Lone Star

[jordmundt6]

This is a thread to discuss the new (and much hyped) Fox series Lone Star. The short explanation of this might be: Dallas For Grifters.

The premiere was exceptionally solid, though I confess that I don't much like any of the male characters except for our anti-hero Bob. I like both his wife (though her cocktail party snark isn't as razor sharp and is laid on with a trowel) and the new wife (though we haven't seen whether she has hidden reserves of strength). The Oil family he married into rather reminds me of the Phelans from Grisham's The Testament (except possibly his wife). We'll see how that develops. Bob seems almost like Draper-lite in some of these situations, but his desperation and damage make him seem more naive than Don is on Mad Men (though Bob is somewhere between 28 and 31 and Draper is 38 at this point).

[IenjoyAcidPops]

I haven't checked the pilot out yet, I was watching The Event, but I will try the show out, because I've heard nothing but good things.

[Spacecadet]

I watched last night, It definitely has potential and has peeked my interest, Im just afraid it might get repetitive and old after a while. But i do like rob, bob robert, whatever his name is I look forward to see what trouble a conman can get into trying to go straight laced.

[jordmundt6]

Particularly as his own father runs a game on him, exploiting his desire to be Draper-legit.

[Spacecadet]

Originally Posted by jordmundt6

Particularly as his own father runs a game on him, exploiting his desire to be Draper-legit.

yes its an interesting dynamic, as the father is hard core con-man and wants his son to be the same but his son see's things differently, he thinks he's going to try and play things legitimately then goes off and marries his second woman... which goes to show he is definitely his father's son, and as much as he tries to fight it con-man is hard wired into him.

[jordmundt6]

Well, no that's not what I meant. As far as the relationships--he loves both women equally, he marries both of them. He's leaving a trail in the sticks, but he's also trying to scrounge legitimate profits (I bet he tries to cut his in-laws and the nicer townspeople in on the windfarm deal somehow). What I was actually referring to is Bob trying to make a legit fortune off the wind farm and other projects (siphoning a large chunk of his share to his father, or even cutting his father in as a consultant) Con Dad wants to bilk his son of everything to execute the con and is capitalizing on his son's twinges of conscience to do it.

[Spacecadet]

Originally Posted by jordmundt6

Well, no that's not what I meant. As far as the relationships--he loves both women equally, he marries both of them. He's leaving a trail in the sticks, but he's also trying to scrounge legitimate profits (I bet he tries to cut his in-laws and the nicer townspeople in on the windfarm deal somehow). What I was actually referring to is Bob trying to make a legit fortune off the wind farm and other projects (siphoning a large chunk of his share to his father, or even cutting his father in as a consultant) Con Dad wants to bilk his son of everything to execute the con and is capitalizing on his son's twinges of conscience to do it.

Well yes exactly my point he's trying to be legit in business but is now conning his wives. I have a feeling his dad is going to eventually get tired of this and screw things up for him. Should be interesting to see how he juggles this.

[jordmundt6]

Here's the thing--it depends how you read what's happened, but I get the sense that his dad is ALREADY running a game on him--placating him so he'll stay in place but running a scheme to cut him out entirely and he made the decision as soon as Bob made the "legit" pitch--and we can get a sense of what he's thinking just by looking at the way he handled that extra breakfast. Just the way I read it.


ETA--Somehow, inexplicably, Lone Star is teetering on the brink of cancellation after that heavily promoted and very interesting pilot. The creator (and some commentators) think they need a big ratings bump or Fox will pull the plug after the second week. Here's where I get confused. There has been some negativity out on the web because this series glorifies a conman after the whole Wall Street and Washington mess. However, White Collar was a fairly big hit over the summer and that's about a con man, and as I've indicated, Bob seems to be a younger version of Draper-lite and Don Draper is at the center of a critical darling series that pulls great ratings. The reaction doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but the pitches for Necessary Roughness (about a shrink seeing to the mental state of professional athletes and other rich people and Fairly Legal--or whatever the Sarah Shahi series about a depressed litigator who copes with her father's death by quitting the firm and becoming a mediator is calling itself). It looks like USA might have found their first to genuine LOSER series that made it past the pilot stage.

[IenjoyAcidPops]

It's already been canceled.

[jordmundt6]

It should have been a cable show, to be perfectly honest. I'm not sure that it could have found a steady home on any of the broadcast networks, but Fox as currently constituted...not a good fit.

[Spacecadet]

I havent had a chance to watch the second episode, but not surprising fox is the king of killing shows... I agree it probably would have been better on use or tnt or tbs.

[jordmundt6]

TNT maybe, but it actually could have served AMC better than Rubicon or found a snug home on FX.