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The Leftovers comes to us from Damon Lindelof (LOST), Tom Perrotta (author of Little Children, Election, and the book this is based on), and Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights). It picks up three years after a Rapture-like event known as "The Sudden Departure," wherein 2% of the world's population disappeared without warning or fanfare. There's no rhyme or reason to who left: Christians, Jews, Muslims, members of the Ba'lal Faith. Men, women, children. Saints, sinners -- it's like whoever or whatever took them just threw darts at the Earth while blindfolded and took whoever got caught. The series picks up three years after The Departure. The world is still functioning. But science and the conventional organized religions have thrown their hands up in defeat, and a sense of nihilism has gripped the planet. The story zeroes in on the New York suburb of Mapleton, as its remaining inhabitants try to deal with the fact that they don't know what the gently caress happened. Reviews for four of the first five episodes have been, uh, positive. Let's get Our Lord And Savior, Patron Saint of TV Criticism Alan Sepinwall out of the way first: Alan Sepinwall posted:What divine madness could have possibly compelled Damon Lindelof to involve himself with "The Leftovers"? Okay, strong words, but how do we assure the people who think Sepinwall is overrated and too easy to please? Strap on your skates, Todd, you're going in! Todd VanDerWerff posted:Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta (who shares a co-creator credit with Lindelof and co-writes a couple of episodes), The Leftovers is some of the most desolate, despairing television on air. It’s also frequently brilliant, using the central hook of Perrotta’s book not as a pivot into genre fiction but as a pivot into something like a modern version of medieval mystery plays. But instead of God at the center of the story, there’s uncertainty, a Schrödinger’s cat the characters would desperately like to observe, if only they could force the box to open and provide them with answers. Looking good, looking real good. James Poniewozik, anything to add? James Poniewozik posted:The first two episodes feel unsettled, aimless and seasick -- Peter Berg’s trademark jumpy-cam direction contributes to that -- jumping around its ensemble to paint a vast mural of sadness...There are striking moments: a flock of balloon doves being released in tribute, Kevin coming upon a pack of pet dogs gone feral (a possible sign of where human society is heading)...But it all seems a bit logy and unreal, as if, like the Remnant with their white garb and silence, The Leftovers made its suffering too generic and surrendered its voice. Interesting. Maybe to close this out we should hear from somebody who's a little more trepidatious. Josef Adalian, what say you? quote:Throughout the first few episodes, fleeting shots communicate the magnitude of the shock with which the species is still grappling. Some are quietly effective...Others feel as though Lindelof, Perrotta, and co-producer Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights), who has helmed the first two episodes in his now-familiar bobbing-and-weaving camera style (the show’s action is covered rather than being thoughtfully directed) are forcing moments that might have been more devastating if handled lightly... The consensus seems to be "This show is bleak and horrible and many people will not want to hang with it, but it's a hell of a show and demands a few episodes of your attention." Okay, I'm game. As stated in the thread title, The Leftovers premieres this Sunday, June 29 at 10 PM ET. While you wait, Sepinwall had a chat with Lindelof and Perrotta about the show. The whole thing is worth reading, and there's a particularly good bit about how they're approaching the overriding mythology of the show. Short answer, as stated by Lindelof himelf: "If you were frustrated [with LOST], don't watch The Leftovers." DivisionPost fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Jun 26, 2014 |
# ? Jun 26, 2014 16:16 |
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# ? Mar 29, 2024 02:07 |
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AV Club, the only reputable source for TV opinions anywhere in the world, gives the first four episodes an 'A'.
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# ? Jun 26, 2014 16:32 |
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I'm beyond excited for this show. With the AV Club & Sepinwall both singing praises my hype level has increased 10 fold.
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# ? Jun 26, 2014 16:33 |
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So excited for this show. I've actually tried to avoid learning about it as much as possible because it looks exactly like something I'd love and I want to go in unspoiled.
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 12:20 |
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This is gonna be good.
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 12:53 |
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quote:What divine madness could have possibly compelled Damon Lindelof to involve himself with "The Leftovers"? quote:"If you were frustrated [with LOST], don't watch The Leftovers." Although I didn't care for Prometheus(but I should give it a rewatch sometime) this is why I will always respect Lindelof and despise the Breaking Bad finale. He doesn't worry about satisfying fans and would rather focus on larger complex main ideas that he finds interesting, which to me made the Lost finale so great. If people aren't thoughtful or mature enough to appreciate it, so be it. I just recently heard about this show and am very excited for it. Never seen Friday Night Lights though. I saw an interview with Lindelof and he described this show as a "love child between Friday Night Lights and Lost".
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 16:27 |
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Total shot in the dark: the twist is that the 2% are actually the ones really still on Earth and everyone else got beamed away to purgatory. Now give me money major network executives.
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 16:57 |
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I can't wait for him to do a pretty good job making the show, but then blow years of good will when his thin-skinned narcissism makes him attack all the viewers for the next five years because some people were rude to him about the ending.
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 17:13 |
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Jack Gladney posted:I can't wait for him to do a pretty good job making the show, but then blow years of good will when his thin-skinned narcissism makes him attack all the viewers for the next five years because some people were rude to him about the ending. I really hope this thread is full of tired, rehashed posts like these!
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 17:20 |
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Shimrra Jamaane posted:Total shot in the dark: the twist is that the 2% are actually the ones really still on Earth and everyone else got beamed away to purgatory. Now give me money major network executives.
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 17:23 |
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Last Chance posted:I really hope this thread is full of tired, rehashed posts like these! It was fresh to me. I do wonder if he's been tempered and matured by public humiliation (not that there was anything really that wrong with lost). Promising artists often make much more interesting art after getting their egos burned away. Maybe he will just not do smug weekly podcasts any more.
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 17:30 |
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Sober posted:Well the show starts 3 years after the event, I think, so it would be pretty obvious if it was 140 million people missing or only 140 million people present. No Im saying that this world is purgatory and somewhere off screen is the real world with just 2% of the population.
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 20:30 |
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Oh my God ALREADY IT'S HAPPENING
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 20:49 |
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DivisionPost posted:Oh my God ALREADY IT'S HAPPENING The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The TV IV > THE LEFTOVERS: We've found our new True Detective thread
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 21:45 |
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DivisionPost posted:Oh my God ALREADY IT'S HAPPENING WE HAVE TO GO BACK to good tv
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# ? Jun 27, 2014 23:02 |
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DivisionPost posted:Oh my God ALREADY IT'S HAPPENING You have to learn to let go, DivisionPost. If we don't post together, we're going to die alone.
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# ? Jun 28, 2014 00:01 |
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I'm looking forward to this. Count me in as one of the fans of how LOST ended. I hope Lindeloff moves on from his "daddy issue" writing style (LOST and Prometheus). Having read the first half of the book (it's meh and I think the show can and will out perform it), Eccelson as the priest is exactly who I saw him as (and is my favorite character so far), so I'm looking forward to his performance.
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# ? Jun 28, 2014 02:42 |
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Jack Gladney posted:I can't wait for him to do a pretty good job making the show, but then blow years of good will when his thin-skinned narcissism makes him attack all the viewers for the next five years because some people were rude to him about the ending. I'd be mad too if I were him. You gotta remember that the general public is under the impression that the ending of LOST revealed that everyone actually was dead all along, and that's where most of the anger comes from. And that's the final LOST-related post I'm making in this thread. Roll on Sunday night!
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# ? Jun 28, 2014 11:56 |
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Bown posted:I'd be mad too if I were him. You gotta remember that the general public is under the impression that the ending of LOST revealed that everyone actually was dead all along, and that's where most of the anger comes from. I thought Lost was mostly dumb and ridiculous and even I know that's not what the show meant
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# ? Jun 28, 2014 12:16 |
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Count me in. This would probably be complete garbage on a network like ABC or FOX but on HBO this show really has potential to shine.
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# ? Jun 28, 2014 19:43 |
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Been waiting for this but gently caress Lindelof in the face
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 02:04 |
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First Lady, now this dog. gently caress you HBO
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:05 |
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There's our FNL cameo!
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:09 |
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As if this cult isn't creepy enough. They all have a vow of silence too?
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:12 |
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Ugh. Angsty teens. The show ruiner A bunch of 30 year old actors playing 16 year olds playing spin the bottle. Right Atheist Sunglasses fucked around with this message at 03:38 on Jun 30, 2014 |
# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:35 |
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Atheist Sunglasses posted:Ugh. Angsty teens. The show ruiner Yeah I can respect the overall quality of the show, it's not really hooking me yet but god the extreme teen party thing is played out. Edit: Oh god the single tear. Really?
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:37 |
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Ya this is very Lindelof so far, which isn't a good thing.
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:40 |
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"There's a dead dog in your trunk." Jesus was that ever a weird couple of cuts.
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:41 |
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So far, the most interesting thing about this pilot has been Eccleston's American accent.
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:51 |
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Vanderdeath posted:So far, the most interesting thing about this pilot has been Eccleston's American accent. Yeah, this has been boring as poo poo so far.
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:51 |
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Ugh it's so boring.
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:52 |
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Winkie01 posted:Yeah, this has been boring as poo poo so far. Candy Dawn posted:Ugh it's so boring. Also, that statue is weird.
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:54 |
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It's so disconnected in terms of style, music, and script. Each scene seems distant from the last.
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:55 |
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I am praying for some white walkers
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:55 |
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Slow motion chaos and piano music! This is some very loving elaborate parody of a SERIOUS HBO SHOW right?
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:57 |
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No, not Busey.
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:59 |
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gently caress. Busey, Bourdain and Shaq? What's left on this world to even live for?
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:59 |
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Gary Busey got raptured too? That was kinda funny
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 03:59 |
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Death By The Blues posted:It's so disconnected in terms of style, music, and script. Each scene seems distant from the last. I agree but I think the disjointed nature of the scenes gives it a real feel of "what in the living gently caress" which I think is what everyone is/would be feeling. I like it.
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 04:05 |
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# ? Mar 29, 2024 02:07 |
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O K I wonder if this is supposed to be a metaphor.
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# ? Jun 30, 2014 04:08 |