The Outsider

Isn’t Bateman’s character a fan of Ozark in the book? And IIRC Stephen King said something about getting hooked up on Ozark. I wonder if it was his idea to cast Bateman.

I enjoy seeing Bateman in more dramatic roles.

Oh darn, I still don't have HBO.

[quote]Stephen King’s 'The Outsider' Is the 'True Detective' Season We’ve All Been Waiting For

Other reviews haven't been this kind. I think I might check it out.

I sure don't enjoy seeing him fornicating with women, R2.

Watching it as I type. Twenty minutes into the premiere and I hate to say it, but it's such a blatant ripoff of True Detective - at least stylistically - that I'm kinda annoyed right now.

Mendelsohn is amazing, his lisp and mumbling notwithstanding. Bateman doesn't really register yet. I screamed when Hettienne Park turned up - been her fan since she first opened her mouth on Hannibal. Too bad she's only in one episode. Where the hell are Asians in these shows?! 😒

Does Jason show his ass?

Jason looks his age now. He is not the pretty man he was in Arrested Development.

Jason just showed his impressive abs in a prison scene where he had to squat and cough naked with some black brothers.

The writing is so over the top at times. It's literally one day since he's been arrested and sent to jail, but the inmates somehow already know what he's done? Give me a break.

You think prisoners don't watch the news? A crime like that would have made headlines nationwide.

I botched the first sentence - it's county jail, not prison. And no, people awaiting trial or held for minor crimes in jail usually don't keep up with news that happened literally the day before. That's preposterous.

They could have heard it from the guards. I was in jail on the day Dale Earnhardt was killed and I remember this because I had to listen to the wardens commiserate over the loss.

Is the book any good? King's books are very hit or miss.

At this point King is plagiarizing himself. The second half is a rip off of his earlier work.

I wish I hadn't read the book because I knew about two big plot twists. I wonder what unspoiled viewers are thinking?

I didn't know that Bateman was also the director.

Not bad for the boy who caused [italic]Little House on the Prairie[/italic] to be rebooted.

I'd happily go to jail or prison if it was guaranteed Jason would be my cellmate.

It figures that as soon as he grew a beard, Rick Schroder had to go full-on Grizzly Adams!

R12 - “I was in jail the day Dale Earnhardt was killed” ...

One of the greatest sentences in DL history. It deserves its own thread, mini-series and Marvel comic book.

They could have heard it from the guards. I was in jail on the day Arlene Francis' heart-shaped locket was stolen and I remember this because I had to listen to the wardens commiserate over the loss.

Jason almost got assaulted by BBC!

I have a thing for Mendelsohn, so I'll check this out.

It's an odd project. The direction is very arty, which sometimes works against the story unfolding.--and it's directed more like a detective mini-series than like a horror mini-series (it's not creepy enough for my tastes). The acting is absolutely first-rate, however--besides Mendelsohn and Winningham, they also have Julianne Nicholson (who was the best thing in Masters of Sex) as Bateman's wife, and next episode Cynthia Erivo enters the storyline, and most critics who have seen the whole miniseries say she is the best of everyone.

The scene where that man finds the clothes the killer was wearing in the barn and thinks he may be in the loft was creepy.

I thought the scariest moment in the first episode was when Bateman appeared walking from the murder with blood all over his mouth, in the child's testimony. That would have been made much more creepy, though, if we had seen his teeth clearly and they were also covered in blood. I thought that was a missed opportunity.

I know, R20! Just the way R12 just casually dropped that gem into the conversation was priceless.

Ten episodes of this seems a bit much.

It’s a monster.

Who needs 10 episodes to tell them that?

It’s a shapeshifter that is able to look like people it takes blood from.

That was pretty obvious as soon as the daughter said “Daddy got a cut from a male nurse.” By that time, we already knew Justin was in 2 different places at the same time, so it had to be some kind of thing where a monster is able to replicate humans from their DNA.

I’m not watching 7 episodes of this actress trying to play autistic by making faces (hurt, puzzled, puzzled, puzzled, hurt) and act all neurotic. And why is everything gray green? That doesn’t make it atmospheric, it just annoys people because it’s obvious that Bateman put a green-gray filter over the camera.

Let me guess - there are going to be more murders and witnesses will place people at the scene if tge ctine, their fingerprints & DNA will be found on the victim but there will be proof that person was somewhere else. In the end, they either kill the monster or corner it & it gets away so they can do a 10 part boring-ass sequel.

And is anyone else sick of autistic detectives? Whether police detectives or private detectives?

its Stephen King. Of course it’s a monster & monsters are magic. Crime stories based on magic aren’t interesting, because you know from the beginning that it’s magic, therefore it doesn’t require cleverness to solve the crime.

The writing in the second episode was ridiculous and trite. What a weird directorial decision to show that shooting from two different angles one after another. Glorification of gun violence much? Second episode was an improvement, though I can't with Erivo's aspie character. "I'm so special, scientists studied me as a kid and they're [italic]still[/italic] stumped!" Bitch, please. Stop mystifying autism. And what aspie has impeccable fake nails, anyway? Eugh.

I swear to gods there's less lighting with each passing scene. They're trying to replicate the feel of True Detective so hard, it's painful to watch. I'll have the rest of the season on in the background while I'm doing other stuff, but I wouldn't recommend this show to others.

It's supposed to be set in Georgia, but doesn't look or feel anything remotely like Georgia. You'd think it was the Northeast.

*Sorry, I meant third episode was an improvement.

r33 So it's set in Georgia, it was filmed in Georgia, but they still managed to fuck up the feel of Georgia? Wow. Agreed that at least the opening of the premiere looked like the Northeast - they used the exact same drone trick as in Castle Rock. It actually confused me for a moment or two. I can't judge past that as I'm not American.

Yes, it was actually filmed in a suburb of Atlanta. You'd never guess, though.

I fully expect Erivo to get nominations for her work here because you've got to admit a black actress doing the aspie schtick is something we hadn't seen before. It's a bit like an Asian actress being the lead in this type of show - it just isn't done, for some reason.

Cynthia Erivo is terrific--it's fun to see her play such a non-stereotypical role.

Yeah, nobody’s ever seen a stereotypical autistic detective before.

An autistic black female P.I. isn't a stereotypical role.

It was weird to me when they started talking about the local train station r33.

Georgia is not a train state. There are three(!) train stations in the entire state.

Alright I checked and that was a slight exaggeration, but my point stands. And there is no train that runs between Georgia and Dallas.

Georgia sounds like a DUMP. And why are they still filming shit there, anyway? I thought everyone was boycotting the place because of that anti-abortion legislation.

Was the book set in Georgia?

Book is set in Flint City, Oklahoma.

So a train to Dallas would make sense in that location r44. A minor thing, but writers should think of these details.

Georgia didn’t want no trains so slaves couldn’t escape.

[quote]Georgia sounds like a DUMP.

Savannah is really lovely.

Why is the lead detective doing things he wouldn't normally do?

He's mentioned it twice, maybe thrice. Arresting Jason in public and humiliating him and his family was one, and there was something else.

Maybe it's nothing. Or maybe his duplicate from below ground is controlling him like on "US"!!!

I agree that "a monster" without motivation is very dull. Why did the monster shoot the bird at the camera at the train station?

Who's the ugly guy that I thought was Kevin Bacon with bad botox?

The dead kid's mother died in episode one right? How did she die? I completely missed it.

We didn't see her death. After the wake, she went insane and started destroying everything in the kitchen. Next we see the father and son at the hospital with no sound, and the doctor tells them that she's dead (obviously, but we don't hear the words).

Why is Hoodie Monster watching everything from afar? I read spoilers from the book which doesn't give me hope that there is any motivation for the monster.

Also, it's time for Stephen King to move past his preaching about alcohol problems. WE GET IT.

King was an active alcoholic for years, his wife threatened to leave him if he didn't quit.

That's why I said, "WE GET IT."

It's pervaded all of his work since 1994 or so, with an endless parade of characters "damaged" by their "active alcoholism:" as King tries to put an After School Special message in.

WE GET IT.

Geez, at least I used more than one color filter in [italic]South Pacific[/italic]!

Good lord no, there is no way I’m watching 10 episodes of people floating around in a green-tinted, underlit world. It’s so badly lit that a reviewer thought the cop getting “burned” by the monster was one of the farm workers.

Lispy Mumbly Guy Who Keeps His Head Down to Express His Sorrow is sometimes unintelligible. Hooray for subtitles.

Magic Supernatural Black Lady has two or three faces : perplexed, why you hurt my feelings? and spaced out. Was anyone else surprised to see cars discontinued circa 1967 still cruising the streets? Does she really have to be 100 savants rolled into one? Baseball,cars, languages, history & mythology of all the cultures on earth, And how does she know the lyrics to every rock and roll song if she never listens to music? That’s some magic savant they’ve got there. Almost as smart as Melania Trump.

Poor Paddy Considine, reduced to being a dimly lit bouncer filmed from afar. That ain’t right. I have a feeling I know who the first victim of Jack the Ripper Upper & Biter is going to be. Well.....maybe it’ll be an animal first.......then a certain bouncer.

Super Serious GBI agent Yul never breaks his “This is super serious” face.

Watching these characters stretched out for 10 episodes ....I think I’ll watch tomorrow’s episode to see if Paddy gets greased, then let it go until the last episode, when I tune in to see them finally find the monster, confront it & probably don’t kill it so he can come back for a sequel no one wants.

Ten episodes of this is too much, the story has barely moved three episodes in. They probably could've done this in 3-4 if they tightened the story.

Oh - do most middle class homes in Georgia have 12 ft ceilings, like the Maitland house? That’s a lot of wallpapering to do on tall ladders.

[quote]That’s some magic savant they’ve got there.

I'm so fucking sick of characters like this. It's become such a cliché. Autistic/savant people who are borderline superhuman. It's a tired trope that really needs to be retired.

Holly Gibney must be a shapeshifter too. She went from a white girl in her 20's in Mr. Mercedes to a black woman in her 40's in this series.

I’m sick of all magic & supernatural stuff. It’s a C student trick. You can’t figure out how to create a thriller using plot, so you just throw in dead bodies, lots of gore & in the end, it’s a monster. You can have a jillion plot holes in your script & it doesn’t matter because it’s magic monster. “You’re reading a book about a monster! Plot holes don’t matter,”

I heard this constantly in GoT. Arya gets stabbed many times in the abdomen, falls into filthy water but somehow manages to get out and crawl to a theatrical tent where an actress puts a bandage on her& feeds her soup. She’s fine. She also used to get beaten to a pulp by the same person who stabbed her & never had a bruise on her. “It’s a show with dragons & ice monsters! Of course it doesn’t make sense.”

Can’t we do better than that? Are we so dumbed down we have to yell “magic!” instead of resolving plot in a logical way?

I actually enjoy a tasteful smidge of magical realism here and there in these sorts of stories (see: True Detective season 1). But monsters... yeah, that's a bit too much for me as well.

I also don't mind magical realism. This monster is silly, though.

Another trope overused here is the solemn camera drone silently flying over trees, over neighborhoods, as seen is almost every movie and tv show in the last 10 years. Enough of it!

I do think the Australian mumbler is very attractive.

The super stabilised HD drone shots are actually fairly recent, though like I said upthread, they're starting to be overused as well.

Are the girls in private school? You cant expel students in private or public school because students & parents are bullying them. And it’s highly illogical townspeople would blame the girls & bully them. Also, it’s not logical in the 21st century that the school administrators would feel there’s nothing they can do about it. Mom could sue their asses if they were a public school.

I burst out laughing when mom turned & said, “My husband is innocent” because the scene was so olive-green filtered & dimly kit and mom’s mouth is so wide, stretching across her face, that it felt like I was looking into an algae’d aquarium at a fish.

[Quote]“You’re reading a book about a monster! Plot holes don’t matter

What are you talking about? Only idiots would say this.

Just because something has magic in no way means plot holes don't matter. Everything has to work within the rules of the world, that is an important mantra of fantasy writing.

I remember that Arya sequence well, it was made fun of many places online. That was completely unrelated to being a fantasy work, it was just poor writing.

Fantasy and non-fantasy alike frequently has poor writing and plot holes. You can watch shows set in the real world without any magical elements and you are still going to be able to find plot holes and pick it apart. Some more than others, depending on the quality of the writing.

I can't stand the widow who does nothing but shriek, "This is over!" and "Get him out of here!" and "We are DONE!"

Will the monster's reasoning for appearing to the little girl actually be explained?

If the monster was somehow doing the evil deeds that the person it duplicates secretly wants to do, THEN it would be a interesting story. Like if Jason Bateman really WAS a perv inside and the monster is his evil self coming out.

But, no, it's another paint-by-the-numbers story of a goody-goody dad who is wrongly accused.

Mare Winningham looks like an old granny now. God, time moves on....

In any form of entertainment, has any cop on administrative leave EVER actually taken the two weeks off and did not keep investigating the case?

In any form of entertainment, has any cop on administrative leave EVER actually willingly worked with the appointed therapist? Not just grudgingly and then had major revelations?

Why is the SAME situation repeated exactly the same over and over and over in hundreds of books, tv shows and films?

LAZY.

Plus, cops being completely consumed by their jobs & their wives being middle class, understanding momwives, totally devoted to “this family” is another cliche.

I’ve have retired cops in my family. Once they were off the job, they were off. Like other people, they have BBQs, go on vacation, get drunk. They’re not obsessing over who killed the prostitute. There are other cops at work doing that job. Their wives are working class, loud mouthed beer drinkers who have jobs. They don’t sit around the house waiting for hubby to come home. And they’ve got babysitters, they’ve got daycare, they’ve got their own moms helping out. They don’t pat their husband’s hands. “Poor, poor you.” They say “You’re the one who wanted to be a cop. “

And they have very good lives with swimming pools, big houses, a boat, maybe an RV in the driveway. Their vacation doesn’t get cancelled because there’s a big case.

And how often do cops hire PIs, let alone autistic ones? Oh wait, I forgot that's the only kind of PI there is. In watching a jillion ID Discovery, 20/20 type shows I saw I think one case where police called in a PI. I’ve seen families on those shows who hire PIs. But only once did police call a PI. He wasn’t autistic, though. He was just a retired cop. But there was no magical monster in the case, so I guess they didn’t need a special, genius, know-it-all autistic PI who makes exaggerated faces. (Pained. Perturbed)

I think the reason Mumble Cop arrested Justin Bateman in public at a game was because he is mad that his son died (of cancer or an accident or something). Then this boy was killed & he was so pissed at how unfair life is that he was going to make an example of someone he “caught red mouthed.”

Will anyone look at a Justin Bateman the same again after seeing his vagina-mouth-beard covered in blood?

Will the stick be explained?

[quote]Plus, cops being completely consumed by their jobs & their wives being middle class, understanding momwives, totally devoted to “this family” is another cliche.

Cops' wives are usually total fucking bitches.

Do now they’re gonna run around chasing El Cuco In a Hoodie.

How come, as the Cuban woman says, El Cuco has been around since the beginning of time, but they’re just starting to notice him now, committing all these recent crimes? How come they haven’t figured out up until now that a monster has been assuming the identity of people & going around killing children?

I have no idea what's going on anymore. I just know it's full of filler and we're just waiting for the monster to be revealed.

I didn't know the story and I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

“Who were you told would come & get you if you didn’t go to sleep?”

Erm....nobody.

My culture wasn’t ridiculous enough to scare children with stories of a monster that would come & eat them if they couldn’t fall asleep.

r73, here's what we've learned basically so far:

*

*

*

Terry Maitland's (Jason Bateman's) blood and fingerprints were found on the murdered child, Frankie Peterson, and he could be placed near the crime scene, even though there is proof he was in Dayton, OH while the murder took place. Holly (Cynthia Erivo) discovered that two small girls were similarly butchered by a man named Heath Hofstader, who was an orderly at the nursing home where Terry's father is; Heath and Terry both fell together outside the father's door on a wet floor, and Terry bled when the fall happened. Heath Hofstader also was out of town when the two girls he is said to have killed were murdered, although again since his DNA and fingerprints were found all over them, he was found guilty of the crime (he committed suicide the episode before when he was about to be raped or shanked in prison). Holly found from Terry's co-worker that he had been in NYC before the two girls were murdered, and that he had had sex there was a young woman named Maria Caneles (now serving time on Ryker's Island) who also is said to have killed a child (again, because of DNA evidence) even though she could (again) prove she was in NJ when the murder happened. Holly meets with her, and she swears she did not murder the child. She also says she had sex with Heath when he was in NY, and she scratched him drawing blood.

Holly has theorized that the the killer of Frankie Peterson had to have been a doppelgänger of Terry because he could not have been in tow places at once, and yet people can place him at two places at once,and she notes many, many cultures have the idea of the doppelgänger, or fetch, that is a duplicate of other human beings but is not related to them genetically. It seems the doppelgänger is an evil spirit who was transmitted from Caneles to Hofstadter to Maitland, each time by blood being drawn. At the end of the last episode, Holly went back to talk with Heath's Latina coworker, who could not believe he murdered children. When Holly shares her story, the coworker tells her of the Hispanophone legend of El Cuco, a boogeyman who drinks the blood of children. He also thrives on the grief and misery caused in the wake of such murders, and Holly has discovered that just as Frankie's murder resulted in the deaths of his brother, father, and the two FBI agents, the murders Hofstadter and Cabeles are said to have committed resulted in the deaths of their family members and others (because of suicide, or because of revenge murders against their family members by grief-stricken relatives of the dead children). So it seems that the doppelganger is El Cuco, who may be a form of the devil, and who t5hrives of children's blood and the misery and death their dying leave in its wake.

Meanwhile, the asshole detective co-worker of Ralph, Jack Hoskins, has clearly been infected by supernatural presence that bit him on the neck in the barn (and which we can infer is likely also El Cuco), and is seen throughout the episode muttering to its unseen presence and acting strangely. It sounds also like this is the same unseen entity who has been telling things to Terry Maitland's youngest daughter in episodes previous.

[quote]My culture wasn’t ridiculous enough to scare children with stories of a monster that would come & eat them if they couldn’t fall asleep.

Same. I managed to do that to myself all on my own by watching X-Files once as a gayling. Big mistake. Big. HUGE. 😄

[quote] Holly found from Terry's co-worker that he had been in NYC before the two girls were murdered, and that he had had sex there was a young woman named Maria Caneles

That wasn’t Terry, that was Heath.

[quote] At the end of the last episode, Holly went back to talk with Heath's Latina coworker, who could not believe he murdered children. When Holly shares her story, the coworker tells her of the Hispanophone legend of El Cuco,

That wasn’t Heath’s coworker it was some rando Cuban woman who was visiting someone in prison in NYC when Holly was interviewing Maria Caneles. She overheard Maria & slipped Holly a note with her contact information, as do most rando prison visitors who eavesdrop on conversations in a huge room filled with prisoners & visitors (and not a room where each visitor uses a phone in a glass booth to communicate with the prisoner, which is pretty stsndardJ.

Terry’s daughter, being visited by a man who first looks like her father, then has a smudged face, then looks “inky” and muscle-y doesn’t scare her, he just makes her angry.

Sure, lots of little girls get angry but aren’t scared by the mush-faced monster man who shows up in their room at night taunting them. They’re more highly evolved than adults who’d wee themselves. “I think you’re tge one who is supposed to be scared.”

Yeah, not me. I’m a little girl being visited by El Cuco disguised as my father, NBD. Mumble Detective, on the other hand, should wet himself.

Oh, you forgot the best part. Autistic PI has met what seems like a Retarded Former Cop. They date. But is Retarded Former Cop what her appears to be, or is he some magical mutant playing along with Autistic PI to get information about her investigation?

And Paddy Considine was scratched by Terry Maitland, so is he going to be the next child killer? Or is he going to go on a buying spree at Lowe’s and furnish a patch of woods, like Obnoxo Cop?

Maria Caneles never said she had sex with Heath because she never did. She said they met and he invited her out but she blew him off. The sex part was a reveal showing that her doppelganger fucked the guy and scratched his back, infecting him. Heath's doppelganger then scratched Terry Maitland, infecting him.

People are really into this basic thing.

[quote]‘The Outsider’ Viewership Grows With New Episode High For HBO

But how did Maria Caneles get infected? Did Holly ask her “Do you remember being scratched or cut or bitten before this murder occurred”?

They measure across all platforms so they’re counting people who watch it twice because they didn’t get it the first time, which I had to do.

They have 6 more episodes. Did Holly not ask Maria Caneles if she was scratched so that they can pad the show & have Holly go back to her again instead of just asking the obvious question in the prison scene. Because duh, I thought Holly was trying to trace all the way back to patient zero. Caneles isn’t patient zero.

I actually enjoyed the fifth episode quite a bit. That monster is fucking creepy. 😨

It's absolutely amazing that no one in this series, set in the state of Georgia, has anything even remotely resembling a southern accent.

It's actually a blessing, R86.

Nor do they have anything more than one 40 watt lightbulb.

Omg, I didn't even notice the lack of southern accents, that is hysterical. 😅

They set some of i5 in Ohio, NYC, Chicago to muddy it up a little bit. There will probably be more locations as they “track”: Patient Zero and pad 10 episodes.

Paddy Considine as the bouncer at the strip club has been attempting a southern accent, which is kind of funny seeing as he is from Ireland.

Redneck Cop is doing some kind of accent, sounds more like TX or Generic US Redneck Speak.

The lead's mumbling lisp is all-encompassing, whether he's playing a baddie in a galaxy far far away, a black sheep brother in Florida, or a detective in Georgia. It can be anything you want it to be.

I find Mendelsohn’s acting very mannered to the point of annoyance, but to each his own. Some people really like mannered acting, esp on TV.

This week's episode is available if you want to watch it today and not wait until tomorrow night.

More of King's AA preaching in the new episode!

Funny last week’s episode was about 5he monster El Coco but subtitles called it “El Cuco.”

I think it's because the actress pronounced it that way for some reason. I actually rewound that part to make sure she actually said Cuco because I found it funny.

Wow, I never noticed the southern accent thing. Yes, a small town in Georgia, there should be lots of thick accents. Good catch.

They also don’t look uncomfortably hot.

And what’s with all the paneling and deer heads and moose antlerchandeliers or whatever? Is that a Georgia thing? Looks more Western, like Idaho or Montana

Judging by the leaves in those cemetery scenes, it's late spring / early summer, so maybe it wasn't so hot yet. But I think you need brighter scenes if you want to film your actors as sweaty, otherwise it doesn't look right - Sharp Objects (shot in Georgia) is an example of bright lights and scorching heat. Ozark is another show filmed in Georgia that uses the same filter as The Outsider and characters aren't sweaty or even hot there either. Although both of those shows are supposed to take place in Missouri.

Literally nothing happens in this week's episode.

"My wife drew a picture the hoodie monster that looks exactly like the picture of the hoodie monster that that car-jacking kid did. But it's just a dream!"

Mumbles has to know that the Bar Owner Who Doesn't Drink (NEVER seen that before either, King!) is going to be duplicated next and thought to be the killer.

I knew someone whose husband was a bartender who never drank. None of his bartender friends drank, either. They all saw what assholes people turned into when drunk and realized they were assholes when they got drunk, too. This was in Manhattan in the 90s, and he worked at a famous bar. His friends worked at high end bars too with clientele from broadway, publishing, politics & media. So maybe it’s a mostly high end thing

. Though my low class sister has a friend who owns a bar who never drinks either.....

White ex-cop sleeping with autistic PI got his official “you gonna die *for sure*” papers in this week’s episodes.

I predict nothing really happens in this entire series until the last episode.

Blast from the Past: I know I recognized Jack's mother from somewhere - it was lil' Denny Dillon who was an SNL cast member back in the early 90's.

The robotic dolphins were distracting. I was 6 at the time and even then I knew they were fake.

I think this is one limited series that would've worked much better as a two-hour movie. No need to stretch this out over ten hours.

This show looks like it’s being filmed in a dirty aquarium & it’s tiresome. Lose the fucking green filter.

I recognized Dillon immediately & she was trying to a “Hey Georgie!” Pennywise thing, but it was ridiculous & turned into a bad SNL sketch with her flying through the air. Why do all these horror films do the flying people thing? It’s not scary.

I’m sick of Glory & her screaming all the time. I think the director should’ve toned the actress down a bit. She’s very one-note.

The blisters on the back of the neck now remind me of the ticks the crows were eating off the wallaby in the video in another thread.

Bump

That was the scariest episode so far.

I've not been too impressed by this except Erivo's performance. It's really outstanding.

Love this show!

Why did no one post a Denny Dillon warning?! WTF!

If I've been paying attention correctly, Claude will be going after Tamika's baby, then it will feed on her pain?

I guess Tamika is being all shady because Hoodie Guy is in her dreams? I wonder what he says to her? Am I on the right page?

Oooh it’s so good

More screaming by Glory. I hate this actress. She's really bad. She just squawks at people all the time. I'm sure a better actress could've brought more layers to the character.

R112

Cynthia Erivo and Saoirse Ronan should've tied at the Academy Awards.

This is SO SLOWLY PACED.

But the acting is phenomenal. You could not ask for a better cast.

Cynthia Erivo is brilliant in this. Stone-cold brilliant.

I really don’t understand the accolades for the actors. The lead guy mumbles and looks uncomfortable. “I’m a guy who's not comfortable in his own skin. I’m gonna make sure I look like I’m really uncomfortable. Acting!”

The autistic person acts like she’s drugged & hypnotized. The widow shouts at everyone. No wonder...she lives in a dark, depressing house. The acting is regular tv acting. It’s no Sopranos. And what’s with these 2 non-police women telling the cop to get off the case because they’re going to take over. “You’re holding us back! You don’t get to do that!” How many police are actually on this case? The lead guy is on leave. The Jewish guy is a lawyer. The blonde mustache guy seems to be the only local cop assigned to the case. The Cuban guy is from the state police. So there are exactly 2 law enforcement officers on this case? A child murder case? Jack’s not officially part of the case. He told autistic girl he doesn’t know this case, he’s just picking her up from the bus stop as a favor. Then we have Mildly Retarded Ex Cop/Mall Security Guard who should be wearing a red shirt, because he’s doomed. Then we have Social Worker Wife of the Guy on Vacation who seems to be taking over the investigation.

When they said it’s been 3 weeks since the husband/not killer Terry was killed, I was like “Bitch it feels like a year of my life. Pick it the fuck up already. There are senior citizens & people with terminal diseases in the audience. They may not have long enough to live to see the end of this.”

And we have reached peak Stupid Horror Movie Tropes. “I’ll get in the car with this guy I only met yesterday whose head has become all beat up overnight, instead of telling him I think I’ll call someone & clear it with them because gee, he looks like a monster and I think he might be possessed by El Cuco. Should I trust him?”

Oh god when will this show finally end? It’s like an X Files episode dragged out for a year

It's a preposterous story. It completely lost me when the autistic woman explains to the cops that they must believe there are two dimensions in order to solve the murders and they go, Oh, OK.

What about when she gets kidnapped (was she kidnapped?) and was in the car with Jack (this series has more car ride padding then I’ve ever seen before). She says, “I thought he was taking me to El Cuco as a sacrifice, but I’m sure it just eats children.” Meanwhile, we’d already seen it had eaten a deer in the precious week’s episode, Then this week, it ate a fisherman & another deer. Sure, lady. It just eats kids.

And wtf about this guy Yune? They’re on a murder investigation of a child & he’s telling the non-cop Andy that the autistic PI can tell who’s going to die by looking at them? As a joke? Who would even think to joke about that after a kid was eaten, a grandpa with a noose around his neck came flying out a window, the teenaged brother of the devoured boy shot the murder suspect & was himself shot & killed; a previous suspect cut his throat in prison, his mother killed herself, his brother OD”d, his cousin committed suicide by cop and they’re on their way to try to prevent a supernatural creature from eating more children? And he’s joking about the PI being able to tell you’re going to die?

The hick brother (played by an Englishman) is too fucking hot!

This show is awful, though.

What a boring series (and I read the book). Apart from Cynthia Erivo it’s just a bunch of pasty white men I can’t tell apart.

Without posting spoilers, is the book worth reading? It is better than this series?

R124, it’s a not-bad pop fiction read. It’s much better than the series.

I absolutely love this show! It keeps me at the edge of my seat with the measured unfolding of the plot.

Erivo is spectacular in the role.

I just know the ending can’t be satisfying— it’s a spirit of some sort and we know that already

Don’t know if anyone mentioned this already but the police guy who is being controlled by the CuCu is the same guy who’s play the gay bear with the huge beard in Ozark who got electrocuted in the boat.

R127, there's this site called IMDB which lists the actors in a show, and you can see everything the actor has been in.

So, yes, it's him.

Oh, I thought he looked familiar, r127. Liked him with the beard.

I'm stunned you think this awful show is something you "absolutely love!"

Dull, dull, dull.

THREE episodes of "Ralph, if you don't believe, you are just impeding the investigation" on and on and on.

People fascinated by an actress acting goofy have helped dumb down our world.

I like it, too. It really doesn't bother me that dipshit on Datalounge thinks it's dull.

It’s bad.

I saw cop Jack in an old Law & Order SVU last night...playing a cop.

I had no idea Dean Winters was a regular on SVU. That shows you how often I’ve watched that show.

IMDB. Who knew this site existed? Thanks., r128!

I can’t believe this show was so boring and now, when it gets to the last 2 episodes........it’s still boring.

R122, the brother is played by Max Beesley.

Does anyone give a fuck what happens in this show anymore? I'm like, eat a fucking child for fuck's sake, do something!

To be specific, eating a young boy, r136. The book was on NAMBLA's recommended reading list for years.

How did Jason Bateman get to direct this show? Ask yourself.

I’m asking myself why they dragged this show out to 10 episodes. It could e been done in 4. Waste of a budget.

It's SO SLOW.

It should've been done as a 2-hour movie. They've really dragged it out with tons of filler.

Car ride: Tells long anecdote. Then — Do you believe in El Cuco?

Answer: I don’t know

Car ride: What’s this thing driving me crazy?

Answer It’s El Cuco.

Car ride: Are you a believer in El Cuco?

Answer: I gotta crush on the girl who believes in El Cuco

Car ride: Are you a believer in El Cuco yet?

Answer: Tells long anecdote ...

“Come in everyone. It’s time to get in our cars & look for El Cuco, even if we don’t believe in it. “

Multiple car rides......

I was so hoping the most recent episode was the final episode. Alas, it was not to be. DULL!

Spoiler: Three characters in the last scene are not listed on the next episode. They dead.

Imdb initially had Paddy Considine listed in only 3 episodes, R143.

IMDb uses cast lists submitted by the studios. The studios frequently withhold information to avoid spoiling the plots, then correct it after the shows air.

I just caught the end of the episode (or maybe the preview.) and somebody gets shot in the head. And I don’t care who it was.

What annoys me is how similar all the main male actors look—they could be brothers. It’s like they were looking for a type for the main character and hired all the runners up as the other main characters.

It's hard to tell them apart.

Yes and because of how it’s filmed - and only watch an hour once a week —i have to really establish who is who in each episode. Even the brother of the one character introduced in a recent episode looks like the two main male actors!

This show sucks. It only needed 8 episodes max. Erivo is a British cunt who steals roles from black women

Agreed on it being too long. I feel like I’m being slowly jerked off now to the point where I don’t care anymore. Plus I hate the way King randomly drops in storylines with minor side characters 2/3 of the way through his novels—and then weaves them into the main storyline.. I don’t need to read an extra five chapters about the life of the cashier where the main character buys cigarettes once.

[quote]To be specific, eating a young boy, [R136]. The book was on N*MBL*'s recommended reading list for years. How did Jason Bateman get to direct this show? Ask yourself.

Norman Lear's production company produced [italic]It's Your Move[/italic] the year before he unloaded it on Coca-Cola. River Phoenix was a guest star before appearing in [italic]Stand By Me[/italic], which Lear put up some of the money for.

Meanwhile, let me ask you this: how do you know what's on N*MBL*'s reading list, sicko?

Tbe character of Andy isn't in the book so you know he's a red shirt

The last episode was bad.

That ending was not worth the 10 hours that I invested in watching. The suspense and mystery about why El Cuco did what it did kept me invested but it just all fell apart in the end. The payoff was weak - the quick kill of the monster was too "BOOM, done, everybody go home". I don't care about Holly getting scratched.

One question: In the end credit scene where Holly sees a face in the mirror behind her - I blinked and didn't see it. Whose face did she see?

[quote]The suspense and mystery about why El Cuco did what it did kept me invested but it just all fell apart in the end.

Like most Stephen King stories, at least of recent vintage.

I don't see the face in the mirror, either.

This was like one of those copycat movies they would make of popular movies that capitalized on a popular film at the time—but change it up enough so that that no one could be accused of plagiarism. It was like a bootleg version of It.

Totally shitty ending and the series was a waste of time.

It was Jack's face. That s why she checked the back of her neck with a mirror.

They're setting up a season two. No way am I sitting through another boring ass series. All you need to do is watch the first and last episode. Even with cutting out all the in-between crap, it will be underwhelming

Brilliant storytelling that kept me on the edge of my seat week after week. The suspense was breathtaking. Thank you, Richard Price, for an exceptional television adaptation of King's novel; nobody does it better than you. The Outsider will be "Awards Central" next year come Emmys and Golden Globes season. Bravo.

Question: What was the significance of Ralph's wife burning the chair?

I think she burned the chair to get rid of any trace of El Cuco's "essence" (remember, Holly found EC's "DNA" on the chair). I think she just wanted to make sure that nothing of the monster was on anything near her house and burning it was like a cleansing.

Well, that's the last time Holly's gonna get a white guy to fuck her.

Why did Mary Sue say, "Who's Terry?"

Jack was clearly in the mirror.

Why did the camera linger around her braids, circling her?

Yes, I got the "significance" of the song.

R160 is a shill or insane.

Last week there was a scene where the DA is informed that another dead kid has been found. Did I miss the explanation about the dead boy... a red herring from lazy writers?

I think that was also a set up for series 2, R164....there’s another El Cuco out there.

R160 is just trolling. She does that in all threads of bomb tv shows, just to rile people up. “Happy Days is the best series American television has ever produced! Near-Shakespearean plots are so well acted, particularly by Tom Bosley & Marion Ross who are the Lunt & Fontanne of the 70s. The recurring character of Fonzie is sheer brilliance, harking back to the Greek chorus of the ancient world with his frequent commentary aside of “Ayyyyyeee!” Richie Cunningham is portrayed by the soon-to-be-bald Ron Howard in a delightful way.”

Neither a shill nor insane, R163. My opinion/taste in entertainment is no less valid than yours and, to date, we are both entitled to our views. Are you incapable of not resorting to slurs and juvenile taunts when interacting with others?

You're so bad ass? Go talk shit in Coronavirus' face!

Thanks for clarifying the chair torching for me, R161. Your read on it makes makes sense.

But when Holly showed El Cuco’s “residue” at the Mumbler’s house, it was on the table, too. They didn’t burn the table.

I thought it was a good show. I didn’t see a setup for a second series.

Was there a scene AFTER the credits?

In the middle of the credits, yes, but not after the very end.

I didn’t even noticed she was scratched

When they referred to the song Washington Square earlier in the series I didn’t know what song it was. When it was playing last night. I realized the song was stored in my brain. I must’ve heard it when I was a child because I knew the next notes that were coming. For some reason I associated it with a western movie, but I don’t think it was ever in a Western.

I hated the final episode. The murky cinematography throughout the entire series made it so that in the final episode I could not tell just who had been shot, or what the fuck was going on in that cave.

The adaptation of Stephen King's novel hasn't received the media attention of, say, Watchmen or Big Little Lies — but it's brought in more viewers than the former and is approaching the latter's mark in multiplatform audience. The Outsider is drawing the biggest audience for a first-year HBO drama since Westworld in 2016.

Sunday's finale drew the biggest initial audience for the show with 1.37 million people tuning in. That's a 16 percent improvement on the previous high of 1.18 million set a week earlier. Replays and streaming pushed Sunday's total to 2.2 million, a first-night high for the show.

The all-in audience figures for The Outsider are ahead of both the fall run of Watchmen (7 million viewers over a similar amount of time) and the third season of True Detective (8 million), which ran in January and February 2019 — and like The Outsider, aired episodes opposite the Super Bowl, the Grammy Awards and the Oscars.

Usually Stephen King adaptations are just so awful. I found this on to be well done.

Why didn't El Cuco just make boils erupt in the back of the Mumbler's neck in the cave?

I’m finally forcing myself to watch the last episode. What a disappointing series.

[quote]Mare Winningham looks like an old granny now. God, time moves on....

Sucks don't it Grampa?

Watching now, episode 2 why is it so ssssslllllooooooooooowwwww?

How do young gays manage to watch this if they can’t see themselves / identify with any of the characters? Must be boooooring....

You only watch things you can identify with? How queer.

Agreed but many discussions on DL on shows and movies always have some young queen taking about some movie that didn’t have young gay male characters they can relate to —so therefore it sucks or is boring.

I couldn’t tell if there were any young guys in the series because it was so dark & green all the time

Just such a disappointing payoff, but they set it up for a series if they want. I just thought the pacing was deadly for a thriller.

Here’s what most of the series look like

Does anyone else think lead Ben Mendelsohn just wasn't very good?

It was hard to tell given that all the main male characters looked like brothers

I thought Mendelshon sucked. My guess was that mumbling was the only way he could do an American accent. I’ve seen non-American actors do that before.

Seeing Mare W made me feel ancient.

Mendelsohn was fine...his played it glum and I love his lisp. I was surprised by the chemistry between Cynthia and the AWG cop. They were so cute together.

The last few episodes weren't all that good. The last episode especially but all in all they did a pretty good job it just petered out.

And was very "It" like.