"The Gilded Age" on HBO

[Ali Gator]

I believe part of the problem - as pointed out already by many critics - is that Fellowes knew how to write for the place / period of 'Downton Abbey', but he doesn't know how to write for the place / period of 'Gilded Age'. It seems like he doesn't realize there's a world of difference between Manhattan and the English countryside. 

[musclestuduws]

I’m enjoying season 2 much more than season 1. The plot line dramatizing the fierce competition between the Academy and the “new” Metropolitan Opera is accurate enough (fascinating for me to do research about it afterwards). It was indeed the symbolic battlefield where the upper class struggle for cultural and social supremacy between old and new money played out. I also look forward to seeing how the strike at the steel mills unfolds. And the journalists’ visit to Booker T. Washington’s school in Alabama, a complex, sensitive issue they have been handling with care and nuance so far. 

Edited November 22, 2023 by musclestuduws

[Ali Gator]

I'm curious about cousin Dasheill's daughter - is she one of those dwarf women from the Baltic state convincing everyone in the family she's a tween when she's really in her 30s ? Is Fellowes getting his ideas from the 'Natalia Grace' series ?

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

The show is fun, beautiful garbage.

[randeman]

Just found a SAGAFTRA Foundation vid on YouTube that has eight of the actors on a talk presentation.  Morgan Spector is wearing a tight, black mock turtleneck, and may I be permitted an ungentlemanly, ***DAY-YUM!!!*** man is built like a brick shithouse...who knew!?!?!?! See for yourself...

 

[Ali Gator]

Episode 5 slugged along last night at a snail's pace. It felt like a 'filler episode' - nothing more. I'm curious if we will see a Season 3. 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

This show is the most egregious use of Broadway actors I've ever seen...  And I love it.

I couldn't care less how 'historically off' it might be.  It's a beautiful show with characters that are playing it straight, but are on the razor's edge of camp.  

Baranski is one dramatic fit away from starting a weekly drinking game in a gay bar.

God bless Carrie Coon.  She's great in the show.  I couldn't imagine if the role went to Amanda Peet, as it was originally cast.  

[MikeThomas]

It’s odd how the gay subplot has completely disappeared.  Julian is probably saving it for later episodes. 

[Marc in Calif]

On 11/27/2023 at 2:32 PM, Ali Gator said:

Episode 5 slugged along last night at a snail's pace. It felt like a 'filler episode' - nothing more. I'm curious if we will see a Season 3. 

Perhaps it's just not artifically paced like Big Brother and other heavily edited fake "reality" fare.  

[+ Axiom2001]

3 hours ago, Marc in Calif said:

Perhaps it's just not artifically paced like Big Brother and other heavily edited fake "reality" fare.  

Personally, I liked the pace and am eagerly awaitin' the next episode.  

But I always try to remember that each person has the right to her or his opinion.  😆

[musclestuduws]

On 11/23/2023 at 3:36 PM, randeman said:

Just found a SAGAFTRA Foundation vid on YouTube that has eight of the actors on a talk presentation.  Morgan Spector is wearing a tight, black mock turtleneck, and may I be permitted an ungentlemanly, ***DAY-YUM!!!*** man is built like a brick shithouse...who knew!?!?!?! See for yourself...

 

Yep. I noticed he is jacked in the first season after seeing the scene where Turner, the lady’s maid, gets in his bed hoping to start an affair with him. They didn’t show much flesh then but was enough for me to look for photos of him shirtless. 🤣 Yum indeed. 

[musclestuduws]

I found that the plot line following Peggy Scott to Alabama was dramatically effective. It was the episode’s highlight for me. I think they managed to depict well the plight of black people in the South after the Civil War and the feelings of utter terror they experienced when having to flee and hide from white supremacists looking to kill them both, which happened way too often. I think it offers a useful historical lesson to a lot of white people who are blissfully unaware of what it meant (and means) to be black in the South. It balanced out the silliness and shenanigans of the ridiculous banquet Mrs. Russell hosted for the Duke of Buckingham. 🙄 Many people who would never watch a show about the plight of African Americans in the South got at least a glimpse of what it was like. In my book, it makes all the glossy kitsch worth it. 

[jeezifonly]

I watched Jimmy Kimmel last night and Carrie Coon was a guest.

Julian Fellowes has managed to erase her natural charm with the writing, often substituting what Mort Crowley called “counter-charm”

I’m now convinced the entire show would be better with a different runner from this point forward.
Not a British Peer. 

Preferably American, preferably queer, preferably of color. Julian’s too high on his own supply. 

 

[musclestuduws]

Yes, Julian Fellowes is the original creator but the head writer is actually an American black woman, Sonja Warfield, and lot of Americans are on board, either in the writers’ room and/or as executive producers. The name at the top in these big TV shows is just a figurehead standing for a crowded team of writers, producers, and executive producers. Obviously they wouldn’t let Fellowes write a show about the Gilded Age all on his own. We have outdated ideas of what it means to “write” a show. What we see in the credits is only the tip of the iceberg. 

Edited November 30, 2023 by musclestuduws

[Ali Gator]

2 hours ago, jeezifonly said:

I watched Jimmy Kimmel last night and Carrie Coon was a guest.

Julian Fellowes has managed to erase her natural charm with the writing, often substituting what Mort Crowley called “counter-charm”

I’m now convinced the entire show would be better with a different runner from this point forward.
Not a British Peer. 

Preferably American, preferably queer, preferably of color. Julian’s too high on his own supply. 

 

I really enjoyed her 'fluff' interview (not much was said between the two, except their kids are brats). She's a beautiful woman, and I'd like to see more of what she has done in her career. 

[jeezifonly]

1 hour ago, Ali Gator said:

I really enjoyed her 'fluff' interview (not much was said between the two, except their kids are brats). She's a beautiful woman, and I'd like to see more of what she has done in her career. 

She’s done many successful stage productions in NY and Chicago. I loved the interview too. She’ll not be hurting for work…

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

12 hours ago, jeezifonly said:

She’s done many successful stage productions in NY and Chicago. I loved the interview too. She’ll not be hurting for work…

Her work at Steppenwolf was great.

[musclestuduws]

22 hours ago, Ali Gator said:

I really enjoyed her 'fluff' interview (not much was said between the two, except their kids are brats). She's a beautiful woman, and I'd like to see more of what she has done in her career. 

I just watched her interview on Kimmel. She’s gorgeous and super smart. Full of joie de vivre. I knew she was a member of the Steppenwolf company but I had no idea she’s married to Tracy Letts. Quite a power couple. Go Tracy. 

[+ poolboy48220]

Carrie Coon played the mother in "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" and it looks like she'll be in the next one too. It wasn't a huge part, more focused on her kids. I didn't recognize it was the same actress at all. 

[Rod Hagen]

3 hours ago, poolboy48220 said:

Carrie Coon played the mother in "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" and it looks like she'll be in the next one too. It wasn't a huge part, more focused on her kids. I didn't recognize it was the same actress at all. 

Loved her in The Leftovers, a tv show the New Yorker critic described accurately as "gorgeous and ambitious, but watching could feel like listening to Portishead while on codeine, recovering from surgery. (Which I’ve done; it has its charms.)"

The Apocalypse According to “The Leftovers” | The New Yorker

WWW.NEWYORKER.COM

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The HBO show portrays intimate grief lit by the flare of worldwide cataclysm. It’s about the end of the world, taken personally.

 

[Ali Gator]

One more episode to go, and the season slogs on. This season's been very predictable from the start, with nothing exciting nor suspenseful in the storylines (Cynthia Nixon's story arc has been the worst). I really doubt there will be a season 3, but who knows what HBO is thinking these days (they've made some ridiculous decisions over the past few years).

[musclestuduws]

Just read this hilarious review on Slate. Still, the critic can’t get enough of it. 

The Worst Show on Television Is Back on HBO. I Can’t Wait to Watch It All.

SLATE.COM

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The Gilded Age’s first season was excruciating. Viewers loved—and loved hating—it anyway.

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by musclestuduws
Misspellings

[Ali Gator]

9 hours ago, musclestuduws said:

Just reas this hilarious review on Slate. Still, the critic can’t get enough of it. 

The Worst Show on Television Is Back on HBO. I Can’t Wait to Watch It All.

SLATE.COM

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The Gilded Age’s first season was excruciating. Viewers loved—and loved hating—it anyway.

 

Excellent review of the show, though I still don't see season 2 as improved as the reviewer does. 

[Ali Gator]

HBO has faith in this series. Season 3 was announced yesterday. 

Season 2 was just awful, in every respect. 

Edited December 22, 2023 by Ali Gator

[musclestuduws]

23 minutes ago, Ali Gator said:

HBO has faith in this series. Season 3 was announced yesterday. 

Season 2 was just awful, in every respect. 

I disagree. I enjoyed a good deal of what I saw in season 2. Including some really good acting from Baranski, Leonard, Nixon, and Coon. And I enjoyed the “opera war,” which was accurate enough historically. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and we all have different tastes and expectations. I look forward to season 3. 

HBO Renews The Gilded Age for Season 3

PLAYBILL.COM

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The season two finale aired December 17, and all episodes are now available to stream on Max.