Luck

[kingfin66]

Dang, I saw that this thread was rekindled and thought that maybe some unaired episodes were being released. Instead, it is just an argument about why it went off the air in the first place. It is too bad that it went away so quickly as it was really hitting its stride at the time. It seems pointless to argue about the 'why' of it a few years later.

[thespaah]

The issue with a program such as this is that it plays to a niche audience.
Luck should have been sold to a niche channel....
There are literally hundreds of channels which appear on cable and satellite as well as streaming services.

[PaceAdvantage]

None of them could probably afford the salaries the stars of Luck were probably getting...although HBO has always had the reputation of being a cheapskate when it come to paying "names" and often times "names" will do HBO only for the originality of the project.

But even at a reduced rate, I doubt any of those lesser channels could have afforded this show.

[thespaah]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

None of them could probably afford the salaries the stars of Luck were probably getting...although HBO has always had the reputation of being a cheapskate when it come to paying "names" and often times "names" will do HBO only for the originality of the project.

But even at a reduced rate, I doubt any of those lesser channels could have afforded this show.

Good point. But with that in mind, one must question the methods by which these niche channels survive.
But for those services being essentially rammed down the throats of cable and sat subs, they would not exist.
Cable and Sat providers are forced to take these bundled channels in order to put more popular channels into their respective lineups. Its TV Welfare.
With that in mind, it would not matter how much the producers had to spend on talent, they shows are there for their small audiences to view anyway.
Anyway, its water under the bridge. I think that stupid PETA thing is what caused the demise of "Luck"....

[ebcorde]

Originally Posted by elhelmete

TV is my day job; Vic is on spot here.

Greenlighting a season 2 is a decision made based on several factors.

With so many 'negatives,' low viewership is probably the last straw.

Additionally (I don't know about this series specifically), there are usually $$ incentives when a show goes beyond its initial season, bonuses to producers, cast, writers, etc. I bet they were HEFTY in this case.

okay , you are probably correct. They make mistakes. I watched Seinfeld before it caught on. Seinfeld didn't catch on for a few years.


TV and American movie industry produce way too much crap. Luck had great actors, I watched repeats many times just to admire the acting skills of Dustin Hoffman. It's always the quality of the actors, bad script, bad story a good actor can make it better.

The best series on TV now is Vikings. The freaking History channel of all places. now I got their music humming in my head.

[Robert Fischer]

Luck was the coolest thing ever because it was Horse Racing, legit actors, and HBO staged.

After that 'cool factor' which probably registers to a greater extent with people like us, it just wasn't coming together into the greatest show.

Like some of the challenges racing executives are currently facing, a lot of balls in the air, and a difficult task of reaching the audience.

The Peta issues ultimately provided a graceful exit.

[ebcorde]

based on real-life. The wise cracking guy in the wheel chair would die. Like when you go to the track and people tell you "hey did you hear, Bob checked out!". I lost 2 race track buddies 2 years ago at Delaware Park, I stopped going. It's not the same anymore.

I also wanted to see what Dustin was up too.
The Poker player guy will he lose it all at the casino?

[Robert Fischer]

Originally Posted by ebcorde

based on real-life. The wise cracking guy in the wheel chair would die. Like when you go to the track and people tell you "hey did you hear, Bob checked out!". I lost 2 race track buddies 2 years ago at Delaware Park, I stopped going. It's not the same anymore.

I also wanted to see what Dustin was up too.
The Poker player guy will he lose it all at the casino?

me too!

Kind of unfair to those of us who were into it, to leave us hanging.
I'm guessing the poker player would lose it all or be in deep trouble(at least from a vague memory of the show). Usually once they reveal a vice in a show like this, it comes back to haunt.

[ebcorde]

low viewership is a cop out after 1 year
.

The list of actors

Dustin Hoffman
Dennis Farina (RIP)
Nick Nolte
Jill Hennessey
John Ortiz (from the movie Miami Vice)
Richie Coster (from True Detective)
Kerry Conden (from HBO's Rome)
Joan Allen

Quality actors, yet They can't make a show last but "Seabiscuit" kicks ass?

I think it was the heat put on by PETA. A couple Horses died on the track when they were filming and they killed a Horse in episode 1.

[v j stauffer]

Originally Posted by Robert Fischer

Luck was the coolest thing ever because it was Horse Racing, legit actors, and HBO staged.

After that 'cool factor' which probably registers to a greater extent with people like us, it just wasn't coming together into the greatest show.

Like some of the challenges racing executives are currently facing, a lot of balls in the air, and a difficult task of reaching the audience.

The Peta issues ultimately provided a graceful exit.

That is spot on correct.

The ship was sinking.

PETA gave them an out.

If the show was rolling, heavily watched and loved they'd have told PETA to stick it.

[Stillriledup]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

That is spot on correct.

The ship was sinking.

PETA gave them an out.

If the show was rolling, heavily watched and loved they'd have told PETA to stick it.

I agree, peta wouldn't have stopped this if it was a hit show.

[v j stauffer]

Furthermore. The racing footage, while very cool. Was not necessary to the continuation of the plot.

They could have just as easily used canned footage and saved a boatload of $$. Even that wouldn't have been enough.

A few people were beginning to watch because of the development of the characters.

That's the genius of David Milch. His writing IMO opinion along with the world class actors would have made Luck epic. For us.

Problem is we keep returning to the 1000lb Elephant in the room.

99% of the people in the world, especially the TV watching world, don't give two flying ****s about horse racing.

No initial interest. No time to expand the plot and develop the characters. No viewership. No soap.

The only reason Milch started writing this in the first place is because HE so truly loves our game.

But even the Babe Ruth of screenwriters couldn't get anybody except race trackers to care about a series set at the racetrack.

That's our cross to bear people. We deeply love something that the vast majority of people ARE NOT INTERESTED IN.

Wish I knew how to change that. Wish we could get people to take the time to see what our game really has to offer.

Wish I was a fireman.

Wish I was center fielder for the Yankee's

Wish I was younger.

[thaskalos]

Comparisons with that other ill-fated ESPN show TILT come to mind...which sought to capitalize on poker's popularity at that time. Both shows portrayed their respective gambling games in less than what could be considered a "good light". The poker industry was against Tilt...and I got a hunch that the horse racing industry was against Luck.

Just my opinion, of course.

[senortout]

Originally Posted by Tom

From what I see, it is some kind of policy at HBO to never air anything worth watching. That would explain their everyday line up. LUCK was the lost time I tuned into HBO.

I can think of a few I've enjoyed:
The Sopranos
Boardwalk Empire
Deadwood
Game of Thrones(although not one of my favorites, certainly one of the most watched series of all time)

many others which I enjoyed. And Luck was ok.
this thread was crazy, some people even appeared to confuse the movie Let It Ride with Luck...go figger. But, Tom, I know what you meant, was just trying to pull ur chain a bit, all in good humor.

[davew]

HBO as the network (premium channel) probably did not help


even Jockeys lasted longer on AnimalPlanet

but 'reality' shows probably have lower overhead just following people around

(even though my mom feels that 'writers' script what the 'reality' stars say)