What is it? Vinyl, Season 1, 10 episodes on four discs from HBO Home Video
How much? $49.98
When? Now
Vinyl as in record albums? Exactly. This particular series was the brainchild of Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger and Terence Winter (one of the men behind The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire).
It's 1973. New York is a dirty, economically depressed, crime-ridden place. But its music scene is exploding with talent and bands on the cusp of success.
Record executive Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale), founder of American Century records, needs to find and latch on to some of that talent, but things just aren't coming together. His company is in a slump and it's only through the actions of his partners Zak Yankovich (Ray Romano) and Skip Fontaine (J.C. MacKenzie) that it has been able to stay afloat. Now, they're trying to sell American Century to a German company, but even that deal is in trouble.
Richie needs to reinvent and revitalize his company and it will take the likes of Julie Silver (Max Casella), the volatile head of A&R (artists and repertoire) and his hapless staff to help make that happen. The hope for the future may lie in the likes of Jamie Vine (Juno Temple), a young assistant (and unofficial drug dispenser) who's anxious to move up in the company and sees British punk group The Nasty Bitz as her ticket.
Complicating things further, a bitter ghost from Richie's past, blues musician Lester Grimes (Ato Essandoh), resurfaces years after their falling-out. And Richie's wife, Devon (Olivia Wilde), is not exactly happy about her husband's increasing drug use.
Drugs, the mob and relationships could all help or hinder American Century's future.
How is it? Dirty. Depressing. Needlessly complicated and loaded with plot twists and shock moments.
The music is great and the series does a terrific job of setting the tone and feel of the 1970s. As you can expect, they make extensive use of 1970s rock, hip-hop and punk music among other genres, sometimes using the music as surreal interludes to set the mood or get inside a character's head.
But with very few exceptions, the characters are either bland or loathsome to the point that it's really hard to care what happens in their world. Flawed, troubled characters are fine. But when you have to look long and hard to find a single redeeming quality, that's a problem.
Extras? Each episode has an Inside the Episode piece giving story and historical background. There's also an 18-minute "making of" featurette and episode commentaries.
New this week: Alaskan Bush People, Seasons 1-2; Back to the Future, Season 1; Ballers, Season 1; Birds of a Feather, Set 1; Dark Shadows, 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition; Grantchester, Season 2; The League, Season 7 and complete series; Maude, Season 5; Power, Season 2; Saving Hope, Season 4; Star Trek, complete series; Star Trek: The Next Generation, complete series; Suspects, Seasons 1-2; Underground, Season 1; The X-Files, Event Series.
Next week: Doctor Who, Season 1; The Hollow Crown, The Wars of the Roses; Janet King, Season 1; Wallander, Season 4; Workaholics, Season 6.
Style on 06/12/2016