John From Cincinnati (HBO)

Pariah

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What an odd show. I'm transfixed, but to be honest, I don't think I like it.

I don't know instead butchie.
 

Pariah

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Ed O'Neill is pretty brilliant in this show. And the guy playing Butchie is pretty good, too.

There's a lot of repeated phrases, and not just by John. In each episode, there's a--for lack of a better term--theme that is repeated throughout. For example, in one of the first episodes there was a lot of talk about fences for some reason.
 

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There's a lot of repeated phrases, and not just by John. In each episode, there's a--for lack of a better term--theme that is repeated throughout. For example, in one of the first episodes there was a lot of talk about fences for some reason.

Yep. I kept trying to decipher the code anticipating something more profound than one sees on the surface. Either I'm dense (a strong possibility) or there's truly a post-modern agenda in the dialogue -- communication strictly through implication and emoting.

This whole idea of God trying to urgently communicate to man but being unable to speak intelligible English reminds me of an exercise in drama class in high school. We were asked to sell a product using gibberish. I, of course, was awful, but some of my classmates were brilliant. You really got the idea that we probably put too much value in language when we communicate so much better through other means, and the fact we're unaware of it often means we're saying something other than the words that come out of our mouths.

Not sure it flies well on television, though. It was one of the most frustrating elements of this show for me.
 

Pariah

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Yep. I kept trying to decipher the code anticipating something more profound than one sees on the surface.
Notice all the handholding throughout the show, too?

I'm watching the entire season in two and a half nights, so I'm seeing a lot of common threads from episode to episode, and these people hold hands a lot.
 

Gaddabout

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Notice all the handholding throughout the show, too?

I'm watching the entire season in two and a half nights, so I'm seeing a lot of common threads from episode to episode, and these people hold hands a lot.

I think it's easy to read too much into stuff like that, but if you see something that explains something else the show, please share.

I kept trying to find the relationships to the original 12 disciples, or even Paul, but the references are only vague and not meant to be an adaptation of anything more than some of the content from the book.
 

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So, I finished the series last night. I guess the show was canceled mid-season? They sure wrapped it up quickly...and that last episode sucked balls for it.
 

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Ed O'Neill is pretty brilliant in this show. And the guy playing Butchie is pretty good, too.

There's a lot of repeated phrases, and not just by John. In each episode, there's a--for lack of a better term--theme that is repeated throughout. For example, in one of the first episodes there was a lot of talk about fences for some reason.
I liked those two.
 

Cheesebeef

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So, I finished the series last night. I guess the show was canceled mid-season? They sure wrapped it up quickly...and that last episode sucked balls for it.

nope - that was the full order.
 

Pariah

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nope - that was the full order.
Wow. What a disappointment.

Hey Cheese, I have a question for you. On a show like this with only 10 episodes, is it unusual to have different writers and directors working on different episodes? I would think that might hurt the flow of the series for the viewer. (Seemed like there were a lot of different writers credited for the different episodes on this one)
 

Cheesebeef

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Wow. What a disappointment.

Hey Cheese, I have a question for you. On a show like this with only 10 episodes, is it unusual to have different writers and directors working on different episodes? I would think that might hurt the flow of the series for the viewer. (Seemed like there were a lot of different writers credited for the different episodes on this one)

nope, it's completely normal and pretty much par for the course.
 
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I made it through the first 8 episodes, wanting to understand what the hell was going on on a philosophical level, and compelled by both the premise, the writing and characters. Except for the kid. Hes a horrible actor. Anyways, I havent read this thread, not wanting anything to be spoiled so to speak. Is it worth getting through the rest of on demand. Is there some big payoff in the end? I think this show is too smart for me, and probably a good lot of the average viewing public.
 

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For me the end was a let-down. It felt like a cop-out, and I think it was out of character for the show.
 

Cheesebeef

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so, here's an inside tidbit on the show - the editor for the first two or three episodes of J from C is actually the editor on our pilot. She said Milch himself had no grand scheme and was pretty making it up as he went along, giving the editing stafff dailies that were near impossible to cut together, infuriating the hell out of them because he never had a clue how what he was shooting would ultimately piece together. she said it was the most nightmarish job she's ever worked on.
 

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so, here's an inside tidbit on the show - the editor for the first two or three episodes of J from C is actually the editor on our pilot. She said Milch himself had no grand scheme and was pretty making it up as he went along, giving the editing stafff dailies that were near impossible to cut together, infuriating the hell out of them because he never had a clue how what he was shooting would ultimately piece together. she said it was the most nightmarish job she's ever worked on.
Hey, cheese you shooting off of Dearborn near Oak St? Saw some crews there today.
 

Cheesebeef

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Hey, cheese you shooting off of Dearborn near Oak St? Saw some crews there today.

no, but I dropped off my dry-cleaning off DDearborn and Division today!

We're gonna be at Cook County Courthouse tomorrow and then in Millenium Parkon Sunday, along with Lasalle Street Bridges and Keefer's - if you see crews around there, and see someone chain-smoking while asleep, that's likely me.
 
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