Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall

Season finale review: 'Magic City' - 'Time and Tide': Quite the pickle

The noose tightens around Ike, while the Butcher takes a peek

By Alan Sepinwall Friday, Jun 1, 2012 11:00 PM

Olga Kurylenko as Vera in "Magic City."

Credit: Starz

A quick review of the "Magic City" season finale coming up just as soon as I fight a flashbulb with a flashbulb...

I wasn't particularly fond of "Magic City" after watching the first three episodes, but I stuck it out through the remaining five hours because I liked Jeffrey Dean Morgan, I enjoyed the show's visual style, and because I hoped Mitch Glazer's execution would come to match his ambition in time.

Unfortunately, I didn't see a whole lot of improvement over the course of the season. I did my best to ignore certain things that weren't working (Steven Strait's performance as Stevie in particular), but other aspects (the tedious, cliché-riddled murder investigation) were too prominent to completely tune out of. I still liked Morgan and Olga Kurylenko and a few of the other performances, but I never connected to any of these characters, could usually spot plot developments coming a mile away (was there any way Victor's wife wasn't going to be gunned down trying to escape Cuba?) and didn't feel the show was getting either deeper or better executed as it went along.

There's still a chance Glazer gets into more of a groove after an offseason to contemplate what did and didn't work, and I'll check back in as a result. But this felt to me very much like the exact work its creator wanted to make — it was just one that largely left me cold.

The comments in that early April review (from many of you who had also watched the first three episodes, thanks to Starz previewing them on several platforms) were more mixed, and I would guess that the majority of you who watched til the end did so because you enjoyed the show. Still, I'm curious for your reactions. If you liked it at the start, did you still by the end? If you were more lukewarm, did you feel it got better? If anyone stopped watching midway through, when and why?

What did everybody else think?

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

Related Searches: Magic City, Mitch Glazer, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Olga Kurylenko, Danny Huston, Steven Strait, Kelly Lynch, Alan Sepinwall

Next 49 Comments

Steven Flores

I wasn't surprised by how bad things have become. I knew things weren't going to be great for Victor and Mercedes. That was pretty obvious. Ben Diamond, WTF? He's a sick son-of-a-bitch.

I never cared for Stevie either. Steven Strait is just terrible. Dude can't act. His character is an idiot.

The only person that impressed me was Olga Kurylenko. Terrence Malick must've seen something that made her get a part in The Wonder.

I like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Danny Huston, and Kelly Lynch but the script doesn't really do them any favors.
June 1, 2012 at 11:35PM EST Reply to Comment
Kathy Green

Who was the female that delivered the pictures to Ben's mailbox?
June 1, 2012 at 11:52PM EST Reply to Comment
- Bolo That was the girlfriend of the blackmailer;stevie wrecked her car episode 1
  June 1, 2012 at 11:57PM EST
- Josh the swimmers girlfriend, he told her to deliver the pics to Ben diamond if something were to happen to him... duh
  June 1, 2012 at 11:59PM EST
- owen.parker.83@gmail.com Janice Michaels played by Willa Ford, as others have correctly said she was Stevie's lover in the pilot car wreck and then Divin' Dave Donahue's girlfriend in later episodes. She helped him develop the copies of the pictures but it was hard to recognize her in that shot due to the darkroom lighting. Further confounding things was that she pretended not to recognize Stevie in the pictures.
  
  She popped up again attempting to warn Stevie about the blackmail but he brushed her off. Dave attacked her in her shower for that, but ended up having angry sex with her.
  
  I'm working on a character guide for a wiki about the show if anyone is interested.
  http://magiccity.wikia.com/
  August 7, 2012 at 6:25PM EST
Bolo

Who was the cop that shot the hitman at the end?
June 1, 2012 at 11:59PM EST Reply to Comment
- Maggie71 That is Doug, he works with Klein,the DA. He also seems to work for Ben Diamond which confused me when he shot Al, who also works for Ben Diamond.
  
  June 2, 2012 at 12:13AM EST
- Owen.Parker MAGGIE71 is quite correct the shooter was Doug Feehan, the DA's investigator, played by Todd Allen Durkin. He is a gambling man and has a sizable debt to Diamond via the Miramar Playa bookie Bel Jaffe. He was the one who called Bel to tell him that the DA had Judy Silver in custody.
  
  I believe Diamond set up his own driver/hitman "Dandy" Al Haas. He was punishing Dandy for failing to recognize that Lily was having an affair despite often being assigned to drive and watch her. Diamond had the photos of Lily and Stevie out when he sent Dandy on the job.
  
  Doug had already had Judy write something out for Diamond, the nature of which was not detailed in the finale. It seems she is of some use to him while Dandy is not because he could not do his job well enough.
  August 7, 2012 at 6:40PM EST
Clay

The show isnt as good as I hoped. It gets kinda boring and has to many things going on at once. I think it would have been better if they used Santo Traficanti instead of Ben Diamond and focused more on crime than love, family, and whatever else they were doing. Thank god for dvr's cause I fast forward threw alot!
June 2, 2012 at 1:38AM EST Reply to Comment
Col Bat Guano

Good set and costume design, plenty of the gratuitous nudity that Starz is known for. I kept watching because there wasn't much competition, but I wouldn't call it must see TV. I'll check back in next year though.
June 2, 2012 at 1:59AM EST Reply to Comment
Greg Grant

I sorta liked the show when it debuted, but thought it was uneven in the first three episodes I saw. However, the locale, history, Isaac Evans, his smoking hot wife, Ben Diamond's smoking hot wife, and Judi Silver's character made me stick around.

I am sorta glad I did. I thought the show generally improved as it went along, once Ben Diamond's character went from OVERACTING! to overacting. I was okay with Stevie's character, because he really did not have a lot to do, besides having sex, worrying about being discovered having sex, and lighting up his cigarette to a strangely specific sound effect. His dipshit brother annoyed me more than him. This kid really saw no problem working for the D.A. who was working to prosecute Miami Beach gangsters? There's sheltered, and then there's too stupid to live.

My big main complaint will get me heat on this board, but I have to air it out: Kelly Lynch as part of the improbable future love triangle.

Each time the show tried to convince me that Isaac Evans was sorta kinda attracted to Kelly Lynch because she reminded him of his dead wife, and that Vera was jealous of her husband's affection for Kelly Lynch and her connection to her husband's family, I groaned. It was less believable than Charlize Theron being told by the Mirror that K-Stew was the fairest of them all. Feel free to call me a pig, chauvinist and etc., and I am sure the creator of the show thinks his wife is gorgeous, but there is no freaking way Isaac Evans goes for her. None.

Other note, the show oddly felt the need to emphasize the obvious, but then not remind you of the small stuff that slipped through the cracks. For instance, when it is revealed that Divin' Dave is the thief at the end of one of the episode, I had no idea who he was and only remembered he was in prior episodes once they showed him again. Similarly, I had no recollection his girlfriend and partner in crime was the girl blowing Stevie in the car in the first episode. That's kinda of a key thing to establish their prior relationship and how she relates to Stevie during the blackmail.

I am going to stick around with this show, because unlike Hell on Wheels, I at least felt there were payoffs of certain storylines, and even though there were cliches, at least I did not feel insulted by them. Also, the actress playing Judi Silver did a far better job with that role than I expected. The episode where she tells Stevie to go ahead and close his eyes and imagine another woman as he was screwing her could have been horrible, but somehow she made that line seem tragic and it worked.
June 2, 2012 at 2:09AM EST Reply to Comment
- figgy Wow. You echoed my sentiments precisely. I thought I was the only one who didn't realize Diving Dan was the burglar. Until I read this post, I didn't even realize the girl blowing Stevie in the car was the beaten up gf/accomplice...so thanks for that.
  June 2, 2012 at 6:35PM EST
- KobraCola To each their own, but really? You don't find Kelly Lynch attractive? Sure she's somewhat old now at 53 and JDM is a full 7 years younger than her, but she still looks gorgeous to me.
  June 3, 2012 at 4:08AM EST
- hautie "His dipshit brother annoyed me more than him. This kid really saw no problem working for the D.A. who was working to prosecute Miami Beach gangsters? There's sheltered, and then there's too stupid to live."
  
  OMG... that kid is too stupid to live! I don't mind Stevie either.
  
  I just assume part of Stevie's character was that he was not too bright. Especially since he is shagging a woman, married to a scary mob guy named "The Butcher".
  
  And I actually like Ben Diamond. Even if he did shoot the dog. I am also confused with Al getting shot by their man in the police department.
  
  So yes, I watched every week. Not a bad show.
  
  The story telling needs to be tighter.
  
  But it is a gorgeous to look at. And lord only knows, there is nothing else to watch in Friday nights at 9pm for me...
  
  June 3, 2012 at 4:44AM EST
- Greg Grant @Kobracola. I appreciate the fact she looks great for her age, but come on... come on. He's married to Vera. You don't drive a Ford Focus when you have a Lexus in the garage, even if you have many fond memories of stuff you did in that Ford Focus.
  June 3, 2012 at 10:33PM EST
- KobraCola Olga Kurylenko has a full 21 years on Lynch, but... I actually find Lynch more attractive. Call me crazy, and I'll acknowledge that I'm generally more attracted to blondes than brunettes, but something about Kurylenko just doesn't do it for me. She's certainly a very attractive woman, but something about an older Lynch is just more attractive to me, despite the fact that Lynch is older. Regardless of my tastes in women, I don't think Lynch's age/attractiveness at this point detracts from MC in any way. I think Lynch is still objectively an attractive lady, even if you don't think she's as pretty as Kurylenko, and if you combine that with the fact that Lynch probably looks like Ike's now-dead wife, then I can completely see why he's attracted to her.
  June 3, 2012 at 10:50PM EST
floretbroccoli

My quibble with the show is that we're told that Ike is such a smooth operator, THE hotel guy in Miami Beach, yet it seems that none of his plans work out.

That and the proliferation of fake breasts in 1959.

Oh, and how can Ike sell Ben's share in the hotel to Meg without telling Ben?
June 2, 2012 at 10:04AM EST Reply to Comment
- KobraCola Correct me if I missed something, but didn't Ike sell 15% of his OWN shares? As I understand it, at the beginning of this season, Ike owned 51% of the shares of the Miramar Playa and The Butcher owned 49%. So I'm pretty sure Ike sold 15% of the shares of the MP out of his own 51% so that Ben wouldn't kill him.
  June 3, 2012 at 3:59AM EST
- floretbroccoli Thanks. I'm sure I'm the one who missed something. But I did think when Ike first approached Meg, he said that he wanted her to buy out his partner. Was I halucinating.
  June 3, 2012 at 12:37PM EST
- KobraCola Yeah, you're right, Ike wanted Meg to buy out The Butcher, like buy out his 49% of the Miramar Playa shares, for understandable reasons. Meg's lawyers were very very against that, though.
  June 3, 2012 at 4:38PM EST
chuchundra

I bailed midway through the fourth episode. I just couldn't take the stupid anymore and there was no one, not one character, that I was the least bit interested in.

Bleh. What a waste of Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
June 2, 2012 at 10:45AM EST Reply to Comment
Lindsey

I really, really tried to like it, but there are no layers. Everything is on the surface... no one has any depth. I've never seen such an epic battle between Jeffrey Dean Morgan's charisma and absolutely flat characterization and plot. Such a shame, because it is so, so pretty.
June 2, 2012 at 12:21PM EST Reply to Comment
John

This show proves that cable can make bad shows as well as broadcast. Just because you have lots of swearing and nudity doesnt mean you have a good show on your hands. This show is proof of that. The characters are interesting as wallpaper, the writing is a mess and the acting is over the top
June 2, 2012 at 3:27PM EST Reply to Comment
My name is Butt Johnson

This show is freaking terrible. I used to have high regard for the critic known as Sepinwall. But the fact that he watched the entire season of this drivel makes me take a step back at how I read his scripture from here on out. Yuck.
June 3, 2012 at 3:16AM EST Reply to Comment
- KobraCola Really? Alan has actually been pretty harsh on MC. I'm sure he continued watching partially because, you know, watching television IS his job, after all. We know he keeps up with the best shows on TV and manages to write insightful pieces of every episode of them, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he watches a lot of the mediocre stuff too just to see if it's getting better, worse, or staying status quo. Claiming that your opinion of a TV critic went down for watching mediocre TV is ridiculous.
  June 3, 2012 at 4:01AM EST
- Joe As Kobracola said, there's nothing wrong with watching mediocre TV. The only problem is when someone, especially a critic, claims mediocre TV to be among the best (like when I hear people say "The Big Bang Theory" or "Workaholics" is the funniest show on TV), & Sepinwall is clearly not doing that here.
  June 3, 2012 at 4:29AM EST
KobraCola

I watched the first 3 episodes on the Starz website and they were absolutely GORGEOUS. I just watched them back to back to back so I didn't really feel the need for character development or complex plot at that point. I really liked the show after those first 3 eps. By now, the shine has definitely come off it. I don't hate it as much as some other commenters seemingly do, but it's definitely borderline watchable for me right now. I had some extra time right around when it premiered this year, but if I'm pressed for time next year, there's a good chance it won't make my shortened list of TV I NEED to watch. For some reason, I never found Steven Strait's acting to be THAT terrible. Sure, he's not blowing me out of the water with his nuanced facial expressions, but his part is pretty easy and I think he does a perfectly serviceable job with it. JDM is still killing it, as expected. I would probably watch the show just for him. Something about Olga Kurylenko's performance strikes me as off, though, I'm not sure what it is. She seems very slightly awkward on the show. Also how did Ben Diamond seemingly totally allow his wife to get away with cheating on him, even if he has a being cuckolded sexual fantasy? I would think the great Ben Diamond would not allow that, even if it turned him on. I like where this season ended with Ike in jail, so there's a good chance I'll keep watching. But I'm not expecting a great show when I tune in weekly.
June 3, 2012 at 4:06AM EST Reply to Comment
macgiz

The show is visually so damn impressive, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, on a good turn, innately channels Clooney’s vibe in the ER; so much so that it in some ways makes up for some of the worst storytelling in premium cable history… at least enough to have me watch all eight episodes.
Quick fixes: Glazer needs to be fired from his own pet project. Say what you want about the performances, this whole season reeked of a one-man ‘all style, negative substance’ vanity project. Without a full scale purging of the writing team and a few of the major characters, it will never last past a second season.
Stevie has to end up in the everglades… quickly, right beside the worst Dennis Hopper Blue Velvet impersonator imaginable (Danny Huston/Ben Diamond) and weight them both down with Jack Klein’s State’s Attorney character who is about to go into the Danny Huston realm of overacting. In fact put them in a sealed room together and let them suck all the oxygen out. Stevie will live the longest because he doesn’t emote. Kelly Lynch should also be firmly set in place as a totally silent partner on the show as well.
Also does anybody buy into the Cliff Wells character as someone who Vera would have had a thing for? The guy is a megaturd.
And let’s take a look at some of the completely insane plot developments:
Stevie gets it on with the Butcher’s wife… he almost gets caught and then continues without hesitation?
Judi knows she was the intended victim of someone’s else’s murder and she just wants to hand around and ply her trade in defiance… because?
Danny knows his bro is in with Mrs. Diamond but doesn’t think to let his dad know?
Ike bets $100k… in his own place?
Ben watches? Seriously?
Kelly Lynch asks her lawyers for advice she already knows the answer to?
The list is endless. I don’t hate myself for watching but if I swear if I didn’t stop writing my list above I eventually would have. Oh and admittedly, Jessica Marais’ bikini or lack thereof gives any man a reason to stick around longer to see if the show turns.
Summary: Hire some better actors who can infuse real emotional ranges. Give Olga more to do, more Jeffrey Dean Morgan can never be a bad thing and take this show away from poorly acted, retread gangsters and into society and elite resort running in an era gone by… How about Sammy Davis Junior and Dean Martin stopping by?

June 3, 2012 at 7:24AM EST Reply to Comment
George

Inconsistency is expected with most Starz shows. I would not say this show worse than the fall's Boss season 1. Clearly Starz needs to take another look at the narrative choices that are used on HBO and AMC Dramas. Clearly they don't get without the explicit content HBO and AMC strong narratives standards are what gave them credibility.
June 3, 2012 at 9:23AM EST Reply to Comment
Viz

First, a couple of details most people seem to have missed:

1. Kelly Lynch is Mitch Glazer's wife. Whether she has a roll in the hay or not with Ike all depends on whether Mitch wants to see her have a roll in the hay with Ike...whether it makes sense to the story or not.

2. The most dangerous character on this show is not Ben Diamond. It's Lily Diamond. Fast forward to episode 7, when she find out Stevie is being blackmailed, she calls "Sy in Chicago" and says "Sy, I'm no use to you dead". Lilly's agenda (directed by Sy in Chicago, to be yet revealed) is to take down BOTH Ben and Ike.

The mere fact that two women (Judi and Lily) have been able to dance circles around Ben and are still alive clearly shows that he's not as powerful as we've been led to believe.

Of course Stevie is an idiot. That's precisely why Lily picked him to roll around in the hay with and therefore stick her foot into Ike's world. Ike would have never fallen for her seduction and Danny's been too busy making beds and cleaning rooms with Mercedes.

Watch our for Lily...she's going to take everyone down.
June 3, 2012 at 2:03PM EST Reply to Comment
Dr. Recommended

Here is a very big mistake in the show that really bugged me. I'm surprised no one mentioned it.

When the hitman leaves the hotel with Judy Silver we never see that. When asks the doorman if they left, he says they left in a '55 Chevy. Amazingly Ike finds them. I say amazingly because when he finds them, the car was a '56 Chevy. How can they make such an obvious mistake? AMAZING!!!!
June 3, 2012 at 5:54PM EST Reply to Comment
- Lucamacus most people arent perfect in the world homeslice, 55' or 56", close enough. I thought it more crazy that he had no trouble finding for the over_used hollywood "in the nick of time" scene
  June 11, 2012 at 2:38AM EST
mikenangie19

i always give new shows a chance. i watched every episode and i always get a certain feeling about cable shows-- they are slow not just a little but a lot. so once i get over the extremely slow plotting i try to enjoy.magic city has potential but the slowness gets to me.if you look at basic cable shows[ tnt, usa, and the like] they have a faster plotting that doesn't leave the watcher bored out of slow plotting- not because they don't like the show those shows have excitement in every episode but hbo, sho, stz all seem to save it all for the finale. but.. maybe for me i prefer more character development with more episodes. more adventure, suspence, and flow. i will watch if it comes back, but i am hoping the writers seek development of characters and not development of cliches and ooh moments that have a thud effect because of predictablity and slow storylines.
June 3, 2012 at 6:14PM EST Reply to Comment
JedyKnight

I agree with the majority of what Greg G. said. The show did improved. II saw the first 2 eps , missed the 3rd & 4th, and didnt mind, then caught up by watching the first five in a row, and felt it getting better, JDM really does his best with the material but i know we are supposed to see him trying to do a fiddler in a hot roof act, but it always feels like his too small a fish among sharks, way over his head. The nudity is too gratuitous, especially in thre pools over the bar or at Ben's, but it didnt turn me off (what can i say, young male adult here). All the girls, imho, were good enough.. Although short from great. The boys were weak, specially the plot with "the good son" and his naivety regarding the interest of the D.A. I found simply dumb.
But all in all, I am glad a 2nd season will come, and hopefully it'll keep getting better to a point in which I will mind losing an episode.
June 3, 2012 at 9:14PM EST Reply to Comment
lelisa13p

This series left me cold. While the overall look was supposed to be glamorous early 1960 (and it did succeed on that level), looks couldn't compensate for the boring plots and trashy, gratuitous feel of the whole mess.

Even if the series comes back, I won't be there.
June 3, 2012 at 11:31PM EST Reply to Comment
Shauna Lynch

The whole plot with Judi Silver just doesn't work for me, and it keeps dominating the story more and more. Are we seriously supposed to believe that they would kidnap Mike and murder him, but leave the hooker alive to tell the tale? Then, assuming that for some reason things worked out that way, is there any way that said hooker would be so completely unaware of the danger she was in? Finally, didn't she leave the country? The DA of Miami can just go to a foreign country and kidnap someone and torture them? I know sometimes cops cross the line a bit, but this is totally unbelievable.

On the positive side, the series is amazing visually, especially Club Atlantis. I also enjoy the Ben Diamond character.
June 4, 2012 at 5:49AM EST Reply to Comment
wh1tey

I think that Danny Huston's character is poorly written. What big time mob guy spends all his time sunbathing and being suspicious of his wife? He's got to have more important things to do. Also Mob guys his age don't marry 20 year olds. She should be his mistress. He should be married with a few kids as old as Ike's. Also, they didn't have to make the DA Klein a bad guy. There are enough bad people on the show as it is.
June 5, 2012 at 12:38AM EST Reply to Comment
Teklanika

I was excited about this show, but it was mediocre at best. Lots of style, little substance.

Unlike most people, I liked Stevie's character more than anyone else other than Morgan.

I'll check back next season, but it'll be on a short leash with me.
June 5, 2012 at 1:11PM EST Reply to Comment
Kathaleen

This show has visually outstanding as far as costumes, set design, etc. Except although there is plenty of gratuitous female nudity, where is the full frontal male nudity that we have come to expect and love from a Starz show?
June 6, 2012 at 1:40AM EST Reply to Comment
JMRII

Solid premise, great sets/props and well-shot, and some of the characters have potential (Ike, Ben, Lily, Ben's bookie from the Sopranos, Ike's primary sidekick and especially Judy Silver, who isn't given a lot to work with but is probably the most interesting character in the show) but it's too by-the-numbers.

Also, the two big "stakes" of the whole season were (a) Ben finds out about Stevie and Lily and (b) Ben wants his money back from Ike. Both of these were too easily resolved in the last few episodes with no real jeopardy- turns out Ike just gets the money from Kelly Lynch with no real sacrifice and Ben is INTO IT. Meh.

We all know Ike is not going to get popped for Mike's murder, so that doesn't really work as a season-ending "cliff hanger."

Also, I hope Mercedes flies off for good and takes her dad with her- she's a lightweight and I just can't take the dad seriously as he was one of the "street toughs" who stole Elaine's armoir from Kramer.

The younger kid is a dud too but he's merely a plot device. I actually don't mind Stevie, he's not great but he is a believable character- I would like to see them go darker with him.

At least there are multiple hot women in the show who spend a lot of time being naked. Need more of the elevator operator though.
June 6, 2012 at 5:00PM EST Reply to Comment
Yvonne

I'm with Speinwall, I tried to give this show a chance but the writing is tedious. And let me add, this show has too much sex and violence and not enough story. If you want to keep the audience interested, get writers that will keep us tuned in. Why do you think Mad Men is doing so well? Food for thought.
June 8, 2012 at 2:28PM EST Reply to Comment
Ellen

At first the show was predictable, but I continued to watch. I like the actors and I love the characters. By the middle of the season the story started to flow. I think it will continue to improve. I want to see what will happen next season so I guess I am hooked!
June 8, 2012 at 6:24PM EST Reply to Comment
Justin Jones

I personally love the sets, the time period, the cars, J.D.M has always been a fave of mine, for being a bad ass. Not used to seeing this low key nice guy,but it works. I agree, this show is no Sopranos, Deadwood, Luck, it is more like Southern Comfort food rather than Chicken Cordon Bleu or Filet Mignon. Just sit back, click the brain off, and enjoy the sights and sounds. Perhaps you are looking at it the wrong way?
June 15, 2012 at 9:11PM EST Reply to Comment
Jared

What did Trudy write down on that note pad for Ben Diamond? I missed that part.
June 16, 2012 at 12:59PM EST Reply to Comment
Jared

Anybody catch what it was that Trudy write down on that notepad for Ben Diamond? I missed that part. Thanks.
June 16, 2012 at 1:01PM EST Reply to Comment
- Owen.Parker We didn't get to see what Judi wrote.
  August 8, 2012 at 5:06AM EST
alisa

I think stevie definitely fits the part...men that think with theirr male parts usually act as such...loved the series cant wait til next season
August 11, 2012 at 11:23PM EST Reply to Comment

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Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Kathy Green Who was the female that delivered the pictures to Ben's mailbox?

Bolo That was the girlfriend of the blackmailer;stevie wrecked her car episode 1

Josh the swimmers girlfriend, he told her to deliver the pics to Ben diamond if something were to happen to him... duh

Bolo Who was the cop that shot the hitman at the end?

Maggie71 That is Doug, he works with Klein,the DA. He also seems to work for Ben Diamond which confused me when he shot Al, who also works for Ben Diamond.

Col Bat Guano Good set and costume design, plenty of the gratuitous nudity that Starz is known for. I kept watching because there wasn't much competition, but I wouldn't call it must see TV. I'll check back in next year though.

figgy Wow. You echoed my sentiments precisely. I thought I was the only one who didn't realize Diving Dan was the burglar. Until I read this post, I didn't even realize the girl blowing Stevie in the car was the beaten up gf/accomplice...so thanks for that.

KobraCola To each their own, but really? You don't find Kelly Lynch attractive? Sure she's somewhat old now at 53 and JDM is a full 7 years younger than her, but she still looks gorgeous to me.

Greg Grant @Kobracola. I appreciate the fact she looks great for her age, but come on... come on. He's married to Vera. You don't drive a Ford Focus when you have a Lexus in the garage, even if you have many fond memories of stuff you did in that Ford Focus.

floretbroccoli My quibble with the show is that we're told that Ike is such a smooth operator, THE hotel guy in Miami Beach, yet it seems that none of his plans work out.That and the proliferation of fake breasts in 1959.Oh, and how can Ike sell Ben's share in the hotel to Meg without telling Ben?

floretbroccoli Thanks. I'm sure I'm the one who missed something. But I did think when Ike first approached Meg, he said that he wanted her to buy out his partner. Was I halucinating.

KobraCola Yeah, you're right, Ike wanted Meg to buy out The Butcher, like buy out his 49% of the Miramar Playa shares, for understandable reasons. Meg's lawyers were very very against that, though.

chuchundra I bailed midway through the fourth episode. I just couldn't take the stupid anymore and there was no one, not one character, that I was the least bit interested in.Bleh. What a waste of Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Lindsey I really, really tried to like it, but there are no layers. Everything is on the surface... no one has any depth. I've never seen such an epic battle between Jeffrey Dean Morgan's charisma and absolutely flat characterization and plot. Such a shame, because it is so, so pretty.

John This show proves that cable can make bad shows as well as broadcast. Just because you have lots of swearing and nudity doesnt mean you have a good show on your hands. This show is proof of that. The characters are interesting as wallpaper, the writing is a mess and the acting is over the top

My name is Butt Johnson This show is freaking terrible. I used to have high regard for the critic known as Sepinwall. But the fact that he watched the entire season of this drivel makes me take a step back at how I read his scripture from here on out. Yuck.

Lucamacus most people arent perfect in the world homeslice, 55' or 56", close enough. I thought it more crazy that he had no trouble finding for the over_used hollywood "in the nick of time" scene

lelisa13p This series left me cold. While the overall look was supposed to be glamorous early 1960 (and it did succeed on that level), looks couldn't compensate for the boring plots and trashy, gratuitous feel of the whole mess.Even if the series comes back, I won't be there.

Teklanika I was excited about this show, but it was mediocre at best. Lots of style, little substance. Unlike most people, I liked Stevie's character more than anyone else other than Morgan. I'll check back next season, but it'll be on a short leash with me.

Kathaleen This show has visually outstanding as far as costumes, set design, etc. Except although there is plenty of gratuitous female nudity, where is the full frontal male nudity that we have come to expect and love from a Starz show?

Ellen At first the show was predictable, but I continued to watch. I like the actors and I love the characters. By the middle of the season the story started to flow. I think it will continue to improve. I want to see what will happen next season so I guess I am hooked!

Jared What did Trudy write down on that note pad for Ben Diamond? I missed that part.

Jared Anybody catch what it was that Trudy write down on that notepad for Ben Diamond? I missed that part. Thanks.

Owen.Parker We didn't get to see what Judi wrote.

alisa I think stevie definitely fits the part...men that think with theirr male parts usually act as such...loved the series cant wait til next season

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Kathy Green

Who was the female that delivered the pictures to Ben's mailbox?

Bolo

Who was the cop that shot the hitman at the end?

Col Bat Guano

Good set and costume design, plenty of the gratuitous nudity that Starz is known for. I kept watching because there wasn't much competition, but I wouldn't call it must see TV. I'll check back in next year though.

chuchundra

I bailed midway through the fourth episode. I just couldn't take the stupid anymore and there was no one, not one character, that I was the least bit interested in.

Bleh. What a waste of Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Lindsey

I really, really tried to like it, but there are no layers. Everything is on the surface... no one has any depth. I've never seen such an epic battle between Jeffrey Dean Morgan's charisma and absolutely flat characterization and plot. Such a shame, because it is so, so pretty.

John

This show proves that cable can make bad shows as well as broadcast. Just because you have lots of swearing and nudity doesnt mean you have a good show on your hands. This show is proof of that. The characters are interesting as wallpaper, the writing is a mess and the acting is over the top

My name is Butt Johnson

This show is freaking terrible. I used to have high regard for the critic known as Sepinwall. But the fact that he watched the entire season of this drivel makes me take a step back at how I read his scripture from here on out. Yuck.

lelisa13p

This series left me cold. While the overall look was supposed to be glamorous early 1960 (and it did succeed on that level), looks couldn't compensate for the boring plots and trashy, gratuitous feel of the whole mess.

Even if the series comes back, I won't be there.

Teklanika

I was excited about this show, but it was mediocre at best. Lots of style, little substance.

Unlike most people, I liked Stevie's character more than anyone else other than Morgan.

I'll check back next season, but it'll be on a short leash with me.

Kathaleen

This show has visually outstanding as far as costumes, set design, etc. Except although there is plenty of gratuitous female nudity, where is the full frontal male nudity that we have come to expect and love from a Starz show?

Ellen

At first the show was predictable, but I continued to watch. I like the actors and I love the characters. By the middle of the season the story started to flow. I think it will continue to improve. I want to see what will happen next season so I guess I am hooked!

Jared

What did Trudy write down on that note pad for Ben Diamond? I missed that part.

Jared

Anybody catch what it was that Trudy write down on that notepad for Ben Diamond? I missed that part. Thanks.

alisa

I think stevie definitely fits the part...men that think with theirr male parts usually act as such...loved the series cant wait til next season

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