"Luck"

[Edgorman]

Any thoughts on the new HBO series filmed at Santa Anita??  Pilot aired last night.

[MO]

I watched. It wasn\'t bad. Pretty graphic with the horse snapping off a leg, wonder how they pulled that one off....Pick 6 syndicate was comical, had a good laugh there....story line with Franza being a front for Hoffman, well, it\'s about time..............trainer referring to bug boy as a pinhead was believable. Richard Kind\'s character was the most memorable with that nervous stutter....Stevens is always camera friendly, seems like a logical career move for him. He was good. Nick Nolte was great. B+

[Wrongly]

I thought it was pretty good as well.  Found a link if you missed it -
http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/player/divxden.php?id=8dmkypvvna49

[Rick B.]

MO Wrote:
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> Pick 6 syndicate was comical, had a good laugh there....

The whole Pick 6 subplot was a mess. The ticket structure was 3 x 1 x 4 x 5 x 3 x all, which we know from a quick glance can\'t possibly come out to an $864 ticket, no matter how many horses are in the last leg.

Then, before the last leg of the P6, they show the potential payoffs for horses 1 through 9...but during the running of the race, a number 11 and number 12 horse were in the mix.

(No wonder that damn P6 is so hard to hit -- even when you press the \"all\" button, they slip a few more horses in on you!  )

[plasticman]

lol exactly right Rick, that pick 6 ticket would have cost 3600 dollars if the last race was a 10 horse field.

Lots of continuity errors in there. I know its not supposed to be \'perfect\' but some of the stuff they showed just didnt make sense. The race where the guys singled the 5 horse in leg 2, there seemed to be \'plenty\' of horses in the race, but, when they showed a shot of the toteboard, there was only 4 or 5 horses listed.

I didnt\' love the first episode, the beginning of the show i couldnt understand what anyone was talking about. For example, the scene when the latin trainer was talking to the jock when he legged him up on the horse in the barn area, my GF asked me \'what\'s going on\' and i said \"i have no idea\". It seemed to me that the trainer was trying to convince the jock to do something \'shady\' but i just wasnt sure what was going on there. If anyone knows what they were trying to \'hide\' i\'d appreciate hearing it.

The funniest part of the show was when the \"derby horse\' ridden by the girl had that spirited \'urged\' workout and everyones\' running around whispering that they saw the next \'good thing\' and i\'m laughing because i know that if a horse worked \'like a derby horse\' at Santa Anita,  it would be front page news on all the dozens of \'clocker\' services that sell information in California. This isnt 1970 and yet, the movie seemed to indicate that it was (and that nobody really saw that work except a few lucky people who happened to be at the right place at the right time).

You would think that David Milch would know this stuff. I could have helped him out for a small fee.

[Boscar Obarra]

You\'d think folks would be grateful for a show about their obsession , written by a master of the art.

 But nooooooo.

[Rick B.]

Boscar Obarra Wrote:
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> You\'d think folks would be grateful for a show
> about their obsession , written by a master of the
> art.
>
>  But nooooooo.

Sorry, but I don\'t subscribe to the \"I Am A Pissant Horseplayer, Therefore I Will Take Any Crumb I Can Get\" school of thought.

There is a reason why there are Continuity Editors in the film industry. Silly errors like the ones I pointed out destroy the suspension of disbelief needed to thoroughly enjoy a fictional story.

[P-Dub]

Boscar Obarra Wrote:
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> You\'d think folks would be grateful for a show
> about their obsession , written by a master of the
> art.
>
>  But nooooooo.


I think people are so passionate about the game, they just want it to be as authentic as possible. I didn\'t see it, but Rick\'s assessment of the Pick 6 subplot would be aggravating.  Its simply not realistic as described.

Of course we want to see movies and shows about racing.  Not the issue.  People want an accurate and realistic portrayal.

[Boscar Obarra]

These nitpicks are esoterica. So instead of enjoying  the story, you\'re sitting there with a calculator.

 Sure, I\'d like every reference to be 100% accurate, but that\'s not required in a drama.

 I imagine that some \'prospector\' might have found any number of factual errors in Milch\'s previous effort Deadwood, but what does that have to do with enjoying the show?

[Rick B.]

Boscar Obarra Wrote:
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> These nitpicks are esoterica. So instead of
> enjoying  the story, you\'re sitting there with a
> calculator.

I was enjoying the story just fine until I heard them mention the cost of ticket. I knew it was wrong. So did my oldest son -- we just kind of looked at each other and said, \"HUH?!\" No calculator needed. Play serial bets long enough and sometimes you can do the math in one flash.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but as I mentioned earlier, some Continuity Editor blew it...and if what you call \"esoterica\" isn\'t important, why check for continuity at all? It just wasn\'t that doggone hard to get the details right. I think we can agree that Milch is better than that.

[MO]

\"I was enjoying the story just fine until I heard them mention the cost of ticket. I knew it was wrong\"

And that is what\'s called a \"distraction\" and \"distractions\" are not a good thing when you are watching a movie intently.

[touchgold]

I m not 100% sure of this, but I think the first time they show the probables in the pic 6,  the 2 isnt the whole pool....I mean, to me, these are easy catches that should never have been aired.

[jack72906]

I liked the show in spite of the little continuity errors throughout. Given Milch\'s track record and the big name actors in roles that suit them, IMO the show has a good shot of keeping my interest.Looking forward to seeing the next episode.

[jack72906]

touchgold Wrote:
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> I m not 100% sure of this, but I think the first
> time they show the probables in the pic 6,  the 2
> isnt the whole pool....I mean, to me, these are
> easy catches that should never have been aired.

Maybe, but they\'re trying to appeal to a mass audience not just the 40-50 people that post regularly on this board.

The idea of 4 \"railbirds\" scraping together $800+ and scoring $2.6M is a more effective and believable than the same 4 guys sitting around with $3600 to throw into a \"jackpot\" pool. I highly doubt that the masses can even fathom a $3600 \"investment\" coming from those 4 genius\' even though we know it happens every day.

[Boscar Obarra]

Good news for some, we will have at least two seasons of this to go over with a fine tooth comb looking for gaffs, goofs, and misprints.

 I\'d love to get Milch\'s take on some of the complaints here, but we\'d probably have to clear the room of women and children.