Bring back more borderline supernatural/surreal elements into True Detective and it already halfway fixed.
Bring back Woody and McConaughey and I will watch it. Otherwise, no thanks. Those two actors are what made season 1 so great. It wasn't the script or the direction, it was the acting. It's hard to replicate greatness when your replace great actors with lousy to mediocre ones.
I can't believe I made it all the way through season 2. I foolishly thought that it's got to get better at some point. I will be very cautious with season 3. If I'm not hooked by the third episode, I will bail. I think the Bosch series is very good. The actor that plays Bosch is excellent. That's the kind of quality I'm looking for from the next true detective. I agree with an earlier post that what made season one of True Detective good, was the creepy spooky vibe that It had.
I love a neo-noir set in Los Angeles more than anybody (I actually do), but I think the show made a huge mistake wandering from the Gulf coast setting that it had in Season 1. When news of Season 2 came out I even said I hoped they would keep it in the Gulf, and I sure as heck hope they move it back there. The whole Southern Gothic vibe they captured in the first season was one of the reasons why it was so good--it was a familiar story being told in an unfamiliar [to most] setting, and that is what made it feel eery and special. I was hoping they'd go from Louisiana to Houston, or maybe on the Mississippi, etc. I get why they wanted to set it in L.A., but the L.A. story has been told many times and has certainly been told many times better than what Season 2 did, which was in my opinion a gigantic circlejerk more concerned with tone than with actual substance. I feel that the cultural features that can be captured in the Gulf offer many newer and heretofore unseen narrative possibilities that most producers and directors have yet to depict on television. I think a best case scenario is that True Detective becomes to the deep South what Fargo has become to the Midwest/North.
Not to high jack the thread but with Fargo do you need to watch the movie before starting the tv show or does the tv show stand alone?
I would watch the movie first just to appreciate the look and feel, and because it's a great work unto itself. Then watch Rainmaker and Oleanna to fully appreciate Macy.
Season one was fantastic. Watching it with Clutchfans made it greater. Speculation ran wild, mysteries everywhere. Season 2 was just okay. Kind if like American Horror Story. Like American Horror Story, I hope this show doesn't become a parody of itself. I'm excited for season 3. I wish they could somehow pull a Jake Gyllenhall out for it. Doubt it'd ever happen, though. Also, I need to watch Fargo.
Went from MM and Woody to some "other people" in season 2. Very disappointed. VV and CF did not impress... Fargo season 2 is a beast of a show.
Eh, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, and Vince Vaughn can all really act. I was really excited after hearing they were all going to be in it when it was announced. The writing was horrendous, though, and really that's what failed the show in Season 2.
I binged on Season One with no football this weekend. That was damn good! Some of the best television I've ever seen. Should have been a movie. Oscar worthy performances and Direction. wow. That delivered. Great Cliff hangers. In the opening episode you could be suspicious of just about everyone and still enjoy each characters depth. Good stuff.
I've said it before, but the writing was also pretty cringeworthy in season 1, it's just that Woody and especially McConaughey were amazing enough to pull it off. Go back and read, not watch, some of the dialogue.
If season 1 never existed and season 2 was the only one, it would not have received so many negative reviews. I personally thought it was very good. Of course it's not season 1, but it's still absolutely worth watching.
