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Show Me A Hero |OT| HBO Miniseries by David Simon, Starring Oscar Isaac - Sun 8/7c

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R

RastaMentality

Banned
Doreen's actress, Natalie Paul, is so fantastic. Second best standout role to Isaac for me. Shes really completely new so I hope she can get another spot on tv/film.

EDIT: Also, I'm curious. I'm a little young for this era so I never really had experience with them. What did the 911 on pagers mean? That someone needed you to call/pick up the phone?
 
G

GotchaForce

Member
It was rough watching the last episodes. The lottery, people being afraid in their own homes and Wacisko's turning on his old friends and his wife. I'm glad Winona's character called him out, "do you even believe in anything?". It felt that way early on and I started wondering why we're even following this guy. Maybe he's an example of most politicians or at least the ones who are only career minded. Random thing: I was certain the old lady was Anna Gasteyer (from SNL, would do those songs with Will Ferrell) but it was Catherine Keener.
 
M

metsallica

Member
RastaMentality said:
Doreen's actress, Natalie Paul, is so fantastic. Second best standout role to Isaac for me. Shes really completely new so I hope she can get another spot on tv/film.

EDIT: Also, I'm curious. I'm a little young for this era so I never really had experience with them. What did the 911 on pagers mean? That someone needed you to call/pick up the phone?
Click to expand...
Generally meant to add a sense of urgency to the page. Like, call that person back ASAP 'cuz it's an "emergency."
 
S

Sanjuro

Member
GotchaForce said:
It was rough watching the last episodes. The lottery, people being afraid in their own homes and Wacisko's turning on his old friends and his wife. I'm glad Winona's character called him out, "do you even believe in anything?". It felt that way early on and I started wondering why we're even following this guy. Maybe he's an example of most politicians or at least the ones who are only career minded. Random thing: I was certain the old lady was Anna Gasteyer (from SNL, would do those songs with Will Ferrell) but it was Catherine Keener.
Click to expand...

Wasn't a fan of Keener in the role either, as knowing who she was kind of took away from the largely docile performance towards the latter portion of the series. Even in her dominant scenes she dialed it from 0 to 100.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
GotchaForce said:
It was rough watching the last episodes. The lottery, people being afraid in their own homes and Wacisko's turning on his old friends and his wife. I'm glad Winona's character called him out, "do you even believe in anything?". It felt that way early on and I started wondering why we're even following this guy. Maybe he's an example of most politicians or at least the ones who are only career minded. Random thing: I was certain the old lady was Anna Gasteyer (from SNL, would do those songs with Will Ferrell) but it was Catherine Keener.
Click to expand...
I mean, the show starts with him basically backing the appeal - which is how he won the race in the first place. It was a complete accident.
 
L

lednerg

Member
You guys really should watch the behind the scenes commentary on HBOGO, after episodes 4 and 6. They talk about how there aren't any perfect heroes or villains, which is kind of the point of F Scott Fitzgerald's quote "show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy." Also, Nay Wasicsko (Nick's wife) shows up to offer some perspective.

EDIT: Oh, they're on YouTube

Watch after parts 3 & 4 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GNCZLfDkO8

Watch after parts 5 & 6 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2yqAl519H4
 
W

William

Member
lednerg said:
You guys really should watch the behind the scenes commentary on HBOGO, after episodes 4 and 6. They talk about how there aren't any perfect heroes or villains, which is kind of the point of F Scott Fitzgerald's quote "show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy." Also, Nay Wasicsko (Nick's wife) shows up to offer some perspective.

EDIT: Oh, they're on YouTube

Watch after parts 3 & 4 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GNCZLfDkO8

Watch after parts 5 & 6 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2yqAl519H4
Click to expand...

Thanks for these links the videos were very interesting.

This was a great 6 hours of TV. I am still a little in shock from the ending, I decided not to google or read anything related to the real history of the show since it was announced and when I saw the ending coming during the final episode it was gut wrenching.

Great direction in this final couple of episodes, it was so tense for the new occupants of those houses, their new spaces feeling so alien and lonely.
 
G

gdt

Member
Yeah, that ending was so bittersweet. What a great accomplishment for these people and their lives (the side stories enhanced the ending so damn hard for me....that poodle scene got me good, and the neighborhood party at the end too). And fuck the Nick stuff was so sad. His scene in the attic calling his brother man.......Isaac is just amazing. Such a sad story there.

Fantastic miniseries. Should clean house at the emmys. But it's Simon so who knows.
 
S

see5harp

Member
Really glad Paul Haggis was given something of this quality to work with. I love the way everything is edited. For being a show that is mostly dialogue, I feel like the pacing is perfect. Editors deserve big credit here too.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Remarkable miniseries. The seeds of the 'side stories' really bore fruit in the final parts. I'll have to read the book at some point.

To Paul Haggis: I'll go easy on you for Crash now.
 
J

jerry113

Banned
Oscar Isaac is one of the more versatile leads working in the acting industry right now. Every role I've seen him in has been distinct.
 
I

Iceman

Member
That end... I honestly had no idea that was coming. It made the previous few scenes super powerful in retrospect. That pacing in the attic/room at the top of the stairs, slowly breaking down. It was a hard watch. At first confusing.. after betraying his friend, then making a scene at city hall.. I was really starting to wonder why we were even following this depressing person anymore.

I tore me up.

Then when it went Argo in the credits sequence.. it made it all the more sad seeing how spot on everyone looked.
 
H

HoJu

Member
When he was crying out for his brother... god damn it. That really was the breaking point for him. Great series and ending. I was worried Keener's arc was just going to be old racist lady becomes not racist, but I was glad to see that the development in the last part went further than that. Don't know why i doubted Simon.
 
T

Tugatrix

Member
David Simon did it again, the feels man the ending is so bitter sweet. Spallone was an asshole. Wasicsko unfortunely dig is own grave with his obsession of returning to mayor office.
 
L

lastflowers

Banned
just finished the fifth episode. Boy, it was fantastic. Looking forward to the final episode and then reading all of your impressions!
 
D

Discotheque

Banned
Holy cow was that last 5 minutes gut wrenching. Series is the best thing simon's done since s4 of the wire imo

That scene in that attic should win Oscar Isaac the awards if those associations got their heads straight
 
C

Cohsae

Member
Wasicsko is an interesting person and I can't really figure him out. Did he give a shit about the people or did he just want glory? Seems like he did the right thing but at least partly for the wrong reasons.
 
H

Herbs

Banned
Oscar Isaac is killing it. Reminds me of the early years of Pacino. It's nice to see that level of acting again.
 
D

Dabanton

Member
It was very painful seeing him slowly meltdown. Great acting but very sad.

Oscar Issac is now one of those actors where I will watch a movie or show simply to watch him such a great actor,very versatile.

Although the subject is not sexy me and my SO have been watching the two episodes each week and loving them,seeing these disparate storylines slowly bare fruit.

Love the scenes of the women in the new houses getting scared of all the bumps and creeks of the new homes.

Cohsae said:
Wasicsko is an interesting person and I can't really figure him out. Did he give a shit about the people or did he just want glory? Seems like he did the right thing but at least partly for the wrong reasons.
Click to expand...

I think he was slightly mad that he put it all on the line and was scrubbed from history/no one seemed to give a shit. That and wanting to be liked all mixed up into what turned into a poisonous obsession.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Discotheque said:
Holy cow was that last 5 minutes gut wrenching. Series is the best thing simon's done since s4 of the wire imo

That scene in that attic should win Oscar Isaac the awards if those associations got their heads straight
Click to expand...
He'll certainly be a lock for major nominations.

RatskyWatsky said:
Great ending to a great miniseries. Simon is 2/2 for me.
Generation Kill and this.
Click to expand...
... are you suggesting you haven't seen The Wire? I'll forgive Treme, but c'mon.
 
S

see5harp

Member
Cohsae said:
Wasicsko is an interesting person and I can't really figure him out. Did he give a shit about the people or did he just want glory? Seems like he did the right thing but at least partly for the wrong reasons.
Click to expand...

A little of both. I like initially he was just trying to be compliant since there was no other option. I think once he was nominated for the award he decided that he was going to run with "being on the right side of history" since it benefitted him to say that in any future campaign. I do think they tried to make him into more of a hero than he likely was in real life with all of the door to door stuff and visiting the housing projects on his own free time.
 
G

gdt

Member
see5harp said:
A little of both. I like initially he was just trying to be compliant since there was no other option. I think once he was nominated for the award he decided that he was going to run with "being on the right side of history" since it benefitted him to say that in any future campaign. I do think they tried to make him into more of a hero than he likely was in real life with all of the door to door stuff and visiting the housing projects on his own free time.
Click to expand...

I think going around checking out the houses and the lottery and stuff wasn't to make him look like a hero. It made him look sad and desperate. He was dying for a hello and to be noticed.
 
J

Jonm1010

Banned
Just finished. Such a tragic ending. Nick was certainly a fascinating character. As Simon said in the BTS, he wasn't a true hero nor were there true villains though.

Nick got caught in a sad, depressive spiral and unlike Winona's character he couldn't escape it. He was a good guy but one you never could fully get behind because Simon made it clear that his motivations were rarely pure and he didn't shy away from putting a microscope to them. But that was also the brilliance of it. As that is what most heroes we put on a pedestal are if you strip away the nice coat of paint we go over them with to hide their flaws.
 
L

lednerg

Member
So I just got lost on YouTube looking for old footage of Yonkers and found some gems.

Here's a short section of a news piece by Peter Jennings from 1986 talking about the situation in Yonkers. The first two minutes cover school integration, and then it moves on to the subject of the new housing units. Protest organizer Jack O'Toole makes an appearance, as does NAACP attorney Mike Sussman and Mayor Angelo Martinelli. There's also some residents interviewed who are incredibly hostile to the idea of black folk moving across the street.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ImocOq8e8Y

Next is a playlist of a news show called 48 Hours which aired in 1988. The episode is called "Not On My Street" and it's just fantastic. It starts off with lots of scenes in Yonkers City Hall which were recreated for Show Me a Hero (including a helicopter flyover), and then moves on to cover various aspects of the situation. It's separated into 5 or six mini stories, all worth watching. We see various people from Show Me a Hero such as Mike Wasicsko, Jack O'Toole, Mike Sussman (in an insane TV studio yelling match), and Mary Dorman. It also includes plenty of cheesy 80's commercials, including the Noid and a Bush-Quayle ad shaming Dukakis for being anti-environmental.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l27X9CZz9Vw&list=PLIwT3Ccq2SFA8LuOMNID3nvASOKr0m5Yx

Finally, a horrible quality but still great video of a Yonkers City Council meeting from 1989. It features a mic-slapping Hank Spallone and Mayor Mike Wasicsko trading jabs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QL8CKQugs0
 
T

Tugatrix

Member
lednerg said:
So I just got lost on YouTube looking for old footage of Yonkers and found some gems.

Here's a short section of a news piece by Peter Jennings from 1986 talking about the situation in Yonkers. The first two minutes cover school integration, and then it moves on to the subject of the new housing units. Protest organizer Jack O'Toole makes an appearance, as does NAACP attorney Mike Sussman and Mayor Angelo Martinelli. There's also some residents interviewed who are incredibly hostile to the idea of black folk moving across the street.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ImocOq8e8Y

Next is a playlist of a news show called 48 Hours which aired in 1988. The episode is called "Not On My Street" and it's just fantastic. It starts off with lots of scenes in Yonkers City Hall which were recreated for Show Me a Hero (including a helicopter flyover), and then moves on to cover various aspects of the situation. It's separated into 5 or six mini stories, all worth watching. We see various people from Show Me a Hero such as Mike Wasicsko, Jack O'Toole, Mike Sussman (in an insane TV studio yelling match), and Mary Dorman. It also includes plenty of cheesy 80's commercials, including the Noid and a Bush-Quayle ad shaming Dukakis for being anti-environmental.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l27X9CZz9Vw&list=PLIwT3Ccq2SFA8LuOMNID3nvASOKr0m5Yx

Finally, a horrible quality but still great video of a Yonkers City Council meeting from 1989. It features a mic-slapping Hank Spallone and Mayor Mike Wasicsko trading jabs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QL8CKQugs0
Click to expand...

Fascinating, many thanks

Damn Oscar Isaac really nailed the mannerisms of wasciscko
 
L

lednerg

Member
Tugatrix said:
Fascinating, many thanks

Damn Oscar Isaac really nailed the mannerisms of wasciscko
Click to expand...

He really did him justice. Absolutely.

This is a Charlie Rose interview with Oscar Isaac and David Simon which aired before the show. It's through Hulu, so adjust your ad blocker accordingly:

http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60603570

I had avoided watching this because of spoilers and then forgot about it, but I just finished it now. Isaac talks about watching old videos of Wasicsko as well as meeting with his widow, Nay, for research. And Simon is great, as he always is. The two of them are very impressive people. I've only seen Isaac in Ex Machina before this, and was blown away by that. His performance in Show Me a Hero as well as this interview proves to me that he's not only extraordinarily talented, he's also a very insightful and empathetic person.
 
N

Net_Wrecker

Member
Finally watched this after I completely forgot about the first 2 weeks :X

Fantastic mini-series. I hope HBO never stops being crazy and funding David Simon's projects no matter how small his audience is. Great acting, casting, and production design driving an important, complex story. In a just world this would rack up Emmys but, well, it's a David Simon joint so....
 
A

Arment

Member
lednerg said:
So I just got lost on YouTube looking for old footage of Yonkers and found some gems.

Here's a short section of a news piece by Peter Jennings from 1986 talking about the situation in Yonkers. The first two minutes cover school integration, and then it moves on to the subject of the new housing units. Protest organizer Jack O'Toole makes an appearance, as does NAACP attorney Mike Sussman and Mayor Angelo Martinelli. There's also some residents interviewed who are incredibly hostile to the idea of black folk moving across the street.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ImocOq8e8Y

Next is a playlist of a news show called 48 Hours which aired in 1988. The episode is called "Not On My Street" and it's just fantastic. It starts off with lots of scenes in Yonkers City Hall which were recreated for Show Me a Hero (including a helicopter flyover), and then moves on to cover various aspects of the situation. It's separated into 5 or six mini stories, all worth watching. We see various people from Show Me a Hero such as Mike Wasicsko, Jack O'Toole, Mike Sussman (in an insane TV studio yelling match), and Mary Dorman. It also includes plenty of cheesy 80's commercials, including the Noid and a Bush-Quayle ad shaming Dukakis for being anti-environmental.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l27X9CZz9Vw&list=PLIwT3Ccq2SFA8LuOMNID3nvASOKr0m5Yx

Finally, a horrible quality but still great video of a Yonkers City Council meeting from 1989. It features a mic-slapping Hank Spallone and Mayor Mike Wasicsko trading jabs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QL8CKQugs0
Click to expand...

That council meeting video is incredible. The show makes them seem a lot more civil.
 
D

Dabanton

Member
RatskyWatsky said:
The 'zomg best show evarrr!!1!!' cult that surrounds the show is what's kept me away to be honest.
Click to expand...

That's the problem with popular shows though. Especially when a large part of the audience comes to the show late. I notice those people are more likely to make these shows out to be the 'best ever' Breaking Bad,The Sopranos each of them when I've know someone who came to them late tend to over evangelise.

You shouldn't let that put you watching what is a fantastic shows. I don't get involved in best ever shows nonsense but the Wire is easily in the top pantheon of vital TV shows worth watching.
 
M

maxcriden

Member
Really impressed with the show. Generation Kill was good, y'all are saying? How explicit is the content in that one?

see5harp said:
A little of both. I like initially he was just trying to be compliant since there was no other option. I think once he was nominated for the award he decided that he was going to run with "being on the right side of history" since it benefitted him to say that in any future campaign. I do think they tried to make him into more of a hero than he likely was in real life with all of the door to door stuff and visiting the housing projects on his own free time.
Click to expand...

In addition to gdt's reply above, interestingly enough in the behind the scenes posted above for parts 5 & 6, the showrunners explain that he really did visit the townhouses (and, I think they said, he went to the lottery as well).

lednerg said:
So I just got lost on YouTube looking for old footage of Yonkers and found some gems.
Click to expand...

Wow, incredible finds. I'll have to check these out. Thank you!
 
M

maquiladora

Member
RatskyWatsky said:
The 'zomg best show evarrr!!1!!' cult that surrounds the show is what's kept me away to be honest.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't call it the best show ever, but it certainly worth watching.

I avoided Breaking Bad for years because of that type of hyperbole you refer to so I know what you mean.
 
T

Trey

Member
Finally finished. Stunning show. This small-time-but-still-important level of politics is why I find the entire thing so engrossing. So many games being played, so many stories intersecting.

The one snag I did have was that certain scenes felt too dramatic to me, if that makes sense. There was a consistent tone of the show that was grounded, but the pitch would peak every now and again in a wink-wink nudge-nudge sort of way. It felt like I was watching real people do real things, and a certain scene would roll around and I'd go "oh yeah, these are clearly actors acting."

All the same, great stuff.
 
J

jayu26

Member
Started this today on this fine Labour Day afternoon. Just finished the whole thing in one sitting. Great writing and direction, but this show was all about natural acting from the entire cast, specially Oscar Isaac and Catherine Keener.

Also, Winona Ryder is still my girl.
 
DeSo

DeSo

Banned
The subject matter didn't seem that interesting to me before viewing but it was absolutely riveting. Incredibly acted too, what a great miniseries.
 
F

Frog-fu

Banned
lednerg said:
So I just got lost on YouTube looking for old footage of Yonkers and found some gems.

Here's a short section of a news piece by Peter Jennings from 1986 talking about the situation in Yonkers. The first two minutes cover school integration, and then it moves on to the subject of the new housing units. Protest organizer Jack O'Toole makes an appearance, as does NAACP attorney Mike Sussman and Mayor Angelo Martinelli. There's also some residents interviewed who are incredibly hostile to the idea of black folk moving across the street.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ImocOq8e8Y

Next is a playlist of a news show called 48 Hours which aired in 1988. The episode is called "Not On My Street" and it's just fantastic. It starts off with lots of scenes in Yonkers City Hall which were recreated for Show Me a Hero (including a helicopter flyover), and then moves on to cover various aspects of the situation. It's separated into 5 or six mini stories, all worth watching. We see various people from Show Me a Hero such as Mike Wasicsko, Jack O'Toole, Mike Sussman (in an insane TV studio yelling match), and Mary Dorman. It also includes plenty of cheesy 80's commercials, including the Noid and a Bush-Quayle ad shaming Dukakis for being anti-environmental.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l27X9CZz9Vw&list=PLIwT3Ccq2SFA8LuOMNID3nvASOKr0m5Yx

Finally, a horrible quality but still great video of a Yonkers City Council meeting from 1989. It features a mic-slapping Hank Spallone and Mayor Mike Wasicsko trading jabs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QL8CKQugs0
Click to expand...

Damn. The show is all the more better in my view now for its accuracy.

edit; whoops double post
 
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