The "One Wedding and a Funeral" Award- Drama Episode

Named For: "One Wedding and a Funeral" (Beverly Hills 90210, 610)
Awarded To: The best drama episode of the season
2010 Winner: "Broken" (House, 601-602)
2011 Winner: "Always" (Friday Night Lights, 513)

10. "Nora" (Parenthood, 305) 1 point
4th by Jack

9. "A League of Their Owen" (Men of a Certain Age, 209) 1 point
5th by Me

8. "Do Whatcha Wanna" (Treme, 211) 5 points
2nd by Jaydon

7. "Far Away Places" (Mad Men, 506) 7 points
1st by Jaydon

6. "Danny Boy" (One Tree Hill, 911) 7 points
1st by Jack, 3rd by Me

5. "Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will" (One Tree Hill, 910) 7 points
3rd by Jack, 1st by Me

4. "The Reckoning" (The Vampire Diaries, 305) 8 points
1st by Matt, 4th by Me

3. "Two Prize Colts Go Head to Head" (Luck, 109) 10 points
2nd by Cecil, Larry, and Bonz

2. "Twenty Vicodin" (House, 801) 13 points
1st by Cecil, Rizzo, Larry, and Mags

and the Poolie goes to...

1. "Pilot" (Luck, 101) 17 points
1st by Tyson, T-time, and Bonz, 2nd by Me

In its lone season Luck tallied two nominations and one win for the best episode in a drama series.  Here to talk about the magnificence of Luck's first episode is Poolie voter T-time.

_________________________

Now that’s a pilot. The first episode of Luck did everything you could ask of an episode of television. It established characters. It set long-running plotlines into motion. And it told a story that paid off immediately, with plenty of drama that managed to whet the appetite while delivering a satisfying dish in itself.

The pilot was directed by Michael Mann and unsurprisingly, it looked to be film quality. The shots are exquisite. For an hour that was spent mostly in one location, the variety and brilliance of the camera work is astounding. The hills and palms that surround the Santa Anita Racetrack are ever-present. They are not just beautiful, they also ensure you never forget the southern California setting and of course, that’s the point.  The setting of Luck is a track. It could be any track in the country, but to the characters that it brings together, it is the track.

Then there are the horses. Oh God, the horses. The footage of the striving horses in the pilot is among the best athletic competitions ever captured on film. The camera angles and choreography during the races is fantastic, they would be dramatically compelling even without a back story to give us a horse or jockey to root for.

But of course, they do this quickly. While we may be intrigued by the plot that Dustin Hoffman’s Ace is setting up, it is the story of the degenerate gamblers that drives the plot of the first episode.  We were introduced early to the gentlemen who would later form Foray Stables and by the end of the hour we were already invested in the results of their pick-six play. When the bet paid off so did the drama.

The Luck Pilot introduced us to a variety of characters in a short amount of time but thanks to their mutual relation to the Santa Anita racetrack, it was not hard to imagine how the paths of jockeys, trainers, agents and gamblers would soon cross.

David Milch might have been denied a second season for Luck, and the first may have left a lot unsaid, but with the pilot we knew all we needed about the potential of the series.

by Tim Forcella

The Noah Hunter Award- Supporting in Drama

Named For: Noah Hunter (Beverly Hills 90210)
Awarded To: The best supporting character in a drama series
2009 Winner: Ari Gold (Entourage)
2010 Winner: Ari Gold (Entourage)
2011 Winner: Ornette Howard (Friday Night Lights)

10. Max Braverman (Parenthood) 4 points
4th by T-time and Jack

9. Chris Keller (One Tree Hill) 5 points
3rd by Jack, 4th by Me

8. Kevin Ball (Shameless) 6 points
2nd by Larry

7. Wade Kinsella (Hart of Dixie) 6 points
2nd by Jack

6. Joel Graham (Parenthood) 7 points
3rd by Larry and Matt

5. Roger Sterling (Mad Men) 13 points
1st by Jaydon and Mags, 5th by Me

4. Robert Chase (House) 15 points
1st by Tyson, Cecil, Rizzo, and Larry

3. Jerry Boyle (Luck) 15 points
1st by Bonz, 2nd by Me

2. Klaus Mikaelson (The Vampire Diaries) 15 points
1st by Matt and Jack, 1st by Me

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Turo Escalante (Luck) 16 points
1st by T-time, 3rd by Me

This is Turo Escalante's first nomination and win for the best supporting character in a drama series.  Here to discuss how Turo impressed in just nine episodes is Poolie voter T-time.

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A drama character doesn’t have to provide constant laughs. He doesn’t have to save the day or serve as a clever foil for our hero. A drama character can keep to himself, speak condescendingly to any who interrupt his business and quietly go about his business and still earn praises from viewers. Turo Escalante, as portrayed by John Ortiz, did that in spades.

Escalante’s business was training horses. Training champions. Training mid-listers to dominate weaker fields. He knew his business. But what made him so interesting was the way he dealt with people who didn’t know that business. “It’s what they eat,” he said snarkily to an owner who was unaware that horses ate carrots. An owner that had just paid two-million dollars for the horse. Escalante doesn’t care who you are. Just leave the training to him.

Escalante’s smug arrogance after winning a race. His constant annoyance at the owners of Foray Stables. And of course, his description of ET. The cancellation of Luck means his Poolie run will be a short one, but one that more than lived up to his forebears.

by Tim Forcella

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

I am so sick right now that I can't move, but the Quiet Pool Bi-Monthly Power Rankings wait for no man's health.  So without further ado, here are March's Honorable Mentions.

Show (Last Time) red=moving down, green=moving up

Alcatraz (-) Mondays on FOX
I'm a few episodes behind on Alcatraz, which probably isn't a good sign.  They have yet to really grab me, but I'm hoping things pick up before the end of season one.

Hart of Dixie (-) Mondays on The CW
Summer Roberts and company have me enjoying myself every Monday in Bluebell.  It's really not all that exciting, but it's fun.

House of Lies (-) Sundays on Showtime
I still don't know what to think about the Don Cheadle dramedy.  It's really not all that funny, and the drama is not anything special.

Luck (-) Sundays on HBO
I am really enjoying Luck thus far. Nothing has been as good as the premiere, but it's all solid.

The Office (19) Thursdays on NBC
It hasn't been as bad as of late, thanks to the super group down in Tallahassee, but it's still a shell of its former self with Andy Bernard at the helm.

One Tree Hill (-) Wednesdays on The CW
They were having the best season since the fourth before the past few episodes basically stood still.  The return of Chad Michael Murray could have been so much more than it was.

Revenge (18) Wednesdays on ABC
These guys really lost me with that complete fake out with Daniel a couple weeks ago.  It's one thing to surprise the audience, and it is a whole other to do it the way they did.

The River (-) Tuesdays on ABC
I'm digging The River so far, and Joe Alexander is getting way too criticized, but it's not a blockbuster.  I like that they're only doing an eight-episode first season, because it won't allow them to get boring with their stories.

Smash (-) Mondays on NBC
Bringing Little Nicky Jonas on your show is only going to make it better.  For them it's just a shame he isn't a main character.  I've been liking Smash so far, but some of the dialogue is on a level with Terra Nova.

The Walking Dead (20) Sundays on AMC
While things have gotten a bit better over the past couple weeks, this has still been an extremely boring second season.

Quiet Poolcast- The River and Luck

This weekend T-Time and I discussed the series premiere of ABC's The River and the second episode of HBO's Luck, before turning to some Over/Unders in this podcast.

Here's the timeline:

The River: 0:00 - 9:58
Luck: 10:04 - 16:33
It's Always Sunny: 16:56 - 20:52
Happy Endings: 20:58 - 22:53
The League: 22:59 - 26:02
Fringe: 26:07 - 27:46
Awake: 27:52 - 29:57

Listen Here

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2011-12 Season Outlook- Cable

Here at the Quiet Pool Perspective we like to give you a head start on figuring out what to watch heading into a new television season. Although we aren't cool enough to get all of the pilots in advanced, we have seen each and every trailer, have done the research, and have listened to what the critics are saying about all of the new shows for the 2011-12 season. So below are some my opinions on what should be watch, as well as some early insight on what I will be watching this year.

Here’s what’s new on cable…

A Quick Look

Excited For
  1. Luck
  2. Homeland
  3. Hell on Wheels
Interested In
  4. American Horror Story
  5. Boss
Giving a Chance
  6. Enlightened

And Some More Depth

American Horror Story – FX – Premieres 10/5
Need to Know: It comes from Ryan Murphy of Glee and Nip/Tuck infamy. From the title and the commercials it seems to be very creepy. It stars Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott.
Quiet Pool Plan: I am all for the crazy and the creepy so I will give this a whirl. I have been told Nip/Tuck was good before getting too crazy, and I’ve enjoyed Glee to a point, so I’m sure this will start out with a bang, even if it falls quickly.

Britton and McDermott on American Horror Story

Boss – Starz – Premiers 10/21
Need to Know: It’s not Hank. Kelsey Grammer returns to tv after his most recent failure for this Starz drama. He plays the mayor of Chicago with a terrible neurological disorder. It also stars Kathleen Robertson as Grammer’s personal aide.
Quiet Pool Plan: The guy from Back to You and Claire Arnold? That will hook me for a while. Starz doesn’t have the greatest history of scripted drama, but you gotta start somewhere right?

Enlightened – HBO – Premiers 2011
Need to Know: Half hour series starring the Jurassic Park lady and Luke Wilson. That’s all there is to know.
Quiet Pool Plan: It’s HBO, so they’ve earned my attempt.

Hell On Wheels – AMC – Premiers 11/6
Need to Know: It’s a western about a confederate soldier, who is seeking revenge on Union soldiers that killed his wife.
Quiet Pool Plan: Since I am now a southerner, I am all for getting back at those terrible Yankees. And I love me some period drama, so I am in this one.

Homeland – Showtime – Premiers 10/2
Need to Know: It’s the pick by most critics as the best new drama of the season. More importantly, I will be reviewing it this fall for TV Fanatic. It’s a psychological thriller starring Claire Danes as a CIA agent. A marine POW Damian Lewis returns to the U.S. and Danes thinks he was turned by Al-Qaeda and is a threat to the country.
Quiet Pool Plan: Even if I wasn’t getting paid to watch this, I would be excited. It sounds a lot like what Rubicon wanted to be, but failed so miserably at. It should be a good one.

Luck – HBO – Premiers January
Need to Know: This is the one folks. The one I’m probably most excited about. It stars Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, and it’s about gambling at a horse track. It will be run by David Milch of NYPD Blue and Deadwood fame. The pilot was directed by decorated filmmaker Michael Mann.
Quiet Pool Plan: This is as easy as it comes. I am on board. Let’s start the train now folks.

Dustin Hoffman in Luck