“Kill the body and the head will fall.” -Pops
It is with a heavy heart that I write this final Lights Out review as this was the final episode of the series. As was announced before last week’s penultimate episode, Lights Out would not be picked up for another season. I had mixed feelings about the season as a whole, but after tonight, I really liked the direction it was heading. It was a show that needed to find its groove and I feel like it found it too late. I know what Lights Out was trying to do with the family, the pugilistic dementia, and the being broke and that’s all well and good, but ultimately boxing was the real dramatic element. Think back on all the episodes and pick out your favorite moments. Obviously the final fight is at the top, but other favorites are the scenes with Ed Romeo training Lights, and David Morse doing a wonderfully heartbreaking guest appearance. Who brought the most electricity to the screen? Barry K Word, every time. I think as the show grew the writers realized where the strengths were and started to lean heavily in the direction of boxing. After seeing the League of Extraordinary Boxers meeting, I could see where season 2 was heading. It makes me miss the show already. A season designed around the boxing world pitting Hal Brennan against Barry K Word with Patrick taking point, playing both sides, sign me up! It’s tough to let any series go, but the finale did provide very good closure and the season does stand alone.
The whole season has been leading up to the fight between Patrick Leary and Death Row Reynolds and it didn’t disappoint. I was relieved to see that they let fight play out essentially in its entirety. I never had any doubts since the show first began that Patrick was going to win the fight, so although I was curious, I still wasn’t quite hooked until the fight actually happened. The show did three smart things to make the fight more interesting. First was making Death Row claim all he needed was one round to take out Lights. This allowed for a flurry of action right from the beginning and allowed Patrick to instantly get beat up a bit. The second thing was having Barry tell Patrick that Morales took a dive. I had suspected this all along, but seeing doubt creep into Patrick’s eyes allowed for just the slimmest amount of doubt to creep into my own, thus making the fight that much more interesting. The third was the most obvious element: having the ref in Death Row’s corner. I was glad it wasn’t completely ridiculous and could all be justified within the fight. Slow counts for Reynolds and the implementation of the three knockdown rule. My only problem with the fight is just how easy it was for Patrick to come back in the second round. Now, I have never fought before and don’t watch boxing, so these comebacks might be normal. I do know that one punch can change the course of the fight dramatically. So when Pops told Patrick he needed to surprise him and get back on top, I think that moment should have been more obvious. I think the punch that swung the match was the quick right jab to the face when Death Row was winding up, but I can’t be sure. Either way, I though the fight was very well done considering we all knew how it was going to end.
Aside from the fight itself, I thought Patrick going to confession was a good moment. We needed our hero to be redeemed a bit so we can celebrate his victory with him. Death Row made too good of a point that Patrick was no role model. His absolution was necessary for us to be fully on his side. I’m glad he finally admits and takes responsibility for just how unfair it was to put the burden of secrecy on his daughter. That to me was his biggest crime given all we know about how Patrick carries himself. I do think the religious aspect of the Leary family could have been used more effectively. We saw hints of it at times, but it almost just seemed like a convention to get Lights to move on. It was after he talked to his priest that he let Ed Romeo go. I guess the intention was to soften the blow to the viewer about Lights letting go a very popular character, but I can’t be too sure.
Lights Out had some very great supporting characters along the way. I vacillated back and forth about Teresa and Johnny, but Pops, Barry K Word and Hal Brennan were always interesting. I also think, given the chance, we could have seen some great things from Hal’s right hand man, Gus. He just had that slimy look and darkness about him. Even when he was delivering neutral news, it always looked like he was playing an angle. I’ve always thought that casting leads was easy, but that casting great supporting roles is what makes or breaks shows. I think that if the show focused more on the great characters I mentioned above, the show would have had a lot more drive. The daughters never even registered with me emotionally and I never felt like Margaret was a part of the family. I’m not saying the reason for the shows failing was because it focused on the family. The show failed because no one really had an interest in boxing. And it’s really a shame, because I would have loved to see just where this show was heading.
Lights Out was always good, but never great. I never think the show quite pushed hard enough. The stakes never seemed like they were as high as they actually were. Holt McCallany delivered a great understated performance, but I would have liked to see him let loose from time to time. It almost felt like the show was timid for much of the season, but by the end they were ready to open up and let a flurry of punches fly. Hearing Patrick ask his wife, “Who won?” showed us that the show was ready to take his injury to the next level which would have provided a lot more intensity in every fight he fought. Lights Out will be missed, but not really for what it was, but for what it could have been. But as it stands, Patrick “Lights Out” Leary is your undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and no one, not even FX or viewers with Nielsen boxes, can take that away from him.
Showing posts with label lights out. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lights out. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Lights Out - "Sucker Punch" Review
“It’s my belt. No one’s going to stop me from getting it back.” -Patrick
With now only one episode left in the entire series of Lights Out, it’s hard to judge the episodes as ones that are leading to a season or series finale. If this season was meant to be a 13 episode arc that was going to have complete closure, I’d say it’s a bit uneven and isn’t really hitting on all cylinders as it approaches its finale. But that’s unfair to the show. Lights Out was meant to be more than just one season, so it makes sense that everything isn’t being fully expounded on. This is not to say this episode would have been a great penultimate episode if I knew there’d be a season two. Far from it. But it is difficult to truly asses the effect of the episode on me. When it comes to Lights Out, what do we actually find compelling about this show? The boxing drama is the keystone of the series and sometimes I feel it loses sight of that. That’s why the Ed Romeo episodes and the Morales fight were some of the best. It was able to combine the other elements of Patrick’s life while building toward a fight. This may also be why the Brennan and Word stories are so strong as well. It revolves around the boxing world.
So based upon what I feel is the strong point of the show, you can see where I didn’t really enjoy this past episode where we finally get to meet Patrick’s mother. We’ve been needing that story line all along. However I feel it may be too little too late. Just what can we get from this relationship at this point? The mother arriving is most effecting papa lights. Robert has been such a strong individual throughout the series, that it’s a little heartbreaking seeing him sacrifice his fortitude to bend to the whims of the capricious sycophant. The mother seems forced. It’s just another obstacle that delays the fight between Lights and Death Row. She’s detestable, but not because of what she’s doing, but because of just how out of place she is. This story line in particular is one I feel like could have had more of an impact if there was more time for the series to develop. But given the brevity of the series, anything short of the boxing world and its politics, seems out of place.
Barry K Word is still the most compelling part of the show. He has an electricity on screen that is unmatched by anyone on the series. The politics of the boxing world is what I like. I would have very much enjoyed learning more about the gambling side of the sport and the danger of fixing a fight. The drive by on Margaret raised the stakes for a second, but it will be swept under the rug on the finale because we need to focus on the fight. I know by just focusing on the boxing element makes Lights Out a typical boxing drama, but maybe not. FX has made it clear they didn’t want to do just another Rocky knock off. They needed something else to separate it. I think the Barry K Word/Hal Brennan angle was enough. Throw in just enough family to show how they’re broke and here we have the show. But now it just seems like the show is cycling in one guest star after another. There’s just a lack of cohesion. It’s still high quality drama, but it just needed time to figure itself out. The stakes never really felt high enough. I don’t see the need for Patrick to win. He was originally in the fight for the money, but now money doesn’t seem to be the issue so his drive and desire to win needs to be the overwhelming force in the show, and it just isn’t quite there. Lights Out is a good show, not a great show. I’m sad it doesn’t get a second season because I feel like it could really find itself. But alas, we have but one more episode and hopefully the finale really delivers some closure.
With now only one episode left in the entire series of Lights Out, it’s hard to judge the episodes as ones that are leading to a season or series finale. If this season was meant to be a 13 episode arc that was going to have complete closure, I’d say it’s a bit uneven and isn’t really hitting on all cylinders as it approaches its finale. But that’s unfair to the show. Lights Out was meant to be more than just one season, so it makes sense that everything isn’t being fully expounded on. This is not to say this episode would have been a great penultimate episode if I knew there’d be a season two. Far from it. But it is difficult to truly asses the effect of the episode on me. When it comes to Lights Out, what do we actually find compelling about this show? The boxing drama is the keystone of the series and sometimes I feel it loses sight of that. That’s why the Ed Romeo episodes and the Morales fight were some of the best. It was able to combine the other elements of Patrick’s life while building toward a fight. This may also be why the Brennan and Word stories are so strong as well. It revolves around the boxing world.
So based upon what I feel is the strong point of the show, you can see where I didn’t really enjoy this past episode where we finally get to meet Patrick’s mother. We’ve been needing that story line all along. However I feel it may be too little too late. Just what can we get from this relationship at this point? The mother arriving is most effecting papa lights. Robert has been such a strong individual throughout the series, that it’s a little heartbreaking seeing him sacrifice his fortitude to bend to the whims of the capricious sycophant. The mother seems forced. It’s just another obstacle that delays the fight between Lights and Death Row. She’s detestable, but not because of what she’s doing, but because of just how out of place she is. This story line in particular is one I feel like could have had more of an impact if there was more time for the series to develop. But given the brevity of the series, anything short of the boxing world and its politics, seems out of place.
Barry K Word is still the most compelling part of the show. He has an electricity on screen that is unmatched by anyone on the series. The politics of the boxing world is what I like. I would have very much enjoyed learning more about the gambling side of the sport and the danger of fixing a fight. The drive by on Margaret raised the stakes for a second, but it will be swept under the rug on the finale because we need to focus on the fight. I know by just focusing on the boxing element makes Lights Out a typical boxing drama, but maybe not. FX has made it clear they didn’t want to do just another Rocky knock off. They needed something else to separate it. I think the Barry K Word/Hal Brennan angle was enough. Throw in just enough family to show how they’re broke and here we have the show. But now it just seems like the show is cycling in one guest star after another. There’s just a lack of cohesion. It’s still high quality drama, but it just needed time to figure itself out. The stakes never really felt high enough. I don’t see the need for Patrick to win. He was originally in the fight for the money, but now money doesn’t seem to be the issue so his drive and desire to win needs to be the overwhelming force in the show, and it just isn’t quite there. Lights Out is a good show, not a great show. I’m sad it doesn’t get a second season because I feel like it could really find itself. But alas, we have but one more episode and hopefully the finale really delivers some closure.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
LIghts Out - "Rainmaker: Review
“Haven’t met a problem yet that money couldn’t solve.” -Johnny
This episode of Lights Out needs to be looked at under two different microscopes. If we examine the episode independent of all other episodes it seems like a really solid episode. There was a brilliant guest performance by David Morse, an exciting arrest, and some good ol’ fashioned scheming. However, when looked at as one of the final episodes before the end of the season, and possibly, but hopefully not, the series, it just seems a little disjointed.
A large Soprano’s style family dinner was present that was very bright and uplifting. It was a fine scene, but I’m not sure we’ve seen the whole family together eating and having a good time. There’s a lot of inner turmoil that’s been present, but it seemed to have disappeared. One of the reasons it seemed so odd is that we finally had all three daughters back in the house. The tension of the episode was put on hold just so we could watch the family strengthen. While I appreciate what they were trying to do there, I’m not sure it was perfectly executed. There was some real drama built up last week with Patrick getting back in to bed with Brennan and brawling with Death Row, but they decided they couldn’t get to all that too quickly, so here we are at this episode.
The Councilman Hess story line I found very interesting, but I think it should have played out over a longer time. That was some real danger Lights faced. He was faced with bribery of a public official, had the feds on his back, and was being viewed as a loose end in Brennan’s operation. It all seemed to wrap up to easily and quickly. First he gets some inkling that Hess is wearing a wire, then he convinces a crime lord that he’s trustworthy essentially by only saying, “trust me.” It was all a bit unbelievable and I think we would have been better served by getting to see a bit more of all that danger start to percolate and boil over. Lights Out is not a political procedural show and nor do I want it to be, but I thought it was just a bit underdeveloped.
What was excellent about this episode was David Morse’s performance of Jimmy “The Rainmaker.” He brought a real honesty to the role and allowed for us to understand his life in just a few short minutes. His presence served two different purposes on the show. The first is he was used as an instrument to get Lights out of some trouble by convincing Councilman Hess to stop talking by using extreme force. This is the first time we see LIghts make a decision that bettered his position by not further putting his family or himself at further risk. If we can see more of Patrick using his other resources, and not just his fists, to get things done, the show will become that much deeper. The second purpose of Jimmy was to serve as a warning to Lights about the dangers of taking too many punches to the head. Though I think we were a little hit over the head (pun intended) with this idea, Morse did do a great job of showing that he still had joy for the game, but the consequences may not outweigh all the costs. We’ll see if this effects Patrick in any way, but he has a history of disregarding former boxing legends who impacted him earlier. Ed Romeo was such a strong force in his two episodes, but now it seems like he’s an afterthought.
Lights Out is till building to the fight with Death Row Reynolds. We know this. So it was no surprise to see the show steer away from the training for a bit. It was logical for Patrick to find himself fixing problems that didn’t get in the way of the healing process. However, I’m not so sure that the independent story of this episode was executed as best as it could have been to keep last week’s momentum going. I look for these next two episodes to really turn up the heat. So while I was particularly thrilled with this episode, I certainly am still looking forward to see how it ends. I’m definitely looking forward to more Barry K Word and definitely looking forward to an epic boxing match.
This episode of Lights Out needs to be looked at under two different microscopes. If we examine the episode independent of all other episodes it seems like a really solid episode. There was a brilliant guest performance by David Morse, an exciting arrest, and some good ol’ fashioned scheming. However, when looked at as one of the final episodes before the end of the season, and possibly, but hopefully not, the series, it just seems a little disjointed.
A large Soprano’s style family dinner was present that was very bright and uplifting. It was a fine scene, but I’m not sure we’ve seen the whole family together eating and having a good time. There’s a lot of inner turmoil that’s been present, but it seemed to have disappeared. One of the reasons it seemed so odd is that we finally had all three daughters back in the house. The tension of the episode was put on hold just so we could watch the family strengthen. While I appreciate what they were trying to do there, I’m not sure it was perfectly executed. There was some real drama built up last week with Patrick getting back in to bed with Brennan and brawling with Death Row, but they decided they couldn’t get to all that too quickly, so here we are at this episode.
The Councilman Hess story line I found very interesting, but I think it should have played out over a longer time. That was some real danger Lights faced. He was faced with bribery of a public official, had the feds on his back, and was being viewed as a loose end in Brennan’s operation. It all seemed to wrap up to easily and quickly. First he gets some inkling that Hess is wearing a wire, then he convinces a crime lord that he’s trustworthy essentially by only saying, “trust me.” It was all a bit unbelievable and I think we would have been better served by getting to see a bit more of all that danger start to percolate and boil over. Lights Out is not a political procedural show and nor do I want it to be, but I thought it was just a bit underdeveloped.
What was excellent about this episode was David Morse’s performance of Jimmy “The Rainmaker.” He brought a real honesty to the role and allowed for us to understand his life in just a few short minutes. His presence served two different purposes on the show. The first is he was used as an instrument to get Lights out of some trouble by convincing Councilman Hess to stop talking by using extreme force. This is the first time we see LIghts make a decision that bettered his position by not further putting his family or himself at further risk. If we can see more of Patrick using his other resources, and not just his fists, to get things done, the show will become that much deeper. The second purpose of Jimmy was to serve as a warning to Lights about the dangers of taking too many punches to the head. Though I think we were a little hit over the head (pun intended) with this idea, Morse did do a great job of showing that he still had joy for the game, but the consequences may not outweigh all the costs. We’ll see if this effects Patrick in any way, but he has a history of disregarding former boxing legends who impacted him earlier. Ed Romeo was such a strong force in his two episodes, but now it seems like he’s an afterthought.
Lights Out is till building to the fight with Death Row Reynolds. We know this. So it was no surprise to see the show steer away from the training for a bit. It was logical for Patrick to find himself fixing problems that didn’t get in the way of the healing process. However, I’m not so sure that the independent story of this episode was executed as best as it could have been to keep last week’s momentum going. I look for these next two episodes to really turn up the heat. So while I was particularly thrilled with this episode, I certainly am still looking forward to see how it ends. I’m definitely looking forward to more Barry K Word and definitely looking forward to an epic boxing match.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Lights Out - "Cut Men" Review
“I never play, Patrick. The train is leaving the station. If you can’t get on it, someone will take you place.” -Barry
When watching Lights Out I have to be careful not to forward think to much. What I mean by that is to not let knowing the logical conclusion of the season get in the way of taking the drama out the season leading up to the end. At this point it’s clear Patrick is going to fight Death Row Reynolds at the conclusion of the season, so it takes a lot of deft storytelling to keep the viewer interested in the events leading up to the finale.
One way the show is keeping us interested is by showing us the many sides of our hero. We know Patrick the family man, the fighter in training, the business man, but we really haven’t seen too much negative from him. We saw him near the beginning try and be a gangster for Hal Brennan, but that was still born out of the desire to put food on the table. Tonight we saw Patrick be unreasonable with his sister, Margaret, when he tried to tell her that her relationship was over with Hal. We saw a similar reaction when he told his wife that she was doing her residency end of story. It’s good to see some flaws in Patrick’s character. I don’t need my heroes to be flawless, I need them to be real. It just makes for a more well rounded character and thus we care more about his journey, not just the end product.
I wonder if Patrick new what he was doing when he went to call out Reynolds. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he knowingly provoked Reynolds into fighting him. Perhaps that was obvious, but it seemed like a huge risk, what with him having a hole in his side and whatnot. Patrick does always seems to have a plan. I’m not so sure I necessarily agree with all his plans though. The decision to dismiss his father as trainer I wasn’t personally on board with, mainly because it robs me of getting to see Stacy Keach on screen. He dismissed Ed who got him into the best shape of his life. But recently his decision to take a needle for of drugs to speed up the healing left me less than impressed. Nothing good can come from any athlete taking a cocktail of various colored drugs for straight cash. I hope this doesn’t provide yet another stumbling block for Lights in his pursuit to fight Death Row. It takes a lot of the faith from the show to trust that the viewers will keep coming back week after week knowing that the forward motion will be slowed by some other event.
Most all of the characters are shaping up much better than where they started, particularly Teresa. I heard something very wise the other day. When a show is conceived, you write a character and then cast an actor. Once the show is in production, you get a feel for the actor’s strengths and eventually begin to write for them in a much more flattering way. It’s not surprising that Teresa’s character is coming along nicely as they realize that her likability is integral to the success of the show. We were all quick to jump on her at the start, but I have to give credit to the writers for righting the ship. The next problem is fixing the daughters. I’m still not sure why we can only get two of the daughters on screen in any particular episode, but it’s beginning to stick out like a sore thumb. If Patrick’s daughters are going to be that important to him, they need to be that important to us and right now they aren’t. But the show makes for the daughters by giving us Barry K Word and Hal Brennan. I just can’t get enough of them. Also good on them to bring back the reporter Mike Famoso. It's important to have someone around that knows Lights from early on in his life who isn't afraid to stand up to him.
I’m anxious for Lights to fight soon. I just hope the show can keep coming up with more plausible ways to keep my interest until the big fight comes. I’ll continue to believe in Warren Leight and the rest of the staff until they disappoint.
When watching Lights Out I have to be careful not to forward think to much. What I mean by that is to not let knowing the logical conclusion of the season get in the way of taking the drama out the season leading up to the end. At this point it’s clear Patrick is going to fight Death Row Reynolds at the conclusion of the season, so it takes a lot of deft storytelling to keep the viewer interested in the events leading up to the finale.
One way the show is keeping us interested is by showing us the many sides of our hero. We know Patrick the family man, the fighter in training, the business man, but we really haven’t seen too much negative from him. We saw him near the beginning try and be a gangster for Hal Brennan, but that was still born out of the desire to put food on the table. Tonight we saw Patrick be unreasonable with his sister, Margaret, when he tried to tell her that her relationship was over with Hal. We saw a similar reaction when he told his wife that she was doing her residency end of story. It’s good to see some flaws in Patrick’s character. I don’t need my heroes to be flawless, I need them to be real. It just makes for a more well rounded character and thus we care more about his journey, not just the end product.
I wonder if Patrick new what he was doing when he went to call out Reynolds. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he knowingly provoked Reynolds into fighting him. Perhaps that was obvious, but it seemed like a huge risk, what with him having a hole in his side and whatnot. Patrick does always seems to have a plan. I’m not so sure I necessarily agree with all his plans though. The decision to dismiss his father as trainer I wasn’t personally on board with, mainly because it robs me of getting to see Stacy Keach on screen. He dismissed Ed who got him into the best shape of his life. But recently his decision to take a needle for of drugs to speed up the healing left me less than impressed. Nothing good can come from any athlete taking a cocktail of various colored drugs for straight cash. I hope this doesn’t provide yet another stumbling block for Lights in his pursuit to fight Death Row. It takes a lot of the faith from the show to trust that the viewers will keep coming back week after week knowing that the forward motion will be slowed by some other event.
Most all of the characters are shaping up much better than where they started, particularly Teresa. I heard something very wise the other day. When a show is conceived, you write a character and then cast an actor. Once the show is in production, you get a feel for the actor’s strengths and eventually begin to write for them in a much more flattering way. It’s not surprising that Teresa’s character is coming along nicely as they realize that her likability is integral to the success of the show. We were all quick to jump on her at the start, but I have to give credit to the writers for righting the ship. The next problem is fixing the daughters. I’m still not sure why we can only get two of the daughters on screen in any particular episode, but it’s beginning to stick out like a sore thumb. If Patrick’s daughters are going to be that important to him, they need to be that important to us and right now they aren’t. But the show makes for the daughters by giving us Barry K Word and Hal Brennan. I just can’t get enough of them. Also good on them to bring back the reporter Mike Famoso. It's important to have someone around that knows Lights from early on in his life who isn't afraid to stand up to him.
I’m anxious for Lights to fight soon. I just hope the show can keep coming up with more plausible ways to keep my interest until the big fight comes. I’ll continue to believe in Warren Leight and the rest of the staff until they disappoint.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Lights Out - "In Flight" Review
“Remember this, everything, even the scariest thing on Earth has got a weakness. The more you study your enemy, the less scary he is.” -Ed Romeo
The second half of Lights Out has been dramatically been the first half and it’s due to one factor: focus. At first, Lights Out didn’t know what story to tell. Was it Patrick and Theresa’s marital struggles? Was it Lights trying to get his family out of debt? Was it training a new superstar in Omar? No. It was always about Patrick fighting for the championship. Along the way there is sure to be some things that make us stop and examine other angles. Ava’s coming of age and going to prom was a nice departure from Lights’ training and made us realize just what Patrick is fighting for. Tonight’s episode really drove home the focus. We got a deep look at Ed Romeo and Patrick trying to make Lights into champion. The problem for Patrick is that he can’t just be a fighter any more. He’s fighting against Reynolds, but fighting for his family.
From the opening opening scene I felt uneasy about Ed Romeo. There’s something else working behind his eyes. There’s an obsession, a need. That need is for boxing. For training. Romeo would have been the perfect trainer for a fighter like Omar. Someone he could really get inside their head and mold them into a super fighter fueled by that same obsession and drive he has. With Lights, it’s not that simple. He has other needs and wants. We know how serious Romeo is about his craft. He slit his wrists after Death Row Reynolds fired him as trainer, so when I started to sense the disconnect between Patrick and Ed I was always tense when he had those quiet moments with the Leary girls. Not that I thought Ed was some sort of adulterer or pervert, but that there was a sense that he could make things get very uncomfortable very quick. Ed’s obsession turned out to be too much for Patrick. He needs his family there. He’s never fought without their support and he doesn’t intend to start now. In Greek tragedy, all the heroes have a tragic flaw that prevent them from immortalizing themselves. Patrick has one that lives and breathes, his brother.
Johnny is an extremely pivotal character. For some reason or another Lights continues to always go back to his brother when it’s clear they live in two close but very different worlds. I understand Patrick’s desire to please his father. He was his trainer, the man who raised him. But Johnny I don’t get. I applauded when Patrick fired Johnny and was curious how Johnny was going to win him back. To me, Johnny’s ban didn’t last long enough. I don’t think he redeemed himself enough to be brought back in the circle of trust so soon. I don’t think he’s constantly devising plans and ways to screw Patrick out his money, I just think by nature he’s a sycophant who’s not very good at his job. There’s a clear difference when Patrick is talking to his brother and when he’s talking to his manager. Johnny is a great brother. One that empathizes with his family situation and knows where Patrick comes from, but as a manager he’s a panderer who can’t ever get the upper hand. So it should come as no shock that Johnny is responsible for yet another major setback in Lights’ training. In fighting Ed Romeo, Johnny accidentally stabs Lights in the side. The final scene shows Ed Romeo holding on to Lights telling him it will be ok. I wonder if this means we’ll get more of Ed? Perhaps this brings Patrick’s father back. Either way, I’m very happy with the direction of the show right now and think it will only get better as the season goes on.
The second half of Lights Out has been dramatically been the first half and it’s due to one factor: focus. At first, Lights Out didn’t know what story to tell. Was it Patrick and Theresa’s marital struggles? Was it Lights trying to get his family out of debt? Was it training a new superstar in Omar? No. It was always about Patrick fighting for the championship. Along the way there is sure to be some things that make us stop and examine other angles. Ava’s coming of age and going to prom was a nice departure from Lights’ training and made us realize just what Patrick is fighting for. Tonight’s episode really drove home the focus. We got a deep look at Ed Romeo and Patrick trying to make Lights into champion. The problem for Patrick is that he can’t just be a fighter any more. He’s fighting against Reynolds, but fighting for his family.
From the opening opening scene I felt uneasy about Ed Romeo. There’s something else working behind his eyes. There’s an obsession, a need. That need is for boxing. For training. Romeo would have been the perfect trainer for a fighter like Omar. Someone he could really get inside their head and mold them into a super fighter fueled by that same obsession and drive he has. With Lights, it’s not that simple. He has other needs and wants. We know how serious Romeo is about his craft. He slit his wrists after Death Row Reynolds fired him as trainer, so when I started to sense the disconnect between Patrick and Ed I was always tense when he had those quiet moments with the Leary girls. Not that I thought Ed was some sort of adulterer or pervert, but that there was a sense that he could make things get very uncomfortable very quick. Ed’s obsession turned out to be too much for Patrick. He needs his family there. He’s never fought without their support and he doesn’t intend to start now. In Greek tragedy, all the heroes have a tragic flaw that prevent them from immortalizing themselves. Patrick has one that lives and breathes, his brother.
Johnny is an extremely pivotal character. For some reason or another Lights continues to always go back to his brother when it’s clear they live in two close but very different worlds. I understand Patrick’s desire to please his father. He was his trainer, the man who raised him. But Johnny I don’t get. I applauded when Patrick fired Johnny and was curious how Johnny was going to win him back. To me, Johnny’s ban didn’t last long enough. I don’t think he redeemed himself enough to be brought back in the circle of trust so soon. I don’t think he’s constantly devising plans and ways to screw Patrick out his money, I just think by nature he’s a sycophant who’s not very good at his job. There’s a clear difference when Patrick is talking to his brother and when he’s talking to his manager. Johnny is a great brother. One that empathizes with his family situation and knows where Patrick comes from, but as a manager he’s a panderer who can’t ever get the upper hand. So it should come as no shock that Johnny is responsible for yet another major setback in Lights’ training. In fighting Ed Romeo, Johnny accidentally stabs Lights in the side. The final scene shows Ed Romeo holding on to Lights telling him it will be ok. I wonder if this means we’ll get more of Ed? Perhaps this brings Patrick’s father back. Either way, I’m very happy with the direction of the show right now and think it will only get better as the season goes on.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Lights Out - "Head Games" Review
“This is life and death for me. You not down with that, you shouldn’t even start.” -Ed Romeo
The gift of Ed Romeo was given to us this episode. Ed adds a much needed outside influence to the training of Patrick Leary. The relationships within his family are pretty much set where they are until the fight, so what sense would it have made just to watch things play out predictably. With the addition of Romeo, the stakes are raised as now Patrick is having to make a choice, again, between fighting and family. Only this time, it’s not Teresa, it’s Johnny, Margaret and his father.
I’m not a fan of ultimatums at all, especially in relationships. It seems like Lights has to dance around an awful lot of them with his family. First with Teresa, it was her or the fighting, and Patrick chose her. Then it was his father. It was either he trains his way and takes other fights or he walks as his trainer. Patrick chose fighting. Now with Romeo, he asks him to shut out Johnny, Margaret and his father as their negative influences in his life and he needs to have zero distractions on the way to becoming a champion again. This time, Lights is choosing both. This could be Lights’s most difficult battle yet. We continually see the separation be Lights the fighter and Patrick of the Leary family, but it’s always stayed in the family. Now what happens when Lights the fighter leaves the family?
I’m not going to put Johnny and Margaret on sycophants yet, but they are getting close. It’s clear that they love their brother Patrick very much and that they’re proud of him. It’s also clear that they really love being related to a former heavyweight champion. They feel like it’s partly their championship and that they get to reap the rewards as well. So when Romeo comes in and upsets that balance, it’s not a wonder why they clamor and try and get Lights to keep it in house. Their golden goose is escaping from the farm. They need to realize that Lights isn’t like other people. He is going to stick with his family, out of love and not out of obligation, as Romeo said.
Patrick dealt with every member of his family in this episode. Except for the youngest daughter, who is inexplicably absent from many episodes. It wouldn’t be so obvious if they didn’t draw attention to it every episode. This week, the shaky reasoning is that she’s at a girl scout function. In his dealings with his family members, one word comes to mind to describe Patrick: commitment. In dealing with his father, he has a commitment to fighting Reynolds and so he was forced to recruit Ed. Then when pops tried to rehire himself, he stuck with his commitment to Ed. He’s always been committed to Teresa, and it’s because of this commitment we are where we are. But Patrick owns his mistakes. When his family warns him of his potential for making a big mistake, he’s “well then I’ll make it then.” He has his own idea and he sticks with it. He has a commitment to see his daughters happy. As much as I don’t care about the daughters story line, it was a very nice moment to see Patrick react to Ava coming down the stairs. You could see the pride in his eyes. He wishes Ava well in her future decisions, but it’s clear he’s happy for her in that moment. His sister, Margaret, who’s been his biggest fan since day one, has been living off the commitment he made to her. He gave her he diner and eats there what seems like every meal. He brought Johnny back in the loop. Even with everything Johnny did to him, he still welcomes him back. All this to say that the potential schism between Patrick and his family caused by Ed Romeo has some serious ramifications. I’m not so sure Lights can have his cake and eat it too. Something has to give, but what?
The gift of Ed Romeo was given to us this episode. Ed adds a much needed outside influence to the training of Patrick Leary. The relationships within his family are pretty much set where they are until the fight, so what sense would it have made just to watch things play out predictably. With the addition of Romeo, the stakes are raised as now Patrick is having to make a choice, again, between fighting and family. Only this time, it’s not Teresa, it’s Johnny, Margaret and his father.
I’m not a fan of ultimatums at all, especially in relationships. It seems like Lights has to dance around an awful lot of them with his family. First with Teresa, it was her or the fighting, and Patrick chose her. Then it was his father. It was either he trains his way and takes other fights or he walks as his trainer. Patrick chose fighting. Now with Romeo, he asks him to shut out Johnny, Margaret and his father as their negative influences in his life and he needs to have zero distractions on the way to becoming a champion again. This time, Lights is choosing both. This could be Lights’s most difficult battle yet. We continually see the separation be Lights the fighter and Patrick of the Leary family, but it’s always stayed in the family. Now what happens when Lights the fighter leaves the family?
I’m not going to put Johnny and Margaret on sycophants yet, but they are getting close. It’s clear that they love their brother Patrick very much and that they’re proud of him. It’s also clear that they really love being related to a former heavyweight champion. They feel like it’s partly their championship and that they get to reap the rewards as well. So when Romeo comes in and upsets that balance, it’s not a wonder why they clamor and try and get Lights to keep it in house. Their golden goose is escaping from the farm. They need to realize that Lights isn’t like other people. He is going to stick with his family, out of love and not out of obligation, as Romeo said.
Patrick dealt with every member of his family in this episode. Except for the youngest daughter, who is inexplicably absent from many episodes. It wouldn’t be so obvious if they didn’t draw attention to it every episode. This week, the shaky reasoning is that she’s at a girl scout function. In his dealings with his family members, one word comes to mind to describe Patrick: commitment. In dealing with his father, he has a commitment to fighting Reynolds and so he was forced to recruit Ed. Then when pops tried to rehire himself, he stuck with his commitment to Ed. He’s always been committed to Teresa, and it’s because of this commitment we are where we are. But Patrick owns his mistakes. When his family warns him of his potential for making a big mistake, he’s “well then I’ll make it then.” He has his own idea and he sticks with it. He has a commitment to see his daughters happy. As much as I don’t care about the daughters story line, it was a very nice moment to see Patrick react to Ava coming down the stairs. You could see the pride in his eyes. He wishes Ava well in her future decisions, but it’s clear he’s happy for her in that moment. His sister, Margaret, who’s been his biggest fan since day one, has been living off the commitment he made to her. He gave her he diner and eats there what seems like every meal. He brought Johnny back in the loop. Even with everything Johnny did to him, he still welcomes him back. All this to say that the potential schism between Patrick and his family caused by Ed Romeo has some serious ramifications. I’m not so sure Lights can have his cake and eat it too. Something has to give, but what?
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Lights Out - "Crossroads" Review
“I kill you old man. I kill you until you die from it.” -Morales
Patrick Leary is on his way to the championship rematch with Death Row Reynolds we’ve all been waiting for. This episode couldn’t have come at a better time for the show. In what is clearly the strongest episode of the season, all the characters seem to be working together, playing their part to tell great drama. I’ve had some issues with previous episodes, namely the likability of Theresa and the lack of Patrick fighting, but both were satisfied in this episode.
Patrick is a fighter. And more than a boxer. The show is clearly juxtaposing his many fights out of the ring with the ones in it creating a constant inner battle as for what is Patrick really fighting for. He fights hardest for his family, and while that’s all well and good, we never really cared about his family because they were trying to keep him out the ring. The writers wrote Theresa into a corner by making her so staunchly against Patrick fighting, but I think they did a remarkable recovery job. Patrick isn’t fighting to set the family up for life anymore, he’s fighting again to keep them going until he can pass the reigns over to Theresa so she can be the breadwinner for the family. This allows Theresa to, while still being against it, acquiesce to the idea of Patrick fighting. The audience gets what they want and the writers don’t sacrifice the integrity of the female lead.
So with Theresa back in her corner, what does Patrick have left to fight for outside the ring? Seems as though his father is not taking a liking to Patrick’s idea of a cash grab title shot with Death Row Reynolds. He wants Patrick to fight 5 or 6 more times before the rematch, but Patrick knows his family can’t take that. The father, plagued by the notion that his coaching might have been the reason for Patrick losing the first time around against Reynolds, desperately wants to amend his mistakes of the past. So now Patrick has yet another battle to fight. I can’t see him taking on the 5 or 6 more fights, so how will he get his father back in the ring. His laissez-faire attitude with Johnny seemed to work, but I don’t think it will with his father. Of Patrick’s main three outside family influences, Theresa, Johnny, and his father, I think we have them in the best possible positions to create the best story. Theresa is begrudgingly letting Patrick fight to save the family. Johnny is acknowledging Patrick is the fighter and doing whatever it takes to see both his brother Patrick and the fighter Lights Leary are getting everything they want and need. Johnny congratulating Lights by saying “You did it.” was very important. No, “we,” just “you.” His father is fighting for boxing. He wants to do things the right way and is torn between seeing Patrick happy taking the shortcut to money, and building another champion. Perhaps he’s seeing that after one more fight, his days as a trainer are over.
As for the fight itself, Morales showing up to his weigh in drinking a 40 and carrying a machete and smoking a cigarette was priceless. They did a great job making him evil. Just how good is Patrick? He had to guzzle water just to make it over 200 pounds, can barely see out of his right eye, has been out of the game for 5 years and he still knocks out Morales in 2! It seems to good to be true. Did Morales get paid by Barry Word to take a dive? Was the low blow from Patrick really needed to gain an advantage? Or did the cut over his right eye actually help him focus by eliminating his blurry sight? Either way, I’m with pops, I don’t think Patrick is ready for the fight with Reynolds. One of his big problems in sparring was conditioning. What if he can’t knock Reynolds out in 2? Then what? He also went against his Father’s advice in taking the early opening to knock out Morales. Maybe Johnny will step in and coach. He was the more naturally gifted fighter anyway.
Other thoughts:
Daniella is fastly moving into the most unlikable character role. Surely she can understand why her parents are split right now. Perhaps it’s the enormous pressure Patrick placed on her by telling her the family’s success lies on her keeping a huge secret.
Patrick’s sister didn’t seem to pleased at the party. It looks like she will carry the burden of Patrick’s secret now.
Could they really not find better actresses to play the Leary daughters? Maybe by shifting the burden to Margaret, we’ll get less of Daniella. We never get to see all the daughters in an episode together either. The writers are limiting the damage.
One of my problems about Theresa was her ridiculous accent. Well this past episode they remedied that by Daniella asking about her relatives in England. Now we can drop the charade of her American accent and just go full on British.
Patrick Leary is on his way to the championship rematch with Death Row Reynolds we’ve all been waiting for. This episode couldn’t have come at a better time for the show. In what is clearly the strongest episode of the season, all the characters seem to be working together, playing their part to tell great drama. I’ve had some issues with previous episodes, namely the likability of Theresa and the lack of Patrick fighting, but both were satisfied in this episode.
Patrick is a fighter. And more than a boxer. The show is clearly juxtaposing his many fights out of the ring with the ones in it creating a constant inner battle as for what is Patrick really fighting for. He fights hardest for his family, and while that’s all well and good, we never really cared about his family because they were trying to keep him out the ring. The writers wrote Theresa into a corner by making her so staunchly against Patrick fighting, but I think they did a remarkable recovery job. Patrick isn’t fighting to set the family up for life anymore, he’s fighting again to keep them going until he can pass the reigns over to Theresa so she can be the breadwinner for the family. This allows Theresa to, while still being against it, acquiesce to the idea of Patrick fighting. The audience gets what they want and the writers don’t sacrifice the integrity of the female lead.
So with Theresa back in her corner, what does Patrick have left to fight for outside the ring? Seems as though his father is not taking a liking to Patrick’s idea of a cash grab title shot with Death Row Reynolds. He wants Patrick to fight 5 or 6 more times before the rematch, but Patrick knows his family can’t take that. The father, plagued by the notion that his coaching might have been the reason for Patrick losing the first time around against Reynolds, desperately wants to amend his mistakes of the past. So now Patrick has yet another battle to fight. I can’t see him taking on the 5 or 6 more fights, so how will he get his father back in the ring. His laissez-faire attitude with Johnny seemed to work, but I don’t think it will with his father. Of Patrick’s main three outside family influences, Theresa, Johnny, and his father, I think we have them in the best possible positions to create the best story. Theresa is begrudgingly letting Patrick fight to save the family. Johnny is acknowledging Patrick is the fighter and doing whatever it takes to see both his brother Patrick and the fighter Lights Leary are getting everything they want and need. Johnny congratulating Lights by saying “You did it.” was very important. No, “we,” just “you.” His father is fighting for boxing. He wants to do things the right way and is torn between seeing Patrick happy taking the shortcut to money, and building another champion. Perhaps he’s seeing that after one more fight, his days as a trainer are over.
As for the fight itself, Morales showing up to his weigh in drinking a 40 and carrying a machete and smoking a cigarette was priceless. They did a great job making him evil. Just how good is Patrick? He had to guzzle water just to make it over 200 pounds, can barely see out of his right eye, has been out of the game for 5 years and he still knocks out Morales in 2! It seems to good to be true. Did Morales get paid by Barry Word to take a dive? Was the low blow from Patrick really needed to gain an advantage? Or did the cut over his right eye actually help him focus by eliminating his blurry sight? Either way, I’m with pops, I don’t think Patrick is ready for the fight with Reynolds. One of his big problems in sparring was conditioning. What if he can’t knock Reynolds out in 2? Then what? He also went against his Father’s advice in taking the early opening to knock out Morales. Maybe Johnny will step in and coach. He was the more naturally gifted fighter anyway.
Other thoughts:
Daniella is fastly moving into the most unlikable character role. Surely she can understand why her parents are split right now. Perhaps it’s the enormous pressure Patrick placed on her by telling her the family’s success lies on her keeping a huge secret.
Patrick’s sister didn’t seem to pleased at the party. It looks like she will carry the burden of Patrick’s secret now.
Could they really not find better actresses to play the Leary daughters? Maybe by shifting the burden to Margaret, we’ll get less of Daniella. We never get to see all the daughters in an episode together either. The writers are limiting the damage.
One of my problems about Theresa was her ridiculous accent. Well this past episode they remedied that by Daniella asking about her relatives in England. Now we can drop the charade of her American accent and just go full on British.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Lights Out - "Combinations" Review
“You don’t last 2 minutes in my world, bitch. Tell your daughters to pray for you.” -Javier
Clearly we as the audience care about Patrick “Lights” Leary, but do we care about what he cares about? Patrick has many battles he has to fight both literally and figuratively. Maybe I’m too impatient, but I want to see him box. I know that’s not what the show is explicitly about but Lights Out would stand to benefit from some episodic plots dealing with fighting. I don’t suggest him fighting in a match every episode until he defeats Death Row Reynolds, but we need to see him progressing physically. We need to believe that when he fights Javier, it’ll be a fair fight.
The main issue is that we just don’t care about Patrick’s wife all that much. Teresa doesn’t have a lot of friends left in the show after her visit with Patrick’s sister, Margaret. If we are to care about Patrick trying to get his wife back, we must first want them to get back together, and the only reason we want that, is because Patrick wants that. Teresa needs a big win. And soon. The fight we care about is between Patrick and Javier, not between Patrick and Teresa. Unless the family is more danger than they are, I don’t particularly care about his quest to save them. We seem to be at an impasse between Patrick and wife about him fighting and as long as he keeps training, the problem won’t go away. There are 3 realistic story telling options at this point: Patrick stops fighting (which he won’t or there’s no show), Teresa changes her convictions (which she shouldn’t since it’s the foundation of the domestic conflict), or we drop the home life angle until something upsets the balance. Obviously I’m in favor of the third option.
I am interested in Johnny’s story line. He adds a darkness to the Leary family. I enjoy seeing him simultaneously trying to curry favor with his brother Patrick, while trying to get his old job back with the fighter Lights Leary. It was particularly interesting when Johnny stood up to his dad. He reminded his father of a piece of advice he once gave to him, “You want the fight, you pay the price.” Up to this point Patrick’s dad has been altruistic and full of integrity. I wonder if there’s more to this story. Maybe Johnny learned some tricks from his dad in the boxing promoting world.
As of right now, I need more risk. Patrick took a risk taking the fight and he “lost” his family, but he’s still allowed to see them all the time and it looks like Teresa is growing sympathetic. What about the financial troubles? Are the Leary’s able to use more credit because he’s close to a million dollar purse? There’s no urgency from the show. They seem content on taking there time, but I think they need to pick up the pace. Something needs to tip the scales and upset the balance. The show can’t tread too much water or else the audience interest will start to wain.
Other thoughts:
-Not sure what to make of the newspaper writer angle. I had thought that the writer’s story will be redundant with the show. That Mike would be best served creating controversy, maybe as a mouth piece for Word. That we didn’t need him telling us what we’re already watching, but then they wrapped him up this episode. Maybe it’s just a point made on the state of affairs of newspaper writing.
-Barry Word is so excellent. The opening scene was perfect. I could listen to Reg E. Cathey talk all day.
-What happened to Brennan? You can’t just end the previous episode with an ominous handshake between Word and Brennan and then not even make mention of it? I really hope there’s more to all this.
Clearly we as the audience care about Patrick “Lights” Leary, but do we care about what he cares about? Patrick has many battles he has to fight both literally and figuratively. Maybe I’m too impatient, but I want to see him box. I know that’s not what the show is explicitly about but Lights Out would stand to benefit from some episodic plots dealing with fighting. I don’t suggest him fighting in a match every episode until he defeats Death Row Reynolds, but we need to see him progressing physically. We need to believe that when he fights Javier, it’ll be a fair fight.
The main issue is that we just don’t care about Patrick’s wife all that much. Teresa doesn’t have a lot of friends left in the show after her visit with Patrick’s sister, Margaret. If we are to care about Patrick trying to get his wife back, we must first want them to get back together, and the only reason we want that, is because Patrick wants that. Teresa needs a big win. And soon. The fight we care about is between Patrick and Javier, not between Patrick and Teresa. Unless the family is more danger than they are, I don’t particularly care about his quest to save them. We seem to be at an impasse between Patrick and wife about him fighting and as long as he keeps training, the problem won’t go away. There are 3 realistic story telling options at this point: Patrick stops fighting (which he won’t or there’s no show), Teresa changes her convictions (which she shouldn’t since it’s the foundation of the domestic conflict), or we drop the home life angle until something upsets the balance. Obviously I’m in favor of the third option.
I am interested in Johnny’s story line. He adds a darkness to the Leary family. I enjoy seeing him simultaneously trying to curry favor with his brother Patrick, while trying to get his old job back with the fighter Lights Leary. It was particularly interesting when Johnny stood up to his dad. He reminded his father of a piece of advice he once gave to him, “You want the fight, you pay the price.” Up to this point Patrick’s dad has been altruistic and full of integrity. I wonder if there’s more to this story. Maybe Johnny learned some tricks from his dad in the boxing promoting world.
As of right now, I need more risk. Patrick took a risk taking the fight and he “lost” his family, but he’s still allowed to see them all the time and it looks like Teresa is growing sympathetic. What about the financial troubles? Are the Leary’s able to use more credit because he’s close to a million dollar purse? There’s no urgency from the show. They seem content on taking there time, but I think they need to pick up the pace. Something needs to tip the scales and upset the balance. The show can’t tread too much water or else the audience interest will start to wain.
Other thoughts:
-Not sure what to make of the newspaper writer angle. I had thought that the writer’s story will be redundant with the show. That Mike would be best served creating controversy, maybe as a mouth piece for Word. That we didn’t need him telling us what we’re already watching, but then they wrapped him up this episode. Maybe it’s just a point made on the state of affairs of newspaper writing.
-Barry Word is so excellent. The opening scene was perfect. I could listen to Reg E. Cathey talk all day.
-What happened to Brennan? You can’t just end the previous episode with an ominous handshake between Word and Brennan and then not even make mention of it? I really hope there’s more to all this.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Lights Out - "The Comeback" Review
“Boxing. One guy takes the punches, 20 guys try to make a living off him.” -Hal Brennan
Lights Out continues to be a show that I’m just “in like” with. Something about it just isn’t registering fully. It feels as if the stakes aren’t high enough, but yet they’re as high as ever. Patrick’s marriage, family, and life are on the line, yet for some reason I can’t feel the urgency. I’m not sure if the shows content is strong enough to stand on its own without the fighting interjected in. Where Friday Night Lights can be extremely successful in not putting football in every episode, I just don’t feel the same about Lights Out. It needs some action.
Tonight we got a breakout performance for Reg E. Cathey. We really got to see him flex his acting muscles, especially in the scene where Patrick confronts him. Barry always appears to be in control, but we see that he can dig down deep if he needs to. Bill Irwin as Hal Brennan is also an intriguing character. There just seemed to be something going on in the diner when he was talking to Patrick’s sister, Margaret. He always seems to be scheming. After all, he is a very successful crook. So it wasn’t terribly shocking when he sat down with Barry at the end of the episode. To tell you the truth, I think I would have been more excited to see that scene play out than any scenes featuring one of the daughters.
Patrick decides he wants to fight again and hand picks an opponent that would be the easiest fight with the biggest purse. The catch is Johnny promised his comeback to Barry Word, so it has to be on his terms, and guess what? Patrick’s terms were not acceptable. So Patrick tries to find a loophole by using a silent partner, Hal Brennan, who just happens to be in bed with Barry Word. This all leads to Patrick having to take a more difficult and dangerous fight with Barry’s man in order to try and dig his family out of a financial whole. This creates several conflicts.
I think there’s a lot of good things about Lights Out, but not a lot of great things. I think it needs to ramp up the intensity and let the double crossing begin. We need to start seeing some punches throw, both literally and figuratively, and it needs to happen soon.
Lights Out continues to be a show that I’m just “in like” with. Something about it just isn’t registering fully. It feels as if the stakes aren’t high enough, but yet they’re as high as ever. Patrick’s marriage, family, and life are on the line, yet for some reason I can’t feel the urgency. I’m not sure if the shows content is strong enough to stand on its own without the fighting interjected in. Where Friday Night Lights can be extremely successful in not putting football in every episode, I just don’t feel the same about Lights Out. It needs some action.
Tonight we got a breakout performance for Reg E. Cathey. We really got to see him flex his acting muscles, especially in the scene where Patrick confronts him. Barry always appears to be in control, but we see that he can dig down deep if he needs to. Bill Irwin as Hal Brennan is also an intriguing character. There just seemed to be something going on in the diner when he was talking to Patrick’s sister, Margaret. He always seems to be scheming. After all, he is a very successful crook. So it wasn’t terribly shocking when he sat down with Barry at the end of the episode. To tell you the truth, I think I would have been more excited to see that scene play out than any scenes featuring one of the daughters.
Patrick decides he wants to fight again and hand picks an opponent that would be the easiest fight with the biggest purse. The catch is Johnny promised his comeback to Barry Word, so it has to be on his terms, and guess what? Patrick’s terms were not acceptable. So Patrick tries to find a loophole by using a silent partner, Hal Brennan, who just happens to be in bed with Barry Word. This all leads to Patrick having to take a more difficult and dangerous fight with Barry’s man in order to try and dig his family out of a financial whole. This creates several conflicts.
- Patrick fires Johnny. Patrick doesn’t trust Johnny any more. He believes Johnny is in to it just for himself and I’m inclined to agree. Now what I like about this conflict is I’m curious how Johnny fights back. Does he join forces with Barry like what the show hinted at? Or does he humble himself and try and ingratiate himself back into his family?
- Daniella, Patrick’s daughter, knows about his pugilistic dementia and hasn’t told her mom, so she hangs it over her dad’s head to convince him not to do the fight. Well Patrick turns it right back and makes her grow up fast and manipulates her into thinking that if she tells Theresa about the dementia that she’ll ruin the family. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a young girl and I didn’t necessarily see it coming. Patrick usually is much more controlled with his daughters.
- Perhaps the biggest consequence of Patrick’s decision is that it looks like it’s going to break up the marriage, at least force a separation of sorts. Theresa says she’s tried to be ok with it, but she just can’t be. The biggest problem the writers face is making her likable. The audience wants Patrick to fight, but she’s holding him back. But her motives are correct. She wants to keep her husband safe. She wants their daughters to grow up having a normal life with their dad in the picture. But yet, she seems like the bad guy here. Obviously there’s no show if he doesn’t fight, but the poignancy of Patrick making the choice to fight felt a little soft.
I think there’s a lot of good things about Lights Out, but not a lot of great things. I think it needs to ramp up the intensity and let the double crossing begin. We need to start seeing some punches throw, both literally and figuratively, and it needs to happen soon.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Lights Out - "Bolo Punch" Review
“This isn’t the ring, Patrick. You’re in over your head. You can’t punch your way out of this.” - Theresa
Finally some action! Up until this point, Patrick ‘Lights” Leary has been relatively passive. I know, he want after the dentist, but I’m talking about his financial situation with his family. I wanted the show to be all about boxing, but it looks like we’re in for a fight over financial struggles with Patrick and his brother and wife. We learn that Johnny is a degenerate gamble, he used be addicted to drugs, he’s getting divorced and he’s lost all of Patrick’s money (and probably their father’s.) We’ve learned that Johnny is not to be trusted with money. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with his character once Patrick fires him (which will happen).
But to me, the most important thing happened this episode. Patrick finally told Theresa about them being broke. I was delighted to see that Theresa’s reaction was immediately about the girls and that she embraced him after the exchange. It built some much needed compassion from a character I otherwise don’t like very much. The dramatic irony was getting to be too heavy. Theresa was bound to find out and the writer’s couldn’t keep the secret away long, so I’m glad they just came out with it. Now we’ll get to learn more about Patrick in the coming episodes. Where is he going to place his allegiance too? With his wife who vowed to stay with him through richer or for poorer? Or with his brother? Who he had to bail out of gambling debt by winning an unsanctioned cage match? A scene, that seemed a bit cheesy. And the choice to have tribal drums be the only score to the fight seemed curious. I’m worried that if Patrick keeps lying to his wife he’s going to lose her. I want him to be able to fight and keep his family, but I don’t think that’s possible.
The show is not perfect, but I feel like it’s heading in the right direction. We finally got to see Patrick fight. We finally got to see his hunger to box again. We saw him tell his wife about them being broke, and then we saw him promptly lie to her face to get them out of trouble. My big complaint is that we haven’t seen Johnny do anything particularly redeeming so it’s hard for me to A) feel bad for him and B) care about Patrick trying to save him.
Other thoughts:
-Would Patrick really step in the way of a gun? His family means everything to him. Gave up his livelihood for them, yet he steps up to Omar. Doesn’t quite make sense.
Catherine McCormack can’t do an American accent to save her life. Unless she’s not trying to.
Barry knows of a simulcast but still sends a fax. Nice.
Classic scene where Patrick and his father want to see “the fight” on the TV and the waitress says the fight is on, but she was talking about UFC, he was talking about boxing. A nod to the state of current combat sports.
I really liked the character of Omar. Curious if that will be the end of him as the show will try and focus it’s narrative.
What did you think? Will you keep watching? Are you excited to finally see Patrick fight?
Finally some action! Up until this point, Patrick ‘Lights” Leary has been relatively passive. I know, he want after the dentist, but I’m talking about his financial situation with his family. I wanted the show to be all about boxing, but it looks like we’re in for a fight over financial struggles with Patrick and his brother and wife. We learn that Johnny is a degenerate gamble, he used be addicted to drugs, he’s getting divorced and he’s lost all of Patrick’s money (and probably their father’s.) We’ve learned that Johnny is not to be trusted with money. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with his character once Patrick fires him (which will happen).
But to me, the most important thing happened this episode. Patrick finally told Theresa about them being broke. I was delighted to see that Theresa’s reaction was immediately about the girls and that she embraced him after the exchange. It built some much needed compassion from a character I otherwise don’t like very much. The dramatic irony was getting to be too heavy. Theresa was bound to find out and the writer’s couldn’t keep the secret away long, so I’m glad they just came out with it. Now we’ll get to learn more about Patrick in the coming episodes. Where is he going to place his allegiance too? With his wife who vowed to stay with him through richer or for poorer? Or with his brother? Who he had to bail out of gambling debt by winning an unsanctioned cage match? A scene, that seemed a bit cheesy. And the choice to have tribal drums be the only score to the fight seemed curious. I’m worried that if Patrick keeps lying to his wife he’s going to lose her. I want him to be able to fight and keep his family, but I don’t think that’s possible.
The show is not perfect, but I feel like it’s heading in the right direction. We finally got to see Patrick fight. We finally got to see his hunger to box again. We saw him tell his wife about them being broke, and then we saw him promptly lie to her face to get them out of trouble. My big complaint is that we haven’t seen Johnny do anything particularly redeeming so it’s hard for me to A) feel bad for him and B) care about Patrick trying to save him.
Other thoughts:
-Would Patrick really step in the way of a gun? His family means everything to him. Gave up his livelihood for them, yet he steps up to Omar. Doesn’t quite make sense.
Catherine McCormack can’t do an American accent to save her life. Unless she’s not trying to.
Barry knows of a simulcast but still sends a fax. Nice.
Classic scene where Patrick and his father want to see “the fight” on the TV and the waitress says the fight is on, but she was talking about UFC, he was talking about boxing. A nod to the state of current combat sports.
I really liked the character of Omar. Curious if that will be the end of him as the show will try and focus it’s narrative.
What did you think? Will you keep watching? Are you excited to finally see Patrick fight?
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Shameless-ly Lights Out Episodes
As the calendar flipped from 2010 and we all mourned the loss of Terriers and Rubicon, 2011 arrived and brought us a brand new batch of shows to love and then see unceremoniously canceled before their time. Well some of them will just be put out of their misery or our misery depending on your point of view.
Sunday kicked off a the new season for Showtime including two new shows to bookend every red blooded man's favorite Californication, Shameless and Episodes. Shamelesss the hour long drama about a tight-nit group of siblings struggling to keep the lights on and their dead beat drunk dad off the floor. Episodes is the new half hour Matt LeBlanc vehicle about an English TV writing couple who move to LA to adapt their series for American television and have Matt LeBlanc forced upon them by the network.
On Tuesday FX brought us Lights Out, the new boxing drama to love and hate for all the same reasons we love and hate every boxing drama. Holt McCallany plays Patrick "Lights" Leary a former heavyweight champ who five years in to retirement finds himself broke. With three kids, a mortgage and a wife in med school, what's an old fighter to do but put everything on the line for that one last big purse.
Shameless
The Good
I guess Emmy Rossum was a star before this show, she was in Day After Tomorrow and The Phantom of the Opera. I didn't see either movie so she was a refreshing new face to me. And what a new face it is. Five minutes in and it's obvious she's the real star of the show. I liked brothers Lip and Ian a lot too. There's definitely room for fun and tension between these two. Lip is the schemer of the two and the only family member that knows Ian is gay. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind further exploits these two find themselves in. A dad catching you getting a hummer from his daughter under the dinning room table was quite a start.
The Bad
William H. Macy's Frank was a little too much caricature and not enough character. I think he was supposed to provide a little levity to a depressing situation but came off as over the top and rather pathetic. I don't get the Steve character at all. You have a poor Chicago family based in the realities of the lower class and then you throw in a character out of 'Gone in 60 Seconds' complete with his own slow motion action scene.
Wishful Thinking
I want to see the kids and especially Fiona deal with the realities of her dead beat father. There has to be resentment and buried hatred for what he's done to her and the family towards Frank. At some point, Fiona has to deal with what she's lost by having to be a mother to all these other kids. I really don't care what happens between her and Steve in the future. The less we see of him the better as far as I'm concerned. I hope to see William H. Macy get to develop this character and add a greater level of depth than we got to see in the first episode. I was excited by what I saw from the previews for the upcoming season and I'm looking forward seeing where this goes.
Episodes
The Good
The Brits had good English accents? It was good to see John Pankow in something. I thought the guy had falling off the Earth since playing Michael J. Fox's buddy Fred Melrose in The Secret of My Success. The first episode was just about as boring as its lead characters.
The Bad
It was dreadfully boring. LA jokes are easy and old. The network supporting characters were the same tired cliches we've seen a thousand times. Crickets lots and lots of crickets.
Wishful Thinking
I'm going to give it another episode before I flush it because the "star" of the show Matt LeBlanc doesn't show up until the next episode. And yes that's how boring the premiere was. We're hoping Matt LeBlanc can save it.
Lights Out
The Good
Holt McCallany owned the role of Lights Leary. Aside from him being a white heavyweight, I had no doubt that he was a retired boxing champ. The boxing scenes, limited number of them there was, were already better than the scenes from The Fighter. Pablo Schreiber and Stacy Keach are both nice as Leary's brother/manager and father respectively. The premiere was mostly spent setting up the back story and issues Leary will have to confront as he gets ready to get back into the ring after a five year layoff.
The Bad
Was it impossible to find an American actress to play Leary's wife. Or at least someone who wouldn't constantly butcher a New York, American or whatever accent she was trying to do. I've never been a Catherine McCormack fan and she's done nothing so far on Lights Out to change that. The story is cliche. Ok it's more than cliche it's basically the only retired boxing champ story there is.
Wishful Thinking
Boxing stories build drama naturally. You're capturing two men who are stepping into an arena to battle one another. As long as the cast delivers solid performances and the director doesn't run the ship aground this series should be a keeper.
Sunday kicked off a the new season for Showtime including two new shows to bookend every red blooded man's favorite Californication, Shameless and Episodes. Shamelesss the hour long drama about a tight-nit group of siblings struggling to keep the lights on and their dead beat drunk dad off the floor. Episodes is the new half hour Matt LeBlanc vehicle about an English TV writing couple who move to LA to adapt their series for American television and have Matt LeBlanc forced upon them by the network.
On Tuesday FX brought us Lights Out, the new boxing drama to love and hate for all the same reasons we love and hate every boxing drama. Holt McCallany plays Patrick "Lights" Leary a former heavyweight champ who five years in to retirement finds himself broke. With three kids, a mortgage and a wife in med school, what's an old fighter to do but put everything on the line for that one last big purse.
The Good
I guess Emmy Rossum was a star before this show, she was in Day After Tomorrow and The Phantom of the Opera. I didn't see either movie so she was a refreshing new face to me. And what a new face it is. Five minutes in and it's obvious she's the real star of the show. I liked brothers Lip and Ian a lot too. There's definitely room for fun and tension between these two. Lip is the schemer of the two and the only family member that knows Ian is gay. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind further exploits these two find themselves in. A dad catching you getting a hummer from his daughter under the dinning room table was quite a start.
The Bad
William H. Macy's Frank was a little too much caricature and not enough character. I think he was supposed to provide a little levity to a depressing situation but came off as over the top and rather pathetic. I don't get the Steve character at all. You have a poor Chicago family based in the realities of the lower class and then you throw in a character out of 'Gone in 60 Seconds' complete with his own slow motion action scene.
Wishful Thinking
I want to see the kids and especially Fiona deal with the realities of her dead beat father. There has to be resentment and buried hatred for what he's done to her and the family towards Frank. At some point, Fiona has to deal with what she's lost by having to be a mother to all these other kids. I really don't care what happens between her and Steve in the future. The less we see of him the better as far as I'm concerned. I hope to see William H. Macy get to develop this character and add a greater level of depth than we got to see in the first episode. I was excited by what I saw from the previews for the upcoming season and I'm looking forward seeing where this goes.
The Good
The Brits had good English accents? It was good to see John Pankow in something. I thought the guy had falling off the Earth since playing Michael J. Fox's buddy Fred Melrose in The Secret of My Success. The first episode was just about as boring as its lead characters.
The Bad
It was dreadfully boring. LA jokes are easy and old. The network supporting characters were the same tired cliches we've seen a thousand times. Crickets lots and lots of crickets.
Wishful Thinking
I'm going to give it another episode before I flush it because the "star" of the show Matt LeBlanc doesn't show up until the next episode. And yes that's how boring the premiere was. We're hoping Matt LeBlanc can save it.
The Good
Holt McCallany owned the role of Lights Leary. Aside from him being a white heavyweight, I had no doubt that he was a retired boxing champ. The boxing scenes, limited number of them there was, were already better than the scenes from The Fighter. Pablo Schreiber and Stacy Keach are both nice as Leary's brother/manager and father respectively. The premiere was mostly spent setting up the back story and issues Leary will have to confront as he gets ready to get back into the ring after a five year layoff.
The Bad
Was it impossible to find an American actress to play Leary's wife. Or at least someone who wouldn't constantly butcher a New York, American or whatever accent she was trying to do. I've never been a Catherine McCormack fan and she's done nothing so far on Lights Out to change that. The story is cliche. Ok it's more than cliche it's basically the only retired boxing champ story there is.
Wishful Thinking
Boxing stories build drama naturally. You're capturing two men who are stepping into an arena to battle one another. As long as the cast delivers solid performances and the director doesn't run the ship aground this series should be a keeper.
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