Roadies [Showtime] [** Spoilers **]

Mr E

If Cameron Crowe can recapture any of the magic and chemistry from Almost Famous, this will be a winner.

From the trailer, it looks like that spark is there. Looks like a lot of fun, and it has a great cast too.

Episode 1 is out - the rest of the season is weekly from July 3rd.

However, critics have not been kind...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlmc4h75Tss

squonk

I've got it queued up. Didn't see an Ep 2 drop so I was holding back. I didn't realise it was Cameron Crowe involved in this. That makes me very hopeful. Almost Famous is a great movie. I hope this does the business so we have some strong music shows. I'm looking forward to the return of Sex^Drugs&Rock&Roll as well. Pity Vinyl blew it's shot.

krustydoyle

I really enjoyed the 1st episode, lots of interesting characters... and im a music fanatic so i hope it does well

squonk

After reading this thread yesterday I dived into the first episode last night. I really liked it. There's some of that Almost Famous magic there for sure. There's lots of potential and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes. If I have one gripe it's that I can see shades of Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip with the band. Talking about songs we're not hearing. Even the final scene with the band going on stage had the tuning and noodling going on way too long without a hint of an actual song. One of my great annoyances about Studio 60 was being on the sidelines of a TV show that we largely never saw. It may be a personal bug bear but I hope that this show doesn't go down that route.

Sugarlumps

I watched one episode, it was truly awful.

OU812

Just watched episode one & loved it. I'd lost faith in Crowe after his last couple of bombs, but this has some great potential. Only complaint is Luke Wilson, who I don't think is suitable for the role. He's too "clean".

Went looking for the soundtrack & found this site that has soundtrack listings for a rake of shows - http://www.tunefind.com/show/roadies/season-1/33461

squonk

After watching the latest episode I'm really hoping the show has hit it's stride now because it was a bloody great episode. It loks like the show has really bedded down now and there was oodles of that Almost Famous vibe going around. Given that the last few bands have been great up and coming bands, it was a real surprise to see Lindsey Buckingham as the opener this time. I'm starting to like the show setpieces, the Song of the Day and the revolving opening act though it may get stale in time.

Great TV and a real feel good factor show. I'm hoping it'll stick around.

Mr E

I haven't watched the latest episode yet but I read a scathing critique about it yesterday to say that it crossed a major line (

a sexual assault that was belittled and laughed off

). Maybe overly dramatic but I'll watch it for myself tonight.

squonk

I'm struggling to figure out what that was myself. I think I can pinpoint the incident but I doubt I'd call it a

sexual assault

.

Both parties were headed in that direction and, while the groupie was doing it manipulatively, I didn't think there was any actual sex involved.

Mr E

Here was the article:

http://variety.com/2016/tv/opinion/roadies-sexual-assault-rainn-wilson-1201810951/

Sounds like a clickbait-ish kind of piece.

squonk

Thanks Mr. E. That's exactly the incident I thought of. I couldn't finish reading the review. It smacks of someone being outraged for the sake of being outraged. The guy in question was hanging off the girl earlier and, while I don't know exactly why she did what she did, the consent was more than implied and, FFS, it's a drama about the fantasy of rock and roll and not the gritty reality. I love Almost Famous because it's a rock and roll fantasy and, while there is some strands of truth interwoven into the fabric of make believe, they just serve to bolster the fantasy in the end.

It's the same here. We all know that these days no one critic is vitally important, let alone a blogger and I'll accept that they stretched belief with that one. I was starting to get a little annoyed with how thick they laid it on for a finish but the payoff was worth it.

This article seems to be intent on finding trouble where there isn't really any. Last night's incident reminded me of the "Let's deflower the boy" line from Almost Famous which, if you were so inclined, could allow you to get all uppity and excited about statutory rape but it seems nobody every really did even now after the film has been around for 15-16 years.

At the end of the day, being a roadie has to be a fairly crap job after a while. Late nights, lots of lifting, crap food I'm sure and unsocial hours, endless travelling and lots of waiting around, hearing the same songs over and over again. No doubt those who do it love it but it has it's downsides like any other job. What Roadies does is take this life, sprinkle some drama and magic into the mix and repackage it as a rock and roll fantasy that, although it's based in 2016, probably has more in common with the world of 1976.

krustydoyle

Anyone still watching this???

JohnK

krustydoyle wrote: »

Anyone still watching this???

Yeah I'm watching; maybe not the greatest show ever made but it's enjoyable.

squonk

Still watching though I've stopped watching my regular shows for the duration of the Olympics. I know I was a cheerleader for this show all along and I still like it but my enthusiasm is starting to wane. It's pure fantasy and that can outstay it's welcome after a while. This might be a good 6 episode season show. The worse episode for me was the superstition roadtrip one. I think that kind of killed a lot of my enthusiasm for the show. Now, it's still good as an hour of fantasy but I'm not sure where it's going.

Peace

Great episode on the bus. I really like this show. Very enjoyable.

OU812

I'm a couple of episodes behind (started watching Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll & that took over), I love Crowe & his has all his signature moves, but I'm finding every episode extremely slow...

krustydoyle

The more I think about it, this might work as a stand alone 1 season show

squonk

Definitely a good one season show. I'm not sure it's got the legs for more. The band can't tour forever, or at least have to take time off the road for studio work, releasing an album and downtime.

I think the show is starting to lose me a bit. It's very slow moving and, while I don't mind that, I'm not really sure where it's going. Now Phil is back I'm not sure why he was let go in the first place. I do know his return has a big impact in that the band and tour has kind of had the wheels come off without him but what they did with him while he was away just lost me. I really wish they hadn't gone down the Taylor Swift in Space route.

It's not a bad show and I can't put my finger on why I'm bothered either but it's a show I like but I know that it's a show I could like a lot more if something a little different was done. What that is though, I don't know.

OU812

I'd absolutely LOVE if they were the support band in the finale for "Stillwater".

squonk

That's the thing though. Part of what made Almost Famous so great was Stillwater. The music was great. One of the problems with this show is that we're forever on the sidelines and we hear about this legendary American band, The Staton House Band with a rich history and a large back catalog but we haven't heard a single note from the band themselves. Roadies do get to sit through the gigs. We've hear all about Janine and what she means and the song that she's inspired but never heard the song itself. I think it'd be a more rounded show if we had a fuller picture. Right now it's living up to the fears I had earlier that it might turn out like Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip which was all about the sidelines of a Saturday Night Live type show which we never really got to see. I don't know! This show is annoying me and delighting me in equal measure.

OU812

Just watched the long bus ride episode. Now I wish Crowe had made a biopic of Lynard Skynard as seen through the eyes of a young road manager.

squonk

Agreed! The bus journey episode was the kind of thing I was really expecting from this show. I think that and the episode following were strong and the show is finally starting to pay off. Agreed though, the Lynard Skynard bio show would have been fantastic, though I guess then he'd be accused of remaking Almost Famous on the small screen. The shot of the band heading for the Corvair was a shot for shot match with Stillwater boarding their new place in Almost Famous. I think at this point it might appear that Roadies started well, sagged in the middle but picked it up at the end. It is kind of sad though that the 'filler' episode (the bus journey) was the absolute standout episode of the season!

Mr E

Roadies cancelled after one season.

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/roadies-cancelled-showtime-season-1-1201850646/

krustydoyle

Kinda thought it was gonna go that way.. It worked as a stand alone series for me anyway

OU812

Half of me is disappointed. I could see the potential in a second series of the "European tour" and i would have been more interesting with different locations & support bands - particularly if Ireland was on the list.

The other half is happy with the decision. It never really lived up to the expectation & seemed to be just a pet project for Cameron Crowe, who apart from the bus ride episode disappointed once again. He's gone downhill since Jerry Maguire & Almost Famous