as a last season should it not get picked up), I found it deeply rewarding.

- Chicago Sun Times: Slow out of the gate, ‘Luck’ picks up down the stretch

“Luck” can be maddeningly inscrutable but it becomes less so over time. Viewers who stick around for the finish line — and you can bet not all of them will — are going to need plenty of patience.

- USA Today: Try your 'Luck' on this horse-racing tale

Milch fans will gladly put in the time, but for others Luck may be a tougher sell. As you'd expect from HBO, it's beautifully shot and reeks of authenticity. There are great performances from Gedrick and Dunn as leaders of a gambling quartet, and good work all around. But as much as Milch is clearly drawn to this world, he hasn't yet made it either a congenial or a particularly compelling place to visit.

- WSJ: At the Races, In the Money

So be warned: HBO's addictive new drama, set at and around the Santa Anita racetrack near Los Angeles, is designed to pull you into this tortured world and hold you there until you see the light. It's hard to look away.

The cast is large and the show drops us into the stream of each character's life without much explanation. Go with the flow until it begins to make sense. It will.

- Boston Globe: Lots of thoroughbreds, but a stumbling start

“Luck’’ isn’t essential viewing, but it has its rewards. The horses sure are beautiful to look at. They’re four-legged versions of Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas in Mann’s “Miami Vice.’’ That Southern California light is gorgeous, as is the sight of the San Gabriel Mountains overlooking Santa Anita Park (where the races take place).

 

[Cornballer]

- Maureen Ryan @ Huffington Post: Luck Review: Dustin Hoffman-Starring HBO Drama Hits The Jackpot, Eventually

So you're likely to feel a little lost at first, but, having seen seven of "Luck's" nine episodes, I can say that this impressively directed drama is very much worth sticking with. Not every aspect of "Luck" has the satisfying richness of the stories involving the trackside foursome and Nolte's quietly fascinating trainer; but the parts that do work possess the doom-laden yet strangely optimistic romanticism of Milch's best work.

A couple articles:

- Variety: Why David Milch's 'Luck' will run out at HBO

It wouldn't be surprising if "Luck" follows in "John's" footsteps (though to be fair, "Luck" isn't as impenetrable as its predecessor). While the series is hardly the first on HBO to test viewers' patience, maybe the network needs to re-examine whether it can afford to be as demanding on its audience at a time when the competition seems to be catching up with every passing day.

- THR: 'Luck's' David Milch: 'I Did My Best to Make It Accessible'

 

[Fjordson]

Interesting. Definitely not all positive, but hopefully HBO sticks with it. I wouldn't be surprised if this keeps improving every season.

I've seen Boardwalk Empire described as slow or tedious and I loved both seasons so I'm looking forward to this. Pretty awesome that episode 2 will be up on HBO Go early.

 

[Cornballer]

- Ken Tucker @ EW.com: The Michael Mann Interview, Part 2: His work in TV: 'Crime Story,' 'Robbery Homicide Division,' 'Luck,' and Mann's favorite current TV shows

 

[metsallica]

- Ken Tucker @ EW.com: The Michael Mann Interview, Part 2: His work in TV: 'Crime Story,' 'Robbery Homicide Division,' 'Luck,' and Mann's favorite current TV shows

Ruh roh...

"I also like The Killing a lot. It’s really great work." - Michael Mann

 

[brianjones]

at least it wasn't milch who said it