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.

I truly did. It caught me by surprise that HBO decided to release the pilot early. I guess they wanted to use the boom of the GoT season finale to boost one of their new shows. But "The Deuce" is its own thing. We don't need no dragons.

I am not from New York, but you can tell the series team put a lot of effort on creating the right environment and it really pays off. Maggie Gyllenhaal is terrific on this role, I loved her. The storyline is great, too, and I really enjoyed the different people and how they end up interacting with each other. I can't wait to see how they all end up connecting. I am usually quite skeptical when it comes to hour and a half episodes, but this one was phenomenal. It didn't feel long in any moment and the 70s prostitution theme has so much potential it could become literally anything.

The one bad thing about the pilot is that, by releasing it early, now we have to wait three weeks for a new episode. Damn it you HBO.

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.

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.

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.