Banshee (new Cinemax series)

Cinemax shows don't have nearly the viewership of HBO or Showtime or maybe even Starz, but anyone else catch the pilot this past Friday? I think it seems like it could be a good show. The opening sequence is silly, but once the main character gets to the town, I think the setup and cast of characters shows promise.

Short summary: ex thief gets out of prison after 15 years and goes to the rural Pennsylvania town of Banshee to find an ex-partner who he believes owes him some loot. He meets the new sheriff (who has just arrived and nobody in town knows) witnesses his death, and then assumes his identity, posing as the sheriff.

Apparently Cinemax has the entire pilot episode (unedited) up on Youtube.


I've really been enjoying the Cinemax original series lately. Hunted was good, and Strike Back was very good. I've got high hopes for this one.

 

I'm gonna keep watching through the first season. Seems okay, but the pilot was a little cliche-heavy. Hopefully, once they;ve got that out of their system, the later episodes will show a bit more originality.

Personally, I gave up 'Hunted' after the first episode, which I found downright unwatchable. I'm hoping this turns out to be MUCH better.

 

Anyone else watching this? I'm enjoying it. It's not a realistic show. It's about as real as say "Sin City". It doesn't look cartoonish like that the Starz show "Spartacus", but the actions of the characters and what people can get away with remind of an environment like "Sin City".

 

This show kind of reminds me of the first season of Spartacus. It started out terribly and has gotten better as time goes on. Completely ludicrous but very good entertainment. Some great fight sequences. The albino fellow in last week's episode was truly terrifying.

 

I'm watching it, probably to the end of the season but, much like 'The Americans', I'm getting impatient to figure out why it's worth my time and effort. There's a lot of occasionally fun scenes, but none of it seems to add up to much, and the characters (such as they are) don't seem to justify the lack of believability.

It's not bad, but I still keep waiting for it to get better.

 

I had pretty high hopes for this cause Jonathan Tropper co-created it and I enjoy his writing very much. So far the charm I've found in his novels haven't translated to the screen very well.

 

Brutal fight in that last episode between Carrie/Anna and Olek. I think that was my favorite episode of the series so far.

 

We have been watching Banshee too. It is pretty good, but not great. We actually like "The Americans" better so far. I just wish it was on Cinemax and not FX. It would be even better.

 

I want to like "The Americans", but its not really grabbing me. I'll probably stick out the season, though. But why compare them? The Americans is supposed to be semi-realistic, while Banshee is like a pulp novel on screen.

I really loved a lot of this last Banshee episode. Nice to have Hood and Anna/Carrie finally lay everything out and her come clean and admit some things to him. And her husband has taken the blinders off. The scenes of Kai Procter at the Amish farm were great too.

Poor Amish girl - excomunitcated for makeup and Cosmo, LOL!

What I expect to see set up for the second season (just guessing here) is that Rabbit situation is dealt with and closed off (mostly, at least) and that the FBI agent uncovers the truth about Hood. But the FBI has more interest in taking down Procter and the agent helps keep Hood's secret safe if he works with them to take down Procter.

 

Banshee Season 3 info & trailer:

http://www.mstarz.com/articles/4236...isodes-preview-photos-trailer-watch-video.htm

 

S3 starts tomorrow night!

 

I like these season 2 promo images.

 

Season 3 opener was so-so - not overly impressed. It felt like they were going through the motions - Banshee greatest hits, if you will. But it did set up a story arc (season long, I'm assuming) which could be interesting.

 

That native fellow is one scary individual.

 

I find Kai Proctor way creepier and scarier. Warped ideologues trump musclebound beefcake in my book.

 

He's a family man though. Look how he's looking after his niece.

 

His niece is the one I find creepy.


The last episode ticked me off. I knew it had to happen, but it still ticked me off.

 

Oh, me too. In fact I was really p****d at the end. Why the hell did they have to...

Spoiler

kill Siobhan, one of the dearest, most empathetic characters in the whole ensemble? I thought things might go sour when she said earlier in the episode 'I don't want to die today' - which was kind of heavy handed foreshadowing.

 

I know. I loved the character and was so upset. Definitely some "heavy handed foreshadowing" went on and I knew it was coming, but really?

 

I hated the last episode. The lost character was my favorite. And I don't think it was good writing, really. Its like they're trying to elevate Chayton to some super-villain status. He's a big, intimidating tank of a guy, but I never viewed him as on a level with Procter or even Rabbit. He's just a gadfly who turns up now and then causing trouble. I wonder if the writers thought by having him execute who he did how he did, we would hate him and there would be some relief or justice when he inevitably gets what's coming to him. I don't think I'll feel that way, and now we have to sit through the boring inevitable Hood vs. Chayton war play out. It didn't make sense for him to kill her like that. He was there for Billy Raven and Procter. He didn't care about her. Probably didn't even know Hood cared about her. It was just him killing a cop. I guess the writers feel this is how they can get Hood and Carrie back together, but I don't even want to see that. I'm perfectly fine with Hood sleeping with Carrie every now and then, but don't want to see him back with her. She tried to set him up and feed him to Rabbit to be tortured and killed. Can't forgive that.

Anyway. Not happy. Kind angry about it, actually.

 

Since you pretty much gave the spoiler away anyway, I would say that Chayton did know Hood cared for her since he was begging for her life and even disarmed himself in the process. I didn't like the way she was written out either. Hood could have taken a headshot from that distance, given his talents. Perhaps the actress wanted out or got another gig. If not, it's a waste of a good character for the reasons you mention.

 

Yeah, at that point he knew. But Chayton wasn't there to punish Hood. He was there to kill or punish Billy Raven and Procter. Yet after the kill, he leaves as if he's accomplished what he came for. Big bad indian with an army killed a woman. What a tough guy. I still don't think it made sense on his part, but he's not presented as a very cerebral villain. His dumba$$ brother goes and tries a heist that Chayton told him not to do and gets himself killed in the process. I get that anyone would be upset about the death of their brother, but its not as if Raven or Procter (in this instant) did some horrible injustice to the Redbones or Chayton. So after all those bullets and all those dead Redbone's in the assault on the Cabi, Chayton didn't manage to get either of the two people he came for, but he killed a cop and put himself on Hood's ****list. Just not a smart villain, and so watching Hood v. Chayton play out over the next several episodes (please at least wrap him up this year) doesn't sound particularly appealing. I'll watch to see what happens. But the death of

Spoiler

Siobhan

might be a fatal wound to the show for me. I guess I shouldn't let one character matter so much when I've really liked the show, but she was the one character I most would not have wanted to see that happen to.

Interview with the actress.
http://tinyurl.com/ptg52nz

We still might see some more of the character in additional Banshee: Origins shorts, I guess. The 8 new ones they did for this season were good to see. Especially the one where Procter and Burton first meet.

 

On a less negative note, that fight between Nola and Burton was brutal! But in the best way. I enjoyed that scene.

 

Yes, I agree with you. Smart villains are always more interesting and menacing than some muscle-bound dumba**. I guess the writers figured they already had a cerebral villain and needed an expendable, not too bright thug to keep things revving along. Unfortunately, that invites the sort of criticism that you pointed out.

Again, totally agree. An argument could be made that since so many people have had such a visceral reaction to the character's demise, that the show has done its job well in order to elicit such emotion and that we cannot take things for granted about character outcomes. But still, they shouldna done it!

So, she didn't ask to leave the show. If she had, it might have been easier to take. Funny how the mind responds to the intersection of fiction and real life...

 

Cinemax has ordered a 4th season of Banshee. Seems like they're trying to reduce costs as the 4th season will have 8 eps instead of 10 and production will relocate from North Carolina to Pittsburgh (which has various production tax incentives).