True Detective

[Fievel]

McConaughey.
Harrelson.
Sunday, January 12 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT).




Thread started because the premiere date was just announced.

[Al Shut]

I'd buy that for a dollar

[TheBaxter]

and the award for Most Pot Smoked On A Single TV Show's Set goes to....

[TheButcher]

SPOILER WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for True Detective, From Hell and some of The Invisibles.

The Expert’s Guide To HBO’s ‘True Detective’ And Weird Comic Book Fiction

[TheButcher]

Influences | Nic Pizzolatto, novelist

The first time I got excited about writing was reading comic books by Alan Moore and Grant Morrison as a kid. Growing up in southwest Louisiana, in a house without many books, the sophistication and depth of their stories were really mind-blowing for a kid. Later, I found Stephen King and Raymond Chandler in my pre-teen years.

As a pre-teen and teen I discovered the movies of the ''70s generation of filmmakers - Scorsese, Coppola, Malick, DePalma - and all of them influenced not only my visual imagination, but ways to use plot and circumstance to investigate these deeper human issues of faith, obligation, family, time, violence, etc. Later, I found French cinema, and both Jean-Pierre Melville and Jules Dassin have influenced me.

[Ribbons]

I've just started watching this; I think I'm maybe three episodes in. I haven't yet seen that much-ballyhooed tracking shot if that helps anybody place my progress.

I have to say I find this show (and the wordy nihilism of Matthew McConaughey's character) to be incredibly, almost unnecessarily, bleak. However, I'm intrigued by the story so far and am eager to see where it leads. I also find it funny how dour the two leads are considering the huge stoners they're played by.

[TheBaxter]

don't worry. it gets bleaker. but then, by the very end, it gets *SPOILER* slightly less bleak *END SPOILER*

[TheButcher]

TRUE DETECTIVE Season 2 Will Have Three Leads And Take Place In California
Creator Nic Pizzolatto gives some insight into the second season of HBO's incredible crime drama.

[so sorry]

So I binge watched this series over the past week. Pretty damned good, bleak as hell, mildly optimistic in the final scene (I guess??).
Having watched it all in a short period of time, I did feel like there were scenes that were really unnecessary/filler (like the expanded infidelity by Marty, put in there really to titillate the HBO viewers). But that titillation was pretty tit-tacular, so no real complaining here. I would have loved a bit more detail into the mythology of the killer cult and the whole Yellow King/Carcosa thing, which really never gets explained. I know the real story is about Rusty and Marty, and its a strong one, but the underlying evil element could have been fleshed out more. I'm generally not a Woody Harrlson fan, but he was real strong here. Dug the back and forth in timeline stuff.

Good shit, hopefully a new season with entirely new material and actors can live up to Season 1.

[Ribbons]

Yeah, I'm very interested in seeing what they do with season 2, what the similarities and differences are, whether there will be another philosophy-spewing Rust Cohle, etc.

[Spandau Belly]

I actually watched this whole series while visiting with my mum. She kept fucking up and saying "Woody Allen" instead of "Woody Harrelson" which made it pretty clear who they should cast for season 3.

I found the show to be generally excellent up until the final two episodes where it took a strong step down in quality.

The characterization was absolutely great in terms of writing, acting, and I'll give them points for their use of camera filters, makeup, hairpieces etc to make these guys look younger. They made Woody look like he did back when he was a white man with the inability to jump off the money train. The one thing I found strange was that in the final episodes, which take place in present times, they throw it out there that Woody hadn't been in touch with his daughters in a couple years and that felt out of character. He was a deeply flawed man with his rage issues, drinking, womanizing etc but he still always seemed like a devoted father.

Like I said, the ending wasn't terrible; it was fairly logical, it just wasn't on par with the other episodes. It's got a lot of the stuff that makes modern cop shows kinda boring. They type stuff into search engines and get exactly the information they need. I get that detective work is like that now, it's just not as fun to watch. The whole climactic chase through the killer's layer just felt like it was taken from every paint-by-numbers script that probably got rejected in the five years after SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. I probably would've given up on the series if the first couple epiodes had been like that. But the rest of it was very good and I'll make a point to watch the next round.

[Fievel]

The one thing I found strange was that in the final episodes, which take place in present times, they throw it out there that Woody hadn't been in touch with his daughters in a couple years and that felt out of character. He was a deeply flawed man with his rage issues, drinking, womanizing etc but he still always seemed like a devoted father.

It's been a while since I watched it (the original airing on HBO), but it seems to me that I took it as being more of their choice and not his.

And Woody Allen?.................... That would be AWESOME!!!

[TheButcher]

True Detective Casts Porn Actors for Massive Orgy

[so sorry]

True Detective Casts Porn Actors for Massive Orgy

As if I needed another reason to watch this show.

[Ribbons]

[TheBaxter]

looks bleak.

[so sorry]

looks bleak.

You mean 'dark'? Yeah, its got that in spades.

I fucking hate Colin Farrell, so I'm going to struggle with this season.

I think the reality is that True Detective was really a unique show, perhaps perfect for a one season run, and anything to come after will pale in comparison. Which is especially unfair considering this season has no real relation to the first other than the title and a general "cop drama" tag.

[Peven]

dark??? you call THAT dark!?!?!!?!?!? inconthievable!!!!

[Ribbons]

I think whatever True Detective's legacy ends up being is still a mystery. As well-made as the first season is I have to confess I think it's kind of overrated. Some of this has already been examined on other websites, but the thing that became the show's trademark -- Matthew McConaughey's nihilistic musings on the nature of existence -- has fuck-all to do with detectives or crime, as far as I can tell. It's like something the showrunner was obsessed with and just ladled it on because why not. Maybe those themes will continue to grow and clarify themselves in this season and however many others they make; maybe it was just the particular character trait of Rust Cohle and these two seasons will have nothing in common. It's definitely an ambitious show, and I don't think any of us know exactly what it is yet. But I'm interested in finding out.

[Spandau Belly]

Well, that trailer gives us absolutely nothing other than a preview of the hairstyles that will be sported by the actors we already knew were cast in this.

I fucking hate Colin Farrell

I like him. I like McAdams, too. Vince Vaughn is the real stinker for me. I think the guy had a one-note persona as a motormouthed sleazebag that he managed to make okay in a couple of comedy movies, but anytime I've seen him try his hand at drama he's just felt out of his depth to me. I'm hoping this is one of those GONE GIRL type situations where bad actors get cast to a part that they just happen to fit perfectly.

I remember when I saw THE DARK KNIGHT, I thought Aaron Eckhart was going to be a big star. That didn't happen. I think he'd be a good choice for a show like this.

the show's trademark -- Matthew McConaughey's nihilistic musings on the nature of existence -- has fuck-all to do with detectives or crime

Well, they have to characterize these guys somehow.

I think the idea being that his detachment made him a better detective because his distance from regular people gave him better perspective on them. He wasn't clouded by emotion or personal investment. I thought the first season was a play on the Holmes-Watson dynamic which is a cliché of detective stories. It was just done in a relatively fresh way, but it was still the brilliant eccentric detached loner bouncing ideas off of the frustrated everyman guy.

But I do hope they don't do that again in season 2.

[TheBaxter]

this series is very Fincher-y. the first season had a distinctly Se7en-esque vibe. maybe it's just the california setting, but i get a strong Zodiac feeling from the season 2 promo.

[TheButcher]

TRUE DETECTIVE Season 2: “Occult” Aspect Has Been Dropped; New Posters Celebrate Mustaches
Sadly, the plan to delve into the "secret occult history of the U.S. transportation system" was discarded.

[Fievel]

So a couple episodes in.....

I appreciate that the general story is nothing like the first season. But what I don't appreciate is the forced, pretentiously dark mood that the show presents. I almost turned it off for good during Vince Vaughn's opening monologue, which was just as cringe-inducing as the one he presented last week. The story itself is good, and I'm on board (for the moment) with that. But I hate being beaten over the head with the Dark Mood Stick as violently as this season does. So we go from two leads in the first season, both having serious issues, to four leads in the new season. Two of the four leads (Vaughn and Farrel) are truly despicable people and the other two have a ton of issues that haven't fully been shown yet. Okay, humanity sucks. We learned that in Season One. Can't we move on to some average sense of normality?

Maybe the show should have been called Humanity Sucks: Rise of the Darkness Within.

Oh and is Colin Farrell's character dead?!? That's some bold shit if he is. Two shotgun(?) blasts to the stomach, one at point-blank range, would do that to a person.

[so sorry]

I'm currently taping it, haven't tuned in yet to check it out.

[Fievel]

The monologues have decreased in their ridiculous intensity. All of the leads have been identified as miserable shits. The story is getting more interesting with each episode.

And that shootout was one of the best/most unforgiving on film in a while.

[TheBaxter]

reminded me of the scene from Heat, where the shit hits the fan and then just keeps escalating and escalating. when that first cop's head got blown apart i audibly gasped, that hardly ever happens except during sports.

[Fievel]

Holy shit this show has become intense as fuck.

[Spandau Belly]

I finally got around to catching up with Season 2 while visiting with my mum. All I had heard was negative things, and I don't like Vince Vaughn, so I had low expectations. Honestly, I was mostly expecting a ROBOCOP 2 standard in which there would be some new stuff that half works and then some half-assed rehash of the first one that makes you wish they'd just stick with so-so new ideas they have. But fuck it, I loved this season. I'll even go out on a limb and say I liked more than the first.

This season is pure James Ellroy aggressive sleaze comin' at ya in plotline layered on top of plotline. They mix in the occasional bit of TWIN PEAKS surreal atmosphere this time, what with that long part with the Englebert Humperdink-lookin' motherfucker singing Bette Middler with a John Wayne voice and all. And it mostly worked.

There was some stuff that didn't work. Kelly Reilly's acting and face leave a lot to be desired. And I don't think they consistently directed her. And I think she and Vince Vaughn were basically playing the same characters that Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain played in A MOST VIOLENT YEAR, only the dynamic never really gelled. Vaughn surprised me, that's not to say his work here is outstanding, it's just that he seems to be trying for a change, mostly comes across as sincere, and hits his mark well enough. But Reilly falls short more often than not.

The stuff with Farrell and his kid was really touching. Normally I hate the trope of taking a guy who does all sorts of shitty things and then trying give him this silver lining by showing that he's a good dad, but they put a very different spin on it here.

[caruso_stalker217]

This season is pure James Ellroy aggressive sleaze comin' at ya in plotline layered on top of plotline.

I'm sold.

[Ribbons]

This season is pure James Ellroy comin' at ya.

Well, it definitely wants to be James Ellroy...

My appraisal of True Detective is this: every episode of season 1 was mesmerizing and addictive, but looking back at the end of it all it's hard to see what the point was. Season 2 had a much more cohesive and ultimately satisfying story, but on a micro level, episodes would be boring or downright painful to sit through. Vince Vaughn gave it a noble effort, but he was wildly miscast. There are very few people who could make lines like "Never do anything out of hunger" or "Blue balls in your heart" work, and he is sadly not one of them. You need a charismatic, affable, dangerous man to play that role, not someone who looks like he's constantly trying not to pinch a loaf. Honestly I think different casting might have made the season. It gave me a newfound respect for Matthew McConaughey's performance as Rust Cohle. I'm still down for a season 3, but I hope HBO and Pizzolato learned a few lessons from what went wrong this year. For one thing, maybe don't demand final cut if you're the kind of writer who gets all precious over keeping lines like "Everything is fucking" in the script.

[Spandau Belly]

I was able take Vaughn's performance, partly because of low expectations. I did try thinking about who could've done better and I had a hard time thinking of anybody. The closest I got was Michael Shannon. It's a role for the type of leading man that used to be everywhere 30 years ago, but the world just seemed to discontinue that model so all the guys who could pull it off perfectly are in their 70s.

The one problem being that the character is supposed to be such a middle manager. The guys below him all think he's soft and the guys above him think he's an insect they can step on without breaking stride. If he doesn't seem somewhat vulnerable, there's no real tension. If he comes across too dangerous, it turns into one of those action movies where you're just waiting for a bunch of guys to mess with Jason Statham so he can rip them apart.

The other problem being he sees himself as a good man and we, the audience, have to at least understand how he can think that otherwise his quest for legitimacy has no weight, or worse, we're rooting against him.

[Ribbons]

I think in my head I see a James Gandolfini type. I know he was attached to True Detective in its infancy, but I have no idea what kind of role they had in mind for him.

It would probably be a bit too much like Tony Soprano, but at the same time I just picture that big grin of his and how he could turn on a dime from goofy to deadly. Moot point I know, but still.

[Maui]

The problem with season 2 of True Detective was that there were too many staring contests between Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell.

[TheButcher]

‘True Detective’ Might Not Return for a Third Season

[so sorry]

‘True Detective’ Might Not Return for a Third Season

Not gonna cry about that at all.

[TheBaxter]

‘True Detective’ Might Not Return for a Third Season

'True Detective' Might Return for a Third Season

[Fievel]

It's a sneaky way of concluding Deadwood, but I'm all for it!