I finally got around to watching the pilot and I found it impossibly bad. The acting and writing were especially horrific. I’m going to give it another chance and watch the next few episodes after that but so far I’m baffled at the praise.
TotallyEffed said: "I finally got around to watching the pilot and I found it impossibly bad. The acting and writing were especially horrific. I’m going to give it another chance and watch the next few episodes after that but so far I’m baffled at the praise."
I was also feeling so so about the pilot but hung in there because it seemed there were going to be a lot of storylines. I credit them for doing a good job, so far, of balancing them all and integrating them. JMO
I watched episode 2 and it was significantly better, but still not very good. No grit, all the actors look like beautiful models, and every scenario is just so incredibly unrealistic. Why do they have luxury apartments? Gorgeous clothes, makeup, hair?
No one would question any of the girls based on appearance, they look like Gap models ready for a fashion shoot.
The acting from Elektra is not even laughably bad, just pathetic. I love camp but this isn’t camp. It’s a Disneyfied version of an incredibly rich and fabulous culture and time.
I understand people want to feel represented and that is totally valid and I absolutely agree we need more diversity and representation. But I’ve seen some really GOOD work with trans actors of color and this just looks pathetic in comparison. I saw Tangerine in theaters three times, I loved it that much. Is it too much to ask to have good writing, acting, and direction? I guess so.
So far I’m only investing in Mj’s character and Evan Peters. I will probably end up watching the whole thing. I will stop being so critical and just try to enjoy it. It’s just difficult when the writing is so bad. How is the young dancer affording the school? The shoes and dance clothing? Food?!
None of them have luxury apartments. A sh*thole in the Bronx is not a nice place. A sex parlor is not a nice place. The only home you could have seen in the first two episodes considered "nice" would be Stan's home in Jersey. Most of them don't look like models in any sense (with the exception of Angel). Going into this show it seems you wanted to hate it, when in fact it's a brilliant show about struggle within that period of time that is breaking barriers and getting many award nominations.
Billy Porter’s apartment looked absolutely gorgeous. Is his character wealthy? They mentioned he works at Macy’s. He’s also wearing what looks like couture in many scenes he’s in. Will they explain how Mj’s character is affording her apartment with rooms for her children? Even if it’s run down, it’s huge and wouldn’t be super cheap. Stan’s apartment also looks laughably modern and fancy.
Pepper LaBeija lived with her mother.
Angel and Elektra especially look like models to me. They are perfect from head to toe, outfits and makeup included.
I definitely don’t want to hate it, the opening scene was just so laughably bad that it was hard to take it seriously from then on. Again, I’m only on the second episode. It’s certainly groundbreaking in its casting but other than that, it’s far from brilliant, at least so far. I will stick with it for at least a few more episodes.
NYC was very cheap in the 80's due to many things but mostly crime. You can read statistics about it if you want. The Bronx was a very dangerous, run down place to live then. It has been the poorest County in New York State for decades.
I don't think you live(d) in New York City or have done much research about it. From 1980 - 2000 it became a totally different place, and rents skyrocketed in the late 90's and never stopped.
I live in New York and know it was considerably cheaper in the 80s. I’m just wondering what Blanca’s job is. Again, I’m only on episode two and maybe this will be explained.
A little more grit would be appreciated, I just find the look of the show to be far too squeaky clean and beautiful.
The hospital scenes, the sex parlor scenes, and the dock scenes will be very gritty for you.
The Bronx still has massive apartments like that but are broken down, full of vermin, with horrible management. You can have a big apartment but it's cheap because of the location and crime rate. My apartment in Inwood looked very similar to that one in the early 2000's. Three bedroom, massive, and cheap.
TotallyEffed said: "I live in New York and know it was considerably cheaper in the 80s. I’m just wondering what Blanca’s job is. Again, I’m only on episode two and maybe this will be explained.
A little more grit would be appreciated, I just find the look of the show to be far too squeaky clean and beautiful."
Keep watching. The episode where they sing Home at the AIDS ward was thrilling.
Is it a perfectly performed and produced show? Not by any means, but it is so cool that FX has a program like this. It is so different. I never thought I would ever see a program like it in my lifetime. For those of us who survived the first 30 years of the AIDS crisis, AZT, public scrutiny and the lack of government support it is very emotional. The program also has a lot to say about how friends can become your family and to go for your dreams no matter what the obstacles are. The themes are very universal..
TotallyEffed said: "I live in New York and know it was considerably cheaper in the 80s. I’m just wondering what Blanca’s job is. Again, I’m only on episode two and maybe this will be explained.
A little more grit would be appreciated, I just find the look of the show to be far too squeaky clean and beautiful."
Back in those days we were quite resourceful. we didn't have anywhere near the shopping options there are today. Making your own clothes or making them for others was common. You could find wonderful things in thrift stores. When you went out, what you wore was important. In the 80's, in my community, creasing your jeans was a big thing. You bought nice pieces of clothing every once in a while and you took really good care of them and mixed and matched them with other clothing. I am assuming you may have seen how Elektra's house got their clothing.
As far as the homes, as mentioned, back then in a lot of areas, the apartments were big. Look at Blanca's place. it is huge but it is obviously not a palace. That is how a lot of us lived back then. And with roommates. A lot of furniture was used or left in the apartments or bought cheap.
The look of this series brings back a flood of memories for me of the 80's. While the "rich and famous" were living fabulous lifestyles, we lived ours in our own way without all the money. And they were some of the happiest years of my life. Oh, and for a lot of that time I worked in a kitchen washing dishes and making salads in a popular small restaurant in South Philly.
Here’s my unpopular opinion - that was the worst episode of the entire series. I get how important the subject matter was but halfway through I went back to the beginning to see if Ryan Murphy had written it himself, and he sure did. The man is great at creating and directing but when it comes to writing, he’s like a kid with ADD and a bowl of sugar he’s inhaling. His “A Very Special Episode” eps on all his shows follow the same formula. Characters all come together and start to do things and behave in ways that their characters would never behave and say things they’d never say in order to give the illusion of change. But I GUAR-F*CKING-TEA you that by next week or the week after, every lesson learned, every character who “changed” will be back the way they were and WORSE. This is a scientific fact on Ryan Murphy shows going back to the mid 90s and he will never fail to do it.
Jordan - I agree that starting next week everyone will forget what they were "supposed" to learn but I disagree that it was the worst episode. It could have very easily drowned in corniness but I thought it was beautiful. I was in tears by the end of the episode and I think Angelica Ross deserves an Emmy nomination for it.
"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2
I guess knowing that in Murphy-land, all the sentiment means nothing just took me completely out of it. He does this on literally every single show he writes for.
I thought it was predicable, boring, and I just did not care. Candy got a lot of screen time at the beginning, and it was very focused on her so I figured she was going to die. She was being even more of a bitch than normal. Throwing things in a restaurant? The last two episodes were poorly done, the season started off really strong, so I hope it straightens out. Ryan Murphy is good at creating series, but that seems to be about it.