# Taboo - FX Television Series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 11, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872 "2017-01-11T16:02:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/1 "2017-01-11T16:02:23Z")
Last night, the first episode of Taboo aired on FX. I thought it was beautifully shot, and Tom Hardy in the lead roll was fantastic as usual. Looking forward to following this one going forward. I did have a little trouble understanding the thick English accents in a couple of spots, but I actually watched most of the episode again as it re-aired directly after the premier and caught everything I missed. I particularly liked the scene towards the end of the episode at the East India Co., incredibly tense!! I especially liked how a couple of the East India men exhaled and kind of laughed/smiled nervously after Delaney walked out, as if to say “Holy Shit, that was intense!” Anyone else watching? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/2 "2017-01-11T17:10:49Z")
Taped it (well, DVR), but haven’t watched yet. Looking forward to it! ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/3 "2017-01-11T20:03:12Z")
Bailed after about a half-hour. Nothing of any real interest happened. I doubt I’ll go back. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/4 "2017-01-11T20:04:56Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Taped it (well, DVR), but haven’t watched yet. Looking forward to it! Same here. It’s on the DVR and I’ll watch it in the next few days. ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/5 "2017-01-11T20:29:19Z")
> [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](#): > > Bailed after about a half-hour. Nothing of any real interest happened. > > I doubt I’ll go back. Fair enough. I feel like a lot of setting up happened, but definitely in a slow burn kind of way. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/6 "2017-01-11T20:33:08Z")
To be fair (again without having watched it), it’s the first episode of eight, so not much can be expected to have happened. Plus the first episode of any show has to set things up, introducing the characters and the situation. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/7 "2017-01-12T01:11:36Z")
Recorded it. I have no interest in this show other than it’s on FX, and FX stuff is generally stellar. On that basis alone I’ll give the pilot a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/8 "2017-01-12T19:56:32Z")
> [@Clawdio](#): > > Fair enough. I feel like a lot of setting up happened, but definitely in a slow burn kind of way. That’s how I’ve described it to others: a lot of setting-up, and it feels like the payoff is going to be _huge_, but very little actually happened. Well, apart from finding out what the show’s title is referring to. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/9 "2017-01-13T19:48:08Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Recorded it. I have no interest in this show other than it’s on FX, and FX stuff is generally stellar. On that basis alone I’ll give the pilot a shot. tbf, it’s a BBC production with FX throwing a little cash into the hat: [Taboo (2017 TV series) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboo_(2017_TV_series)) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/10 "2017-01-13T19:54:17Z")
I tried to watch it. Just didn’t see anything interesting. Maybe as the story moves on it will be worth some time. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/11 "2017-01-14T01:02:54Z")
I was pretty bored and ready to say “well, that’s it for me” until the final scene with the East India company reps that OP mentioned. That was a good intense scene, and also finally laid out what to expect for the plot (varying factions jockeying for control of the land left to him by his father). The fact that its designed as a 10-episode, one-off miniseries also makes me more interested in following it (knowing it won’t drag out the plot to get more seasons as so many American shows do). ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2017, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/12 "2017-01-15T13:25:16Z")
We watched it last night, courtesy of On Demand. My husband disagreed with me on what the taboo is. I’m pretty sure I’m right, but I guess we’ll see… or will we? But thank goodness for On Demand - I go to bed at 9 so I can get up at 5 for work - OD is the only way I can see a lot of shows. My only problem was how dark, literally, it was at times. Or maybe it was our TV or my old eyes. A few times, I felt like I was looking at a black screen. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2017, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/13 "2017-01-15T14:13:48Z")
My wife and I liked it a lot. A lot of scene setting, but very beautifully (and sometimes grimly) shot and performed. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/14 "2017-01-15T16:12:57Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > We watched it last night, courtesy of On Demand. My husband disagreed with me on what the taboo is. Weren’t we were told of one taboo that was violated; that the main character is the son of an Englishman and a Native American/First Nations woman? But perhaps at the time, it was expected that an English gentleman who was overseas for an extended period might have a native mistress. But in the letter from his sister at the end, she said she hoped he wouldn’t mention whatever happened ten years previously. And at another point, he spied on a young boy, presumably his son. So are he and his half-sister the boy’s biological parents? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/15 "2017-01-16T12:18:13Z")
Yeah, I figured the boy that the peasant was raising was the child of semi-incest. The mixed marriage never even occurred to me as a taboo… ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/16 "2017-01-18T03:03:31Z")
I liked it…I like whatever Tom Hardy does…even weird things.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/17 "2017-01-26T22:47:21Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > We watched it last night, courtesy of On Demand. My husband disagreed with me on what the taboo is. I’m pretty sure I’m right, but I guess we’ll see… or will we? But thank goodness for On Demand - I go to bed at 9 so I can get up at 5 for work - OD is the only way I can see a lot of shows. > > My only problem was how dark, literally, it was at times. Or maybe it was our TV or my old eyes. A few times, I felt like I was looking at a black screen. Planning to watch tonight. I have not seen any of it at all, but I’d be very surprised if the writers meant for the title to refer to only one thing. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/18 "2017-01-26T23:11:49Z")
I’m almost caught up, and I’m liking it a lot. Reviews commented about how it’s essentially just Tom Hardy growling at Victorian England, and it is. In the best way possible. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/19 "2017-01-27T14:39:41Z")
Oooooh, I really liked it!! It has the look and feel of _Rome_ (including one of the major characters), which I guess is part of its BBC heritage. And I love that it’s only 8 episodes so the writers aren’t so tempted to get sloppy. Only watched the first episode last night, but looking forward to catching up over the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2017, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872/20 "2017-01-27T15:52:57Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I’m almost caught up, and I’m liking it a lot. > > Reviews commented about how it’s essentially just Tom Hardy growling at Victorian England, and it is. In the best way possible. Yes, I’m not sure who else I can picture playing Delaney. It’s almost scenery chewing yet Hardy pulls it off very well. I didn’t care for Oona Chaplin but she’s starting to grow on me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taboo-fx-television-series/776872.md?page=2)