Rubicon

[falafel]

I watched the pilot for AMC's Rubicon this last night. I'm not sure what to make of it so far. The story didn't really hook me much in the first episode, but the look and feel of the show were very good.

I feel almost like I did when I watched the first episode of season 1 of The Wire - you can tell something's going on, but its too blurry for your to make it out.

[MarkGrace]

I plan on checking this out. Haven't yet, though.

[Green Lantern]

I watched the pilot for AMC's Rubicon this last night. I'm not sure what to make of it so far. The story didn't really hook me much in the first episode, but the look and feel of the show were very good.

I feel almost like I did when I watched the first episode of season 1 of The Wire - you can tell something's going on, but its too blurry for your to make it out.

I think the comparison to The Wire pilot is an apt one. It was definitely one of those openings that piles on a lot of information and character intros and asks you to trust it that it will all pay off later. That worked out well for The Wire. Who knows about this one?

My main problem with most modern conspiracy movies is that I've seen so many of them that I find it nearly impossible to be surprised by how deep the conspiracy goes. I mean, once X-Files let us know it's about interstellar conquest, it's kind of hard to get worked up about some old guys controlling the stock market or what have you.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

BTW, I think I saw SledgeHammer on a NY Subway one time.

[thesaint258]

I watched the first and second episodes on Sunday, and I think it's one I'll keep watching. It was the second episode that convinced me to keep watching for at least another few weeks to see what the show could become. I think the premise is interesting, and I hope it'll be a more cerebral show with some good suspense thrown in.

[SteelBlue]

Set the dvr to record this series after reading a few articles saying it'd be worth my while. I liked the pilot though agree with Falafel that it wasn't anything that has me hooked yet. I think the show does have tremendous potential and I'll be giving it a chance.

[SteelBlue]

Did anyone stick with this series? I noticed my dvr has 6 episodes but hasn't recorded since Oct. I guess this means there were 6 total episodes. I've worked through the first 3 and have fallen asleep during each (it doesn't help that I usually have an 11pm start time). I find it interesting but rather slow. I think I may end up liking it but have a feeling it won't matter. I have heard zero water cooler buzz on this one and my guess is that if it hasn't been canceled already it won't make it through a season 2.

[Donuthole]

Did anyone stick with this series? I noticed my dvr has 6 episodes but hasn't recorded since Oct. I guess this means there were 6 total episodes. I've worked through the first 3 and have fallen asleep during each (it doesn't help that I usually have an 11pm start time). I find it interesting but rather slow. I think I may end up liking it but have a feeling it won't matter. I have heard zero water cooler buzz on this one and my guess is that if it hasn't been canceled already it won't make it through a season 2.

Of late, AMC's mo is to have short pilot seasons. Breaking Bad's pilot season was 7 episodes, and Walking Dead was 6. That said, I heard from more than one person that Rubicon was a bit of a snoozer.

[BigPiney]

I watched all 13 episodes and enjoyed it, but it was definitely slow going. Too bad it was canceled.

[Katy Lied]

I call these shows Nighttime Soap Operas. I'm very impatient and don't want to commit to 12 or 24 episodes to find out how it all ends up.

I don't mind XFiles or Fringe where every episode mostly resolves itself, with some shadowy plot elements every week adding up to a season finale, but I get impatient with 24 and Lost and Rubicon. It is not satisfying for me to be titillated with a cliffhanger every week. I don't want to talk at the water cooler about the various plot permutations that might crop up next week.

I dont really see a difference between these shows and Days of Our Lives or Santa Barbara.

[Green Lantern]

I dont really see a difference between these shows and Days of Our Lives or Santa Barbara.

Really? Besides the acting, writing and production values? Serialized storytelling is one of the great things television can do better than movies. It would be shame to lump all of the great shows into the soap opera bin.

[SteelBlue]

I watched all 13 episodes and enjoyed it, but it was definitely slow going. Too bad it was canceled.

So I guess my DVR must stop recording at 6 then. I need to pay better attention. Assuming you're not messing with me it's no surprise about the cancellation. Now I have to decide if I want to finish this thing up or not.

[MarkGrace]

Really? Besides the acting, writing and production values? Serialized storytelling is one of the great things television can do better than movies. It would be shame to lump all of the great shows into the soap opera bin.

Procedurals do very little for me at this point. I'm definitely more into the serials.

[Katy Lied]

Really? Besides the acting, writing and production values? Serialized storytelling is one of the great things television can do better than movies. It would be shame to lump all of the great shows into the soap opera bin.

Yeah, I guess the production values are better. It's probably me, and my lack of patience with serials.

I don't know how they write them, it just feels like the writers get together to see what cliffhanger they can pose this week, and each week gets more and more outre. The natural flow feels artificial, pumped up to crescendo after 42 minutes.

When William Faulkner used to write serials, he'd just chop up his books into smaller segments.

[Green Lantern]

When William Faulkner used to write serials, he'd just chop up his books into smaller segments.

Well to be honest, that's what some of the better ones seem to do on television nowadays: Mad Men in particular feels very novelistic.

I totally agree that the reliance on cliffhangers by shows that don't seem to know where they're going can get very tedious.