1. Notes: 9 / 5 months ago 
    Over the Christmas break, my wife and I watched the entire 10 episode run of David Milch’s second HBO series, “John From Cincinnati”. It was my second time watching the show and her first. I was a little worried she wouldn’t take to its oddball characters and unusual story, but by the end of the pilot she was hooked. In fact, over the next nine days she was the one insisting we sit down to watch another episode. I understand why “John From Cincinnati” never connected with audiences. It’s weird. Not “Twin Peaks” weird, but definitely strange. But I am surprised critics didn’t latch on to it. The characters are likable and quirky (especially the enigmatic title character), the dialogue is classic Milch, and the story has enough mystery to warrant at least a “let’s wait and see how this pans out” conditional recommendation. I guess everyone was just so angry that it wasn’t “Deadwood” that they weren’t willing to give it a chance. Personally, I think “John From Cincinnati” is one of the most fascinating shows of the last ten years. I love the complex Yost clan, three generations of surfers torn apart by personal setbacks and failures who are suddenly thrown back into each others’ lives by a series of miraculous events. I love the community that forms around the small motel, tangential characters with little connection to each other except a common interest in the story unfolding in Imperial Beach. I love how funny the show is sometimes, how dark it is others, and how it walks the fine line between mysterious and confusing. Most of all, I love its kick ass theme song. Many who watched the show through to the end complained that the finale was too ambiguous, that it didn’t answer enough questions, but I think it gives the viewer enough closure without spelling out exactly what comes next. More than any other show I’ve watched, “John From Cincinnati” is about the journey and not the destination. It doesn’t need to be understood, it just needs to be experienced. Just as the characters of the show witness events they don’t fully comprehend, the viewer can observe the goings-on in Imperial Beach without needing to know what they all mean. “John From Cincinnati” is one of the only shows HBO doesn’t have streaming on its HBO GO app/website, but you can still rent it from Netflix (disc only). It’s also pretty affordable on Amazon (*wink* @briennewalsh). If you’re a fan of challenging art, or David Milch’s other shows, or surfing, or just weird stuff in general, “John From Cincinnati” is worth checking out.

    Over the Christmas break, my wife and I watched the entire 10 episode run of David Milch’s second HBO series, “John From Cincinnati”. It was my second time watching the show and her first. I was a little worried she wouldn’t take to its oddball characters and unusual story, but by the end of the pilot she was hooked. In fact, over the next nine days she was the one insisting we sit down to watch another episode.

    I understand why “John From Cincinnati” never connected with audiences. It’s weird. Not “Twin Peaks” weird, but definitely strange. But I am surprised critics didn’t latch on to it. The characters are likable and quirky (especially the enigmatic title character), the dialogue is classic Milch, and the story has enough mystery to warrant at least a “let’s wait and see how this pans out” conditional recommendation. I guess everyone was just so angry that it wasn’t “Deadwood” that they weren’t willing to give it a chance.

    Personally, I think “John From Cincinnati” is one of the most fascinating shows of the last ten years. I love the complex Yost clan, three generations of surfers torn apart by personal setbacks and failures who are suddenly thrown back into each others’ lives by a series of miraculous events. I love the community that forms around the small motel, tangential characters with little connection to each other except a common interest in the story unfolding in Imperial Beach. I love how funny the show is sometimes, how dark it is others, and how it walks the fine line between mysterious and confusing.

    Most of all, I love its kick ass theme song.

    Many who watched the show through to the end complained that the finale was too ambiguous, that it didn’t answer enough questions, but I think it gives the viewer enough closure without spelling out exactly what comes next. More than any other show I’ve watched, “John From Cincinnati” is about the journey and not the destination. It doesn’t need to be understood, it just needs to be experienced. Just as the characters of the show witness events they don’t fully comprehend, the viewer can observe the goings-on in Imperial Beach without needing to know what they all mean.

    “John From Cincinnati” is one of the only shows HBO doesn’t have streaming on its HBO GO app/website, but you can still rent it from Netflix (disc only). It’s also pretty affordable on Amazon (*wink* @briennewalsh). If you’re a fan of challenging art, or David Milch’s other shows, or surfing, or just weird stuff in general, “John From Cincinnati” is worth checking out.

     

  2. Notes

    1. reallyreallyboring reblogged this from liketheappliance
    2. jthenr reblogged this from liketheappliance
    3. jellabyjones said: Watch Terriers next.
    4. liketheappliance posted this
avatar_128
 
 
Welcome to '... like the appliance', a collection of random thoughts from Anton Blender. Mostly about pop culture, a lot on comic books and television.

Feel free to ask me a question!


 
 

Following

sweet-tartbumblebeemouthdoctorwhocomicbookcoversrraaaarrlamyblogschowmarenarasaucemovietitlecardsfunnyordietromapastboobsradleywatchingthe-detectivethegirlwhocriedjanellefyeahdickgraysoniatetoomuchchocolatewebslingingrejectedonionancientforevercarnivalecapsbriennewalshdcudbswthetardis97percentchanceofcarleyjellabyjonesbethanlmorganfuckyeahconnorhawkemyrobotbuddythisisheidibutlerfuckyeahlizlemonthemomentstealerfuckyeahdoctorwhodirtyknickersthefilmdirectorystafflaurenmoranfuckyeahollieitsalwayssunnyfuckyeaharresteddevelopmentfuckyeahronswansondailywhofymiamymomwatchesgameofthroneseyeonspringfieldtheexorcistalmostfamelessfuckyeahgreenarrowbloodspatteredrosielaurenmoranlikestodrawfuckyeahcougartownnaptownrollergirlsfuckyeahdamianwaynewoodyallenscenesflipyeahflightoftheconchordsdevilsaddictionfrakyeahkarathracefuckyeahjackbauerfuckyeahkyleraynerfuckyeahtheflashfancifuldelighttheeditorsnotesfuckyeahbluebeetlestereotypicalcanadianmoosebadasspostersthe-girlieshowjulieannebeillinroswelliansdanger4prezbrusselsandsuchfuckyeahroryandamyscreencapsarecoolwwtkdpkhgermanyhugenerdchriskillbil
 

Tumblr