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7 comments:
I watched every single episode. It went from bad to progressively worse. Nobody watched it because it wasn't good.
Good for you!
Sorry, that was in response to the article title:
"Filmmaker Andrew Haigh Blasts Gay Audiences for Judging ‘Looking’ Without Watching It"
This has to be the most asinine, cry-baby interview I've ever read. Audiences love a lot of shitty things (Big Bang Theory, pretty much anything on CBS)... but they rarely DON'T love something that's actually good. If they're not watching your shitty show, don't blame them. Blame yourself.
Except for the excellent episode with the funeral in the Central Valley, most episodes were, at best, cringe-worthy. It lost viewership because it was poorly conceived and written, with characters so self-involved they seemed only dimly aware of those around them. Are some people like this? Of course. Does a cast full of narcissists make for good television? Not for me. It makes for boring television. (And I watched every episode, wanting so much for "Looking" to succeed.)
I loved 'Looking'. But it was a tough watch because the flaws of the main characters were foregrounded, and they were all to identifiable. Infidelity, immaturity, ambiguity, narcissism. It was hard to watch, especially if you're not quite beyond those stages in your own life. Patrick's quest for love which he was too immature to procure for himself was awfully reminiscent of my 30s. I'm not sure I could have watched it during my 30s either, but in my (very) late 40s it was recognizably true to life, and a bit cathartic to watch. 'Looking' was subversive as well. While each of the characters was attractive, what lay underneath the beauty was not so beautiful. And that's a reality that many of us refuse to face -- otherwise, therapist's offices and 12 step groups would be as crowded as gyms and clubs. The sex scene between Augustin and Eddie was a direct assault on the lookism of gay culture -- something 'Looking' often did -- and clearly something our community is not yet prepared to look at...
The best thing about flying Delta is being able to plow through a Looking marathon. It's hard to understand how viciously people disliked it. To me it was the best TV show in recent memory - and now it's gone! So sad.
"Asinine cry-baby interview"?
No one, including Haigh, is criticizing someone for not liking "Looking." I don't understand it -- I loved the show -- but everyone's entitled to his own opinion. What he's addressing -- and I have seen firsthand -- is all of the people who never saw the show but "hated" it. With only 200,000 people tuning in, I don't see how the 10 million people I've come across could have valid opinions!
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