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Narcos |OT| There's no business like blow business - Netflix - *spoilers for S1*

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I guess I shouldn't complain because Show Me A Hero and Fargo has delivered but it seems like nothing new coming out has really lived up to the hype. At least not new TV shows. Miniseries have been great.

I had really high hopes for this. But the lukewarm reviews are discouraging and the lack of depth is a turn off.

I keep wanting to find a replacement for Breaking Bad and Mad Men but nothing seems to be measuring up.
As in a replacement show where the protagonist aren't heroes or are mortally grey? Have you seen The Americans?
 

Jonm1010

Banned
As in a replacement show where the protagonist aren't heroes or are mortally grey? Have you seen The Americans?

Just really I meant overall quality. I liked The Returned(french version) from last year but nothing I have seen recently really reaches the pinnacle that those shows did. But I have heard The Americans is good. Might need to check it out.

I guess it was bound to happen eventually. I have been spoiled with at least 1-2 shows since The Sopranos that just compete for some of the best TV I have ever seen but there seems to be a bit of a lull right now when it comes to truly elite level TV shows.
 

maxcriden

Member
Just really I meant overall quality. I liked The Returned(french version) from last year but nothing I have seen recently really reaches the pinnacle that those shows did. But I have heard The Americans is good. Might need to check it out.

I guess it was bound to happen eventually. I have been spoiled with at least 1-2 shows since The Sopranos that just compete for some of the best TV I have ever seen but there seems to be a bit of a lull right now when it comes to truly elite level TV shows.

You watching Mr. Robot?
 
I guess I shouldn't complain because Show Me A Hero and Fargo has delivered but it seems like nothing new coming out has really lived up to the hype. At least not new TV shows. Miniseries have been great.

I had really high hopes for this. But the lukewarm reviews are discouraging and the lack of depth is a turn off.

I keep wanting to find a replacement for Breaking Bad and Mad Men but nothing seems to be measuring up.

Have you watched Mr. Robot?

In regards to Narcos, does the narration ever slow down? There was like 10-1 narration v. dialogue in the first episode.
 

Jonm1010

Banned
You watching Mr. Robot?

Have you watched Mr. Robot?

In regards to Narcos, does the narration ever slow down? There was like 10-1 narration v. dialogue in the first episode.

1.)Haha two votes independent of each other for it. Ill throw it on my list to give a shot. Premise sounds interesting.

2.) Im on episode 2. The narration slows a bit but is still pretty heavy. Whatever review said the show comes off like a Ken Burns documentary is sort of on to something. I feel like I am watching a very stylized Burns esque documentary with a TV show tacked on. Its good, just not quite what I was expecting.
 

hydruxo

Member
I guess I shouldn't complain because Show Me A Hero and Fargo has delivered but it seems like nothing new coming out has really lived up to the hype. At least not new TV shows. Miniseries have been great.

I had really high hopes for this. But the lukewarm reviews are discouraging and the lack of depth is a turn off.

I keep wanting to find a replacement for Breaking Bad and Mad Men but nothing seems to be measuring up.

Lukewarm reviews? Majority of the reviews I've seen have been very positive.
 

Manu

Member
I just binged through the first three episodes. It's been great so far, but the guy playing Escobar has a terrible accent when speaking Spanish.

It's so distracting, especially since everyone else sounds so natural. Having the main guy sound fake when he speaks takes me out completely.
 

Akahige

Member
Good grief that narration is dreadful, please tell me it doesn't continue after the first episode.

The use of real footage isn't any better, makes me feel like I'm watching a docudrama. Why did they use an actual picture of Escobar for the mugshot instead of the actor?
 

mantidor

Member
It's so distracting, especially since everyone else sounds so natural. Having the main guy sound fake when he speaks takes me out completely.

It's really rough, I like Moura and I can tell he tried but it definitely takes you out.

Also that definition of magic realism isn't exactly accurate, although I guess at the end the story will fit the actual definition.
 

Manu

Member
The use of real footage isn't any better, makes me feel like I'm watching a docudrama. Why did they use an actual picture of Escobar for the mugshot instead of the actor?

I like the use of real footage. The show has an element of dark humor to it, where sometimes you'll laugh at some of the horrible shit that's happening on screen.

And then the real footage makes you go "oh yeah, this shit actually happened. I feel like crap now."
 

Akahige

Member
I maybe wouldn't mind it if there wasn't the narration, I don't mind seeing the real world effect this had on lives.

I will give the show a few more episodes before a make any more judgement.
 

GK86

Homeland Security Fail
Finished the first episode, I liked it. I don't see the big deal over the narration or the accents. I really like the use of footage.
 

Amir0x

Banned
The show has some pretty good directing and the acting is all well done, but the constant narration is frustratingly distracting. Please, make it stop. It feels like I'm never really in the heads of the characters, I'm just a bystander listening to historic bulletpoints.

Just really I meant overall quality. I liked The Returned(french version) from last year but nothing I have seen recently really reaches the pinnacle that those shows did. But I have heard The Americans is good. Might need to check it out.

I guess it was bound to happen eventually. I have been spoiled with at least 1-2 shows since The Sopranos that just compete for some of the best TV I have ever seen but there seems to be a bit of a lull right now when it comes to truly elite level TV shows.

Rectify is one of the best televisions shows ever made and it just had yet another unbelievable season. Deustchland '83 is phenomenal. Mr. Robot is astonishing, one of the best new shows in years.
 

Jonm1010

Banned
The show has some pretty good directing and the acting is all well done, but the constant narration is frustratingly distracting. Please, make it stop. It feels like I'm never really in the heads of the characters, I'm just a bystander listening to historic bulletpoints.



Rectify is one of the best televisions shows ever made and it just had yet another unbelievable season. Deustchland '83 is phenomenal. Mr. Robot is astonishing, one of the best new shows in years.
Thanks! I'll add them to the list.

I'll also echo the feeling that the show comes off like a narrated bullet point of history. Doesn't make it bad for me but it does so far make it feel disconnected, less immersive and has made it hard to empathize with any of the characters due to the constantly shifting timeline and narration breaks. It's good, but not in the way I was expecting.

I feel bad for you guys that don't know a lick of spanish. The slang adds a good amount of jokes to it.

Based on the complaints people are having with Escobar's actor's bad accent it might be better I don't haha.
 

obin_gam

Member
Just saw the first episode and do not understand the luke warm reviews. This was fantastically entertaining! Only thing I dont like is the blonde DEA gringo. Completely uninterested in his story.

Seems also that it's a plus to not speak any of the south american languages in the show, for me it all sounds the same so I can't complain about an actor having a terrible accent or whatever :p

Regarding the narration and story telling - I dont really know what I want for the upcoming episodes - I liked the fast pace, but in some instances it almost seemed too fast paced. Like, it's just the first episode guys, slow down a bit!
 

Blackhead

Redarse
No. They're already working on season 2.

If i knew this before watching I wouldn't have bothered.

Voiceover and white male lead was too corny
Poor performances from most of the actors albeit not helped by the dull dialog
Silly scenes all round
Hilariously historical framing of the political dynamics in Latin America

The basic plot is actually 'good' and interesting if you've never ever heard the Pablo Escoba story. But this is even incomplete because they are stretching it to two seasons. Bah. I enjoyed Club de Cuervos more and that S1 ended
on an even bigger cliffhanger
 

mantidor

Member
Voiceover and white male lead was too corny

This is the weirdest complain I've seen.

You do know Escobar was white, right? Or is this one of those weird instances when americans don't think hispanics can be white?

Edit: oh wait you mean the dea agent? Because it also doesnt make sense.
 
Four episodes in and I'm loving it. Man, Pablo was ruthless.

Everything they've shown is well known. Like in the first episode where he knew every single cop and their families. He was known for personally threatening and knowing intimate details of lives. The level of detail they put into making it a period piece is astounding.

Netflix has been hitting it out of the park. Gonna go pimp out the show to all of my family in Colombia.
 

GK86

Homeland Security Fail
Everything they've shown is well known. Like in the first episode where he knew every single cop and their families. He was known for personally threatening and knowing intimate details of lives. The level of detail they put into making it a period piece is astounding.

Netflix has been hitting it out of the park. Gonna go pimp out the show to all of my family in Colombia.

I think that is why I'm loving it a lot. I was (very) little when Pablo was making airwaves and when he was killed. I knew of him and some of his history (funny enough, I knew more about him giving money away to the poor than his killings), but never the whole story. The producers putting in footage and photographs from the past was an amazing touch.

I'm going to show it to my family as well.
 

Pau

Member
Torn between wanting to see my hometown on a show and being close enough to the subject matter to feel uncomfortable.

I don't know how my family would feel about it. We still have a letter Escobar wrote us when my dad was kidnapped. (In which he pretty much said "I know I've screwed your family before but this time it wasn't me.")

They'd probably be most annoyed by the actor's accent though. :p
 

Blackhead

Redarse
This is the weirdest complain I've seen.

You do know Escobar was white, right? Or is this one of those weird instances when americans don't think hispanics can be white?

Edit: oh wait you mean the dea agent? Because it also doesnt make sense.

Yes the DEA agent who provides the voiceovers
 
Do you think Moura's accent is good?

Honestly? There are instances where the accent does slip up quite a bit, but the fact he's trying so hard is endearing because he gets it right so much as well I forgive the occasional slip up. It almost sounds like somebody from Cali who has been living in the US and the occasional word loses the accent. He's the least believable by far but still good enough.

And let's be honest much better than Vinny Chase in Medellin.

I think that is why I'm loving it a lot. I was (very) little when Pablo was making airwaves and when he was killed. I knew of him and some of his history (funny enough, I knew more about him giving money away to the poor than his killings), but never the whole story. The producers putting in footage and photographs from the past was an amazing touch.

I'm going to show it to my family as well.

My dad was already watching it haha, he's loving it too. When he was part of the colombian navy he was chasing down Narcos as well. One of Pablo's friends, can't remember which, made a death threat to one of his best friends.
 
As a colombian born person who has been naturalized into the US due to living here for so long, I'm constantly struggling in either reading the subtitles or ignoring them as I could understand without them. But some instances in the show they mumble what they said as it's intended to use the subtitles, so I read more often than not.
 

Crud

Banned
Tried watching the first episode got really bored felt like this story has been told so many times don't really know if its worth watching It feels like a chore.
 
I think this squarely settles the "Netflix serious competition for HBO?" debate (I just finished Ep5) :). I ended up fast forwarding True Detective Season 2 finale and gave up before end...
 

Gray Matter

Member
I fully expected this to be spoken in English the entire time. Even as a Spanish speaker I'm not used to the Spanish the way is spoken in South America (I'm from the Dominican Republic for reference) and need the English subs to fully understand what's going on.

Daniel B·;176894085 said:
I think this squarely settles the "Netflix serious competition for HBO?" debate (I just finished Ep5) :). I ended up fast forwarding True Detective Season 2 finale and gave up before end...

I mean, true detective season 1 set the bar way too high for season 2 to remotely blow us away like season 1 did. I haven't watched past episode 2 of season 2 so I don't know if it gets better or not, however.
 
I fully expected this to be spoken in English the entire time. Even as a Spanish speaker I'm not used to the Spanish the way is spoken in South America (I'm from the Dominican Republic for reference) and need the English subs to fully understand what's going on.



I mean, true detective season 1 set the bar way too high for season 2 to remotely blow us away like season 1 did. I haven't watched past episode 2 of season 2 so I don't know if it gets better or not, however.

If you had been in the thread when it was airing, you would know that Season 2 was a trainwreck regardless of S1 quality. Think about it as the director of Donnie Darko. He made that and people thought it was brilliant, then we all realized that was his one thing and everything else he made was shitty.

Not to say pizza man can't recover, but S2 was bad. No way around it. It's even the consensus in the general population. Heck, even Conan acknowledged it when he started a skit.
 

Crud

Banned
Started watching again. I'm still on episode 1 at the bowling alley scene. People said "eye fucking" back in the 70's? Hmmm
 

Tugatrix

Member
Ep2: Well the narration tone down a bit to Elite Squad levels. Is deeply fascinating seeing the inner work of a drug cartel, the level of sophistication of the whole operation is amazing, rivals the big corporations.
 
Episode 3

Rodrigo was protrayed as a sexy mofo. His death still hurts man... Rip

Episode 4

Pablo earned more than GM. 60 million a day. Damn
 
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