The Night Of HBO

I watched episode 1 on HBO On Demand last night. Highly recommended! A plus.

I turned it off after he got back in the cab with drinks for the two of them. I just wasn't buying that he was taking this very weird acting woman home instead of heading to this party he really wanted to be at. And especially after a brush with the police. I will probavly continue watching as the reviews are good, but that just kind of annoyed me at the time I was watching! JMO

Well I can see where some would find it slow moving, but I found it very suspenseful and I thought the lead actor was very empathetic. It was a tad predictable although I am still curious where it is going to go. Judging by the tone it will not have a happy ending. It was also fun seeing so many Broadway actors in the mix.

Speaking of The Bridge Mr. Adams have you watched The Tunnel? I also see that Mr. Robot and Shooter are starting this week.....

I started watching it, predicting I'd turn it off after 20 minutes, but I was completely absorbed by it. I usually dislike police procedurals because they never have time to actually show the procedure, but this series allows us to see the entire case step by step. The guy was an idiot, and did everything wrong that he could have possibly done wrong, so that bugged me a little, but everything else was aces. I especially liked the actor who played the police detective, thought he was great.

That is the fantastic theater stalwart Bill Camp, husband of Elizabeth Marvel and current Reverend Hale in van Hove's THE CRUCIBLE revival on Broadway.

I just read A.V. Club's review of the first episode and I have to confess to being too harsh in the wording of my previous comments. Their reviewer's first sentence reads, "For almost all of its running time, “The Beach” never raises its voice." Later in the review, the writer says, "tonight’s premiere is content to play most of its cards close to the vest." I think that's a much more accurate way of expressing my negative wording of "not a very strong start" and "just okay" or "missing a 'hook".

That review also mentions the aspects of being a more thorough police procedural show that hork noticed. The writer also provides an interesting description of how Camp's characterization differs from other TV detectives. I should have mentioned that I also agree with hork, SmoothLover and mysteriousgrowl that Camp's portrayal is very compelling to watch.

One other standout moment I neglected to mention was the reveal of the murder via the bedroom lamp (hope that's vague enough to not be a spoiler!).

I still want to see Naz naked, though!

Updated On: 7/13/16 at 09:57 AM

It's interesting to watch how Naz is being forced into becoming something he's not. Also, in last night's episode, John Tuturro's character pumps a witness who perjured himself for more information. He confronts the man in a laundromat with the intent of getting him to tell the truth.

Many of the letters of the laundromat's sign are broken or missing so that the sign spells, "LA DRO". We are shown the signage at the beginning of the scene, and again at the end of the scene.

'Ladro' in Italian means, "thief". In Spanish, 'ladro' means, "I bark [like a dog]", or [with an accent over the final 'o'] means, "barked". I thought that was interesting.

Updated On: 8/8/16 at 09:05 AM

What did you think about Naz' demonstration of rage? Was he exposing his true colors, or was that just an "I've had enough" reaction? And what about the TV room? I'm beginning to question whether he's just adapting quickly, or if he's always been capable of murder...?

The coroner's scene was amazing (obviously, because of the 'elephant' in the room...) but also because of how that dialogue was played regarding how the coroner might testify in court.

SmoothLover said: "[...] having to take so much **** (given his heritage) throughout his life. I think the writers wanted us to question his innocence but I really do not think he killed her. But if he did that would be quite an ending.

I feel sometimes there is a little too much time taken (script wise) with Tuturro's feet and sex life. It is only so interesting and the points and metaphors have already revealed themselves."

I feel like perhaps I'm supposed to see how criminals are "made", not born, but with only one episode left, I feel like it's too rushed (the shaved head, the violent rage, etc. all occurring within a single episode). The suddenness of the change makes it seem possible that those characteristics might have been there all along, rather than incubated and necessitated by environment.

I agree about "a little too much time taken (script wise) with Tuturro's feet and sex life." Perhaps if there were a focus shift away from those elements, other elements might have been granted more time to become clearer.

hork said: "There are three episodes left, not one."

Ooops!

"It makes it seem even more like Serial (I also got a strong Serial vibe from the detective using cell phone records to trace Naz's route)."

Oh, yeah! Very interesting observation. I hadn't connected to that before. Thanks!

Updated On: 8/9/16 at 12:00 PM

The first episode is not the best, and not really representative of the series. I almost gave up on it, but I stuck with it and now I'm hooked.

@ hork: Thank you for the advice. I re-watched the first episode and watched the second...it's definitely picking up. I will binge watch the remaining episodes that have aired thus far over the weekend.