Transparent (Amazon Original Series)

[phan24]

Posted: 12/27/14 at 4:11pm

Out of laziness during the holidays, I decided to try out new TV shows to binge watch and found Amazon's Transparent which premiered with its first season in September. It has a very talented cast including Jeffrey Tambor, Judith Light, Melora Hardin, etc. I watched it all in one day (ten 30-minute episodes!) and have to say it is an amazing show that I'm surprised I hadn't heard much about before. I remember binge watching Orange is the New Black the day it came out and feeling like that show was going to be very successful and I feel the same way about Transparent. The story telling and the characters are just incredibly raw and real, the acting is superb, Judith Light is amazing, and Jeffrey Tambor as a transgender woman, Maura, is also giving a great performance. This show deals with so many queer and life issues in such a grounded way that it's just impossible to put into words. I highly recommend watching this show if you have the time!

[HorseTears]

Posted: 12/28/14 at 5:17am

You feel like you haven't heard much about it? I feel like I've heard a TON about it - not to mention its very strong critical reception. Amazon has their first, honest to goodness legit big-time TEE-VEE show with this one. I have to admit, about half-way through the season I started to wonder if I could stick with the show and follow these terrible, narcissistic people, but, man, did things get really great in eps 8-10.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 12/28/14 at 12:16pm

Yeah, I'm surprised you haven't heard much about it, it's on most critics top 10 lists of best shows this year. It's such a brilliant show and the performances are stunning. Good on Amazon for getting in the game, and earning nominations for it. Looking forward to the second season.

[Fantod]

Posted: 12/28/14 at 2:12pm

I watched it a while ago and I really liked it for a while, but around episode 8 I think things just got really weird for me. It's worth watching for the performances alone, and I'm glad a show finally addressed trans women.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 4:20am

That's funny, ep 8 is where things started really working for me. The season finale was just perfect. BTW, the casting director(s) deserve a friggin Emmy for finding those child actors who played the younger versions of the siblings. Spot on casting.

[Fantod]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 4:22am

I guess I just liked the more delicate approach to the material instead of more typical TV drama.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 12/29/14 at 11:12am

'I have to admit, about half-way through the season I started to wonder if I could stick with the show and follow these terrible, narcissistic people, but, man, did things get really great in eps 8-10.'

I felt the same exact way as you, Horse. I have to say that it is a mark of truly confident and thrilling storytelling that you can expose these characters for all their warts and ugliness and still make us care deeply for all of them by the time they sit around that table after shiva.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 1:58am

Welp, I guess I've joined Binge Watching Nation. I'm glad Transparent's a half hour, I just can not do hour long shows. And of course I want season two now. Even with uneven writing and some characters I hate, (I think I hate the Tammy character and it might have something to do with my own femininity). I really thought the supporting actors have been remarkable. Bradley Whitford and Alexandra Billings (who I saw as Gertrude ages ago in Hamlet! The Musical in Chicago) and the increasingly great Carrie Brownstein were the ones I focussed on the most.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 10:48am

Yeah...every gay guy I know HATES Tammy...and I'm hoping it's because we're kind of supposed to hate Tammy and not because EW, BUTCH FISH!

And can we just, for a second, discuss the fact that I would let Gaby Hoffman's trans TA do whatever he wanted to do with me? I mean...

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 10:52am

My only wish for the show going forward is that they focus more on Judith Light or at least give her character a spinoff where she moves to Boca.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 10:57am

Why do y'all hate Tammy?

I'm through the first five episodes, and I like her. I mean, I like her as a character. I'm not sure if I trust her, but I like watching her.

And Judith Light is amazing.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 11:11am

I felt the same way...it was the back half where the Tammy-hate began to bubble up. And episode 8 is one of the greatest episodes of anything I've ever seen.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 11:50am

Okay, groovy. I'm hoping to tackle the remainder tonight.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 11:53am

I'm seeing Charles Busch at 54 Below tonight, which is sort of the same thing except completely not!

Happy New Year, bitches!!!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 12:12pm

Lucky duck!

I too loved episode 8, which seemed even better after the wildly uneven previous episode (one written by Jill Soloway's sister Faith). Ep 7 had major plot points but was written so choppily it struck me as the most amateurish of the series.

I am glad it got back on track.

The TA was played by Ian Harvie, who's a heckuva funny stand up comic.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 1:28pm

Thank you for putting a name to the actor! I couldn't seem to find it in a quick google search.

He makes me feel things.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 2:50pm

I binge watched this the other night after going through MOZART IN THE JUNGLE. This was definitely the far superior of the two. Based on everyone's comments here I was afraid there would be a weird tonal shift at the end of the season similar to Jill Soloway's AFTERNOON DELIGHT (also recommended). I was pleasantly surprised to come to episode 8 which is by far the best of the season. The season finale made me wanting so much more and I can't wait til the new season coming this year.

Regarding Tammy, I hate the character too and for me it started around the remodeling. I don't know if anyone watched the original pilot but Tammy was first played by Gillian Vigman who I thought was far better in the role. Melora Hardin just looks very odd with that haircut and I found that off-putting as well. Speaking of the original pilot, does anyone know if Carrie Brownstein was in it or if that was recast also?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 3:10pm

I thought everyone hated Tammy (until I saw growl's post).

I binged this the other day after being unimpressed when I watched the pilot on its own, but I found myself all in after the second episode or so.

I tend to get fixated on dumb things I shouldn't, though, and on this show it's the ages of the kids. The oldest daughter (who is kind of a poor man's Amy Brenneman) reads so much older than Gaby Hoffman than she's supposed to be on the show. And I guess because I know that Carrie Brownstein and I are roughly the exact same age, I just can't get my mind to accept that her and Gaby Hoffman's characters were supposed to be the same age in school. Like I said, dumb stuff to focus on. The show itself is great.

[Huss417]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 5:37pm

Funny I am usually the one having to catch up on shows but I asked in October if anyone was watching it. Guess it was a slow show to catch on.

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?page=1&boardid=2&boardname=off&thread=1077135#4282681

[HorseTears]

Posted: 12/31/14 at 6:53pm

Namo - thanks for the reminder about two supporting performances that I absolutely loved. I'm assuming we won't see more of Ian Harvie in s2, but hope we do get more of Alexandra Billings.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 1/17/15 at 5:53am

Late to the party here, but I am just finishing up the series. For the record, it's not only the gay men who hate Tammy. I am not sure if it's just creative choice on the actress's part, but she seems to be trying too hard. For me, it's like when a straight guy plays gay and automatically goes for stereotypical flamboyance. I get it. You're soft-butch. Tammy is not someone I would like if I encountered. I also hate on her for altering the house.

Okay... on to the final episode.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/17/15 at 10:06am

Tammy would make more sense on Looking. She's vacuous and she makes major relationship decisions seemingly on a whim and if there are any consequences, they all must happen off screen.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 1/17/15 at 5:14pm

I just finished watching the series. It took me about three evenings. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but by episode 3 or 4, I realized that's a good thing: this isn't a show that tells you how you should feel about it. It makes you uncomfortable and unsure in a number of interesting ways. That is a mark of exciting originality, and TRANSPARENT (along with HBO's terrific new TOGETHERNESS, to which Jay Duplass is also connected) feels truly new. The fact that it feels so fresh allowed me to not dwell on some of the issues I have with the writing, or the characterization. I'm waiting on pins and needles for season 2 now.

While Tambor has received a large--and deserved--share of praise, I do hope that the fine work of Amy Landecker, Gaby Hoffmann, and Judith Light won't be overlooked. Also, I really love the Mort/Marc flashbacks--and Bradley Whitford is much more believable as a transvestite than I ever thought he would be. One of my hopes for season 2 would be that Maura would try to locate/reconnect with Marc/Marcie, though I have no idea if that will happen.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 1/17/15 at 7:38pm

I loved the show, though there isn't one character I am truly "rooting" for, beyond Maura.Even she pulled out the selfish card at Ed's shiva, but making it all about her when she spoke. I loved the rabbi. I hope she comes back.

[wicked1492]

Posted: 1/20/15 at 12:58am

Kathryn Hahn elevates anything and everything she graces her presence with.