I have a framed original Sid & Nancy movie poster. It's a fantastic movie. I can't help but judge this series against it and it doesn't quite hold up but how could it? I need to temper my expectations.
I like this series but I am watching it more as entertainment than a historical documentary. I remember enough of that time to be cognizant of the fact that there's a lot of fiction here.
I'm not all the way through the episodes but I am enjoying it well enough (see addendum at bottom). I don't have a problem with the actors, and some are quite good. The costumes and etc are spot on. The actor playing Rotten seems a bit over the top, and Malcom keeps reminding me of Doogie Howser MD.
I like that they try to place the story in its historical context. Things were messed up in England and punk was an outgrowth. I think this is what interests me the most and maybe what I really want is to know more about that macro context than the micro stories of the personalities involved. The characters do start to bore me a bit... and as I admitted I am about half way through.
That being said, the storyline about Chrissie Hynde was news to me! Wow! Bonus points that the actress that plays her is fantastic.
The music is excellent. There's an effort to have a wide range of contemporary music and it adds a lot. Also as mentioned previously there are some stunning visuals.
I am mindful there's a lot of controversy about this series. I acknowledge that but as I said, I think of this as entertainment. There's enough horror in life right now (mass shootings, Ukraine, inflation, etc) to let this series disrupt my existence further.
So, it's entertaining enough. I don't have any problem recommending it and if you find yourself not enjoying it, you can always skip it.
And if you haven't seen Sid & Nancy, look for it.
PS I did watch all the episodes. Nothing I saw really changes what I already wrote. The conclusion does leave you feeling sort of empty... I don't know if I should have expected anything different. It is Steve's story and thus the title is "Pistol" and not "Pistols", although the last two episodes have much to do about Sid.
