Tag Archives: Deadwood

Gone Too Soon: John From Cincinnati


2007 –  One season of Spiritualism, Transcendence, and Pure WTF sauce.

David Milch is a curious show creator. He is most famously known for his HBO series Deadwood, Luck, and ABC’s NYPD Blue. One of his most ambitious series, that was never much appreciated in its time, and even outright loathed by many, was John From Cincinnati. It only had one season, and its first episode debuted with a huge lead in from The Sopranos Finale. This may or may not have hurt its chances right from the outset, as many Sopranos fans were upset by that shows controversial ending, and were not ready at all for the slow-paced, heady, and very confusing pilot that was John From Cincinnati. Even I’ll admit, its pilot, while intriguing, wasn’t necessarily good. It was the definition of what you’d call a rocky start, and was really coasting on its Milchian pedigree.

John From Cincinnati is about a famous family of surfers, who all befriend a mysterious stranger named John. The Yost family are all highly dysfunctional, and barely stand each other. Mitch Yost, the elder and most famous surfer is overbearing, self-centered and distant from his wife Cissy, and his own son Butchie. Butchie is a formerly famous surfer too, now washed up and addicted to drugs. The only thing keeping them together is Butchie’s son, Shaun Yost, a surfing/skating prodigy, who is in the custody of  Cissy and Mitch. All of them harbor deep psychological issues and baggage they are holding onto, be it guilt, regret or some unfulfilled promise. John’s presence, the moment he enters their lives, slowly begins to change that, in ways they never could have predicted, and in ways that nobody could possibly understand at first. It’s these changes we first see, with Mitch Yost, ironically and literally floating inches into the air, mysteriously hovering, against his own will. These changes continue, with Butchie, the previously mentioned drug addict, who has gone broke, and can no longer afford his fix, but finds himself not suffering heroin withdrawal. John himself is a simple looking, plain clothed man in his early 20’s who has a habit of parroting speech back at whoever speaks to him, but still manages to communicate with intonation, body language, and the select few original words he speaks, all with a sense of gravitas and meaning to them that is mystifying and entirely logical at the same time. Now that’s just the Yost family, and John continues to help and change every single person who comes into contact with him. The show features a huge ensemble cast of characters, all with their own unique problems that John, in turn, one by one, begins to help in his own special way.

It’s a show that is nearly impossible to sum up in a single sentence, but in my many attempts to tell people why the show is great, I’ve found a way to effectively communicate what the show is about, and what its audience should expect to get from watching it. JFC is about transcendence. It’s about very real, very damaged characters, with borderline unsolvable personal issues, finding the means to heal themselves, mentally and sometimes physically, with the very presence of John arriving. He is a conduit to our own self discovery, and shows us, literally with our own words, the way to a new level of being. The shows title sequence alone hints at its spiritual and extraterrestrial nature.

The show also has an amazing soundtrack.

In no way am I a spiritual person, in fact, I am just the opposite, but I’d recommend it to anybody who would be willing to watch it past episode 2, (titled, ‘His Visit, Day Two’), and tell me they are not the slightest bit intrigued as to what happens next. It is simultaneously arresting and obtuse, confusing and entirely logical, difficult and intuitive, and it is not in any way a simple show. It is not a show that you can kick back and relax to watch. It demands your attention, it demands your thought, and most of all it demands you reflect on it’s meaning.It demands you find your own issues that are plaguing you, to question them yourself, and to assess your life’s amount of baggage, and judge if it is necessary to still carry it. It’s a show that is NOT for everyone, as many will watch it and just be confused, or see it as a meaningless David Lynch style ripoff. For those willing to give it a chance, it just might literally change your life. It’s not a perfect show by any means, but it IS an important one.

I can only hope reading this has made you want to watch it, because something like it doesn’t come along too often, and I’d argue that out of all the brilliant television David Milch has made, it is his personal best.

The Walking Dead Update: A Need for More Zombies and the Battle for Governor

This is not the first time I have heard little grumbles about season 2 of the AMC series, The Walking Dead. Reading an article on Warming Glow made me realize how very often I have seen online TWD threads complaining about the lack of zombies, and how slow season 2 has been. Of course I absolutely agree, especially after reading about the season 2 opener that we will never see. A show revolving around the zombie apocalypse… we should not have to tell you that there should be more action! The way the season began, with Sophia being lost, was a setup for a long and drawn out, dramatic plot point. By episode 4, no one cared about Sophia anymore.

Hershel added a much-needed opposing point to the story. It was a very realistic element to TWD… seeing someone who morally could not bring himself to kill the walkers. However, how many zombies did we actually see action with this season? Not enough.

The incident with Shane and Otis was probably the most exciting zombie-related scene in all of season 2 so far. Bottom line: Don’t get boring on us! We need action! Grumble grumble grumble.

Next order of business: The Walking Dead needs a Governor!

Continue reading The Walking Dead Update: A Need for More Zombies and the Battle for Governor

Sons of Anarchy: Season 4, Episode 2 – ‘Booster’ Review

Filling in for Dr. Kronner this week: NTroy5000

So, episode 2 continued in the slow plodding manner that the first episode set the precedent for. I’m glad that the story for the show continues to be engaging, if it wasn’t I don’t think it would be able to hold my attention.

Spoilers Ahead>>>>>>>>

Continue reading Sons of Anarchy: Season 4, Episode 2 – ‘Booster’ Review

Sons of Anarchy: Season 4, Episode 1 – ‘Out’ Review

The highly touted 90 minute premiere of Sons of Anarchy aired tonight, and to be honest, it was underwhelming. Granted – this could simply be the cause of the raised expectations set forth by Kurt Sutter after last season’s premiere, but it just didn’t feel that personal.

The episode starts as the crew is released from a 14 month stint in lockdown, and they waste no time jumping right back into the business end of things. They have a meeting set with the Russians from Season 3, but there is a new Sheriff in town (literally) and he has plans for SAMCRO that don’t involve their normal business practices. This Sheriff – Eli Roosevelt (Rockmund Dunbar) ran gang units in Oakland before coming to Charming, and he’s not gonna to oblige the club with the same professional courtesy that the Ex-Chief of Police did.

Continue reading Sons of Anarchy: Season 4, Episode 1 – ‘Out’ Review

Breaking Bad: Season 4, Epidsode 2 – “38 Snub” Review

After last week’s near perfect premiere, a normal decline can be expected as they now have the task rebuilding the excitement and tension for this season. So while tonight’s episode was by no means as good as last weeks, I wasn’t the least bit disappointed.

As the episode starts, Walt has decided to take matters into his own hands by buying a gun from his friendly local black market weapons dealer, played by my boy Ellsworth from Deadwood. He chooses a 38 special, snub nose – hence the title.  Jessie is headed down another path entirely, having apparently already accepted his inevitable . He has chosen to live out his last days among friends and squander the money he believes he won’t be around long enough to spend. Jessie and Walt seem to be heading down the same road, but in total opposite directions.

Hank on the other hand is wallowing in a pool of self-pity and resentment – directed at Marie. The more she helps him the further apart they grow, and the weaker Hank feels. His manhood once again challenged. And as Hank feels weaker, Skyler gets bolder. She attempts to buy out the car wash and gets denied as a result of Walt’s Season 1 crotch grab. Continue reading Breaking Bad: Season 4, Epidsode 2 – “38 Snub” Review

‘If Only One More’ – TV Shows We’d Love to Have Gotten One More Season Out Of…

So for our latest Staff Piece we decided to take a look at shows we feel could’ve gone a little longer. This list is consists of TV shows that could’ve benefited from one more season…

Deadwood (Brian Kronner)

tv showsThis is one of those shows whose cancellation seemed to make no sense. I mean it obviously came down to the monetary expense of the show’s production and the never stellar ratings like anything else, but it seemed popular enough to survive those obstacles. Critically loved and awarded (28 Emmy Nominations in 3 Years), this is the show that put Ian McShane on the map and won him a Golden Globe during the 2nd season. The show itself ended somewhat ambiguously, with Bullock (Olyphant) and Al Swearengen (McShane) having to join forces against Hearst, who is taking over the town. The season ended with Hearst leaving town, victorious, and many local matters unresolved amongst our principal characters.

Continue reading ‘If Only One More’ – TV Shows We’d Love to Have Gotten One More Season Out Of…