Mob City [TNT - US] Spoilers

evilivor · 05-12-2013 11:37pm

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Not off to a great start. I won't say boring but nothing special so far.

But it does seem if you die in The Walking Dead you end up in Noir 1940's Los Angeles.

Robert Knepper & Neal McDonough give me hope that it might pick up.

Terrific cast. It looked okay, sounded great. Show's a bit of promise. Might have been better as a two parter as it did drag rather but I'm on board.

expectationlost · 07-12-2013 2:46pm

yeah you have to watch the first two together, thats works very well together, although it drags a little, certainly stylish, the dialogue and the look is purposely unreal

expectationlost · 07-12-2013 2:53pm

Season one of Mob City is six episodes airing over three weeks in December

10-12-2013 1:04am

Considering that the show is being aired in 2 hour chunks over 3 weeks in a period where shows traditionally go to die it's hard to go into Mob City with high hopes. While the rest of America TV has taken a break TNT have decided to burn-off Mob City, their Frank Darabont created 1940s gangster drama that promised so, so much.

Mob City had all the trappings of something special. A cast full of some of the best character actors on TV, a script by one of the most celebrated writer/directors of all time and some of the most gorgeous production design we've ever seen. Sadly TNT don't have any real confidence in the show and it's 3 week run is most likely going to be all we see of the show. Sadly TNT are right on the button regarding Mob City, which while not inherently bad is all rather so-so that you can't really warm to it. Which is a damn shame given the great premise and the gorgeous aesthetics. Nearly all the ingredients of a great show are evident in the first two episodes bar any real sense of drama, that vital final ingredient that he show never manages to attain.

There are a number of reveals throughout the first 90 minutes that are intended to shock us and help create some tension but given that our characters are one dimensional there's no heft or mystery to it. Worse still, is just how idiotic the show is. Are we seriously supposed to believe that two of our main characters were once married yet it's never mentioned, even when the two are alone? The final scene reveal plays like a cheap cop out at crafting a little suspense but it's hard to take serious. Taking a leaf from Boardwalk Empire, Darabont has spent considerable time in placing a number of historical figures into the mix but it all fells superficial.

The nonfiction book, L.A. Noir upon which the show is based tells the simple story of organized crime in the city of Angels and focuses on the exploits of Mickey Cohen and William Parker. Rather than have them front and center the show relegates them to thankless supporting roles while focusing on some of the least intriguing characters imaginable.

Jon Bernthal as Joe Teague is front and center as a good cop who isn't afraid to work in the grey areas. His rather dull and generic voice over opens the show with a quick history of the mob and how it's not all white hats and black hats. It's all rather simplistic and trite though it does hint at a show which will examine the reality of organized crime against the stylized fantasy of noir cinema. Sadly, this early expectation of something a little more, quickly disappears as Darabont indulges all of Noir cinemas stereotypes and cliches. Every line of dialogue has that nice hard-boiled feel to it and the opening half hour is genuinely intriguing as the show hints at a far bigger story than is set up but as the minutes tick by it becomes clearer and clearer that it will never materialize and that all Darabont is interested in is aping the look and feel of Noir. The storyline feels tacked on, with not a single original moment or character to be found anywhere. Everything and everyone looks the part but therein lies the shows biggest problem. Characters may aswell just be called mobster, cop, femme fatale for they re all so one dimensional and familiar that they may as well have walked right out of Noir Cinema 101.

Darabont has crafted a show that looks gorgeous and perfectly captures the look and fell of 40's Noir cinema but beyond that Mob City is a vapid, empty shell that plays out like a best of the genre. There's a lot of potential in the show but with just 4 episodes to go I don't see it developing into anything beyond something pretty to look at

expectationlost · 10-12-2013 7:04pm

i'd much prefer if we discussed tv shows on here and people put thir THIS IS A REVIEW, Im writing this in REVIEW language, elsewhere

10-12-2013 8:24pm

expectationlost wrote: »

i'd much prefer if we discussed tv shows on here and people wrote THIS IS A REVIEW, Im writing this in REVIEW language, elsewhere

I don't see what the problem is. Should we not put any depth into our observations and thoughts on episodes of television we watch and instead just knock out a few lines like "this was good, I enjoyed it".

expectationlost · 10-12-2013 10:18pm

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't see what the problem is. Should we not put any depth into our observations and thoughts on episodes of television we watch and instead just knock out a few lines like "this was good, I enjoyed it".

i just find the "this is a review" language bizarre, i don't know who it supposed to be addressing or impressing?

10-12-2013 11:11pm

expectationlost wrote: »

i just find the "this is a review" language bizarre, i don't know who it supposed to be addressing or impressing?

It's not supposed to impress anyone. If all you want to contribute to a thread is a couple of lines then that's all well and good but some people like to put a bit more thought into TV and look at it from a critical standpoint. If that annoys you then add anyone who does so to your ignore list and you won't have to look at them

Agent Coulson · 20-12-2013 2:28pm

Just finished watching it and it really wasn't up to much. If you want to see a great mob show other than Boardwalk Empire hunt down the criminally underrated Michael Mann series Crime Story from the late 80's.

evilivor · 20-12-2013 3:16pm

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Just finished watching it and it really wasn't up to much. If you want to see a great mob show other than Boardwalk Empire hunt down the criminally underrated Michael Mann series Crime Story from the late 80's.

Agreed - very poor stuff. Waste of a good cast.

20-12-2013 8:00pm

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Just finished watching it and it really wasn't up to much. If you want to see a great mob show other than Boardwalk Empire hunt down the criminally underrated Michael Mann series Crime Story from the late 80's.

Grabbed both series in town a week or so back and plan to rewatch it over Christmas. Think that last time I saw any of it was when it was repeated on ITV4 a few years back. Really is a fantastic show and it's a shame that it's so hard to come by.