Goliath

Goliath was such a good show. I'm actually mad at myself for putting it off for so long and just now watching it. I just finished season one and can't wait for the next three. If they're half as good as this first season I'll be satisfied. Billy Bob Thornton was perfect for this role. It's about a once powerful lawyer named Billy McBride (Thornton) who's now an ambulance chaser and a drunk. He takes a wrongful death lawsuit against his old firm which he helped create. He's then in a life or death trial against his old firm who he wants revenge against and the conspiracy behind it. I couldn't get enough of this and binged it as quickly as I could.

Moves briskly despite the length, great courtroom scenes, amazing work from the actors, all of them. Nina Arianda, Tania Raymonde and Olivia Thirlby are standouts in a cast featuring Thornton, William Hurt and Molly Parker, and this is the first role I've seen Harold Perrineau in where I didn't see him, just his character. Maria Bello is quite good as well.

One of the best shows of the year, for me. Maybe 2-3 mildly preachy bits that dragged, but altogether solid. While there's not much actual action, a lot happens, but it doesn't feel clumsy or forced. I would be into a season 2.

I thought season 1 was great and looking forward to season 2. However, the storyline was a bit boring and didnt care much for any of the characters. Very disappointed with the second season. Please dont bring back the writers from season 2 if the creators plan a season 3.

Stories, in a way, arise out of different permutations that our lives take, or different paths that the writers can think of. A clichéd screenplay is something close to a path that is predictable. Most of us look down upon the regular plot lines. This is why Goliath is important. The story is full of clichés, that ,ironically, help to winnow out the acting from the sea of banalities. Billy Bob and William Hurt shine throughout and are ably supported by a fantastic cast, including that canine. The music sticks and in a way celebrates Billy Bob's loneliness (cliche ++). Although the makers successfully integrate few surprises, none of them are worthy of an exclamation. But this series was never about that. It's about how good the actors are, that good that you hardly question the fiction. PS - With only 8 episodes, I could sleep peacefully without binge breaking my back!

Binged-watched this one in 3 days and it was an absolute pleasure. It's not that the story itself is so thrillingly addictive, but mainly that almost all of the main characters are so fascinating, well crafted and brilliantly performed that you just keep wanting to go back and discover more about them. All of them deeply flawed, and yet vividly human and (for the most part) to at least some extent likable. Furthermore, the sheer amount of fully fleshed out, round and interesting characters that the show manages to create and build in just one 8-episode season is seriously impressive - there must be around 10 main supporting characters and by the end none of them feel under- served.

It helps of course that the cast is one of the most talented and charismatic ones put together for any show this year, with special mentions going to Thornton, Maria Bello and Nina Arianda, though literally everyone (down to even minor characters like the judge) is at the very least very good, if not excellent. It also helps that the show is masterfully written and beautifully shot, has a very strong visual identity and takes great advantage of LA as its location, particularly with the driving scenes and time- lapse shots.

Don't be fooled by people calling it a legal drama, it might have a lot of lawyers and a few courtroom scenes but the way it's shot and paced, the amount of detective work involved, the score and the atmosphere the show maintains make it feel much more like classy film noir than any legal drama I've ever watched.