Nashville Review
Oct. 13th, 2012 12:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatBeen insanely busy this week, and a bit exhausted. So less posting.
Did see Nashville, which is admittedly the best pilot I've seen to date. But considering what it has been up against, that really isn't saying all that much. Your mileage may vary, but it has been a lack-luster pilot season so far. (Haven't seen Chicago Fire, Arrow or Beauty and the Beast yet - they are on the DVR. All three have gotten lack-luster reviews from the professional critics. Actually I think the professional critics only liked Nashville, Last Resort, and Arrow.)
Nashville Review
First off, if you aren't a fan of television series like Friday Night Lights with a slightly soap operish feel to them, Nashville will not be your cup of tea or coco. It's better written than "SMASH" was, but the music isn't as good or as well displayed. Nashville deals with music in the much the same way that Friday Night Light's handled football. It's less about the songs or songwriting, and more about the industry or the internal politics of the industry that is producing the songs and the people within that industry. In short it is a story about the music industry in Nashville, as well as Nashville itself - which in some respects is closer to what the HBO series TREME is about (the music industry in New Orleans and New Orleans itself). I can't tell you how well the two compare, because I've never really watched Treme. Just know what it is about and how others have described it.
While "SMASH" is about putting on a specific Broadway show, NASHVILLE is about the country music recording industry and most specifically the changes and tensions in that industry.
The writers/producers behind it know their stuff. The head-writer and creator, Cahouri spent time in Nashville as a music journalist, and her husband and music producer, T. Bone Burnett, has written country songs and is a record producer, amongst other things. The country music industry has changed, it's no longer Loretta Lyn, pop music is making its way in. There are blends. And cross-overs. Garth Brooks jumped to pop and back again. And Reba McIntyre - who Rayna reminds me a great deal of, has done the same. Although Rayna also reminds me a little of Bonnie Raitt. Country music is a lot broader than you may think - it includes various styles from pop country (Taylor Swift) to folk (Jewel, Janis Ian, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and The Civil Wars and Mumford and Sons) to blue grass, and finally good old Country (a la Dolly, Loretta Lyn and Patsy Cline...including that "twangy Whine"). And the series Nashville is showing how the industry works. How it really isn't necessarily about talent, but "star" appeal or "marketing savvy" and showmanship, and how difficult it can be to get ahead. Also the pitfalls of the attempt.
That said, there are problems, and I have mixed feelings about the pilot. And the series.
It is very soapy. We have the nasty, controlling, politically power-hunger father, played a bit over-the-top by Powers Booth. The nasty, controlling, manipulative, drug-addicted mom. And one too many hunky guys who look exactly alike. It was hard to figure out who was who at different points. This has become a common problem on tv shows lately. Too many people look alike. Damn casting agents need to stop going for the same types. Friday Night Lights cast better.
There's also a slant towards trite but true soap cliches...again power hungry manipulative father who convinces Rayna's wimpy hubby to run for Mayor, with his other, older daughter aiding and abetting. Rayna's past affair with her band-leader Deacon being held over her head by her father - apparently one of her daughter's paternity may be at question.On the other end, Juliette Barnes, the younger singer conveying for Rayna's country crown, who is more pop than country and reminds people a little of shinier/prettier curvier Taylor Swift. (Not to mention less twangy.) Juliette is a manipulative bitch - who is in some regards a far more honest "EVE" from the old play "All About EVE". (To make her appear more human and sympathetic, the writer has given Juliette a manipulative, dependent, dead-beat, drug addict Mom, who keeps calling her.) Juliette lets Rayna know in no uncertain terms she wants her crown, her band-leader, and her place. Time to retire Rayna or open for me. And since you aren't loving your band-leader or eating up his music, I will. And to be fair, Rayna isn't appreciating Deacon's songs - mainly because it would feel weird to record them, they are all about her. But his songs, unfortunately, are far better than the one's either Rayna or Juliette are singing. Which is why Juliette grabs him. Not to be out-done, Rayna's agent/manager discovers Deacon's niece is an emerging talent and suggests hooking her up to write for Rayna. You all see where this is going, don't you?
The plotting works, there are no gaps that I can see, but it also feels a bit done to death. Every country music movie appears to have at one time or another followed this path, most recently it was the plot of the Gwyneth Paltrow film "Country Strong", with Leighten Meister in the up-and-comer role. While on the male end - it was the story in the Jeff Bridges oscar nominated film, with Colin Farrel playing the up-and-comer. And granted no story discusses mid-life crisis, change and the fear of the next generation yanking the current generation's bread and butter away from them - better than this one does, which may explain why it is done to death.
That said, what works is the cast. The cinematography and production is as clean and polished and professional as Friday Night Lights. There are location shots. It's not all indoors. And it does not feel like you are just watching a bunch of scenes with people in cramped sets. The music selections provide a good backdrop and atmosphere. But to date they don't appear to pushing the plot forward or providing enough of a metaphor. We haven't really seen much music yet. In the pilot only two numbers jump out - both performed in a small indie club, with acoustic guitar. We spend more time listening to them than the others. We don't know yet if Hayden Pantierre and Connie Britton can sing, we haven't quite heard them. We do know that Deacon and his neice can.
It's too early to tell how much music will be used. I've heard latter episodes showcase it more and focus more on the process than the pilot did. The pilot did what pilot's are supposed to do - set things up.
As pilot's go, it was not a bad one. Far better than any of the others I've seen to date.
Paced better than Vegas, which I've given up on.
Will give it five-six more episodes at least.
Overall rating? B+
Did see Nashville, which is admittedly the best pilot I've seen to date. But considering what it has been up against, that really isn't saying all that much. Your mileage may vary, but it has been a lack-luster pilot season so far. (Haven't seen Chicago Fire, Arrow or Beauty and the Beast yet - they are on the DVR. All three have gotten lack-luster reviews from the professional critics. Actually I think the professional critics only liked Nashville, Last Resort, and Arrow.)
Nashville Review
First off, if you aren't a fan of television series like Friday Night Lights with a slightly soap operish feel to them, Nashville will not be your cup of tea or coco. It's better written than "SMASH" was, but the music isn't as good or as well displayed. Nashville deals with music in the much the same way that Friday Night Light's handled football. It's less about the songs or songwriting, and more about the industry or the internal politics of the industry that is producing the songs and the people within that industry. In short it is a story about the music industry in Nashville, as well as Nashville itself - which in some respects is closer to what the HBO series TREME is about (the music industry in New Orleans and New Orleans itself). I can't tell you how well the two compare, because I've never really watched Treme. Just know what it is about and how others have described it.
While "SMASH" is about putting on a specific Broadway show, NASHVILLE is about the country music recording industry and most specifically the changes and tensions in that industry.
The writers/producers behind it know their stuff. The head-writer and creator, Cahouri spent time in Nashville as a music journalist, and her husband and music producer, T. Bone Burnett, has written country songs and is a record producer, amongst other things. The country music industry has changed, it's no longer Loretta Lyn, pop music is making its way in. There are blends. And cross-overs. Garth Brooks jumped to pop and back again. And Reba McIntyre - who Rayna reminds me a great deal of, has done the same. Although Rayna also reminds me a little of Bonnie Raitt. Country music is a lot broader than you may think - it includes various styles from pop country (Taylor Swift) to folk (Jewel, Janis Ian, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and The Civil Wars and Mumford and Sons) to blue grass, and finally good old Country (a la Dolly, Loretta Lyn and Patsy Cline...including that "twangy Whine"). And the series Nashville is showing how the industry works. How it really isn't necessarily about talent, but "star" appeal or "marketing savvy" and showmanship, and how difficult it can be to get ahead. Also the pitfalls of the attempt.
That said, there are problems, and I have mixed feelings about the pilot. And the series.
It is very soapy. We have the nasty, controlling, politically power-hunger father, played a bit over-the-top by Powers Booth. The nasty, controlling, manipulative, drug-addicted mom. And one too many hunky guys who look exactly alike. It was hard to figure out who was who at different points. This has become a common problem on tv shows lately. Too many people look alike. Damn casting agents need to stop going for the same types. Friday Night Lights cast better.
There's also a slant towards trite but true soap cliches...again power hungry manipulative father who convinces Rayna's wimpy hubby to run for Mayor, with his other, older daughter aiding and abetting. Rayna's past affair with her band-leader Deacon being held over her head by her father - apparently one of her daughter's paternity may be at question.On the other end, Juliette Barnes, the younger singer conveying for Rayna's country crown, who is more pop than country and reminds people a little of shinier/prettier curvier Taylor Swift. (Not to mention less twangy.) Juliette is a manipulative bitch - who is in some regards a far more honest "EVE" from the old play "All About EVE". (To make her appear more human and sympathetic, the writer has given Juliette a manipulative, dependent, dead-beat, drug addict Mom, who keeps calling her.) Juliette lets Rayna know in no uncertain terms she wants her crown, her band-leader, and her place. Time to retire Rayna or open for me. And since you aren't loving your band-leader or eating up his music, I will. And to be fair, Rayna isn't appreciating Deacon's songs - mainly because it would feel weird to record them, they are all about her. But his songs, unfortunately, are far better than the one's either Rayna or Juliette are singing. Which is why Juliette grabs him. Not to be out-done, Rayna's agent/manager discovers Deacon's niece is an emerging talent and suggests hooking her up to write for Rayna. You all see where this is going, don't you?
The plotting works, there are no gaps that I can see, but it also feels a bit done to death. Every country music movie appears to have at one time or another followed this path, most recently it was the plot of the Gwyneth Paltrow film "Country Strong", with Leighten Meister in the up-and-comer role. While on the male end - it was the story in the Jeff Bridges oscar nominated film, with Colin Farrel playing the up-and-comer. And granted no story discusses mid-life crisis, change and the fear of the next generation yanking the current generation's bread and butter away from them - better than this one does, which may explain why it is done to death.
That said, what works is the cast. The cinematography and production is as clean and polished and professional as Friday Night Lights. There are location shots. It's not all indoors. And it does not feel like you are just watching a bunch of scenes with people in cramped sets. The music selections provide a good backdrop and atmosphere. But to date they don't appear to pushing the plot forward or providing enough of a metaphor. We haven't really seen much music yet. In the pilot only two numbers jump out - both performed in a small indie club, with acoustic guitar. We spend more time listening to them than the others. We don't know yet if Hayden Pantierre and Connie Britton can sing, we haven't quite heard them. We do know that Deacon and his neice can.
It's too early to tell how much music will be used. I've heard latter episodes showcase it more and focus more on the process than the pilot did. The pilot did what pilot's are supposed to do - set things up.
As pilot's go, it was not a bad one. Far better than any of the others I've seen to date.
Paced better than Vegas, which I've given up on.
Will give it five-six more episodes at least.
Overall rating? B+
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Date: 2012-10-13 11:59 pm (UTC)Then again, I'm one of those bitter music fans who don't get what modern-day Nashville pop has to do with country music, so I'm bound to appreciate a show that focuses on that.
Can appreciate that. The pop music trend is hurting country music. I prefer the Johnny Cash end, or more indie country end, the pop end is very plastic and not memorable. But I'm admittedly not much of a pop fan. Oh I have pop. But pop has the tendency towards earworm tunes. The series is doing a good job of getting that across with Rayna critiquing Juliette Barnes who sounds like the new pop music and authentic take on it as well. We have pop, we don't need it in country.
And I love how much work they've put into the music; the songs we heard in the first episode all sounded authentic to me - ie not necessarily all good, but like the sort of songs these people would be singing and have hits with (or not have hits with).
Good point. I agree. It's what separates the series from Glee. It is similar to SMASH in this respect, in that SMASH was equally authentic in its rendition of Broadway show tunes - although SMASH focuses more on the songs and performance of the songs, and Nashville focuses more on the industry. Being a fan of the inner-workings of industries, I actually like that.
And you're right the songs and the presentation of them felt authentic.
This is the rare pilot in which it feels as if the writers/creators are working with what they know and know well, as opposed to counting on established stereotypes.
Nashville is definitely the best pilot of the American Fall Season I've seen to date.
Plus the talent behind it is worth paying attention to.
Connie Britton deserves better than American Horror Story, and she definitely has that here (not that that's saying much).
Agreed. I loved her from FNL and felt she was under-used and poorly so in AHS. Although, I thought you liked it better than I did? I gave up half-way through. Shame too, because it had a great cast.
I think she does have a better role here. More to do, and more of a focus. I like her performance so far. Curious to see how it goes.