Why We Didn’t Bother With the Second Episode of HBO’s Barbaric Luck
I was really excited about the new HBO show Luck, starring Dustin Hoffman and created by the brilliant Deadwood scribe David Milch.
But since the show’s debut I’ve been mostly quiet about it, trying to figure out how best to articulate my objections to the series premiere.
***SPOILERS FOLLOW***
I knew of course the show would be dark and feature plenty of evil people doing evil things. Deadwood is filled with horrific scenes and degrading circumstances. But Milch painted his canvas with many colors. Yes, there were some cruel people in Deadwood, but individuals at least struggled with moral questions. Good people did bad things, bad people sometimes redeemed themselves, and by season 3 the enemy of my enemy becomes my friend.
But with Luck Milch seems to have limited himself to varying shades of black. Watching the first episode ALL of the characters struck me as unlikable and too broken to inspire me to spend time with them in their seedy world. Only in the glorious racing of the horses did a sense of grace and beauty brighten the degenerate world of compulsive gamblers and career criminals.
And then what do they do? At the end of the pilot a horse breaks its leg on camera and has to be put down.
My wife — who has first hand experience in horse rescue and animal abuse — immediately started screeching in horror. Now it turns out that my attempt to remind her that it’s just a TV show and no animals were harmed was wrong. Two horses died in the filming of the first season of Luck:
Luck production chiefs rescinded its American Humane Association stamp of approval – which certifies no animals were harmed during the making of the programme – following the show’s pilot episode after a horse was euthanized on location.
Prior to filming, network executives at HBO assured officials at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that experts would be on hand to ensure all “necessary safety procedures” were in place, however reports of a second fatality have again prompted activists to worry.
I’m not an animal rights fanatic or anything. PETA is a terrible, hypocritical Marxist organization as Penn and Teller demonstrated in this legendary episode of Bullsh*t (language warning):
But this news now casts even greater darkness over the show.
Having watched the first two episodes, I’m still willing to give the show a chance. I won’t judge the show based on that admittedly hard to watch scene, and the fact that animals died during filming doesn’t on its own make me not want to give the series a chance. I may judge it differently once I’ve seen the whole series, but think about Scorsese’s violent films … does his portrayal of violence glorify the violence or simply shed a light on it? Horse racing is incredibly dangerous to horses, so at the very least Luck is calling attention to that. And I went in to the show expecting the world of gambling to be portrayed in a nihilistic fashion. We’ll see if by the end of the season anyone finds the redemption they’re looking for — as that seems to be the early theme: the idea that all these characters are “damaged goods” who are viewing the world of horse racing through their own prisms in hope that they can find their way to redemption.
I’m definitely late to the party here, but I cannot recommend the “Firefly” series enough! It is truncated, because it was cancelled, but I just bought the DVD series, and it is wonderful. Very heroic people, even Jayne with his orange/yellow knit hat. So, I am waiting for the movie now.
I tried “Breaking Bad”, but when I realized it was supposed to be a black comedy about a meth dealer, I gave the set away.
And “Lie to Me”: also cancelled rather abruptly (just as they were introducing a new and interesting character from the slims).. Tim Roth is a very great actor!
I’ve visited Santa Anita for years, so I was naturally curious about “Luck.” I don’t get HBO, so I can only go by what I’ve read about the show. It does seem to present a ridiculously one-sided view of the sport. That’s to be expected, I suppose–it is a drama series, not a documentary.
What disturbs me is that the Santa Anita management has embraced the series so wholeheartedly as a marketing tool. There are banners advertising the show all over the track, they’re building a “Luck Lounge” (?!?) in the grandstand area, and in general are doing everything they can to identify themselves with “Luck.” It makes me wonder if any of the marketing people have any idea what the show’s about. I can’t help but think this is going to backfire on them big-time, as I see no reason to believe that the show’s view of racing is going to improve as time goes on.
It’s bizarre “leadership” like this that has transformed a once-splendid racetrack into a sad shadow of its former self.
That is bizarre … they can’t be thinking beyond the short term on that one
Wow; if you’re looking to Game of Thrones for positive characters and uplifting storylines you are going to be sorely disappointed. Just wait until you see the Red Wedding…
Oh we watched the first season. I’m not expecting smiles and sunshine.
But first season wasn’t as nihilistic as Luck.
The disturbing trend continues. I remember wanting to like Caprica because I was such a fan of Battlestar Galactica, but I don’t think there was a single character in that show that didn’t suffer some form of psychopathy. It was so dark I just couldn’t watch any more without rooting for the Cylons.
nihilistic
The sport of kings is the dangerous sport. Jockeys and equine alike gamble with their lives at every meet. And horses break down at every meet. It is a fact of life. The worst one I remember was the stupid match race between Foolish Pleasure and Ruffian. Don’t get me wrong, they are all bad but for me the worst was Ruffian’s end. For one thing, it was the stupid ego of the owners, and the repulsive boy/girl hyping of the media; but everyone knows that match races are the most dangerous, especially in such young animals whose bones are not yet mature. A true horseman would know, going in, that neither Foolish Pleasure or Ruffian would relent and that both would give all to best the other. That is why match races are inherently dangerous. It was such a waste.
That said, the race track is fertile ground for all sorts of the human story. The track hosts a subculture by itself and within the track are distinct elements that make up the culture. Jockeys, agents, owners, trainers, grifters and the punters that make it all possible. Read Lord of Misrule to get an idea. If I watched TV maybe I would watch the show.
The tracks are moving to artificial surfaces to reduce the amount of breakdowns. But it will never be completely safe for animal or jockey. I suppose maybe the case could be made for banning the sport, but good thoroughbreds are not happy unless they are on the track, the young ones anyway.
The track can be more than fun on a sunny June day and it is not that hard to make a few bucks on a race or two. But I do not go any more, don’t care much about the big races either. Too many breakdowns.