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i'm too thin
Also thought I'd post this.
Active Member
All of the songs she wrote for the show are amazing.
Active Member
There's a soundtrack out now, but it doesn't have any of T-Bone's wonderful score from both seasons.
FATUM NOS IUNGET
Talking with my father-in-law yesterday about the unbelievable cinematography in that Vince Vaughn scene in the desert. It was so good.
Active Member
Ah, you're right.Originally Posted by NYRexall
After this season being over for a couple of weeks, I'm going to weigh in that asmuch as I wanted this to be successful, and I do think Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell did the best the could with the material they had, the story just was not as compelling. I mean, imagine if Colin Farrell had got the Rust role? Wow.
FATUM NOS IUNGET
That would've been so sick. I also agree that now that it's over...I'd probably say the worst thing about Season 2 was the story itself. The acting was stellar.
Quiet Member
Xfiniti has had a free trial of HBO, Showtime, Stars, and CineMax shows on demand the last few days, so I've been binge-watching a bunch of stuff I've missed while basically living on the road the last few years.
I'm about halfway through Season One of "True Detective" and HOLY FUCKBALLS I can definitely see why everyone loves it so much. What a GREAT fucking show!
All I'd seen before was an episode or two of Season Two, which I though were great, but I guess I can understand now how much it had to live up to and why it might have disappointed some viewers, I guess. Still looking forward to checking it out in full next and giving it a fair shake, though.
If nothing else, it AT LEAST earns points for Rachel McAdams begging to take it up the ass, lol. Off-camera, of course. But still.
Speaking of which, WOW @ What's-her-face Daddario! Just saw her bounce her way through San Andreas the other day, regretted not catching her in 3D, and totally DID NOT expect her fully-nude scene! Jeeezus. My gf wasn't even really watching and even she sat up and was impressed, ffs.
No surprise that chick's been cast in the new "Baywatch" show, amirite? Never gave a fuck about the old show...but GODDAMN I will MOST CERTAINLY tune into the new one to catch a glimpse of her slo-mo bikini jogs from time to time, lol. Mmm.
O_O
Active Member
Still haven't finished the second season...
Quiet Member
Just started Season Two and it turns out the first episode I saw MONTHS ago happened to be the first of the season! So that was pretty lucky and awesome. Rewatched it from the start just refresh my memory and better compare it with Season One and I actually think it holds up well despite everyone's whining.
The first episode of S2 just sets up everything so smoothly and does SO much great character work. I love the loser cop who desperately WANTS to connect with his chubby son but who's just too far gone and lunkheaded to know how to do it any better than telling him to man up and beating the shit out of his bully's dad, lol. And the uptight hardass chick cop alone in the locker room who emasculates her guy for not getting freaky enough with her on demand yet freaks out over her sister pulling solo webcam action. And let's not forget the CHiP with ED who ties all three narratives together just in time for the climax of the episode!
Speaking of which, I'm not a sports guy so I never saw "Friday Night Lights," but I always thought Taylor Kitsch showed promise as Gambit and John Carter, so it's cool finally see him in something that's actually worth a damn for a change. Same goes for Vince Vaughn! Been a while.
Definitely worth mentioning the music, too. Love the Cohen-esque opening titles song and the chick at the bar singing about her "least favorite life." And OMFG NICK CAVE WITH WARREN ELLIS IS ALWAYS A WIN. The music in Season One was great and the second season's music is possibly even better.
Absolutely ZERO problems with S2 so far.
\m/
Banned
True Detectve Season 2 was doomed to be shit on from the beginning. People immediately felt like it could never live up to the first season and found every possible thing reason could to dump on it. It was "too deep" and "too complex" and "I can't pay attention for more than three minutes in today's world and now the show doesn't make sense" and "I saw a review of the show by some dipshit over at the AV Club so that must mean its awful" on and on and on.
People are idiots. There was nothing wrong with Season 2. It was its own animal and was doing its own thing. People harshed on it up and down and yet couldn't stop watching it. Go figure.
Quiet Member
Sounds about right!
Man, I binged my way through Season One in a little over a day. Been a little too busy to do the same for Season Two, so I've only managed to chip my way through to its midway point at the end of S2E4...but OMFG that EPIC fucking shootout! Forcible distractions aside, I have been positively GLUED to the TV for this show.
As a minor but relevant sidenote, I really like the way both seasons had the confidence in their audience to just spout cop-talk jargon and undefined acronyms with minimal or, at best, fast-paced and incidental context clues. I do a lot of proofreading of military technical manuals as a side-job from time-to-time, so I've developed a bit of a love/hate relationship with the lingo and abbreviations and I've really appreciated the air of authenticity which their casual, matter of fact usage lends the proceedings. KAs for what I eventually determined to be Known Associates, DBs for Dead Bodies, and CIs for Confidential Informants all leap to mind. Loved the way the automatic, withering gunfire clearly decimated the ranks and rattled the nerves of the otherwise hardassed cops played by McAdams and Farrel, yet ex-military Kitcsh just found cover, called out "CONTACT! SECOND FLOOR!" while laying down cover fire and moving in all calm, cool, collected and completely at home in his element the entire time. Fucking GREAT stuff.
But I digress!
It really IS disappointing to see how much such a FANTASTIC second season has been so utterly shit upon by its ostensible fanbase. I don't really see why anyone who could get with the first season shouldn't be TOTALLY down with the second.
I guess it's just one of those cases where the artists trusts in their audience and the audience lets them down, unfortunately. Pretty cool that Harrelson and McConaughey are still executive producers even after its not really a vanity project for them anymore. Hopefully, the backlash from fans won't weaken their resolve and Season Three will still come at us hardcore and kick JUST as much ass as Seasons One and Two have.
Fucking LOVE this show.
Active Member
This is such a dumb argument. Season 2 sucked, whether season 1 was good or not. Take Fargo for example. Season 1 was pretty incredible and I certainly had my doubts that season 2 would be able to live up to it, but so far season 2 has been fantastic. As good, if not better than 1. Season 2 of TD didn't suck because it couldn't live up to the hype, it just sucked.
Active Member
Didn't like Season 2... it had some decent acting with Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn, but the story was weak and the direction was subpar. The first season was tense and had a sense of movement towards doom while sadly the second season meandered and felt loosely connected. Perhaps not having the same director handle the whole season was the problem. Cary Joji Fukunaga was a huge part of Season 1's greatness, the tone and build up. I don't think this show's storytelling benefits from multiple directors. It needs a singular vision. Another reason the second season felt disjointed. Also, the first season was big on dialogue and the connection between its main characters. Another area the second season failed at. Again, some great moments with Farrell and Vaughn, but the writing was nowhere near the level of the first season. Nothing about second season's dialogue was enlightening nor thought provoking. Another area where the first season excelled at. It's hard to top season 1 with Fukunaga's great direction and storytelling, the main leads' stellar acting, and compelling dialogue.
Last edited by neorev; 12-02-2015 at 02:09 PM.
Banned
It's not really a dumb argument. I like what I like, you like what you like.
If you think my opinion is wrong and that makes me an idiot for liking something you didn't...that's a dumb argument.
Active Member
But that wasn't your argument at all. You want to like what you like, great, more power to you. But you specifically said "People are idiots. There was nothing wrong with season 2." So basically, you said exactly what you're saying I shouldn't say, which I didn't.
Banned
Yea, but I supported my argument with facts: people hated it but kept watching anyway. So WTF? They're idiots. Why keep watching something you don't like then?
Whereas you're just like "Dumb argument, it sucked." At least provide some context to support that, the way Neorev did.
Only By Night
I didn't find the writing to be as bad as everyone makes it out to be at all. I found it clever at times, and you don't need to have thought provoking writing to make it good writing. A lot of it fit the atmosphere of the show which had many noiresque elements to it, and all the characters in my eyes seemed very believe from the respected roles. I feel like everyone hated it more because it wasn't so "In Your Face" and straight forward with what it was trying to portray. It was complex at times, you really had to pay attention, and for me, I still found myself trying to put the pieces together as the season went along and even re-watched some episodes that had me thinking about the little things I may have missed. For me, Season 1 was more of a spoon feeding and gave everyone what the ultimately wanted. There was too much comparing the first season with the second, it really just overshadowed and never really let the second season breath. For me, people seemed to keep getting confused and that is what turned a lot of people off from it. I enjoyed the second season a lot, and that scene with Vaughn walking in the desert.... fucking genius.
Active Member
I don't like season 2 all that much, and I kept watching it in the hopes that something would redeem it. And just because I don't like it as a whole doesn't mean I can't like elements of it, elements that can keep me watching.
Plus, don't forget, this is an anthology series. If this season were a regular show with multiple seasons, I would have quit a few episodes in. But because this was an anthology series, I chose to watch it through to the end since at the end of the day, it's really not that many episodes.
I'm not the type of person who switches a movie off halfway through if I'm not digging it. I'm with it until the end because even if you end up not liking the thing as a whole, you might find parts you enjoy that make it worth watching through.
Active Member
Exactly, same here. I wanted to follow through and watch it completely and give it a chance. So I felt I had the right to give a proper response. There were little things here and there that I did like, kept me tuning in and waiting for something big and redeeming to happen. Something to make me say to myself "You dope, you would have quit watching this and missed this moment." But sadly, I was left disappointed after the finale. I really wanted to enjoy it and wanted them reach the same level of greatness the first season had even with a new cast and story. It has hints of David Lynch. There were moments where it wanted to or hinted at taking things in a stranger direction, but then didn't go there. Either go for it or don't. This balancing on the fence felt like the season couldn't find its own voice. Moments tried hard to be a bit strange/otherworldly like the first season, but then pulled back. The Leftovers completely switched up things with the second season and it has been frigging stellar. I quite enjoyed its first season, but wow have they gone a different route with the second season... and it's been one hell of a ride.
Active Member
*bump* got a notification that brought me back to this thread. I do see any new posts, but has there been any news on season 3 yet?
^^ I feel the same way about the show. The second season was a poor follow-up, but if considered as it's own singular piece of work, it was great. The movie analogy is perfect, and I apply the same, but slightly backward approach, to TV shows, and emphasize and explain this approach when I'm recommending a show to someone. When I watch a new show, I give it 3 hours of screen time to hook me. If it doesn't hook me in 3 hours, I drop it, but it's no time wasted because it's just what I would have spent if I'd gone to a theater and seen a bad movie.
Active Member
Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who loved the second season, lol. And I don't even want to compare the two, it should be obvious it's like an anthology or what you call it. I really dug how it got a dark ending where basically everyone lost.
Active Member
Because you probably are. I never finished.
Stubby Member
I thought the second season was very good.
Only By Night
Nah, definitely not the only one.
Active Member
I liked it too. I had a couple of issues with the kid, and how that was handled...also I thought it mashed everything together way too fast.
Active Member
To many people, I would actually recommend watching the second season first. It's faster, has more storylines (still with great actors), nice twists and you have no fucking idea what is going on exactly, so you are just as lost as the characters. I know people who would eat it up much easier, than a spiritual case which starts out very exciting but gets flatter and flatter, and basically turns into a character drama. A very, very, VERY good character drama, there are some insane scenes with these folks, and we are (obviously) more invested in 2 main characters than in 4. Season two is much more similar to a regular crime series, but we get to watch it from one of the bad guys' perspective as well, and as I said, because it's also a standalone season, it could have the dark ending it got, instead of everyone riding into the sunset on a horse. It had bigger heartbreaking moments actually than Season 1.
Thanks to Lera Lynn, S2 blows out S1 from the water in the original score department, those bar scenes were fucking amazing, and watching the final episode while she was singing was really powerful too. The only main character I was not actively rooting for was Bezeredes, I think they could have done a much-much better job with her. She was nice to have on the team, but the writers kept her cold for too long, and I just hated the scenes with her father - spirituality worked great for Season 1, there was no reason to force it into S2, especially not in such an idiotic way.
All in all, I can understand how many were disappointed in S2, after expecting another "let's write a so-so story, put Matthew Mcconaughey in it and let him carry it", but by no means S2 is bad. At worst, it's watchable once with its ups and downs - can't take anyone seriously, who were fans, but claim they can't finish the second season. Unless of course they did not know before that every season will be a standalone one.
As for S3, I did not read anything so far, but I trust Pizzolatto to make something unique and cool again. Who knows, maybe this time we'll only have one main character! I'm not counting back the days already, but I will definitely check it out.
Active Member
I found the second season to be boring. It did nothing for me. I didn't even finish the season. Not sure if I ever will. Maybe it's because the first season is on such a high pedestal, I dunno. But, aside from one cliffhanger midway through the season, it was pretty meh.
Active Member
If you watched it halfway that's just all the more reason to finish it. At least the many clusterfucks they hoarded in the first part of the season have a use in them. And the character-drama part gets stronger. Ray watching TV with his son... I don't know, maybe because of my father-issues, but that was a pretty sad scene, and the finale just takes it to a whole new level. I got to like Paul much more, when they went deeper with him than "needs viagra to fuck", and Frank was likeable since the start imo, but they kinda explain it how he had to be a hard-ass to even survive. As I said, Bezzerides' story is the least exciting, at least for me, but the her drugged infiltration scene was pretty cool.
I forgot a lot, but thinking about the last episodes still makes me excited. It's really cool when they are finally on the offensive, unveil some deep-deep corruption shit, and then baaaaaaaaam, it's like they accidentally hit an alarm-switch and everything turns to shit, and suddenly the 4 people who had all the time in the world to figure out what happened are put on a clock to save their lives.
A perfect season would be first part of S1 and second parrt of S2 put together. S1 had a great opening with the case and with the characters, but S2 really outdid itself with how it tied up all the threads towards the end.
And I can't repeat it enough: a dark ending is the best ending. I have nothing but respect to those writers, creators and showrunners who don't bullshit around with sugar-coating everything and try to choke you with some fake morale of the story, that if you are honest and hard-working you will be rewarded. Hell, I just got depressed thinking back to it, because in hindsight, that was the most fucked up ending to a series I've ever seen. [Aside from series based on historical events]
Active Member
Not sure why. But, I went and bought season two on blu ray. Giving it another shot. Trying to approach it differently. Two episodes in and I'm already noticing little things I might have missed before.
Banned
lol didn't I tell people this would happen when they went back to it later? I truly enjoyed season two, despite the significant backlash it garnered.
Are they not making a season three? I haven't heard dick about it and GoT is about to start next week. TD usually followed it the week after the season ended, if I'm not mistaken..
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