The Leftovers (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

Does anyone know if this is supposed to be a one season and done show? Or, are they supposed to stretch the book out over several seasons?

It's a series and not a mini-series or direct adaptation of the book. Rather than stretching out the book, I said that they're taking the premise and characters and telling a longer story with them where some things will be the same as the book but many things will be drastically different.

 

[Quentin]

Good points, Adam.

I guess we don't know if the Gaston character is real or not. It's curious...he seems to be the antithesis of the GR: he is dealing with the 'new world' in a confrontational, gruff, matter of fact way, "They aren't our dogs anymore...BOOM!" The world has changed, he acknowledges it, and he's confronting it with open aggression and an eye toward changing it for the better...but, also anonymously. He's a loner for the most part (though, he has apparently decided he's lonely and wants the Chief to join him).

Whereas, the GR acknowledges the world has changed and they've chosen to give up, internalize, shut down, and be very public about reminding everyone else they should do the same.

Mirror images. Which could further support a theory that he is inside the Chief's head since the Chief clearly disagrees with everything about the GR.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It's also possible that there's something special about the police chief's family; he can see the Mystery Man because his father could, and his daughter can because he can.Intriguing thoughts to ponder.

 

[joshEH]

I'm hoping that's not the title-sequence they use all season long. Maybe mix things up visually week-to-week. Maybe show the same imagery of people suspended in air...slowly, the camera pans out to the side of a spray-painted van with a UFO hoovering people up.Craster had it all wrong; he should've given out free hugs to his guests, instead of being such a dick. Man, that poor kid -- Verizon is going to fuck him hard, with his phone still being under contract.

 

[joshEH]

Also, having cut down my share of trees in a former life, it would take a couple of hours for a grown man to take out that tree, but yeah -- a chainsaw would be quicker.

Watching Liv Tyler unload all the world's troubles on that tree, probably remembering that turning-point in her life...fucking Rex Manning Day.

 

[ScottH]

The second episode lost me a little bit. I really have no interest in the mute cult at all. I don't know how many scenes of them communicating via pen & paper I can handle.

The rest is okay. The show kind of reminds me of 'John From Cincinatti'.

 

[joshEH]

The second episode lost me a little bit. I really have no interest in the mute cult at all. I don't know how many scenes of them communicating via pen & paper I can handle.

Plus, Fearless Leader is clearly using an Expo brand dry-erase marker on a notepad. That makes it ten times more frustrating. Get your shit together, Peter Berg!

I've got an idea. How about a Sherlock-like visual device, where they CGI some floating text on top of the notepads while the people are writing on them. That way, we can cut down on the length of those scenes, eliminating the need to flip the notepad around towards the camera.

(Or, they could hire Stacy Keach to read all the notepad writing in voiceover-form.)

You know what could also speed this shit up?

 

[ScottH]

(Or, they could hire Stacy Keach to read all the notepad writing in voiceover-form.)

That there is an awesome idea. While they're at it, they could bring in a different guy every episode to do it. Nolte and Keith David would be my first two choices to follow Keach.

 

[Greg.K]

My on

The second episode lost me a little bit. I really have no interest in the mute cult at all. I don't know how many scenes of them communicating via pen & paper I can handle. The rest is okay. The show kind of reminds me of 'John From Cincinatti'.

My only interest in the GR cult is seeing then get their asses kicked over and over for being stalking assholes. I don't see why that group would be appealing to anybody.

 

[Josh Dial]

Episode three was tremendous. Calling this one for an Emmy nod.

 

[joshEH]

Nice little self-contained story there, almost like the world's saddest episode of The Twilight Zone. Pretty neat callback to the first episode, with the car-accident.

 

[Sam Posten]

Yeah, I was all set to punt after the whole deus ex machina stuff but then they turned that around TWICE. Still intrigued and will keep with it.

 

[TravisR]

That episode was excellent. I wouldn't be surprised if this show is just too dark or depressing for most people and doesn't get renewed but I'm highly impressed so far.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

This is probably the bleakest show I've ever stuck with. But I'd watch Christopher Eccleston read a phone book, he's so good.Was this a one-off, or are they going to regularly break from the omniscient viewpoint centered about the Garvey family and tell stories from other characters' points of view?When he came into the Garveys' backyard and the sheriff's wife was sitting on the swing, my first thought was: how did they know he'd be going there. But then of course the truth was underlined: in spite of her faith, in spite of her steadfast devotion to what the Guilty Remnant represents, she still misses her family.

 

[TravisR]

This is probably the bleakest show I've ever stuck with. But I'd watch Christopher Eccleston read a phone book, he's so good.Was this a one-off, or are they going to regularly break from the omniscient viewpoint centered about the Garvey family and tell stories from other characters' points of view?

No clue but my guess is that it won't happen much. I imagine that the writers feel the same way about Eccleston as you do so they cashed in on having an enormously talented actor and gave him an entire episode.

 

[joshEH]

I'm wondering if I'm the only one to take the roadside incident where Matt is injured this particular way, but...

Would it be so against the nature of the Guilty Remnant and what we've learned of their practices (and the way Patti looks at him outside the church in the last shot) that they actually staged the initial attack on their own members as Matt drove home in order to delay him from getting to the bank on time?Maybe they didn't mean for him to end up in the hospital for longer than a few hours (or maybe that result, or worse, was their exact intent), but I wouldn't be surprised if Laurie communicated his plan and possession of some amount of money to her superiors as a way of proving where her loyalties lay at the end of the day.In this strange, post-Departure world, it is definitely possible that the church matters so much to the GR and their future (secular) plans that Patti took it upon herself to remove all barriers between them and the church, primarily Matt and his gambling-luck.(What sold this theory for me was the placement of his car three days later. Sure, the hospital would let him check himself out if he was absolutely insistent on it, but what are the chances the police who responded to the accident would have left his car in front of his home, instead of impounding it?)

 

[Greg.K]

Lindelof at his best. This really felt like a character-centric episode of Lost, in a good way. Loved the ironic twist at the end, and I too was wondering if the GR had staged the rock-throwing.

 

[joshEH]

The guys in the Jeep were very likely GR members, knowing Matt would stop, and that they could then injure him. He obviously didn't lock his car when he got out, yet the money stayed in the front seat for three days. My guess is they locked it for him after the incident.

 

[Josh Dial]

The guys in the Jeep were very likely GR members, knowing Matt would stop, and that they could then injure him. He obviously didn't lock his car when he got out, yet the money stayed in the front seat for three days. My guess is they locked it for him after the incident.

Was the door locked when he returned?

 

[Quentin]

Pretty powerful episode. I've never been a Dr. Who fan, so I didn't see Eccleston do that. But, I've always liked him. And, he just NAILS this episode so well.

I don't think the incident was staged by GR, but I think it is excellent that we are so suspicious of them that such theories are floating around.

Like Adam says...this is a bleak, bleak world. It's not an easy show to watch. But, I'm hoping it is worth the ride. After this episode, I'm in for the long haul.