Who's been watching? Your thoughts?
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Who's been watching? Your thoughts?
I've been watching, even though I nearly didn't when they cast Michelle Williams and K Michelle as Diana Ross and Martha Reeves respectively. But ultimately I'm glad I did because the story part is good and the acting is good. It is a pain though to watch some of the dancing, which to me sometimes comes across as if there was not an edict to the dancers to watch old episodes of Soul Train and study the way the dancers moved. It's even more of a pain to hear some of the music. The singing and the instrumentation sounds like music being made today as opposed to the early 70s. I think Babyface is in charge of the music on the show. I'm extremely disappointed in him. Absolute horrible job and might contribute to me abandoning the show before the next season.
But Sinqua Walls does a great job as Don. I didn't think he had it in him.
I have to agree that Michell Williams and K Michelle were awful choices for Diana Ross and Martha Reeves but Wayne Brady nailed Little Richard. I've enjoyed the storyline also and like you feel like some of the original music on the show does not have an authentic 70's feel. I never realized what a mean dude Don Cornelius was. Sinqua Walls was on the Tom Joyner show a few weeks ago and Tom commended him for really capturing the essence of Don. He said that Don was very charismatic but he didn't take NO stuff. Tom said he witnessed Don cursing out an entire Soul Train Awards audience. Also according to many interviews with the dancers it was Don's way or the high way and 2 pieces and a biscuit wasn't a bad trade off to be a part of the hippest trip in America.
Yeah this show really doesn't show Don in a great light at all. It certainly highlights his incredible feat of getting this show on the air and keeping it there, so I'm glad about that. But it really does paint him as a first class butthole. I'm trying to keep in mind that I can only take what I'm seeing with a grain of salt, that the real Don wasn't quite so bad.
Yes, I thought Wayne was going to be another casting dud but he really did bring Little Richard to life. Kudos to him. I also thought the woman who played Tina Turner on the last episode was very Tinaish when she was having the conversation with Don outside. I thought she did a good job.
I did end up watching every episode. I thought the acting was very, very good.
One thing that did bother me was the Martha Reeves segment where she appeared on the show itself. Originally, I believe, she lip synced, but on the recreation she sang live. I imagine that the live singing was a way to draw in fans of K Michelle who otherwise might not have watched the show or to introduce her to unfamiliar fans. I guess this could be said for all of the performers who sang live.
Sinqua Walls seemed to get even better as time progressed. As noted by RanRan79, I have to take Don's portrayal with a grain of salt. Based on true events and personalities leaves quite a bit of room for artistic liberties.
I actually wasn't planning to watch this for awhile but you all have piqued my interest. I'm going to start watching it this weekend. Makes me wonder what his relationship was with his son Tony, who was an executive producer of the series. If it was his intent to show his dad in an honest light, that's great. But if he wanted the world to see him mostly for his warts, it's similarly interesting but perhaps problematic.
Yes the lady playing Tina Turner was quite good and I also enjoyed Ike.Quote:
Originally Posted by RanRan79