Parish

I am really trying to like this show, it's just trite and cliche so far. AMC and Giancarlo Esposito should be an instant hit with originality but this is not the case. Another mob related program but taking place in New Orleans. The location is different but the story is not. Nothing new or dynamic here. I'd recommend a pass as I doubt it's renewed for a season 2. Perhaps the writing could improve but it might be too late. Rewatch Boardwalk Empire or the sopranos. I'm three episodes in and am finding it difficult to not be bored. Maybe the season finale can turn things around but I won't hold my breath.

I keep at this week to week, mostly for Giancarlo Esposito. The series is brooding with enough mystery in the beginning so I'm game, and I tell myself it's only six episodes, so no fuss if it goes downhill. And downhill it goes fast. Esposito's legendary influence as Gus Fring from "Breaking Bad" cannot save the day, unfortunately. Here he is reduced to a disjointed man of emotions who turns up all over the place with no coherent continuity. The music in this show also becomes obnoxious at times. Then we get subject to these slow motion scenes that do nothing but embarrass the show. Worst of all, in the very last episode, suddenly a bunch of new faces are introduced for the mere purpose of closing the story. It is very lazy and an insult to the viewer who has stuck by for six weeks. Yikes.

If they wanted a text title about the Parish; Two words would be enough. 'Bad Director' You have a very good leading actor who is a world star >>>>Giancarlo Espasito.

There is a very good script with a 5-season guarantee.

But all of this was entrusted to a bad director who could not visually prepare and present it to the audience.

Is a bear running after the director? What's your rush? Is there a new art you want to give us with disconnected visuals?

David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Alexander Woo.

You have to work harder to do a better job.

And that bad music? What is your problem? Half the battle is good music. You should find better music.

I came across this six-part mini-series on a set of DVDs that my public library just added. On the surface it has several good things going for it. First I love New Orleans, I have been there many times, my wife grew up there, I used to live in a community just a few miles west of New Orleans. It is filmed there, I recognize the locations.

Plus I am big fans of two of the actors, the rest I don't know. Giancarlo Esposito was wonderful as Gus Fring in "Breaking Bad" which owes a lot of its popularity to his role. Here he plays the lead character, a driver, named 'Gray' Parish. The other is Skeet Ulrich as Colin.

The premise is thin, Gray and his wife discuss their lack of finances and fear they will lose their New Orleans home. She is suggesting they look at a less expensive, 2000-sq-ft home in Covington, just across the lake north of New Orleans. So he decides to do a driving job for some South African gangsters. There is a short chase scene on foot and they encounter a parade, an all too common cliche' for New Orleans locations.

After one episode I don't know how much more I will continue with. While the locations and cinematography are bonuses, the script and action don't have much subtlety. The story doesn't flow very well and the script is plain vanilla. With so many competing choices I don't know if I will spend the rest of the time to watch it all.

I will update my review if I do.

Update: I watched the second episode then gave up. Nothing but a bunch of bad people doing bad things and frankly not very interesting bad things. So I quit.

Decent show but argh my God the shona accents were super hard to go through! Thats my only gripe witht his show, it was absolutely shameful how bad the accents were. Surely theres good zimbabwean actors they could have given a shot. I only watched this coz im a HUGE Giancarlo Esposito fan and it wasnt too bad at all, definitely passed the time between my regular shows i watch but couldnt watch this all in one go like i watched Kaleidoscope! I hope Hollywood starts actually researching languages and accents to make sure they cast the right actors for these roles because i had a serious issue with the accents im sorry.