Pilot

The pilot episode of The Deuce has the difficult task of establishing a place and time whilst introducing a multitude of characters and I think it does it with aplomb.

To a huge fan of The Wire it gives very similar vibes on a number of levels. The slice of life realism is captured in the visual storytelling and dialogue between characters.

I was not around in the time and not in a position to confirm authenticity, but I do like the art design and layer of filth that seems to cover everything. It almost feels like you could catch a disease from touching the door handle in one of those apartments. Other commentators have stated that it's not dirty enough, so it must have been a cesspit back in the day.

I like how certain parallels between characters are teased, particularly those who appear to have very different opportunities in life.

I think all actors give great first impressions. You have to be a fan of James Franco given the amount of screen time he has. I think he is a strong lead, but arguably it would be less confusing and gimmicky to cast another actor in the role of Frankie.

The Deuce is a look at the 1970s in New York city full of all the sleaze.you might expect. Pimp and prostitutes make up the sordid landscape of peep show marquees, beat cops and every day folks. Good attention is made to keep with era appropriate appearances.

In the pilot we meet.some of the main characters, the women who work as prostitutes and their pimps and customers, Franco as a bartender and as his own twin brother who is an unlucky gambler who has garnered the attention of the mafia. Margarita Levieva also appears as a young college student named Abby, despite pushing 40, she has hardly aged a day since her run on the TV show Revenge, and she plays her part well once again.

The opener is mostly concerned with character introduction while only providing for some basic plot points to progress the story further. Estranged families and abusive pimps provide for very little to go on, and overall this opener does not do a very good job of enticing viewers to keep watching. Usually the pilot is not enough by which to judge an entire series, perhaps this will get better later.

First impression is that this is an overly long show featuring plenty of sleaze with very little to offer otherwise. Hopefully there will be some things that get this ball rolling in the next few. 7/10.

how can anybody give this piece of junk a positive review. Franco is narcissistic, how much does this guy love himself,seriously i am 70 years old and was in times square in the 6o's 70's et al and it was not at all like portrayed. and c'mon past posting at Monticello? no bookmaker in his right mind would take a bet at that track let alone a large one as portrayed in the clip. i watched for 25 minutes and could not take it anymore just too campy and toooo much Franco,for crying out loud let someone have a job to play his brother.

At some point while watching this you ask yourself... why am I subjecting myself to this. I made it about 60% the way through before I finally had it.

The whole thing is flat. Just one persistent depressing note droning on and on. I am not sure if the problem is in the script, the direction, acting... maybe everyone had food poisoning. I don't know.

I expected more. This came from the writers of the Wire and Treme. Between them they had writing credits on Homicide, generation kill and Bosch. The director had worked on game of thrones (some good episodes) and breaking bad.

As the pilot relentlessly trudged on... I wondered why I didn't like it. The complete lack of humour perhaps.

Then I realized it didn't matter. It was just not good.

It's not terrible but it's the kind of thing actors seem to do every so often to show they can be "gritty and real" that they then inflict on the poor audiences many of whom will convince themselves they like it because they are supposed to for some reason.

After just one episode of The Deuce, I can do nothing but say that David Simon seems incapable of creating bad shows. The Deuce is a visually stunning show with great performances from every single actor. The dialogue is fantastic as well. It nails the feeling of 70's New York, or at least what I imagine it would feel like.

As of this moment, I cannot find a single thing in the first episode of The Deuce I don't like. This will probably be my new favorite ongoing show. I hope it will get renewed for as long as David Simon feels he can create good content, and not a single episode longer.