The Gilded Age

[Anonymous]

I think it could be a great show if they had done a better job with the casting of the main characters. They are such blah actresses.

[Anonymous]

Sets and costumes were nice to look at.
Plot and script were a snore.
Overall a waste of a lot of talent, but I’ll keep watching.

[Anonymous]

I like it. The first episode started almost painfully slow, but by the end I was hooked. Carrie Coons would sell me on anything, and when you throw in Christine Baranski I was going to watch no matter what.

I like how the drama is setting up. There are multiple layers of conflict, as in Downton Abbey, and it will be fun to see the bedfellows it makes. The old money v. new money thing, of course. But also the young people v. the old. The loyal staff versus the ones out for themselves. And Miss Scott is the most interesting part. I am a little worried she's being tokenized, but somewhat encouraged by the parity of her friendship with Miss Brooks, and interested in her family as well -- I sense they are well off and that's an interesting wrinkle in 1880s New York, too.

It's pretty and likely a bit soapy and not like anything else on TV right now. That's fun. My DH isn't going to make it but I'll watch it on my own. Something to get me through until it's warm again!

[Anonymous]

On Peggy Scott, who I also liked, I enjoyed this article:
https://www.glamour.com/story/the-gilded-age-denee-benton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who thinks that the acting by Meryl Streep's daughter is... terrible? Or is the dialogue just really stilted and awkward?

I hadn't read any reviews and was looking forward to this show. OMG, it is terrible. Stunningly horrible.
Only a few of the cast seem to know how to act. The dialogue is so bad it's like a poorly done high school play. I can't believe people are praising it here. Almost every character is stiff and wood like and I swear I saw cast members in the roles in the background making faces at the camera.

I've never seen such a poorly done show on HBO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't go by the critics. It was good and will get better. Pilots are typically a little clunky because they are trying to establish characters and storylines in a short period of time.

This wasn't clunky trying to establish characters. There are actors trying to mimic old movie style of talking. Everything and everyone is a walking cliche that is done so poorly I had to laugh.

Ugh. Pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it could be a great show if they had done a better job with the casting of the main characters. They are such blah actresses.

HBO originals are known for excellent casting. I want to know wth happened with this show. PU

[Anonymous]

Agree with others. The sets, costumes, and music are wonderful. The acting is subpar. Fellowes really enjoys simpering characters with irritating vocal effects, so this time we have Cynthia Nixon as Ada (weird casting) in place of Cora. Dislike how the writing seems to be already on the wall for the rest of the series: clearly, the new money family will find out that the old money neighbors have a homosexual son, and they will strike a deal for the new money family to be helped socially to see if Grace over their secret. And of course, we will have a romance between the new money’s son and Marian. So to the script. I do like the friendship storyline between Peggy and Marian though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others. The sets, costumes, and music are wonderful. The acting is subpar. Fellowes really enjoys simpering characters with irritating vocal effects, so this time we have Cynthia Nixon as Ada (weird casting) in place of Cora. Dislike how the writing seems to be already on the wall for the rest of the series: clearly, the new money family will find out that the old money neighbors have a homosexual son, and they will strike a deal for the new money family to be helped socially to see if Grace over their secret. And of course, we will have a romance between the new money’s son and Marian. So to the script. I do like the friendship storyline between Peggy and Marian though.

The set looks so cheap! There is no camera depth like when shooting in a real location. And when Mr. Rusell is at his desk in front of the fake fire, the glowing red lights look ridiculous

[Anonymous]

The dialogue is truly awful, and delivered even more terribly. How could HBO have gone so wrong?

[Anonymous]

I really liked it, but I'm pretty interested in this time period. If you are looking for something to tide you over until next week, check out this - https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/million-dollar-american-princesses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really liked it, but I'm pretty interested in this time period. If you are looking for something to tide you over until next week, check out this - https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/million-dollar-american-princesses

Ooooh, thanks for the link.

Another series that's set in this time period is "The Buccaneers," which is based on an unfinished Edith Wharton novel. It follows the story of four (five in the book, I guess) American young women who are "new money" and, like Cora Grantham, go to England to marry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The dialogue is truly awful, and delivered even more terribly. How could HBO have gone so wrong?

I suspect they were seduced by Julian Fellowes' "Downton Abbey" credentials. DA, while a series I thoroughly enjoyed, was not perfect, but was extremely popular and highly profitable. HBO thought it would get its own American "Downton." Fellowes can be a good writer at times, but doesn't have a deep reserve of characters and stories to tell, frankly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others. The sets, costumes, and music are wonderful. The acting is subpar. Fellowes really enjoys simpering characters with irritating vocal effects, so this time we have Cynthia Nixon as Ada (weird casting) in place of Cora. Dislike how the writing seems to be already on the wall for the rest of the series: clearly, the new money family will find out that the old money neighbors have a homosexual son, and they will strike a deal for the new money family to be helped socially to see if Grace over their secret. And of course, we will have a romance between the new money’s son and Marian. So to the script. I do like the friendship storyline between Peggy and Marian though.

The set looks so cheap! There is no camera depth like when shooting in a real location. And when Mr. Rusell is at his desk in front of the fake fire, the glowing red lights look ridiculous

I haven't watched yet, but--are the sets this bad? Are they NOT using period locations much? I realize that a lot of houses from that era are gone or heavily altered, but there's zero excuse for bad sets and effects. I almost want to watch now just to see what you're describing.

[Anonymous]

Julian Fellowes has never done Americans well. We can see that in Downton Abbey. He utterly failed to make something out of Cora's American origins and contrasting it to the British society culture, and her mother, Martha Levinson, was so badly written that I'm not sure what the point was. The best criticism I heard of the character was that it was Shirley Maclaine playing Shirly Maclaine, not Shirley Maclaine playing a fantastically rich American woman of the time period. But in defense of Maclaine, for all his insight and fascination with the British aristocracy, Fellowes' inability to grasp the essence of Americans and the robber barons was blatantly obvious.

I will be fair and also admit Fellowes only wrote one very good season for Downton Abbey that had any realism - the first season. The rest of the seasons were just soap operas, cashing in on the show's popularity rather than attempts at historical accuracy.