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  The pilot episode is free to watch! Link at the bottom of this post!Trailer (kinda cheesy but good) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yawvtaFwfZs Overview Transparent is a new series created by Jill Soloway. The pilot premiered at this year's Sundance Festival, and it's available now in its entirety through Amazon Prime's Instant Video service as of this past Friday, a la Netflix produced programs. The show follows the affluent Pfefferman family as they struggle through personal revelations, their deepest insecurities, and the complex and often uncomfortable ways in which families are bound together. Main Cast  The show follows Maura (Jeffrey Tambor), formerly known as Mort to her three children, as she begins to come out to the world and her family as a transgender woman. She bears scars from a life of dissatisfaction, confusion, and a longing to live as a woman, but like many trans people, is consumed by the magnitude of changes in her life and lives almost entirely in her own world. She only seeks acceptance from her family, but is now coming face to face with the lived reality of being trans and out in a society rife with transphobic/misogynistic/ageist prejudice and misunderstanding.  Ali (Gaby Hoffman) is the youngest of the three siblings and a perpetual screw-up, relying on her family to compensate for her inability to deal with money. She lives in the moment looking for her happily-ever-after, but even through mistake after mistake, she remains an upbeat and optimistic person, hoping to hit it big someday with whatever get rich scheme she's dreamed up.  Josh (Jay Dupliss) is the middle sibling and only brother in the family. Apparently a womanizer, Josh is always seeking out a deeper connection that just isn't there with his partners, and is growing weary of the constant rejection he faces. As the firstborn son of the family, he's often the most aggressively demanding of what he feels entitled to from his wealthy parents.  Sarah (Amy Landecker) is the oldest sibling, and while she's in a superficially happy marriage with children, she is deeply unfulfilled with her life as a housewife in the lap of luxury. The facade of her marriage begins to crack as she rekindles a relationship with an old girlfriend, and she is forced to confront her queerness in the midst of family upheaval.  Shelley (Judith Light) is the aloof and somewhat oblivious mother of the family, long divorced from Maura by this point in time. Though she tries to support and relate to her children in a time of need, there's a disconnect from, or seemingly sometimes denial of, the reality at hand. The show is billed as a dramedy, and while it can be quick, witty, and very funny at times, there's always a pervasive sense of very serious discomfort and confusion in the lives of the family. In spite of that, the family comes off as genuinely caring and wanting to be involved in one another's lives, but struggling not only to approach each other, but their own personal demons as well. In spite of apparently glowing reviews, though, nobody seems to have caught wind of it, and the show has seen very little advertisement and wide exposure. As an openly queer trans woman, it pinged my radar pretty quickly, and the depiction of Maura's coming out is realistic, relateable, and often times tear-jerking. The depiction of everyone's problems is handled with delicacy, dignity, and nonjudgmentality without pulling any punches. For anyone who liked the complex depiction of gender and sexuality in Orange is the New Black, this is a must-watch, and some critics have even billed it as being a better show overall - almost hyperbolic praise in the face of the wild critical acclaim for Orange, but honestly? I might have a hard time saying it isn't. Watch it now with your Amazon Instant Video account, or start bugging a friend or family member for their password. Totally, totally worth it. I'd also welcome any insightful and critical discussion about the issues in the show, but please, try not to be too goony about it! Philip Rivers fucked around with this message at 13:02 on Oct 5, 2014 |
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Oct 5, 2014 02:58
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Finished the season tonight and it's the best new show I've seen since Utopia (UK, not that Fox show). It's a fantastic cast, with Jeffrey Tambor and Gaby Hoffmann knocking it out of the park (the lack of response to the show probably means they sadly won't get any nominations come award season, but hopefully it'll catch on in the coming weeks). I really like how Maura and her kids all seem to be going through their own types of transitions, or at the very least struggling to find a better sense of self. It really hammers home how universal the subject matter is. And I like how everyone ends up by the end of the season. Sarah ends up with the person she loves, only to fall into the same feeling of boredom as her marriage to Len. Josh's desire to start a family comes true in a way he'd never expect. Ali continues floating through life choosing one thing after another in the hopes that one will stick, but now one of the only stable things in her life has suddenly been taken away from her.
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Oct 5, 2014 07:11
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Incredible show, one of the most compulsively watchable I've seen in a while too, without being shallow. So many great little moments, first ones that come into my head are (mostly from the later episodes):
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Oct 6, 2014 01:11
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This show is amazing and deserves to be seen by all. Far better and funnier than Orange is the New Black (which I think is a good show) in my opinion. 4 out of 5 Pfefferman's prefer pussy.
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Oct 7, 2014 05:31
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Hadn't heard of this show until I saw this thread. It's great to have a good exclusive show on Amazon Instant for a change. I finished it within a couple of nights of watching, and really enjoyed it! The most unexpected surprise (besides all of the interesting plot developments) was the variety of great guest stars (Melora Hardin, Rob Huebel, and Carrie Brownstein stand out to me). Had some laughs and some cries. Fingers crossed for more seasons to come. Unfortunately, I feel like Amazon Instant isn't as ubiquitous as Netflix, so I don't know if it has a good chance of getting decent viewership.
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Oct 8, 2014 00:02
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I just stared episode 8 but I have to say what a fantastic show. For so many reasons. But I could watch Bradley Whitford and Tambor's characters be excited about finally being themselves forever, but I know that these flashbacks have to end sadly soon.
SunshineDanceParty fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Oct 13, 2014 |
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Oct 13, 2014 04:20
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This show is actually super, super loving good. The tone is kind of like The Royal Tenenbaums by way of Judd Apatow, or something. It's got a great cast and is just excellent. Tambour is amazing.
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Oct 13, 2014 05:16
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7 episodes into this so far and it's easily the best new show this season by a very long way. Very real in a way so few shows manage. This is the best acting of Tambor's career.
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Oct 13, 2014 11:59
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Just noticed this when I went to the show's Metacritic page: 93 Louie: Season 4 92 Rectify: Season 2 91 Transparent: Season 1 
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Oct 13, 2014 21:52
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I got clued in to this show by a friend of mine a couple days ago and just finished the first three episodes. As a trans woman, I gotta say, while it's definitely a good show and I plan to watch more, sometimes it hits just a little bit too close to home, to the point where if you told me Jill Soloway herself was trans, I'd believe you. It certainly seems like they have someone to consult with who's been there. Also I have the same little hand-vacuum that's in episode 3 and it kind of weirds me out.
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Oct 21, 2014 06:31
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Yeah, Jill Soloway has consulted with trans women and men for the show. She's actually hoping to have a trans female writer on the show for next season. Some of her intentions are described here, along with some disagreements with Jenji Kohan. http://www.vulture.com/2014/10/transparent-launches-trans-affirmative-action.html I hope more people have gotten into this show. Amazon picked it up for a second season, which isn't a surprise. It's by far their most successful show.
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Oct 30, 2014 00:32
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Flagrant Abuse posted:I got clued in to this show by a friend of mine a couple days ago and just finished the first three episodes. As a trans woman, I gotta say, while it's definitely a good show and I plan to watch more, sometimes it hits just a little bit too close to home, to the point where if you told me Jill Soloway herself was trans, I'd believe you. It certainly seems like they have someone to consult with who's been there. Jill Soloway actually was inspired to make this show when one of her parents transitioned. http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/features/transparent-jill-soloway-20141020?page=3
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Oct 30, 2014 09:38
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Just got through this. So good. I love how it gets you to love, hate and feel sorry for basically all members of the family.
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Jan 2, 2015 15:07
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My wife and I binged through this over the Holidays. We arrived to one conclusion, Gabby Hoffman's character is literally the grossest person imaginable.
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Jan 2, 2015 16:15
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suddenlyissoon posted:My wife and I binged through this over the Holidays. We arrived to one conclusion, Gabby Hoffman's character is literally the grossest person imaginable. The son and daughters were all insufferable (especially the Hoffman character). I did laugh when the father said something like: 'How come all of my children turned out to be such assholes?'.
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Jan 2, 2015 16:20
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I'm so glad this thread got bumped. I put on the first episode while I was cooking dinner, suddenly it was 5 hours later and I'd watched the whole season nonstop. I loved the relationship between present-day Maura and her ex-wife.
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Jan 3, 2015 06:56
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Wow, this was great. Great writing, great cast, great great cinematography. Surprisingly, the moment that hit me hardest was Ed's POV trip to the duck pond - everyone's inside being varying degrees of awful and petty, and he goes outside and sees beauty in things we take for granted (it reminded me a bit of Don Hertzfeldt's It's Such A Beautiful Day).
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Jan 14, 2015 10:45
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It's a drat crime more goons haven't watched this.
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Jan 14, 2015 12:16
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This is the best show I've seen in a long time, the hype is very warranted.
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Jan 15, 2015 03:56
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Bown posted:It's a drat crime more goons haven't watched this. I'm actually watching this now. It should note I started watching this before Sunday but I was on the verge of stopping it. My main criticism about it that it feels like it's been focus tested to hell to back. The son happens to be in the music industry who plays to play obscure as hell records (and not anything from or on anything made before 1980) which will conveniently be available on Amazon MP3. He also wants a stable relationship in one hand while screwing any woman that moves in the other. The oldest daughter decides to wreck two households so she can rekindle (pun intended) with a old college fling (A lesbian naturally) which is so myopic that she needs a ophthalmologist. The youngest daughter is supposedly a genius but screams the stereotypical slacker character that started up in the early 90s. I don't get the impression that their mother has done any parenting whatsoever and is more like a aunt at this point while attempting to shove in how Jewish she is whenever possible (Knowing my luck, Tony Danza will be in a later episode as well). The only family member whose head is on straight just happens to be the one who wants to be a woman although outside of wearing dresses still acts normal. To be fair, this is probably by design but it's grating to me. Nothing about this feels like it has any existence outside of the confines of its setting which unless you live in LA will require the need for a guidebook (To be fair, I assume people feel this way with regard in NYC based shows too). I'll finish the show since it's short but I don't get how this is suppose to be a good show just because it's politically correct. By comparison to my diatribe, my mother's main complaint? Too much sex, which is why she wanted to stop. I can't picture this show being watched by the rest of my (mostly) conservative family at all.
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Jan 15, 2015 04:06
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We get it. You need your characters to be blandly likable.
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Jan 15, 2015 04:15
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I have literally no clue how the focus tested comment applies to anything said in the rest of the paragraph.
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Jan 15, 2015 04:19
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I for one love how most of the characters are terrible people, because in my experience, most people are terrible people in one way or another. The show doesn't seem like it's trying to make any of them into a lovable rogue or an endearing scamp or an antihero or otherwise make excuses for them, it just embraces their awfulness as human beings. Premarin is sort of falling by the wayside in favour of synthetic estrogens that aren't extracted from horse pee, though. Get your facts straight, show! 
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Jan 15, 2015 04:45
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Island Nation posted:I'll finish the show since it's short but I don't get how this is suppose to be a good show just because it's politically correct. Where on earth did you get that idea?
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Jan 15, 2015 07:28
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My favorite aspect of the show might be how much they refuse to treat Maura as some sort of saint. She is a profoundly lovely person, and the show kinda implies that a lot of that has little to do with her repressing her identity.
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Jan 15, 2015 10:06
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Narcissus1916 posted:My favorite aspect of the show might be how much they refuse to treat Maura as some sort of saint. She is a profoundly lovely person, and the show kinda implies that a lot of that has little to do with her repressing her identity. Well, I mean next to those three awful kids Maura is basically the shining beacon of human decency.
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Feb 4, 2015 23:45
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