New AMC series: Hell on Wheels

It was OK but nothing to get excited about. I'd rather have Rubicon back in the same time slot.

 

What irked me was what was passing for Nebraska. I don't think I ever saw such hills living there.

I had to force my self not to turn it off but I stuck it out until the end. It really wasn't a very good show.

Chad

 

So did I. Really, really easy and simple.

I am not willing to judge too harshly just on the basis of this one episode, because it is, after all, the pilot (in which the main stories need to be set up and the audience has to be led in certain directions). The real test for me will be the upcoming episode.

My main complaint would be that there was nothing fresh about the stories, the situations, and the character types. If you have ever read mass-produced western novels, you will find that the opening scene (for instance) is not uncommon in them. I'm referring to remorseful bad guys unknowingly confessing to a hero who is masquerading as a priest, with a shooting following after the confession. (And let's not even get into the death of the other baddie, the railroad manager, happening right after he made a big revelation but before he could spell out further information that is of crucial importance to the hero). The show also gives you the typical heroic guy out for revenge on account of a beloved or a family member who has been killed (or, in some variants, kidnapped), the widowed heroine who'll face tribulations and hard work with aplomb, the typical, ultravillanous railroad boss/agent (missing only the trademark moustache ... Oh wait, now that I think of it, the main baddie didn't have one, but the baddie who actually worked at the railroad did) ...

Despite all of that, I actually felt okay about the show. After the episode finished, I thought that the show was well paced and the cast a good one, overall. The actors did a good job with what they were given. The heroine, the hero, and the villain all seemed well cast to me, and appeared to be competent actors. (Not sure about Common yet. His acting felt ... well, a bit commonplace. Then again, the script might have not asked him to do much more than play angry black man from start to finish.) The cinematography was fine as well. And there was at least one scene that kept my undivided attention: the heroine's confrontation with the Indian.

In a nutshell: not an exciting, fresh or particularly interesting start, but the potential for a good show is there. It's going to depend almost entirely on the quality of the writing from here on. If the storylines pick up, gaining in complexity and offering fresh takes on western cliches, I'll stick to it.

 

Don't forget about the angry black man and the ex-slave owner becoming partners. At least that's my prediction.

Chad

 

Latest episode kinda stunk, too predictable. First episode had such high promise.

 

I don't know, seemed pretty good to me. I'll keep watching.

 

That's what I thought... and I ain't horsin' around!

 

You guys couldn't see from the start that as soon as Cullen Bohannan was chained up, he was gonna find a way to excape out of his predicament? And that as soon as Durant entered his train 'suite", that Bohannan was gonna be in there to 'talk' to him, and that Durant would put him in charge of the railroad construction?

I love Colm Meaney, but it felt too much like a average by the number Star Trek - TNG episode, the way everything just fell into place. Guess I'm spoiled by the clever writing on shows such as "Deadwood" and "Justified", which "Hell on Wheels" does borrow from in tone and style.

 

I guess it would be smarter for him not to escape and then the star of the show hangs 2 episodes in?


Sure, it was predictable, but so what? I was still entertained. I'm liking this show. I agree that the writing isn't the quality of Deadwood and other great cable TV series. But, I am believing it truly captures the feel of the real Hell On Wheels period back when the railroads were being built and America was expanding/moving out west.

 

^I **LOVED** the first episode, just felt the second episode was really too "By the numbers" in the way everthing was resolved. Hopefully, the show improves in the next few episodes, and stays locked into the 'identity' of the show that was established in the 1st episode/pilot.

 

Add me to those who liked the second episode more than the first. The show's strength remains casting, and the cinematography ain't too shabby, either. I think most of us might agree that the writing is its main weakness. That said, I didn't find the second episode any less predictable than the first. Nothing fresh, particularly clever or creative has been offered so far. However, the potential for interesting storytelling remains there.

The story's pace picked up a litte, but I still feel that we are in the expository, opening phase of the show. Now that the protagonist has his new job, that the main villain is around by the railroad, and that the heroine has been found, etc., I'm hoping for a more satisfactory third episode ...

 

Was immediately repulsed
by the woefully inappropriate music !

quickly deleted it !

 

The second episode was better and it picked up. I don't care about the heroine/Indian story at all, I'm more interested in the main guy's story.

 

Well of course we can see that. He's the main character of the show, so he isn't going anywhere. That's an inherent flaw in storytelling. Not a lot you can do with that, besides some fake outs.

You mean like all those episodes of Deadwood where the main characters DIDN'T get out of danger and survive for the next episode? Oh wait, that didn't happen. Seth, Sol and Al are still alive at the end.

Deadwood is a pretty high bar. One of the best ever. Hell On Wheels doesn't have to clear that to be a good show. I think its pretty good so far.

 

Oh, for Bret Maverick to turn up and put the show in its place.

 

Cullen sure seemed informed on Durant's business dealings. I wonder if we'll get some explanation of that.

So what is the theory on why the maps are so important? We know Cullen wants to build a lot of unnecessary track to suck Federal money and we know he's involved in corruption with some politicians. Not sure why this would be all laid out on the maps. And if they just show him planning snake like tracks where a straight line will do, I don't see why he is so worried. He doesn't seem to think he even needs to be subtle about that. There must be something more.

 

Why is Common on this show? He is SUCH a wooden actor in this. No emotion whatsoever. Not impressed.

 

Best character:

 

Yep. Also, for those of you who watch Boardwalk Empire, is he the same actor that plays the Irish IRA leader? If not, they look similar and sure do talk similar.

 

I didn't know who you meant, but I looked up the show and now that I do, yeah, I agree. He seems pretty wooden.

"The Swede" on Hell On Wheels is not the same actor that plays McGarrigle on Boardwalk Empire, but I can see the resemblance.

 

I decided to lower my expectations (not expecting the next "Deadwood"), and enjoyed last night's episode.

"The Swede" is the 'superstar' of the show, just 3 episodes in.

 

My friend and I decided the show is too talky, too political, too slow, and not as was represented in the commercials. I may catch it on DVD but I think we're pretty much done with it.

 

I assume it will probably head in other directions but the whole revenge the raped and murdered wife theme IMO was a lazy choice.

 

Robin McLeavy (who played "Eva" the tatooed whore) is really lovely.

 

Just read that season 2 begins airing on AMC on 8/12/12.