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| Scene from The Get Down |
Welcome to a new column called Channel Surfing, in which I sporadically look at current TV shows and talk about them. These are not ones that I care to write weekly recaps for and are instead reflections either on the episode, the series, or particular moments. This will hopefully help to share personal opinions as well as discover entertainment on the outer pantheon that I feel is well worth checking out, or in some cases, shows that are weird enough to talk about, but should never be seen.
Leave it to Baz Luhrmann to do things unconventionally. After having a film career that revolutionized movie soundtracks with Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!, he has continued to make a name for himself with visually passionate films that may be at times vapid underneath its shiny coat, but sometimes produces some visceral and immersive moments that reflect the power of cinema. The Great Gatsby may be one of his only films to perfectly embody his visual flashiness with a source material that more than warrants its use. Even then, to call him a great director would be to assess aspects of his career. His direction is not a strong suit in the slightest, but his self-indulgence often is.
Then there is The Get Down. Netflix isn't new to the game of working with auteur directors on special projects. However, there hasn't been too many with quite the same outline as this hip hop drama that follows the evolution of a rapper from 70's New York to whatever stage he is performing at the beginning of the series. The two moments feel very distant from each other, but that's also because Luhrmann's pilot episode runs 90 minutes and covers a lot of small moments that feel inconsequential. The self-indulgent factor is strong with him, especially as a white Australian director dictating the black American experience. There's enough eccentricity to be fun, but there's also moments of awkwardness that wouldn't be out of place in a Ryan Murphy series.
It doesn't help that the series feels reminiscent of 2016's other music show Vinyl. While that series was about rock music, they both feel like attempts to shoehorn music history into something trivial and at times ridiculous. There's plenty of drugs and violence. The only positive separation that can be made is that nobody in the first episode is nearly as off putting in the ways that Bobby Cannavale was. Still, there's moments that drag on and leads to something resembling emotional resonance that only comes across as corny. This all would be fine, but one must consider that it's very expensive, with each episode costing a reported $10 million. Compared to The Wachowski Siblings' Sense8 and its globe trotting high concept, that seems both ridiculous and its attempt to be more cinematic. It achieves both in ways that Vinyl suffered from. The only hope is that the road ahead isn't nearly as convoluted.
Much like early Empire and Lee Daniels' lack of self-awareness, there is a charm to The Get Down that makes it seem promising despite being at times hard to take seriously. Still, the cast has enthusiasm and there are small moments that dazzle. Maybe the pilot shouldn't have been 90 minutes long. Maybe then it wouldn't feel so long and repulsive for those wanting to get into the show. Considering that most episodes that follow average an hour, it may be difficult to indulge this show the way that Stranger Things was recently consumed. Still, one can only hope that the unique vision of 70's music and hip hop culture leads to something far more mesmerizing and transcendent. Only time will tell if this gamble pays off. For now, it does seem like an inspired show for Luhrmann, but also hopefully one that will find its voice once it moves away and becomes more stable in its story. Like most pilots, it's an uneven series of brilliant ideas. The only question now is if things will get better or worse.
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