Lone Star – S1 E02 – “One in Every Family”

In the company and wife1 part of his life, Bob gets the ball rolling on his wind farm deal with Drew Thatcher. Clint gets on board with the deal, and Bob hires his father as an expert. We get a few scenes of John being uncomfortable in an office setting and Trammell Thatcher berating him for not being able to answer a phone. John then gets into an argument with Bob over telling people he was abandoned and he decides to rob the company anyway with an unknown caller on the other end. Also, we find out that the Thatcher family is influential when Cat talks an officer into letting her brother get out of a DUI.

With wife2, things start out with a man tackling Bob in an airport and accusing him of fraud. Then, the focus of most of the episode is on having a big official wedding (like he did with Cat) and the planning that goes into that. Halfway through the episode black sheep of the family Gretchen, Lindsay's sister, shows up and now she starts getting suspicious of Bob as well when she looks through his phone and calls John.

This was a lot better than last week. I could see in this episode the reason that maybe critics were excited for the show, but I still would not put it as the best or one of the best shows of the season for one reason: the music. The music in this show is an absolute mood killer. The songs themselves may not be bad, I do not know as I try not to listen to them too closely, but they are just so unnecessary and so distracting. All of the best scenes in this episode were without music. His wife in the police station had no music and I really enjoyed watching her guilt an officer into letting her brother go. Also, the scene of her not recognizing someone who asked her out four times was very well played, and I could see her becoming an interesting character rather than just a set piece (which for now is basically what both girls are).

Two other scenes were fantastic and both involved the father. The first was between John and Trammell in the office, and that was partially tainted by the last five seconds where music starts playing to transition into the next scene. But the tension between the two characters was fantastic and I could really feel how much John just wanted to punch the other guy in the face. The second was with his son and for the first time I was interested in Bob as well as that anger was really palpable. I found myself actually caring about both characters in that scene to a degree that I was really not expecting from the pilot. Unfortunately, they again added cheesy, melodramatic music at the end of their argument.

Music can work for a show, but it either has to be unnoticeable background mood music, integral to the plot, or at the very least it has to not show up that often. Not only does Lone Star not use music well, but it has too much of it. Every scene transitions with music. Half of the time that Bob is lying to someone in a very pleasant way, they play pleasant music so I can like the guy. I already like him, I'd rather it be quiet so we can feel the effect of his lying. One thing that I think defines great shows, and often, although not always, great movies, is moments of absolute quiet. Moments where no one speaks and no one moves and things are still. The Wire only had music that came from a visible source, such as a car radio or a television (except for its montages in season finales) and the effect was fantastic. But it does not have to be drastically diegetic. You can have music, but you have to leave room for the quiet moments and Lone Star neither does this, nor does it seem like it will. I think more than anything, that hurts this show from being really good. That and its cancellation after the second episode.

Lone Star – S1 E01 – “Pilot”

The critical darling of the season, along with Boardwalk Empire, I have to say I was unimpressed. Perhaps I do not watch enough network shows, perhaps I am not its target audience, but the show did not really click with me.

Bob Allen (James Wolk) is a con man working with his father John (David Keith) in the long con to rob oil tycoon Clint Thatcher (Jon Voight). To accomplish this Bob married his daughter Cat (Adrianne Palicki) with whom he lives in Houston. He also has a girlfriend in Midland, Lindasy (Eloise Mumford), whom he marries at the end of the pilot. After having done door-to-door sales on a fake gas well for an indeterminate amount of time, Clint gives Bob a high executive job which presents Bob with a chance at leading a normal life since Bob no longer desires to be a con man. His dad is unhappy about this, and he is also worried about his son as they have robbed half of the town in Midland.

The premise for the show isn’t bad. Working two angles, leading two lives, leads to a lot of possibilities. Breaking Bad, another critic darling, works on the same idea, and there are countless others that I could name that do too. The problem I have with this show is that the main character is too likeable and we are introduced to him in too good of a state. Other reviews and comments I have read talk about how much of a horrible person he is for ripping off these people, but I do not get the same vibe from the show. I am meant to like this guy. He has a winning smile, he is charming, and he is faithful to both of his women (as evidenced by a scene where he is propositioned by a woman at a hotel). He has two of them, which to some people might automatically put him in a negative light, but he is faithful to both of them and he loves them both. I would not call him husband of the year but I cannot find myself to dislike him just because of that; it’s not like he abuses them.

Then there is the stealing portion of his persona. Thieves in movies and TV shows, when they are not drug addicts or starving families, are often portrayed as charming rogues (Ocean’s Eleven, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, etc.). Because I really only know his perspective on these events, I cannot really turn against him right away. I have taken his viewpoint. I just cannot force myself to dislike him just because the acts he commits are morally inconsistent with my worldview.

And that is the problem. I like him, but not enough to hero worship as he has not done anything particularly spectacular, and I do not dislike him enough to find him fascinatingly disgusting. He is just uninteresting to me. Perhaps this will change in the coming episodes and he will either do something spectacular (unlikely), or access a darker side to his personality. The latter seems inconsistent with the tone of the show, but it is not impossible, so I am not writing off the show yet. Still, I am not hopeful. A great premise does not a great show make, and though the show is well acted and decently scripted, it does not yet seem to have the depth that will sustain it over many seasons. Comparing to another show that came out this week, Boardwalk Empire, I can say that though Lone Star was a smoother ride, with less awkward dialogue and exposition, Boardwalk Empire promises to satiate over a longer period of time. Lone Star from the pilot just seems to thin to sustain.