Lights Out on FX

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Originally Posted by RathBandu 

Looks kind of boring and meatheaded. I'll give it a shot.

They can't all be Sex and the City!

I will be there for the start of this. FX shows usually appeal to me, this looks like it will as well.

Yeah, that was good. Like a really good book. Interested to see where it goes. The theme of doing whatever you can in hard economic times to keep your family afloat really hits home for me.

Great start. Only one episode in and McCallany seems completely natural in the role.

It really does seem as though it was based on ROCKY V. Good on them to get Mayor Carcetti's campaign manager to play George Washington Duke.

Pretty sweet Justified promo.

I agree.  Great start.  Holt McCallany is excellent.  I've always liked what he brought to his bit roles, and it's nice to see that charisma translate into a lead character.  I thought the pilot did a fantastic job showing the mindset of the guy, including his explosive temper and nastiness juxtaposed with his love for his family.

Looking forward to the season.

That Justified promo was great. 

I love how they would go back and show what happened with each confrontation in the end. Caught me off guard with the Dentist.

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Originally Posted by Casey Moore 

 

I love how they would go back and show what happened with each confrontation in the end.

Agreed. The whole dentist bit was my favourite part, how at first Lights crashes the dinner, then it gets more awkward, then he's got the dentist screaming like a bitch in his own hallway. Good stuff, I really want to see where this goes. Hoping for more hilarious scenes of Lights trying to solve different problems in life by offering people free photos or a signed pair of Everlast.

McCallany rules, and it's great to see him stretching his chops here. And I like that they haven't overlooked the fact that he has the most intimidating stare this side of Ironside.

"...

 ...

 ...

 Do we understand each other?"

Liked this quite a lot, and absolutely loved everything about the story with his oldest daughter and her boyfriend.  Him coming home and just staring at the boy without a word, and then the amazing scene where he gives the speech about how lying to people is hiding your true self and how important it is to him to know his daughter, to then turn around and lie to her immediately.  Great that you know EXACTLY where it's going as soon as she walks in the room and he's icing his fist and yet it still had some emotional punch to it.

Wait, did Lights take a dive? I totally missed that implication, but I've seen it mentioned in reviews.

Great pilot anyway, loved it.

"Did you pee your pants?"

I'm interested to see where this goes, though Clark Johnson directing a TV episode on FX is pretty much money.   Wasn't sure how McCallany would come across, but he was a LOT more likeable than I expected.  Also nice to see Nick Sobotka getting some work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Murder 

Wait, did Lights take a dive? I totally missed that implication, but I've seen it mentioned in reviews.

I don't think he took a dive, simply because of the beating he was giving his opponent. What I got was it was a contentious split decision.

Also after seeing the whole ep, Lights seems to have way too much pride to take a dive.

It almost couldn't have been a split decision.  A split decision rarely renders you beaten and unconscious.

The feeling I got was that he wanted to finish his opponent (true to his boxing nickname) and that he had every opportunity to do so because his opponent was teetering.  His Dad/manager had instructed him to not get in close because he was winning on the cards.  Best guess is that his opponent got a second wind late and beat him because he was giving him so much space that the guy was able to get his bearing back.

Of course, it's always possible he didn't take his Dad's advice and got in close and got suckered by the other fighter but the first scenario is the only one that makes sense with him telling the other fighter that he had obviously won the fight.  Plus, it makes the scene with his Dad watching the interview and with Lights failing to explain why he didn't try to finish his opponent that much more poignant.

I'll have to watch it again, but I like that.

I agree with A-Pathetic.  Dad told him to "take it easy," essentially, not go for the knockout, Lights did that, and for whatever reason didn't win on points like he should have.  Explains the dad's reaction later on, "Death Row's" comment that he's been hounded about the fight ever since--most commentators probably agreed with the dad's assessment. 

The show didn't immediately grab me like Justified did (that Miami scene!), but a nice slow burn, by the end I was making sure it would record next week.

Very solid start. McCallany is the real draw here, I love the guy and he's been circling a great, meaty role for a long time. Too bad the ratings were abysmal (less than the Terriers premiere).

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Originally Posted by alobek 

 Too bad the ratings were abysmal (less than the Terriers premiere).

Goddammit.

I liked this a lot, and i'm sold on it being appointment television because i'm on a boxing kick lately.  Only concern is McCallany seemed a tad bit stiff at times, but I don't think it matters...that glare he gave to that friend of his daughter was priceless.  Guy is intense.

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Originally Posted by alobek 

Very solid start. McCallany is the real draw here, I love the guy and he's been circling a great, meaty role for a long time. Too bad the ratings were abysmal (less than the Terriers premiere).

Damn. I didn't know that was actually possible. 

It did better in the key demo, which FX cares more about. But they're still not good. At all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by A-Pathetic 

It almost couldn't have been a split decision.  A split decision rarely renders you beaten and unconscious.

 

The feeling I got was that he wanted to finish his opponent (true to his boxing nickname) and that he had every opportunity to do so because his opponent was teetering.  His Dad/manager had instructed him to not get in close because he was winning on the cards.  Best guess is that his opponent got a second wind late and beat him because he was giving him so much space that the guy was able to get his bearing back.

 

Of course, it's always possible he didn't take his Dad's advice and got in close and got suckered by the other fighter but the first scenario is the only one that makes sense with him telling the other fighter that he had obviously won the fight.  Plus, it makes the scene with his Dad watching the interview and with Lights failing to explain why he didn't try to finish his opponent that much more poignant.

I think he followed his dad's instructions, but inexplicably lost on points.  He wasn't knocked unconscious during the fight itself.  During the opening discussion with his wife, he mentions that he fainted because there were too many people in the ring.  That suggests that it was after the bout when managers, officials, trainers, etc. flood the ring for the reading of the scorecards.

Sucks about the ratings because I thought this was excellent.
 

If this dives because of the ratings as well, I give up on you humans. Excellent strong dramatic television. Even my wife got into it and she despises boxing.

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Originally Posted by Mattioli 

 He wasn't knocked unconscious during the fight itself.

This was my assumption. If he had been knocked unconscious during the fight, there would have at least been paramedics there trying to help him (not just his wife giving him a checkup). He managed to get to the locker room ok.

CHUD interview here if anyone hasn't seen it yet:

www.chud.com/30242/interview-holt-mccallany-warren-leight-lights-out

The executive producer talking about Keach made me laugh: "just about every actor or actress who came to our set he had done a play with, a movie with, a TV show with, or had slept with."

The reaction from Mccallany after getting stung in that sparring session was fantastic.

"You kidding me?"

I'm loving this show so far.

Solid stuff, though not as good as episode 1. I knew something bad was going to happen to the ipod thief (one of the funniest headshots in recent memory, by the way). It was pretty obvious that's where they were heading, but yeah, that's our confirmation that Lights has got himself mixed up with some really bad dudes.

I liked the scene between him and his daughter about the pugilistic dementia. Pretty scary thing, the mental and physical deterioration of these guys who do the really rough contact sports. Never really seen it covered in movies or tv, apart from that one effective scene in the much maligned Rocky V, where Rock can't stop his hands shaking.

Welp, that's another show we can put to bed. The ratings for the second episode were even worse. Dammit. I hope they at least see this season through.

I think has more to do with these aren't easy programs to market or for people to watch. The mystery isn't solved in an hour by people in really nice clothes. There aren't always easy good guys and bad guys. I am scared this will make FX gun shy about developing original and unique programs. When it comes to tv drama, FX really is the Easy Riders, Raging Bulls network.

Guess the whole "guy doing whatever it takes to support his family" thing didn't strike a chord with the public. Really hope it's not back to obscurity for McCallany when this gets cancelled, fingers crossed he at least gets a juicy movie bad guy role or something out of it.

Got a kick out of Barry recycling the "King of the Caucasus Mountains" line at the press conference.

Looking forward to Lights finding out how his brother got the title shot for Omar.

Hope Lights is forced to participate in more super-secret underground fights in front of rich folks. Bonus points if they stage one at a racquetball court.

Or in Thailand. Fighting the local champion.

I really liked this episode: the confession and money argument, the church scene pressure/awkwardness, his wife proving she's willing to make sacrifices and get by with less, the talk with Omar at the end. Also how in its own way it put to bed the whole boxing versus MMA thing. Even though we all knew Lights was gonna win, that was still a really well done fight sequence. Nobody is tougher than a boxer who's been through the blood and the hurt. Loved his old man's "what are those guys gonna do, hug each other to death?"

Please don't cancel this show.

Oh and Bas Ruten makes an awesome heavy, and needs to be in more stuff. Don't follow the MMA at all, but the guy was hilariously great in GTA 4.

"and when your body connects with the reproductive organs of another man, lemme tell you buddy, it is pain and beauty..."

Maybe they could get Brucie on this show too?

Yeah, Bas Ruten seems like a pretty cool guy from what I've seen of him in other stuff.

And it was nice that they finaly let the wife in on the secret. I know that she didn't know anything about the problems Lights was having but because of that the family segments weren't sticking well with the rest of the show. She came off as a little bit worse than the writers intended I think. But on this she was pretty good and sympathetic.

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Originally Posted by stelios 

I know that she didn't know anything about the problems Lights was having but because of that the family segments weren't sticking well with the rest of the show. She came off as a little bit worse than the writers intended I think. But on this she was pretty good and sympathetic.

The writing can be up and down sometimes, but I think they did well with her character there. At first, she's horrified at the thought that her lifestyle is over, and that their kids are not in fact "set for life". But then after she has had time to think, she realizes that she was (like a lot of people would be) seduced by the trappings of Lights' success, and that things will still be ok as long as she has her husband and family. Sympathetic, but also not unrealistic.

Of course, when she finds out that the money issues are the least of their problems, things will get even more interesting.

this show just went from good to great with this episode. it'll be a real shame if it doesn't last, because they're shaping up for one hell of a showdown.

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Originally Posted by Disciple_72 

 

Of course, when she finds out that the money issues are the least of their problems, things will get even more interesting.

Yeah, that poor middle daughter of theirs now knows both about the dementia and the money. I bet it's she that spills the beans to the wife.

Lights is in so much shit. The money, the dementia, his screwup brother creating new problems, the fact that he's obviously going to have to break his promise to his wife and fight Reynolds again at some point. But the scariest thing is the people that Lights is now involved with. Although this is by no means a perfect show, the main reason cancellation will suck is that I REALLY want to see how things unfold. I want to see what happens when Lights says no to his new associate.

The Rocky comparisons are inevitable here, but the more I see of Lights' world, the more I get the impression that things aren't going to end with all problems wrapped up nice and neat with a cheesy 80s power ballad over the credits.

His wife has to be the dumbest fucking doctor alive.