TV
The Deuce
The new David Simon and George Pelecanos series The Deuce premiers tonight on HBO, but the series premiered a little early via the HBO streaming services and has been available there some time. I’m a fan of Simon’s other series The Wire and of Generation Kill but his and Pelecanos’ Treme left me a bit cold, and one episode in I’m worried that The Deuce is more Treme than The Wire.
In The Deuce, it’s New York in the bad old days of the 1970s where the streets were covered in trash, Times Square was the realm of hookers, pimps and hustlers and the one way for a guy or gal to make a little cash was by less than legal means. Supposedly, the first season of The Deuce is about the rise of pornography in America in the 1970s but little of that was present in the first episode which introduced said hookers, pimps and hustlers and a New York very different then today’s family friendly Big Apple.
Which doesn’t bother me. I felt the same way with The Wire which took a few episodes to get going every year with its main season-long story. And even with something as brilliant as The Wire it took me several years of trying episodes on and off to get into the show enough to become an avid viewer. But for whatever reason, be it the length of the first episode at around 90 minutes or something else, I wasn’t immediately drawn into the The Deuce.
It’s a good show, but there’s so much going on, the New York of the 1970s is such a grimy, dark and depressing place and when it happens the violence of The Duece is so disturbing parts aren’t easy or all that enjoyable show to watch. Not that it has to be, just that the first episode can be pretty tough at times.
Which brings me back to Treme. I think I was never able to get into that series because of its subject matter; New Orleans post-Katrina. And I feel the same way one episode into The Deuce. If you’re into an gitty 1970s New York where there’s violence galore and everyone’s seemingly having sex with everyone else then The Deuce is for you. If not then you might consider watching something else.
Books
Robotech Visual Archive: The Macross Saga
I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more hubbub about Robotech back in 2015 when the series had its 30th anniversary. I remember at the 20th there were loads of Robotech toys and collectibles available for purchase, but in 2015 there were a scant few toys and that was about it. So, whenever just about anything Robotech comes out that’s related to the classic series I pick it up and the new book Robotech Visual Archive: The Macross Saga will be something I definitely check out.
ROBOTECH VISUAL ARCHIVE: The Macross Saga is the ultimate collection of artwork gathered from Robotech’s first and beloved era ― The Macross Saga. Included in this epic tome are mecha designs, character artwork, pre-production concepts, key art, storyboards, a full episode guide, and more!
The Reading List
- How Switzerland camouflaged its ready-to-explode architecture during the Cold War
- Watch a Delta flight race Hurricane Irma into and out of Puerto Rico
This week in pop-culture history
- 1936: Walter Koenig, Pavel Checkov of Star Trek is born
- 1958: Roxann Dawson, B’Elanna Torres of Star Trek: Voyager is born
- 1958: The Blob premiers in theaters
- 1963: The TV series The Outer Limits premiers
- 1965: The TV series Lost in Space premiers
- 1974: The TV series Planet of the Apes premiers
- 1993: The TV series The X-Files premiers
- 1993: The TV series SeaQuest DSV premiers