Inspired by the pirate master thread title.
Last week on John From Cincinnatti, I gave up. Big Love should be pissed that they lost their sunday night home for this.
However, I put in my time, and would like to hear from those who are still watching what happens. Preferably in a couple paragraphs with appropriate snark.
Myself, I got no snark. Sure, I’d rather have Deadwood, but I’m really trying to figure out what’s going on here.
“And a Roy Rogers for my young friend.”
Me to.
“one tall, and one short” 
Did anyone else notice last week when john briefly appeared (sort of a flash really) “The Beast” was written on his wetsuit?
No, I did not notice that. Hmmm…
The show is already running on fumes.
Maybe it is nothing. I just did a quick search and apparently Butchie’s pro surfer name was Butchie “The Beast” Yost. So maybe John was just wearing one of his wetsuits. I find it is hard to believe there is anything in this series that does not have meaning. I don’t know what most of the meaning is but I get the sense that it is there…
I just can’t fathom the idea that somebody as accomplished as Milch would piss directly into the faces of a willing audience nor that HBO would allow him to do so. I keep waiting for some evidence that that is not precisely what is going on.
If you had told me at the outset that we would need ten or more episodes to find out if an uncommunicative kid would ever make it in the surfing world while those around him struggled to make sense out of traffic lights and shuffleboard courts, I would have said “No, thanks” and bypassed the experience the way I have most other HBO offerings. But on the strength of The Sopranos, Rome, Deadwood, and even Carnivale, I decided to give it a try.
I feel more stupid each passing week.
Flight of the Conchords is all that keeps HBO in our house. That and boxing.
I keep saying I’m going to quit watching this dreck but the instinct to plop down on the couch in front of HBO on Sunday nights is hard to ignore. Hopefully something better will be appearing soon.
I watched last night’s episode. I could be wrong, but I don’t think anything happened.
Unlike other HBO shows (Deadwood, Sopranos, The Wire, Rome, Carnivale), a second viewing of JFC adds absolutely nothing.
Zeldar, have you tried The Wire? I’m late to the show, but it really is what everyone says it is – the best thing on TV, ever.
My reaction to the show has varied since it began. Early on, it was something like, “That was a little odd, but it’s got some interesting characters.”
A few episodes later, it was “I don’t know, this is pretty weird, and I’m not sure where it’s going…”
Last night, all I could say was “What?”
I watched part of one episode well after it had been on. May have even been in the second season. Felt like I needed more background so I didn’t try to catch up that year. (I was also late coming to The Sopranos but did manage to get caught up there with reruns.)
Based on your recommendation, along with the others I’ve seen, I may make Netflix my catch-up solution.
One more thing that keeps me puzzled is how there’s never any significant development in any single character. If you can point one out to me I’ll gladly change my view, but I see the same reactions to similar stimuli in every one of them. It’s almost a Groundhog Day scenario with no forward motion. Folks come and go as if in a dream but without much in the way of flashy graphics and sounds to let you know it’s all a dream. More like a coma.
Zeldar, that bothers me too. I realize that what we’ve seen has taken place in just a few days, so big changes aren’t going to happen with these people. But I think that’s Milch’s fault, for structuring the story this way. What we’ve seen could have been condensed to a two-hour show, or expanded to a twenty-hour mini-series, but not ten hours, when half of those hours consist of scenes that feel like non-sequiturs (sp?).
As for The Wire, check this out.
I gave up after His Visit Day Three. What the hell is this show about? Why can that dude float in the air? Why does John always have something useful in his pockets? Is he a halfling theif with a magical bag?
Flight of the Conchords is the best show on HBO and most of tv right now.
I think that Linc’s quote from the end of last week’s episode says it all for me: “…a million dollars to anyone who can tell me what’s going on here!”
It’s not just that nothing seems to be happening, it’s that there doesn’t seem to be the promise of anything happening anytime soon. It’s like watching Twin Peaks, except that I know that Lynch was making it up as he went, while Milch almost certainly has an arc in his head, he just refuses to tell us (he’s much like John in that way).
I am in love with the Joe Strummer theme, though…
First of all, I think Entourage is a much better and funnier show, although Flight of the Conchords has its moments.
Second, I think what John From Cincinnati is all about is seeing the response of people to someone who is clearly not from this world, although we don’t yet know if he is supposed to be an angel, or Jesus or something else. Basically, these people have been confronted by miracles and their response appears to be hostility towards the person responsible.
Is that the theme music to this show? I was just saying last night how much I like it. It’s a sad commentary when the best part of a show is the opening music…
I’m with those who have given up, but still watch it since there’s not much else to do on Sunday nights. And it’s on right before Entourage.
So, what’s the chance of John not being good after all or at least his father not being the Big Guy upstairs? There was a scene last night where Cass asked him if his father had good intentions. John was silent in response.
I still can’t believe that we’re getting this instead of Deadwood.
Amen.
Milch, if you are reading this, screw you.
Well, Butchie kicked drugs, decided to be a bit more of a grownup towards Shawnie’s mom, attempted to reconnect with his son, and occasionally stood up to his mother.
He’s about the only one who’s made any changes though.