Luck: New HBO series about horse racing = CANCELLED 3/15

[Flashy_Gray_VA]

Terrific premiere tonight! No pun intended but lucky me I got a freebie HBO preview weekend so I was able to catch it.

It was like a lot of vignettes strung together to set up the characters, linked through the shots of the horses, and it was very Michael Mann a la “Heat” in some ways.

Loved the “Pick 6 degenerates,” loved the loosely-based-on-Julio Canani trainer, loved the beautiful shots of the Irish exercise girl galloping the bay, loved the gate scenes. Thought the dyspeptic stuttering agent was terrific, along with Dennis Farina feeding a carrot for the first time.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this all shakes out.

[Acertainsmile]

Generally liked the show, although there were a couple of head shaking moments (but nowhere near as many as in other race based movies). I personally wish they had saved the very graphic breakdown scene for later in the season.

[rustbreeches]

Eh, it left me wanting. maybe it was the racing scenes being kinda choppy, I can’t really put my finger on it. There was no way the bug had ***. He looked waaaay too well fed. The gamblers were so well stereotyped it was hysterical. I kinda feel like I was being fed small bits from Horse Heaven, by Jane Smiley. The Hispanic trainer savant, the heavy bug, exercise girl that “connects” with the horse.

Only have the HBO free week or whatever, so I won’t have to worry about watching it again.

And JenM, maybe you should “rescue” show horses from homes where they are drilled into the ground and passed down the food chain only to end up at slaughter. Or you could “rescue” QH’s as they represent a larger, yet untraceable pool for slaughter than do TBs. Or maybe you could just refrain from casting aspersions on a section of the population that you deem unsuitable for fraternization. Wait, if you met some, you might have to change some of your derogatory views on racetrackers.

[naters]

Well, its HBO, so the racing will only last so long before it “breaks down” and becomes a p@rno anyway. Enjoy the horse aspect while it lasts!

[Flashy_Gray_VA]

There was no way the bug had ***. He looked waaaay too well fed.

:lol: He musta et some boatload o’ beaucoup boudin back in New Iberia.

I swear you could smell the alcohol fumes pouring off Gary Stevens! He looked rough! :eek:

[rustbreeches]

[QUOTE=Flashy Gray VA;6109347]
:lol:

I swear you could smell the alcohol fumes pouring off Gary Stevens! He looked rough! :eek:[/QUOTE]

Blasphemy!!! Gary Stevens could never look rough.

[Vesper_Sparrow]

Chantal Sutherland was listed in the credits and I was trying to figure out where she appears in the episode. I concluded she was doing the actual galloping of the bay, because when you see the first shots of the Irish girl on board, the horse is cantering like an old school horse (probably not even the same horse) and she looks a little shaky, particularly when she flips her goggles down.

[Acertainsmile]

Things that bugged me:

One pair of goggles on the bug boy going around two turns

Trainer grazing horse sitting in a lawn chair, horse almost stepping on shank

Leads with chains in the gate

Lots of clinking noises while horses were racing

Too much nickering, snorting while horses were in the gate

And yes, the excersise girl telling the trainer that the horse was pulling her arms off, and then looking like she needed spurs to keep the same said horse moving at a slow canter.

Just some nitpicky stuff, but you would think with a couple of real jocks on the set they could get some of those things right! Chantal was seen with the girl excersise rider watching the races.

[Bacardi1]

I recorded it & will have to re-watch it. Was doing other things while it was on & so found it difficult to follow.

Re: grazing horses while sitting in a lawn chair. Is it crazy & unsafe? Of course. Have I seen it done at racing stables? Definitely.

[Acertainsmile]

[QUOTE=Bacardi1;6109552]
I recorded it & will have to re-watch it. Was doing other things while it was on & so found it difficult to follow.

Re: grazing horses while sitting in a lawn chair. Is it crazy & unsafe? Of course. Have I seen it done at racing stables? Definitely.[/QUOTE]

I’ve been to alot of backsides, worked there for many years and saw it occasionaly, maybe when someone was hosing a horse…never remember anyone grazing a horse that way. Will have to consult with my West coast friends though! Oh, nevermind, husband just said he has done it, :lol:

[WhiteCamry]

@Flashy Gray VA;6109347

I swear you could smell the alcohol fumes pouring off Gary Stevens! He looked rough! :eek:

Methinks his character will channel a Chris Antley type of storyline.

[Flashy_Gray_VA]

ACS, these 2 items:

horse almost stepping on shank; leads with chains in the gate

were about the only things that made me a bit antsy, too.

So other than getting all those horses in the gate scoped to figure out why they were making so much d*mned noise in there :lol: what with all those grunts and whinnies, the show got a pretty good score on the Equine Authentication in Media ™ Meter.

[CruisingforGold]

Ohhh I can’t wait to see it!

[Blinkers_On]

I thought it was garbage from start to finish. I have gotten on Milch’s horses and they were treated better than the sory depicted. The character loosely based on Julio is … poor. He also trains for Milch.
We all gamble, but not all of us are degenerates, which I think the show shows. Yes we do try to “hide” the odd horse, but pretty tough to do in this day and age. Clockers and private clockers are fairly accurate.
Basically IMO the show was an epic fail

[Glimmerglass]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hbo-luck-ratings-series-premiere-286112

On Sunday at 9 p.m. – airing with no lead-in – the Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte series was topped in head-to-head competition with Showtime’s sophomore Emmy Rossum-William H. Macy drama Shameless, which collected 1.37 million viewers, yup 7 percent week-over-week.

[It pulled in 1.1 million viewers that night in its formal debut]

All told, Luck’s total viewers – including its December bow – totaled 3.3 million in gross audience to date; rebroadcasts at 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. drew 711,000 and 420,000 viewers, respectively.

HBO renewed the series for a second season early Tuesday.

1.1 million unique households in one airing … just for comparison purposes Saratoga Race Course for the 39-days of racing in 2011 saw 871,772 cumulative turnstile spins over the whole meet. Likely the number of unique attendees was under 250,000 people.

[jenm]

@Pronzini;6022408

Besides did you miss the fact that you are on a racing forum right now?

Um, seeing as I started the thread, I’m pretty sure I knew I was posting in the racing forum.

[QUOTE=rustbreeches;6109272]
And JenM, maybe you should “rescue” show horses from homes where they are drilled into the ground and passed down the food chain only to end up at slaughter. Or you could “rescue” QH’s as they represent a larger, yet untraceable pool for slaughter than do TBs. Or maybe you could just refrain from casting aspersions on a section of the population that you deem unsuitable for fraternization. Wait, if you met some, you might have to change some of your derogatory views on racetrackers.[/QUOTE]

I don’t have derogatory views on racetrackers, and know quite a few that I happen to like. I merely stated I’m not comfortable going behind the scenes. Nice of you to jump all over me for something you misunderstood. :no:

[Flashy_Gray_VA]

I merely stated I’m not comfortable going behind the scenes.

Why?

[sk_pacer]

I couldn’t get past the first five minutes - just could NOT stand to watch Hoffman’s 500the iteration of Rizzo from Midnight Cowboy. Complete waste of time for me.

[Bacardi1]

[QUOTE=sk_pacer;6115116]
I couldn’t get past the first five minutes - just could NOT stand to watch Hoffman’s 500the iteration of Rizzo from Midnight Cowboy. Complete waste of time for me.[/QUOTE]

Lol! I have to admit that both my husband & I noticed that strong similarity too!!

[HarryHaller]

Still, Guys and Dolls had better music!