I haven't seen it and am the last one to defend the F16 crowd, but this is why I am not watching, it's become overload.
Most every new commercial now has a covid or inclusion theme. Most every news story is about racism, covid or the election. Every sporting event now has BLM and racism as a central theme.
There are no movies to go see, everyone has pretty much exhausted their Netflix backlog and is looking for something else to escape the world through. So HBO finally comes out with a new project (I don't count perry mason, remakes should be beneath them), and what's a central theme? Yep, Racism.
I get that this was likely a year or more in development and it's largely a coincidence, but for heavens sake, just give me somewhere I can actually escape the world's problems for a while, however just the cause is.

oragator said:

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I haven't seen it and am the last one to defend the F16 crowd, but this is why I am not watching, it's become overload.
Most every new commercial now has a covid or inclusion theme. Most every news story is about racism, covid or the election. Every sporting event now has BLM and racism as a central theme.
There are no movies to go see, everyone has pretty much exhausted their Netflix backlog and is looking for something else to escape the world through. So HBO finally comes out with a new project (I don't count perry mason, remakes should be beneath them), and what's a central theme? Yep, Racism.
I get that this was likely a year or more in development and it's largely a coincidence, but for heavens sake, just give me somewhere I can actually escape the world's problems for a while, however just the cause is.

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There are these things called books that, I have heard, offer entertainment to those who are bored. I have also heard that there are many of them in the world that won't make you clutch your pearls when things like racism and worldwide pandemics are discussed. There are even a few that can be colored with pencils or crayons! I actually enjoy watching racists get called out and taken to task, so I will probably enjoy this.

For the folks who have actually seen the show...

Is it worth reading the book before getting into the show? One of the reviews I read said this was an excellent candidate to binge, once a few more episodes are released.

TCTTS said:

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Ocean Of Funk said:

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A quick google shows some unimpressed reviews.

The plot twist here will shock no one. Whites are the bad guys, not Cthulhu or Nyarlathotep.

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If this is true, and you just spoiled the series, I'll be advocating hard for a ban.

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Lol.
Condescension in that post aside, no one is "clutching their pearls". Simply saying that right now with more time indoors and fewer options for socialization and activities, the reliance on entertainment and the ability to escape from the real world is more valued than ever - that's what movies and tv have always been for, it just takes on added significance now. So when even that makes you think about current issues, then I can see the frustration in some, myself included to some degree. If you enjoy it, awesome, have fun. But simply calling them complainers over woke culture misses the point.
And yes, books are an option but even as a kid it was never my thing. Always been more of a visual person, it's easier for me to get caught up in the story that way. Something to consider though I guess.

I don't care one bit if a TV show or movie is escapist or not. Just give me something interesting to watch and I'm there. And I think HBO more than any other network does a good job of mixing the two together.

And I felt pretty damn escaped during the last 10 minutes of that episode last night.

oragator said:

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Lol.
Condescension in that post aside, no one is "clutching their pearls". Simply saying that right now with more time indoors and fewer options for socialization and activities, the reliance on entertainment and the ability to escape from the real world is more valued than ever - that's what movies and tv have always been for, it just takes on added significance now. So when even that makes you think about current issues, then I can see the frustration in some, myself included to some degree. If you enjoy it, awesome, have fun. But simply calling them complainers over woke culture misses the point.
And yes, books are an option but even as a kid it was never my thing. Always been more of a visual person, it's easier for me to get caught up in the story that way. Something to consider though I guess.

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Again... I wasn't complaining about people not wanting to watch this, or people being tired of racially themed content. I totally get not wanting to dive into yet another HBO show dealing with race, so soon after the last one (Watchmen), and wanting more escapism in general, given the current racial climate. For many, it's overkill, and that's understandable. My issue lies with the same old song and dance posts in which the usual suspects b*tch and moan about the left and white guilt and all that crap, in the most tired and cliched ways possible, before even laying eyes on the show. I was pretty clear in making that distinction. That, and to echo PatAg from earlier... if you're not going to watch, why do so many feel the need to pop in the thread and tell us that they're not going to watch? Because the premature soapbox posts only serve to derail threads like this for those of us looking forward to and enjoying the show. If you've seen the show and want to complain? Great. But if you haven't seen it, and don't plan on seeing it, and merely want to use this thread for your F16 rants, that's where I have an issue.

oragator said:

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Lol.
Condescension in that post aside, no one is "clutching their pearls". Simply saying that right now with more time indoors and fewer options for socialization and activities, the reliance on entertainment and the ability to escape from the real world is more valued than ever - that's what movies and tv have always been for, it just takes on added significance now. So when even that makes you think about current issues, then I can see the frustration in some, myself included to some degree. If you enjoy it, awesome, have fun. But simply calling them complainers over woke culture misses the point.
And yes, books are an option but even as a kid it was never my thing. Always been more of a visual person, it's easier for me to get caught up in the story that way. Something to consider though I guess.

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Plenty of folks on this thread are clutching their pearls over a show they haven't watched (nor intend to watch). So, if it is ok for them to add nothing of value/substance to the discussion, it is ok for me to call them out.

I also disagree with you that movies/tv shows have always been about escapism. Some movies/TV shows are certainly escapist in nature and have no greater meaning then entertainment (reality TV, the Floor is Lava, Transformers, etc).

However, shows like this (and it seems like it is made pretty clear in the previews) are not solely escapist in nature. They are created to present a message about something specific. In this case, it is talking about the racism of the 1950s and they present that message in a sci-fi/horror wrapping.

This is nothing new for Sci-Fi and, I would argue, that at the heart of good Sci-Fi are social issues. See Heinlein, Hebert, Wells, Asimov, Dick, Bradbury, Haldeman etc.

There are some excellent graphic novels you might enjoy, but those are, usually, not escapist in nature.

This is why I get confused when people get upset about shows like this. It was never pitched as mindless entertainment and it's source material deals with political/racial issues. I would think that folks would learn something about a show before getting upset that it isn't what they think it is (I'm not talking about you, specifically, with that statement).

I think i'll pass. I'm getting fatigued with all the messaging.

I think most of what we both said is actually compatible. But not going to continue on this topic for this thread, it's for the show, hope you all enjoy it.
Just don't lump all those folks together who are frustrated as malcontents or BLM haters (not you specifically, just generally to the thread).

Enjoy.

They finally posted the cover of Sinnerman from the end credits



That youtube channel has most of the songs from the episode

Bingo Bango Bongo said:

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Rotten tomatoes is 100% while imdb is 5.3. Feels like critics may be hesitant not to recommend

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Black Panther all over again. It's why RT has no credibility.

Anyway, I'm going to reverse my previous comment and at least check out pilot after reading this thread further.

Finally got a chance to watch. Thought it was great!

I disagree with the comments folks have made about the racism being over the top, or too much. Racism to the degree shown happened. Sundown towns were real things and signs telling African-Americans to not let the sunset on them in those cities existed.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/the-roots-of-route-66/506255/

African-Americans were treated as unequal citizens and I prefer this realism to the white-washed nostalgia normally presented of that time period. You can't have a show with African-American main characters, set in this time period, and not display the racism that they were forced to endure.

On top of that, it adds multiple layers to the story that the protagonists must contend with. Plus, who doesn't love watching racists get exactly what they deserve?

Soundtrack was great too and they don't make cars like they used to.

Looking forward to the next episode.

Aggie4242 said:

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On top of that, it adds multiple layers to the story that the protagonists must contend with. Plus, who doesn't love watching racists get exactly what they deserve?

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Never gets tiring seeing white people depicted as perpetual bigots.

The Debt said:

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Aggie4242 said:

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On top of that, it adds multiple layers to the story that the protagonists must contend with. Plus, who doesn't love watching racists get exactly what they deserve?

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Never gets tiring seeing white people depicted as perpetual bigots.

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Never gets tiring seeing folks get upset about people being portrayed as bigots in a time where bigotry was literally codified into law.

If it makes you that uncomfortable and you'd rather watch whatever whitewashed Leave It to Beaver version of the fifties you still cling to, then fine. Stop polluting this thread with your posts and let people who actually want to discuss the show talk about it.

No content, just insults and deflecting, typical. Take your trolling back to whatever hole you crawled out of.