The Deuce (HBO show from The Wire's David Simon)

[AsianTrumpSupporter]

Normally, I wouldn't care about a show about prostitution, pimps, pornography, etc., but this show is from David Simon who was a co-creator/co-show runner of The Wire, which is one of the greatest shows ever made, IMO. However, David Simon hasn't really recreated the magic of The Wire in his shows since then.

Boogie Nights is one of my all time favorite movies, but this show isn't as explosive or as riveting as that movie (yet).

I just watched the first episode titled "The Pilot," which is about 1 1/2 hours. It's set in 1970's New York back when NYC was a scary, seedy place. The show is supposedly about the rise of the porn industry in NYC with everything that comes with it: drugs, the mob, etc.

The first episode was decent in setting the tone of the show, but it didn't really have that compelling nature that The Wire had to keep me watching. I will keep watching the show, but I'm definitely not hooked yet.

The first episode does feature some good character actors/actresses and also has some very good acting by James Franco who plays twin brothers (sort of like Ewan McGregor in season 3 of Fargo). This may be some of the best acting I've seen by Franco so far. He doesn't play it over the top or loud, and this show in general is surprisingly restrained compared to, say, Vinyl. I loved Vinyl, but I also like that this show is more restrained and takes its time.

Based on what I've seen, I am curious to see if they can keep this show interesting and make it compelling enough to last more than 1 season. I'm not convinced yet that they can, but it's still worth a watch. It's also nice to see some other actors from The Wire return to play different characters. Method Man is probably the weakest out of that group, but he wasn't in the first episode very much. Maybe he'll get better later on.

I'd give The Pilot a 6.5/10.

In David Simon's defense, season 1 of The Wire was definitely a slow burn, and I wasn't truly hooked until the end of the first season. But I was hooked enough to keep watching from episode 1.

 

[strollingbones]

pilot was okay....i will give it a chance

there will never be another wire...the cast was beyond excellent...
there will never be another omar

 

[AsianTrumpSupporter]

pilot was okay....i will give it a chance

there will never be another wire...the cast was beyond excellent...
there will never be another omar

I think what made The Wire so compelling is that David Simon brought what he experienced/learned as a crime reporter for the Baltimore Sun and combined it with what Ed Burns experienced/learned as a homicide detective in Baltimore when both were working during a skyrocketing murder rate.

I'm not getting that from The Deuce so far, but I'm willing to give Simon the benefit of the doubt and keep watching.

 

[strollingbones]

the wire was so compelling as was oz...another great hbo show

 

[waltky]

Yeah, it got Maggie Gillenhall in it...

... Uncle Ferd's sweet on her...

... he thinks she's scrumptious.

 

[strollingbones]

damn it that is who i could not name....she is good...the lone hooker without a pimp

 

[AsianTrumpSupporter]

Episode 2: Show and Prove

This episode was better than the first. It starts to show more of the local police, what I think are the Feds, the mob, and the start of the illegal and legal porn industries. 7.5/10

Also, since the trailer was taken down:

 

[AsianTrumpSupporter]

Episode 3: "The Principle Is All"

This episode was directed by James Franco. I can't remember who directed the first two episodes, but Franco's name was prominent in the opening of this episode. I liked this episode the most so far. I don't care for most of the pimp and prostitute characters. The show gets better when they focus on the mob, the cops, the shady people in the porn industry, and Franco and his bar.

8/10

 

[g5000]

The Wire is the best series ever. And Omar is the best bad guy ever. It will be very difficult to top The Wire.

I have up close and personal experience with the New York of the 1970s and 80s. I was so sickened and disgusted by the sewer which NYC became that I don't think I would want to see a show which recreates that period.

In 1986, things had gotten so bad, I found myself standing in Washington Square Park wishing I had an Uzi so I could shoot all the drug dealers. I had just witnessed a crack dealer grab a kid riding by on a bicycle, trying to sell the kid (who looked to be 9 years old) some product.

At Times Square, it was all porno shops and porno theaters. For a solid block at 42nd street, there were shoulder to shoulder pimps, gun dealers, and drug dealers. At each corner of that block was a clot of cops to keep order to the hellish mayhem.

That was when I decided I was not going to go visit NYC again for at least ten years. And I kept that promise to myself. I did not return until 1999.

When I returned to visit in 1999, where all the porno shops and theaters and dealers and pimps had been, there was now a giant Disney store. That right there symbolized the great achievements of Rudy Giuliani.

It would turn my stomach to watch a show which puts some shine on that shit which was NYC in the 1970s.

 

[AsianTrumpSupporter]

The Wire is the best series ever. And Omar is the best bad guy ever. It will be very difficult to top The Wire.

I have up close and personal experience with the New York of the 1970s and 80s. I was so sickened and disgusted by the sewer which NYC became that I don't think I would want to see a show which recreates that period.

In 1986, things had gotten so bad, I found myself standing in Washington Square Park wishing I had an Uzi so I could shoot all the drug dealers. I had just witnessed a crack dealer grab a kid riding by on a bicycle, trying to sell the kid (who looked to be 9 years old) some product.

At Times Square, it was all porno shops and porno theaters. For a solid block at 42nd street, there were shoulder to shoulder pimps, gun dealers, and drug dealers. At each corner of that block was a clot of cops to keep order to the hellish mayhem.

That was when I decided I was not going to go visit NYC again for at least ten years. And I kept that promise to myself. I did not return until 1999.

When I returned to visit in 1999, where all the porno shops and theaters and dealers and pimps had been, there was now a giant Disney store. That right there symbolized the great achievements of Rudy Giuliani.

It would turn my stomach to watch a show which puts some shine on that shit which was NYC in the 1970s.

yeah, I can definitely understand not wanting to live in a place like that. The closest I can compare out here in California would probably be Hollywood/Sunset Strip back in the old days before it got cleaned up. I never lived there, and I never would want to live there.

Anyway, I just finished episode 5 ("What Kind of Bad?"). This episode was pretty good. I still don't find the show to be as good as The Wire, but I'll keep watching to see how the season ends at least.

8/10 for this episode.