Leftovers [HBO] [ Spoilers ]

iguana · 03-07-2014 1:27am

Burst into tears watching the opening scenes. Might have had something to do with being extremely overtired following 3 bad nights of sleep with my baby son, Sam. I couldn't handle character Sam's mother screaming for him at all.

TerrorFirmer · 06-07-2014 1:48am

Just finished watching it there. Extremely good TV.

megapixel · 06-07-2014 7:56am

I watched the first episode and i'm looking forward to the next one

squonk · 07-07-2014 11:25am

I thought it was So-So really. It's fairly watchable but nothing so far has really gripped me about it. It was a good and slightly disturbing opening with the disappearance but after that it just settles down into something that I don't know where it's really going.

I'm wary of these kinds of shows because they generally end up being a complete waste of time by the time they finish. The white clad smoking sisterhood are currently ruining the show for me. I don't see the point and the two spas who followed your man's fiancé around were morons. Also, if they knew they were hated, why did they show up to the remembrance ceremony where they knew they would spark violence and get the crap kicked out of them. I certainly know that by the end of the show I wanted to do a drive by firebombing of their house. They add nothing to the show really.

Falthyron · 07-07-2014 12:11pm

squonk wrote: »

I thought it was So-So really. It's fairly watchable but nothing so far has really gripped me about it. It was a good and slightly disturbing opening with the disappearance but after that it just settles down into something that I don't know where it's really going.

I'm wary of these kinds of shows because they generally end up being a complete waste of time by the time they finish. The white clad smoking sisterhood are currently ruining the show for me. I don't see the point and the two spas who followed your man's fiancé around were morons. Also, if they knew they were hated, why did they show up to the remembrance ceremony where they knew they would spark violence and get the crap kicked out of them. I certainly know that by the end of the show I wanted to do a drive by firebombing of their house. They add nothing to the show really.

You have concluded all that by one episode in a ten-part series? From what I have seen this group believes everyone is wasting their time with remembrance because of possibly two scenarios:

A - They believe the ones that disappeared are considered 'bad' people and people should not be remembering them. 'It's a waste of your breath'.

B - 'It's a waste of breath' because commemoration is pointless as the ones taken are now in 'Heaven' or a better place, and the people left behind are left to eek out some sort of reason for surviving.

Either way, we don't know really anything about this group. Why not just wait and see what their goal actually is before casting them aside? As for them following people, they have chosen them for a reason and I am interested to see what that reason is. I will wait and see what their purpose actually is before I decide whether or not they have any relevance in the show.

squonk · 07-07-2014 1:34pm

TBH if that sort of event happened in real life, I'd be going with Option 2 anyway. They're gone. They're somewhere else, probably better esp. as that baby and the Pope went which would seem to indicate that it was good people who left and are therefore somewhere good. So just get on with it. I'm more surprised that the ones left aren't going "Well, we're bad people apparently.... let's just act like it then..." cue chaos and mass lawlessness. The exposition of the white smokers should have been moved along a bit more. In fact, very little was actually told to us at all. I'm kind of wary about that. I'm still on the fence really.

Skerries · 07-07-2014 1:46pm

IvaBigWun · 07-07-2014 4:59pm

Any chance we could have the big spoilers of the show spoilered on a weekly basis?

I dont trust Lindelof anymore after Lost and Im going to wait and see how this one goes reviews wise and then bulk watch it at the end of the season if they have been favourable.

Id still like to dip in and out of this thread however and see if its a strong show without reading things like "OMG I cant believe they shot Kevin in the face!"

07-07-2014 11:20pm

Only 40 mins in and feels way too much like Lost already. I hated Lost

CastorTroy · 07-07-2014 11:35pm

They shot Kevin in the face? Noooooooooooo!

Who's Kevin?

squonk wrote: »

Also, if they knew they were hated, why did they show up to the remembrance ceremony where they knew they would spark violence and get the crap kicked out of them. I certainly know that by the end of the show I wanted to do a drive by firebombing of their house. They add nothing to the show really.

How many religions/groups do things they want to do, knowing it annoys everyone to the point of violence? Not to start anything politics/religion related but just as a local example, you just have to look at ones like the Orange Order marching in Catholic areas in the North.
So there is a basis for it.

Do find that group strange though. But plenty of time to find out more about them, without reading the book. Like are there more branches outside the town?

After the latest episode, I'm finding it interesting. Felt the whole thing with Wayne was a bit rushed though since they just showed the secrecy around his location last week.

And glad they showed the sheriff(ah, that's Kevin) is not crazy as that could've just been annoying. Did feel sorry for Nora though.

As for the theory about only good people being taken away, they've been giving examples of people who weren't so good yet were taken away.

Skerries · 07-07-2014 11:43pm

the Daleks took them and The Doctor is just waiting for them to reveal themselves before he drops the whole lunatic priest act

CastorTroy · 07-07-2014 11:55pm

Ah, so Nora is the new assistant? It all makes sense now.

I wonder how far the "hugging" with Wayne has to go to give relief.

08-07-2014 12:23am

Not sure how I feel about this. Acting is superb, production is fantastic but the premise and plot is dodgy at best. The music is overbearing. I'm trying to shake the feeling it has of Lost but its lingering. There are already tons of bizarre unexplained events and Lost was fcuking awful for that. Some scenes cut just as a conversation would have began to explain something. They like to leave the audience in the dark. Its an irritating practice imo. I'll stick it out for a bit simply because its HBO but I really have no idea where they are going with this.

squonk · 08-07-2014 8:58am

After episode 2 I'm starting to get a bit sketchy about this show. Stuff just happens and there isn't a reason for it most of the time. I still don't see an arc in place in any shape or form.

My impression of last night's episode. Some law enforcement people at the start cracked down on Wayne who escaped with a girl who is somehow important and he later hands her over to some big guy. The Marlboro sisterhood have Arwenn knocking around for a few weeks. Then they ask her to cut down a tree. She gets pissed off and says she's not doing it. They say OK and then Cop Wife decides she must leave so grumpy smoking woman kicks her out. Arwenn then cuts down the tree laughing hysterically. Meanwhile some kids follow a woman doing some serious red tape type interviews with an old couple who lost their down syndrome son and that goes nowhere. The guy shooting the deer shows up at the cops house after bringing the kids home and asks the cop to go shoot deer with him. Apart from learning the Malboro sisterhood is some sort of 'thing' that's not a cult but there might be more of them in other towns/places, that's about all we learnt. I'm starting to believe that this show will end up as a load of crap like Lost did and could well be cancelled by HBO before long.

08-07-2014 9:44am

Nice to know someone agrees. A series of bizarre events can be gripping but I find it frustrating.

Falthyron · 08-07-2014 12:27pm

It would seem The Leftovers is going to divide a lot of people. Those who prefer to preserve mystery, be encapsulated by possibility and curiosity will probably enjoy it, but those who prefer their TV show to have a conclusion at the end of each episode and most of it spelled out for them will not enjoy it. Lindelof has already spoken about the fact that we will not be told the reason for the disappearance, which, to me, suggests the show is not to be told why it happened, but to engage with characters and the various mysteries associated with its aftermath. Personally, I am glad The Leftovers hasn't showed all its cards yet, or even some of them, as it is allowing us to come up with our own reasons and questions for the world the writers have created. I don't want to be led down a nice path of convenience and episodic stories of 'problem, trouble, solution' which is characteristic of shows like CSI, The Blacklist, the Mentalist, etc, etc.

It has been two episodes, and I hope it continues exactly how it has begun. Let it breathe, let it grow, and stop expecting x, y, and z. The movie 'Inception' is a great point of reference for indicating how you enjoy your movies and TV shows. The Leftovers has 10 episodes to get us hooked into its world, the characters, and the mysteries. I intend to give it the full 10 before I decide on whether or not I will continue it.

08-07-2014 1:20pm

There is preserving the mystery then there is not telling the audience next to nothing. I just felt like I was being bombarded with far too many off the wall scenarios. I wish I was never told this was made by the same guy who made lost, I'm being far too judgmental already as a result.

Could you elaborate on Inception as a point of reference?

squonk · 08-07-2014 1:26pm

I can accept that we won't find out the reason for the disappearance of those people. What I won't accept is a show that creates a series of seemingly unrelated events and that ultimately seems to have treacle-like forward momentum. Right now we're 20% in on this year's run and I still cannot answer honestly what the direction of the show is. I can do long arcs. Usually there's a cause, the effect and a progression to resolution. Right now we've got the cause, and are seemingly mired in the effect. God only knows when a germ of a resolution plan will ever appear.

Falthyron · 08-07-2014 1:32pm

Deleted User wrote: »

There is preserving the mystery then there is not telling the audience next to nothing. I just felt like I was being bombarded with far too many off the wall scenarios. I wish I was never told this was made by the same guy who made lost, I'm being far too judgmental already as a result.

Could you elaborate on Inception as a point of reference?

Fair enough, but lets allow them time to give the audience answers or snippets about the overall story. We aren't in a hurry!

Inception was famous for dividing audiences because of its conclusion. Many walked out of the cinema feeling cheated or tricked because they needed to know if it was all just a dream or if it was the happy ending that was suggested, basically: did the spinning top fall or did it keep spinning? The lack of an open and clear cut answer led some people to hating the film and calling it pointless as you will never know. Then on the other side of the argument you have those who love the ending to Inception and put it in the category of one of the best films ever made because it didn't tell you. It didn't spoon feed you the answer and make you walk out of the cinema feeling all gooey and happy. Instead, you (the audience) were asked to decide for yourself if it was real or not. Then there are those who would go on to further analyse whether the entire film itself was just an analysis of the process of film making. There are so many layers to the film that you could spend hours working it out and coming up with different answers - a characteristic that many people enjoy.

I think The Leftovers could very well be something along the lines of what Inception did; divide audiences. It doesn't necessarily make it a bad TV show, but one that approaches TV show writing/production in a different way, and therefore its audience.

Falthyron · 08-07-2014 1:38pm

squonk wrote: »

I can accept that we won't find out the reason for the disappearance of those people. What I won't accept is a show that creates a series of seemingly unrelated events and that ultimately seems to have treacle-like forward momentum. Right now we're 20% in on this year's run and I still cannot answer honestly what the direction of the show is. I can do long arcs. Usually there's a cause, the effect and a progression to resolution. Right now we've got the cause, and are seemingly mired in the effect. God only knows when a germ of a resolution plan will ever appear.

These events may yet prove to have importance to the overall story, but we won't know yet. I understand what you are saying about the cause and effect. For me, however, the cause and effect right now is the characters. We are watching how people deal with this kind of scenario. How do you accept loved ones disappearing without a trace. Maybe they will come back, maybe they won't. Were they the bad people and we are the good, or is it vice versa? And if its vice versa, what's the point in surviving? Why not just give up? Maybe someone has answers, maybe they are lying? Maybe some people will take advantage of the disappearance for financial or political gain? The show is trying to provoke the questions and problems faced by people who quite simply do not know how to deal with this scenario. We are seeing the different reactions, motives, feelings, and in a sense (as one poster here said), the frustration of it all. We need to feel as frustrated about this whole thing as they do, otherwise we won't understand the actions they take or their reasoning.

Falthyron · 08-07-2014 1:50pm

Just wanted to mention that I enjoyed the reference to The Wire in Episode 2.

08-07-2014 8:15pm

I think there is a difference between that one incident in Inception throwing the premise on its head, and the consistently vague story telling in something like this. I hate being spoon fed, but I also hate being deliberately left in the dark to an excessive degree.

JP Liz V1 · 10-07-2014 9:45pm

Sky Atlantic has acquired

Basq · 10-07-2014 11:02pm

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Sky Atlantic has acquired

Moved to a new house so not checked out episode 2, but going up to Dublin on train on Saturday so might be an option for the train.

Still think the first episode had massive potential - but how strange is it seeing Johnson from Peep Show in a serious role. He was great in Survivors on BBC so good to see HBO take notice.

14-07-2014 5:02pm

I'm going to sell everything I own and put it on red

Falthyron · 15-07-2014 5:57pm

This week's episode was probably the most enjoyable, imo. Great acting from Ecclestone and it was nice to see some of the character arcs crossover. I have a feeling his character will be similar to John Locke's in LOST. The show still has my interest and I am looking forward to next week's episode.

15-07-2014 8:45pm

Defo the best episode yet. Very little mysterious events bar the pigeons.

naughto · 16-07-2014 9:12pm

This could be very good depending on how they no e forward with it,the acting is top notch.
What the priest said to his sister about her husband cheating was very low andi wanted to smack him.
Also a new show called

The strain is worth chescking out the books where very good any way

22-07-2014 4:09am

Meandering, littered with nonsensical events. I think I can safely forget this show ever existed.

red dave · 22-07-2014 10:22am

Instead of eating some biscuits and a cup of tea while watching this show, I'd recommend some anti-depressants. I can't bare watching anymore of this drivel. The only positive for me is some of the acting is good, but that's it. I'm out.

Leftovers [HBO] [** Spoilers **]

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Leftovers [HBO] [ Spoilers ]