The Night Of

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Andre Jurieu
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The Night Of

#1 Post by Andre Jurieu » Mon Jul 11, 2016 6:08 pm

Professor Wagstaff wrote:... but Deon Cole stole every scene he had on Black-ish so I'd check it out just for him.
He was also great in his guest appearance on Benched. Man do I miss that show/cast.
Ribs wrote:Ryan Murphy's next anthology show on FX, Feud, will center on infamous feuds. The first season will be about Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon) and Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange)'s rivalry during the production of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane.
Just wanted to say that I think that's brilliant casting, even if Lange is just Murphy's default for everything he creates.

So has anyone watched HBO's The Night Of... yet? Despite the show's fundamental plot relying heavily on a dark version of the "MPD Girl" trope, and grading on a curve since it's being adapted from (what I assume is presumably already strong) UK material, I thought the first episode was among the most well-crafted shows that HBO has created recently. As much as all the reviews made references and comparisons to True Detective Season 1, the only real similarities beyond the same basic genre is that some scenes are set in a police precinct and involve a few interrogations. However, there's really no hints at potential metaphysical forces at work or larger conspiracies involving religion, politics, and power. Instead, its intent seems to be more on the burden and bureaucracy of the judicial process and its impact/toll on the accused. It also seems heavily influenced by Season 1 of Serial, considering its careful weaving of the influence of racism into the narrative. It feels more akin to The Wire rather than True Detective, but with the focus on the other side of the law. Also, I'm really thankful that Bill Camp has such a good role in this, even if it's only for a couple of episodes, just so that I can slowly start to forget how poorly Cameron Crowe used him in the craptacular Aloha.

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mfunk9786
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Re: TV of 2016

#2 Post by mfunk9786 » Mon Jul 11, 2016 8:21 pm

Was I napping when the definition of Manic Pixie Dream Girl was expanded to include any [even frightening] seductive female character in media?

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Andre Jurieu
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Re: TV of 2016

#3 Post by Andre Jurieu » Tue Jul 12, 2016 2:29 am

mfunk9786 wrote:Was I napping when the definition of Manic Pixie Dream Girl was expanded to include any [even frightening] seductive female character in media?
As I said, I found it to be a dark version/variation of the trope. She exists only to move the plot of the male protagonist forward and isn't provided with much of a genuine character other than as a sinful fantasy for the main male character who takes an interest in him for no particular reason. She's basically the bad-girl version of the MPD Girl in that his life turns to crap instead of having her solve all his problems. Just to be clear, I'm not saying that Sofia Black-D'Elia provided a poor performance in the role, because she was actually much better in this than some of the other stuff I've seen her in, but it's not like the female character is given much depth beyond being troubled and seductive.

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Roger Ryan
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Re: TV of 2016

#4 Post by Roger Ryan » Tue Jul 12, 2016 8:40 am

I really liked the debut episode of The Night Of which managed to create great suspense during the second half when Naz is simply waiting at the police station for the inevitable to happen. The New York Times' review stated that the series degenerates into a standard procedural by mid-point, so I hoping I won't be disappointed in subsequent episodes. Not being familiar with the BBC series the show is based on, I was surprised by the IMDb listing for The Night Of which...
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...indicates that actor Riz Ahmed (who plays "Naz") only appears in the first episode! I had assumed he would be the focus of the story line, so I'm curious to see where this goes.

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Roger Ryan
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Re: TV of 2016

#5 Post by Roger Ryan » Mon Jul 18, 2016 12:28 pm

...I was surprised by the IMDb listing for The Night Of which indicates that actor Riz Ahmed (who plays "Naz") only appears in the first episode! I had assumed he would be the focus of the story line, so I'm curious to see where this goes.
As it turns out, the IMDb listing is simply wrong regarding the number of episodes that Riz Ahmed, and Bill Camp, appear in. Happy to see both actors continuing their roles as the series unfolds.

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Andre Jurieu
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Re: TV of 2016

#6 Post by Andre Jurieu » Mon Jul 18, 2016 1:17 pm

Roger Ryan wrote:Happy to see both actors continuing their roles as the series unfolds.
Last night's episode wasn't as flashy as the premiere, but the various exchanges between Turturro, Camp, and Ahmed were well executed. I particularly enjoyed the scene between Camp and Ahmed across the jail-cell bars, which featured a great pause of silence that lasted just long enough to create some momentary level of tension, which feels rare on TV nowadays. Also an interestingly atypical scene with Paul Sparks playing Andrea's step-father when he's asked to ID her body. I thought I was a little underwhelmed by the episode after it finished, but the more I consider its scenes, the more impressed I am by the creative choices.

Also - totally an aside - but as someone who can relate to Naz's cultural circumstances, some part of me was sure that his parents would be less concerned about the murder charges and more disappointed that this would seriously ruin his chances to get into med-school. Joking aside, I honestly had some modest level of familiar anxiety wondering how his parents would react to his arrest.

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Re: The Night Of

#7 Post by phantomforce » Mon Jul 18, 2016 10:21 pm

I personally loved the second episode. The premiere was filled to the brim with action, tension, information and backstory. The 2nd episode was refreshing and gave the show the breathing moment it needed, however the moments leading up to Rikers Island are in my opinion some of the best and most honest portrayals of what its like to actually enter into the system. Naz's character is played perfectly by showing 80% confidence that he's innocent and 20% fear, however leading up to Rikers you can slowly and subtly see him show more fear and anxiety. at some point towards the end though I did get the feeling that this show wants us to know he's been framed or is innocent, but there are some subtle hints that led me to question wether he might have actually done the crime, regardless of if he was aware he did it or not.

Cant wait for Ep 103

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Polybius
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Re: The Night Of

#8 Post by Polybius » Sun Jul 24, 2016 6:40 am

No mention of Richard Price? His involvement is a major selling point for me, along with Michael Williams and Turturro.

I had some issues with the pilot. The whole sequence after he woke up and until the cruiser pulled him over was a little too much like that Python sketch where progressively more horrible things keep happening to Graham Chapman, up to and including Carol Cleveland's maid tripping and falling onto a letter opener he's innocently holding.
Roger Ryan wrote:I really liked the debut episode of The Night Of which managed to create great suspense during the second half when Naz is simply waiting at the police station for the inevitable to happen.
But that is where it pulled out of the dive and became something truly compelling. Naz's mixture of boredom, terror and yearning for it all to just be a nightmare was almost overwhelming.

The scenes with Det. Box in this were riveting, as well. We've all seen that "Cooperate and we'll put in a good word for ya with the DA" okeydoke dozens of times in procedurals (usually presented in a way where we're expected to approve of the deception.) In this case, it was handled in a more realistic and (to me at least), sinister manner, albeit with methodical, practiced charm. I also like that Box rattled off the background of Ali and the Shia-Sunni split like it was common knowledge. Whatever you think of him, he's quite knowledgeable, about a lot of things. It's a welcome change from the proudly crude and dopey cops that populate too many scripts.

I also get the idea, from the judge's question to Stone about being in the right place at the right time, that he might not be the selfless eternal champion of the underdog that he fancies himself, or at least not just that. I did love his scene with his son ("Can you at least make it Denzel?")
phantomforce wrote: at some point towards the end though I did get the feeling that this show wants us to know he's been framed or is innocent, but there are some subtle hints that led me to question wether he might have actually done the crime, regardless of if he was aware he did it or not.
That's pretty much where I am. It would be natural to expect him not to be responsible but I think it's going to take something quite beyond what looks like it would have to be a real Deux ex machine to explain this away with any plausibility. Price did that same dance
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in Freedomland, leading us along carefully, hoping, at least in my case, that what seemed the most likely explanation wasn't true.
Not sure spoliers for a 20ish year old book and subsequent (disappointing) film adaptation are warranted but...better safe than sorry.

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Quot
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Re: The Night Of

#9 Post by Quot » Sun Jul 24, 2016 12:27 pm

phantomforce wrote:the moments leading up to Rikers Island are in my opinion some of the best and most honest portrayals of what its like to actually enter into the system.
Agree 100% . So much to admire here, but my favorite moments were both from the second episode and relate to what you mentioned: the two separate prisoner transport scenes (the second was to Rikers Island) that were unnerving and downright disorienting in portraying what it must have felt like for Ahmed's character Naz - the in-and-out-of-focus shots, which I'm sure were are a blur in his mind, backed with a muted sound that slowly transformed into a series of speaker-shredding bass thumps -- heck, I was getting sweaty palms.

This is a really good series and I can't wait to see what's next.

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Andre Jurieu
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Re: The Night Of

#10 Post by Andre Jurieu » Mon Jul 25, 2016 11:55 am

So the biggest cliff-hanger of the season so far ... Stone
SpoilerShow
eventually rescues the cat, right?
I thought they delivered another strong episode last night. I was impressed that they've continued to convey/extend the sense of dread, anxiety, and danger that prison imposes upon a civilian unprepared for that atmosphere, and who isn't already accustomed to the system. The dynamic between the inmates and guards that they've constructed within the prison - which reminds me of the first few seasons of Oz - appears to be a great premise for the audience to continue to contemplate Naz's circumstances and how he'll survive the ordeal, even without the issues involving his weakness within the bureaucracy of justice system. They also finally addressed the most obvious questions about Stone's motivations and capabilities, while still maintaining his apparent genuine ability to empathize with Naz's circumstances and his desire to help those without much agency within the system. That "one piece of advice" beat that they included in the script was great. I'm assuming the issues involving the
SpoilerShow
ownership of the impounded taxi cab will allow Stone to exercise some measure of involvement with Naz's defense, considering the next episode is apparently called The Art of War.
Interesting, the next episode appears to be the only one that isn't directed by Steven Zaillian, with James Marsh stepping in for a single episode.

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DarkImbecile
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Re: The Night Of

#11 Post by DarkImbecile » Tue Apr 25, 2017 5:26 pm

Because living with two small children has basically the same effect on my health as eating straight out of the biohazard disposal units at the CDC, I had some quarantined time off of work recently and caught up with the entirety of The Night Of, which I think may be the best dramatic work HBO has done in years.

I'd be interested to hear what others here thought of it in its entirety, as I understand it received a far amount of grief over its deliberate pacing and (to some) anti-climactic conclusion. Maybe I would have felt more of that had I been watching week by week, but consuming it all at once I was thrilled with the layered characterization, excellent dialogue, reserved yet effective visual stye, and quiet humor. Turturro was amazing, of course, but I was especially struck - as others were earlier in this thread - by Detective Box, both the performance by Bill Camp and the written character that could have easily drifted into stereotype or easy good cop/bad cop classification, but instead emerged as one of the best police characters I've seen in some time.

I've heard rumblings of a continuation of the series by Zaillian and Price; I'd be thrilled to see it, even if it covered an entirely different set of characters and circumstances.

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Roger Ryan
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Re: The Night Of

#12 Post by Roger Ryan » Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:27 am

For the most part, I thought the series was very good although I wouldn't be keen on a second season dealing with the same characters. I felt the story was concluded in a satisfying manner despite being somewhat open-ended. The performances were pretty uniformly great and I agree that Camp's Detective Box was a well-realized character, performed and written with subtlety. I was a little less convinced by the transition that Naz makes which seems to happen a little too early, but the show's real weakness was...
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...the inexplicable behavior of the Chandra Kapoor character. Her sudden abandonment of her principals, professional decorum and good sense was a hard plot turn to swallow and lowered my appreciation of the series.

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jazzo
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Re: The Night Of

#13 Post by jazzo » Wed Apr 26, 2017 11:09 am

Pretty much in agreement with everything Roger says; it was an addictive, beautifully textured piece all around, although Chandra Kapoor's unprofessional actions did stick out as oddly uncharacteristic considering who she was portrayed as being up until that point, and only in service to the story's necessity for
SpoilerShow
John Stone to take over the case and deliver the final summation.


I will also add that the reveal of
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the murder weapon from Naz's jacket in the police station, just as Lt. Box, the lead investigator, is dictating its description, and the description of the suspect, which just happens be the individual being restrained/charged in front of him, was flat out ridiculous,
and almost ruined most of the perfection of that first episode for me. It was saved only by Riz Ahmed's incredible performance.

So, in the end, with mild reservations, I thought it was excellent.

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Polybius
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Re: The Night Of

#14 Post by Polybius » Thu May 04, 2017 12:25 am

I agree with Roger's objection and jazzo's main conclusion.

I was very disappointed with the near complete shutout of the major awards (although after years of following David Simon's shows, I should probably be used to it by now.)
Last edited by Polybius on Thu May 04, 2017 12:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

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swo17
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Re: The Night Of

#15 Post by swo17 » Thu May 04, 2017 12:36 am

What does David Simon have to do with this?

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domino harvey
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Re: The Night Of

#16 Post by domino harvey » Thu May 04, 2017 12:41 am

His shows were snubbed/underrepresented at Emmys etc

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Polybius
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Re: The Night Of

#17 Post by Polybius » Thu May 04, 2017 12:50 am

Yes.

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swo17
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Re: The Night Of

#18 Post by swo17 » Thu May 04, 2017 1:02 am

Of course, I just originally read your comment like he had produced this or something.

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