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Barry: new HBO show


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On 5/2/2018 at 3:07 PM, Pig Bellmont said:

“What can I say? I’m a gear head”. A bunch of funny parts mixed with some dark stuff. I enjoy this one quite a bit 

His delivery on "he's so creepy" makes me laugh just thinking about it.

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I’m a couple of episodes behind. Pretty good so far. The dude leaving all the “I really wanna kill those fucking Bolivians!” voicemails was cracking me up...but I definitely want Barry to kill the blonde post haste. Absolutely hate her character.

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1 hour ago, Texas_Rocks said:

I’m a couple of episodes behind. Pretty good so far. The dude leaving all the “I really wanna kill those fucking Bolivians!” voicemails was cracking me up...but I definitely want Barry to kill the blonde post haste. Absolutely hate her character.

I think you're supposed to hate her tho

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9 hours ago, OatmealRaisinCookie said:

Goran/Bald guy really make the show, but Cristobal was a nice addition. 

Minority opinion: The Fuchs character has sucked and been unfunny and unlikeable but has been massively overrated because of Stephen Root. That's one of the perks I guess of being awesome in most things, you get the benefit of the doubt and your reputation helps you out, but his scene with the bald guy lamenting Barry was hilarious. His best scene of the series.

Pretty sure that Fuchs is *supposed* to be an unfunny/unlikable asshole. 

Yeah the Noho Hank/Fuches phone call was great.  "I thought it was Barry....but..... not Barry..."  Followed by "...also, no matter where you go we will find you and kill you..."

And the talk of how the Bolivians are "just super nice guys" was hysterical.

 

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The whole four agreements talk and the polite conversation about how it definitely means war was great. And the cops disbudding they’re discussion and also chiming in on how life changing the four agreements is. But NoHo Hank knowing the book being discussed from one side of the conversation was the best.

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No, they are not married or in a relationship. In the second episode, where we first meet the detectives, they discuss one of the detectives getting divorced and the lead detective winning a bet on his marriage not lasting. She states that relationships can't survive their job. Of course, she is having her little fling with the teach. They may have been talking about that surprising development.

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One of my favorite shows right now.  Besides everything that's already been mentioned, I love that it comes up with creative ways to move the plot forward and doesn't rely on the main characters making the same stupid decisions over and over.  In this way, it's a great contrast to Silicon Valley, which I gave up on a couple of seasons ago because you knew what's-his-face was going to fuck it up somehow.

 

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1 hour ago, bamachine said:

No, they are not married or in a relationship. In the second episode, where we first meet the detectives, they discuss one of the detectives getting divorced and the lead detective winning a bet on his marriage not lasting. She states that relationships can't survive their job. Of course, she is having her little fling with the teach. They may have been talking about that surprising development.

Then that makes that exchange even more odd.  It seemed like he was busting her in an affair, but I guess the "it's over" stuff could have been in the context of her getting herself into danger and messing up the case.

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14 minutes ago, bamachine said:

That is the thing about this show, it is great right now but I don't see it having a long run of good seasons. I really can;t see them stretching it more than one more, without it losing it's touch.

Agree 100%, especially with how dark the show is getting.  

One of the strengths of HBO's Vice Principals was that it was written as a two season show and the show kept moving forward and getting better every week.  What turned me off to Silicon Valley is that they keep fucking that same old chicken over and over and over again.

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4 minutes ago, Gene Parmesan said:

Then that makes that exchange even more odd.  It seemed like he was busting her in an affair, but I guess the "it's over" stuff could have been in the context of her getting herself into danger and messing up the case.

Yeah, she was saying that she was ending it because it was clouding her judgement. Right before that happened, she had decided to give the relationship a go and took down all the head shots of the acting class, essentially closing that side of the investigation. Then the stuff happened there at the acting class and she saw the error of her ways.

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17 minutes ago, bamachine said:

That is the thing about this show, it is great right now but I don't see it having a long run of good seasons. I really can;t see them stretching it more than one more, without it losing it's touch.

 

I'm afraid it could be taking a major wrong turn when he offed his friend to save his own skin. He couldn't off the guy he hated that was ruining everything for everybody. It's hard to keep it going as comedy if he's got all this constant inner turmoil. That's a problem you can't undo. He's not so sympathetic any more. Instead of a screwed up guy with messed up rationale for his profession of killing (perceived) bad people, he's just a sociopath. He was trying to get out of it, now he's locked into it, because it's what he is. There's no turning back from that, and that's kinda what drove the story up to this point.

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1 minute ago, DougO said:

 

I'm afraid it could be taking a major wrong turn when he offed his friend to save his own skin. He couldn't off the guy he hated that was ruining everything for everybody. It's hard to keep it going as comedy if he's got all this constant inner turmoil. That's a problem you can't undo. He's not so sympathetic any more. Instead of a screwed up guy with messed up rationale for his profession of killing (perceived) bad people, he's just a sociopath. He was trying to get out of it, now he's locked into it, because it's what he is. There's no turning back from that, and that's kinda what drove the story up to this point.

Agree with most of that. Although, he was put in a no win situation. His friend basically painted him into a corner, one where his friend's wife and kid were also put into danger. By offing his friend, he essentially saved their lives. He is still a borderline sociopath, as he always has been. He just added more fuel to his tortured conscious. That was the whole idea of him trying to distance himself from what he saw as a flaw of his character. Daydreaming about a life that would never be real for him.

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For me the theme was basically even a cold-blooded hit man could be more sympathetic than a typical shallow, selfish, narcissist wannabe actor, or acting coach. I'm not sure they can pull that off any more.

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4 hours ago, OatmealRaisinCookie said:

Agreed, but they are making their best run at it with the blonde being such a thoroughly hateable character.

Agree on the blond.  Barry was useful to her and suddenly she's super friendly again.  She's a turd.  And let's find a new buzzword instead of sociopath. Sociopaths are anti-social and lack a conscience, and Barry obviously doesn't fit that bill.

Edited by TriStone
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That was an extraordinary episode of tv.

I liked where the creators took it.  Barry’s character crossed a threshold from which he can never return. 

10 hours ago, DougO said:

For me the theme was basically even a cold-blooded hit man could be more sympathetic than a typical shallow, selfish, narcissist wannabe actor, or acting coach. I'm not sure they can pull that off any more.

To me, the theme is Barry struggling with his identity, and his fear that what he does defines who he is.  That fear is fully realized on stage, and there is the sad irony that the worst thing he has done produces his best acting moment.  

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15 hours ago, DougO said:

 

I'm afraid it could be taking a major wrong turn when he offed his friend to save his own skin. He couldn't off the guy he hated that was ruining everything for everybody. It's hard to keep it going as comedy if he's got all this constant inner turmoil. That's a problem you can't undo. He's not so sympathetic any more. Instead of a screwed up guy with messed up rationale for his profession of killing (perceived) bad people, he's just a sociopath. He was trying to get out of it, now he's locked into it, because it's what he is. There's no turning back from that, and that's kinda what drove the story up to this point.

That makes it sound like he just started being a hit man.  He's been doing this for years and way past the no turning back point, yet is going to try and turn back.  He's probably had to kill innocent people or witnesses before.  That's why he knew exactly where and when his buddy crossed the line of no return.  

I think the transition you look for is:

guy who killed people without feeling bad > guy who kills people and feels bad > guy who doesn't kill people

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Wasn't there a quote in the first couple of episodes where he basically said something like, "we're only killing bad people, right?" He could always justify for himself before. If he didn't have some semblance of a fucked up conscience he would have killed the asshole marine guy with no problem. But he's always being manipulated because he doesn't want to disappoint people, even people that he knows are fucking him over.

Edited by DougO
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3 hours ago, Don Johnson said:

That makes it sound like he just started being a hit man.  He's been doing this for years and way past the no turning back point, yet is going to try and turn back.  He's probably had to kill innocent people or witnesses before.  That's why he knew exactly where and when his buddy crossed the line of no return.  

I think the transition you look for is:

guy who killed people without feeling bad > guy who kills people and feels bad > guy who doesn't kill people

 

58 minutes ago, DougO said:

Wasn't there a quote in the first couple of episodes where he basically said something like, "we're only killing bad people, right?" He could always justify for himself before. If he didn't have some semblance of a fucked up conscience he would have killed the asshole marine guy with no problem. But he's always being manipulated because he doesn't want to disappoint people, even people that he knows are fucking him over.

Yeah, Barry has very clearly struggled with his line of work from the beginning. I mean... Barry "feeling bad" is pretty much the core of the show, isn't it?

I think this was a very important, very intended "no turning back" character moment for Barry.  Like DougO mentioned, it makes Barry less sympathetic. And the creators want that. They went for it.

Going back to an interview Hader did with Bill Simmons at SXSW, I remember Hader talking about the violence as being real and intense (paraphrasing). I can see what he meant now. The violence in the show is not glorified. They don't want his work to be "cool" and they don't want the audience cheering on his killing like they would in a Tarantino movie.

Edited by CurlyDumps
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I've been watching it on demand, and have been getting to see short behind the scenes discussions after each episode.  The killing of his friend somewhat evolved on the spot.  The writing took it there, but it wasn't planned ahead of time.  Cool stuff, and possibly my current favorite 30 minutes of television. 

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21 hours ago, DougO said:

For me the theme was basically even a cold-blooded hit man could be more sympathetic than a typical shallow, selfish, narcissist wannabe actor, or acting coach. I'm not sure they can pull that off any more.

 

It's Dexter as a half hour comedy. Let's not overthink things to much. 

 

I also think they are only going to get another season or two before things really fall off the rails, regardless I am along for the ride. 

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On 5/7/2018 at 4:38 PM, DougO said:

 

I'm afraid it could be taking a major wrong turn when he offed his friend to save his own skin. He couldn't off the guy he hated that was ruining everything for everybody. It's hard to keep it going as comedy if he's got all this constant inner turmoil. That's a problem you can't undo. He's not so sympathetic any more. Instead of a screwed up guy with messed up rationale for his profession of killing (perceived) bad people, he's just a sociopath. He was trying to get out of it, now he's locked into it, because it's what he is. There's no turning back from that, and that's kinda what drove the story up to this point.

This was it for me. When it happened, I turned to my wife and said "well shit, Barry has to die now". Can't see it going more than two seasons.

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24 minutes ago, thrillhammer said:

i can't see it going more than two seasons either, mainly because it seems clear the lead detective has her suspect list narrowed down to barry and barry only.  

They are pretty much plowing through the current story line.  Not much lingering or thread development going on.  I guess they could always have the season finale reset button.  As of right now, cop is closing in, Barry wants to kill Fuchs, mobs want to kill Barry, and Barry is no longer the loveable hitman.  Seems like there is no intention to develop any kind of long story.

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2 minutes ago, Gene Parmesan said:

They are pretty much plowing through the current story line.  Not much lingering or thread development going on.  I guess they could always have the season finale reset button.  As of right now, cop is closing in, Barry wants to kill Fuchs, mobs want to kill Barry, and Barry is no longer the loveable hitman.  Seems like there is no intention to develop any kind of long story.

Bill Hader is a smart guy who also has a movie career. I think it's pretty safe to say that he has the end of the series in mind, and more than likely this show is going to be 3 seasons at the most.  I'd be very surprised if he dragged this series out like they are dragging out Silicon Valley.

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I agree that it was likely never intended to be 5 seasons, but it doesn't have to be considered dragging out if you go beyond 3.  Especially considering it's a 30 minute show, and there are probably only 10 episodes a season.

Edited by Gene Parmesan
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As stated by Hader in the behind the scenes - Barry wouldn't kill the bad Marine that he didn't want to become, thus had to kill the good Marine to which he aspired.  I think the rest of the season will be Barry trying to right his own ship.  He's back to not giving a shit about Fuchs, the Russians, the Bolivians, etc.

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6 hours ago, oSuJeff97 said:

Bill Hader is a smart guy who also has a movie career. I think it's pretty safe to say that he has the end of the series in mind, and more than likely this show is going to be 3 seasons at the most.  I'd be very surprised if he dragged this series out like they are dragging out Silicon Valley.

You could have said the same about Bryan Cranston. If the audience and the money is there, it will probably go on as long as people tune in.

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