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The Outsider [HBO, Stephen King]

Started by Mobius, January 14, 2020, 10:42:27 PM

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Mobius

New gritty grim smalltown America murder show in the style of True Detective, based off a Stephen King book. Jason Bateman, Ben Mendelsohn, Paddy Considine

First 2 episodes are out. Really enjoyed it, worth a watch


phantom_power

Very good first two episodes. Great acting, characters and intriguing plot. Apparently the book is very good. Bateman directed at least the first episode as well, and did it very well. Written by Richard Price too so prestige TV all round

Mobius

Yeah I am avoiding the book so as not to spoil the show because 2 episodes in I'm very intrigued and have no idea where it's going. Wish we didn't have to wait a week for a new one.

phantom_power

Do they always put the first two out in the same week on Sky? It was the same with The New Pope, which is just as excellent a The Young Pope BTW

Bazooka

I keep meaning to read the book, will probably do that before watching.

olliebean

I'm out. They've turned Holly Gibney into a caricature of an autistic person (reminiscent at times of Laurie Bream in Silicon Valley), and also by having her declare that her savant abilities are unexplainable by medical science, essentially made her a full-on magical negro.

Mobius

I haven't read the book so had no idea who that character was but yeah... was very cliched... super genius turns up after a few episodes, has special autistic powers and all that... little voodoo dolls on the table cus she's black... I mean that is pretty Stephen King, and it is a supernatural sorta storyline but it was pretty disappointing, I liked the characters we already had and wanted to see how they solved it... not just get magical Sherlock in.

I'd be quite happy to never see another scene where a detective stands in an empty room, whilst a flashback occurs around them

olliebean

I understand the character is in Mr Mercedes as well. I haven't read the book or seen the TV series but I gather her portrayal in the TV version of that is quite different from this one. Oh, and incidentally, she's not black in the books, so we shouldn't blame Stephen King in this case for that particular stereotype.

#8
Hmmm. Think I may be out on this now. The latest episode I lost track of (and interest) pretty quickly. I guess will still try for another ep or two, especially given limited content of alternatives at present.

Mobius

Sadly I agree. I'll keep watching but it's gotten a tad silly now that supersmart superawkward supercop is googling mythical beasts and demonic possession and all that. I suppose it is a Stephen King adaptation!

Definitely missing Jason Bateman's character...


ersatz99

Well, did anyone see this out? The 10th episode finale was last night and I'd have to say it wasn't very satisfying at all.

SteveDave

I started watching this on the advice of someone on Twitter dot com and, 6 episodes in am still enjoying it. It almost doesn't need the savant character as Ben Mendohlson's character could've done those interviews and pieced everything together.

Two things that have bugged me after the amazing two opening episodes- 1) Jason Bateman is amazing and is missed and 2) Paddy Considine doesn't look American.

SteveDave

We finished this last night and now I won't trust anything any of you say ever again.

phantom_power

Considine seems massively under-used in this, and yes he doesn't look American. Not sure the english bloke who played his brother does either

SteveDave

Quote from: phantom_power on April 07, 2020, 08:39:55 AM
Considine seems massively under-used in this, and yes he doesn't look American. Not sure the english bloke who played his brother does either

"Max fucking Beasley!?" were my exact words when he appeared. "From FUCKING SURF POTATOES?!"