Billion$ - on Showtime

[J187Money]

Good start - pilot is out there now. Let's see how it develops.

 

[mauconnfan]

Like it.

 

[August_West]

Really, really liked it. One episode and the really had some developed characters especially giamatti who was fantastic. Also set up the story well . Very well executed pilot. Interested to see more.

 

[J187Money]

Really, really liked it. One episode and the really had some developed characters especially giamatti who was fantastic. Also set up the story well . Very well executed pilot. Interested to see more.

I love Giamatti - he may very well steal the show with this character.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Saw end of Giamatti on Colbert's show last night, he was great. So expressive and funny. I'd pay any amount of money to see what happens next to his character from Sideways. I think there is a book sequel...

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Too much for a pilot. The two leads and the subject are so interesting, they could have dropped the dominatrix stuff. I also find the fact that she works for axelrod to be contrived.

I will stick with it, but there are problems.

 

[storrsroars]

Too much for a pilot. The two leads and the subject are so interesting, they could have dropped the dominatrix stuff. I also find the fact that she works for axelrod to be contrived.

I will stick with it, but there are problems.

I enjoyed the pilot, but agree that the dominatrix seems gratuitous and unnecessary. Also think Giamatti's character was a bit too much of an to the SEC dude.

The dog getting his balls snipped was hammer-over-the-head symbolism... bit of lazy writing there, IMO, given how Rhoades was already using the house purchase to set up Axelrod. While I loved that Axelrod bought the pizza place, the guy seems to make a habit out of making restaurant owners open up just to serve him. Bit of a tool in that regard. But yeah, if I'd won Powerball, I'd make sure my favorite pizza place out here was set for life.

 

[FASTEDDY]

I enjoyed the pilot, but agree that the dominatrix seems gratuitous and unnecessary. Also think Giamatti's character was a bit too much of an to the SEC dude.

The dog getting his balls snipped was hammer-over-the-head symbolism... bit of lazy writing there, IMO, given how Rhoades was already using the house purchase to set up Axelrod. While I loved that Axelrod bought the pizza place, the guy seems to make a habit out of making restaurant owners open up just to serve him. Bit of a tool in that regard. But yeah, if I'd won Powerball, I'd make sure my favorite pizza place out here was set for life.

Sex and Dominatrix.................. never TOO much.

 

[mauconnfan]

The dominatrix is fine with me as is his wife working for Axe. The one portion of the pilot which had me thinking I was watching Leave it to Beaver was when they were set to eat and first the kids went at it with the younger one stumping his older brother than dad talking about a life's lesson when the dog was peeing on the furniture - way too much there!

But the one scene with his wife taking the lady who lost her husband in 911, asking his wife "are you threatening me?" then the pause the smile and the "you're duck*in' right I am..." - liked that

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The dominatrix is fine with me as is his wife working for Axe. The one portion of the pilot which had me thinking I was watching Leave it to Beaver was when they were set to eat and first the kids went at it with the younger one stumping his older brother than dad talking about a life's lesson when the dog was peeing on the furniture - way too much there!

But the one scene with his wife taking the lady who lost her husband in 911, asking his wife "are you threatening me?" then the pause the smile and the "you're duck*in' right I am..." - liked that

There was a lot to like in the first episode, and i love the subject, so I will definitely stick with it, but there is too much going on. The characters are interesting enough without the sideshow. I love the office scenes at Axelrod Capital. The Axelrod character appears to be loosely based on Stephen Cohen of SAC Capital. I also like that Rhoades is such a dick. U.S. Attorneys are known for being pretty brutal. Brahratra (sp?), the US Attorney chasing Cohen in real life, has a reputation for ruthlessness, and actually had a conviction overturned on appeal, which almost never happens to US Attorneys.

I liked that Rhoades destroyed his dad's friend. Good way to set the table for the character.

On the bad side, I think Maggie Siff is WAY too hot to be credible as Rhoades' wife. Siff is a 10 and Rhoades should be married to no higher than a 7. It will eventually compound the plot issue with her being married to Rhoades and working at Axelrod Capital because at some point the writers are going to have Axelrod bang her. This show could jump the shark in its first season.

 

[Dogdeacon]

There was a lot to like in the first episode, and i love the subject, so I will definitely stick with it, but there is too much going on. The characters are interesting enough without the sideshow. I love the office scenes at Axelrod Capital. The Axelrod character appears to be loosely based on Stephen Cohen of SAC Capital. I also like that Rhoades is such a dick. U.S. Attorneys are known for being pretty brutal. Brahratra (sp?), the US Attorney chasing Cohen in real life, has a reputation for ruthlessness, and actually had a conviction overturned on appeal, which almost never happens to US Attorneys.

I liked that Rhoades destroyed his dad's friend. Good way to set the table for the character.

On the bad side, I think Maggie Siff is WAY too hot to be credible as Rhoades' wife. Siff is a 10 and Rhoades should be married to no higher than a 7. It will eventually compound the plot issue with her being married to Rhoades and working at Axelrod Capital because at some point the writers are going to have Axelrod bang her. This show could jump the shark in its first season.

Weird take, you complained about too much going on and then wrote wayyy too much to go on.

I liked it and didn't like it. Axe's wife's acting left a lot to be desired and their scene with children (dog pee's no one moves a muscle) was ridiculously contrived.
In general I thought a lot of the dialogue was clunky and unrealistic. Big bags of cash exchanging hands is just too blatant and someone explain to me exactly how you get that cash and/or deposit it without arousing some suspicion at the bank?! Wall Street (movie) handled the world of insider trading much more realistically many years ago. I really like Damian Lewis, but he is playing it too smug in my view.

All that said I was hooked by the father-son stuff with Giamatti and the don't buy the house stuff with all of the characters. And since Gaimatti's is a powerful character and he is a good actor as is Siff I bought their relationship and would much rather spend time with that couple then the Axe family. The house 'I dare you' part hooked me enough to keep watching.

 

[ZooCougar]

I saw the pilot.

This show has major potential. Total hit in the making.

 

[Deepster]

I hated it. Turned it off after 20 minutes. The scene with the scholarships where the widow spouts off? Stupid. The scene in the hallway where Damian Lewis tells the two younger associates how their hot deal is going to go down? Cringeworthy overracting. And maybe that's my issue. I like(d) Giamatti, not a big fan of Lewis. Won't watch this one second more.

 

[businesslawyer]

I know a lot of people who worked in the U.S. Attorney's office in the Southern District. I am fairly confident that the active and interesting sex lives of the folks who are portrayed as working there is not based on reality.

 

[The Viking]

I hated it. Turned it off after 20 minutes. The scene with the scholarships where the widow spouts off? Stupid. The scene in the hallway where Damian Lewis tells the two younger associates how their hot deal is going to go down? Cringeworthy overracting. And maybe that's my issue. I like(d) Giamatti, not a big fan of Lewis. Won't watch this one second more.

Take THAT Billions!

 

[J187Money]

I ride the train for 3/4 hours a day. So I'm probably a little less picky than some. I like it - it is entertaining. I don't get wound up over minor things I don't like. Very few shows I've actually abandoned.

 

[The Viking]

Absolutely entertaining.
I don't go into every show thinking it better be on the level of Breaking Bad or it's a bust.

Maybe Deepster thinks the show takes place in Hartford - that would explain the hate.

 

[SAMCRO]

Finally watched it. Decent. Will definitely stick with it for the next few episodes to see where it goes. I'm not sure I'm loving Jax Tellers wife from 'Sons' in that role, but not a huge distraction. Paul Giamati (sp?) is great in pretty much every role I've ever seen him in. Love that guy.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I know a lot of people who worked in the U.S. Attorney's office in the Southern District. I am fairly confident that the active and interesting sex lives of the folks who are portrayed as working there is not based on reality.

How are you CONFIDENT about this? It appears you know these people pretty well. Plaaaaaayyyyyeeeerrrrrr.

 

[gwhuskyfan]

Thought the second episode from last night was awesome

 

[Dogdeacon]

I agree, 2nd episode was better and the show's got room to grow.
Working: Giamatti of course, his wife (chick from Madmen) and his office/strategy in general. The analogy to chasing he rider-less horse was perfect.
Bought it: I liked the raid scene at Axe capital
NO: The broker's meeting at Axe capital was ridiculous and everyone trading zinging metaphors was over the top. Only realistic part was when the lost dude pitched Apple. Not working at all: Damian Lewis was phenomenal in Band of Brothers so I have a buckets of goodwill towards him, but he's not working in this role. Too smug, not impressing me as smart, petty, dresses inappropriately. They haven't decided if he has a big ego and doesn't care or has a huge ego - the character makes decisions based on a discordant blend of ego and alleged smarts. Pick one please.
YES: I didn't love the mole story, but lets say the 'entre' to the character was worth watching. I also bought Axe's wife a bit more although I literally don't know or care what the heck she's doing out planting something.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I agree, 2nd episode was better and the show's got room to grow.
Working: Giamatti of course, his wife (chick from Madmen) and his office/strategy in general. The analogy to chasing he rider-less horse was perfect.
Bought it: I liked the raid scene at Axe capital
NO: The broker's meeting at Axe capital was ridiculous and everyone trading zinging metaphors was over the top. Only realistic part was when the lost dude pitched Apple. Not working at all: Damian Lewis was phenomenal in Band of Brothers so I have a buckets of goodwill towards him, but he's not working in this role. Too smug, not impressing me as smart, petty, dresses inappropriately. They haven't decided if he has a big ego and doesn't care or has a huge ego - the character makes decisions based on a discordant blend of ego and alleged smarts. Pick one please.
YES: I didn't love the mole story, but lets say the 'entre' to the character was worth watching. I also bought Axe's wife a bit more although I literally don't know or care what the heck she's doing out planting something.

Having some experience with that world, the Portfolio Managers meeting was not far off, albeit a real hedge fund PM meeting could be cruder and less clever, of course. These places are ruthless, and the senior leadership thinks nothing of publicly humiliating people just because they can. They also don't worry about normal social mores like people in the real world do. They are less internally competitive than they used to be, but there is still quite a bit of undermining co-workers.

The pettiness represented by the caddy story is nothing compared to what actually goes on in that world. A lot of these guys became multi-millionaires just so they could get revenge on other people.

The least realistic part of the story was the fired PM being threatened with being blackballed. If he has a good track record, he would get picked up immediately no matter how much Axe hated him, and both Axe and he would know it. A $500 million hedge fund would not think twice about pissing off a multi-billion hedge fund if they thought a PM could make them money. There is no way for an Axelrod-type firm to really impact the business of other hedge funds, so they don't typically care what each other think. On the other hand, the sell side (Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Citibank, etc.) would not touch a trader that had left a hedge fund under a cloud, but that is a little different. Anyway, that wasn't a big deal in the overall plot of the episode.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Having some experience with that world, the Portfolio Managers meeting was not far off, albeit a real hedge fund PM meeting could be cruder and less clever, of course. These places are ruthless, and the senior leadership thinks nothing of publicly humiliating people just because they can. They also don't worry about normal social mores like people in the real world do. They are less internally competitive than they used to be, but there is still quite a bit of undermining co-workers.

The pettiness represented by the caddy story is nothing compared to what actually goes on in that world. A lot of these guys became multi-millionaires just so they could get revenge on other people.

The least realistic part of the story was the fired PM being threatened with being blackballed. If he has a good track record, he would get picked up immediately no matter how much Axe hated him, and both Axe and he would know it. A $500 million hedge fund would not think twice about pissing off a multi-billion hedge fund if they thought a PM could make them money. There is no way for an Axelrod-type firm to really impact the business of other hedge funds, so they don't typically care what each other think. On the other hand, the sell side (Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Citibank, etc.) would not touch a trader that had left a hedge fund under a cloud, but that is a little different. Anyway, that wasn't a big deal in the overall plot of the episode.

Interesting. I think the PM/trader is going to be a big plot point going forward. Either the DA tries to get him to flip Axe OR the fact that he specifically confessed his wrongdoing to the DA's wife is going to lead to some conflict for her.
I still find it hard to believe that's how people talk in meetings. I've had exposure to a couple of hedge funds and their leaders were the among the most erudite & well-spoken people I've ever met. Annual reports would start with quotes from Ulysses, Beowolf or references to nautical tactics. But these were very small shops in Boston and perhaps big equities firms on Wall Street are far more crude. Generally though I think they need to find a way to make them intelligent and quick witted/crude, not just so crude that its purely a big swinging diKk contest. Giamatti settled into his role well after 2 episodes, hopefully Damian Lewis can get there after a few more.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The show is too much and going too fast. Giamatti's character is awesome, as are the internal dynamics of his office and his rivalry with other offices. I really like Giamatti's sidekick. Lewis' character is still stumbling a bit, and the secondary plotlines have significant problems.

For example, Axe's wife getting the kid blackballed, then un-blackballed at Stanford needs to be explained. It can't just happen like magic. Schools like that take their admissions very seriously, and to get in the middle of that process would be incredibly difficult. Maybe I could buy the kid getting blackballed if there was some explanation of how it happened. To have him re-admitted without explanation was kind of silly.

 

[Dogdeacon]

The show is too much and going too fast. Giamatti's character is awesome, as are the internal dynamics of his office and his rivalry with other offices. I really like Giamatti's sidekick. Lewis' character is still stumbling a bit, and the secondary plotlines have significant problems.

For example, Axe's wife getting the kid blackballed, then un-blackballed at Stanford needs to be explained. It can't just happen like magic. Schools like that take their admissions very seriously, and to get in the middle of that process would be incredibly difficult. Maybe I could buy the kid getting blackballed if there was some explanation of how it happened. To have him re-admitted without explanation was kind of silly.

I agree, I had problems with almost every element of the book plotline beginning with Wifey's original empty threat that only started after the other chick did something more. I could list 5+ un-realistic developments, but 'trumping them all is I simply don't think they've worked out exactly what Axe did that would have been bad press and that's the real reason the fictional non-fiction never saw the fake light of day.

And even though I also didn't love the 'remove my father's mistress from her board position at fake breakfast treat inc' plotline (who cares?) I'm nonetheless enjoying the show. Maggie Siff's work was really good in this episode and I really hope they use their brains more on her character and the box she is in.