Dr. Tom Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 ESPN's latest foray into dramatic television, "Tilt" aired last night at 9PM ET, with a replay immediately afterward. Did anyone else watch it? Impressions? I thought they did a better job with the characters than on "Playmakers." The blonde girl doesn't seem like a very good actress; eye candy is nice, but in a dramatic series, you need someone who can carry the role. A couple of the situations were very cliched, like the two guys drawing down in the backroom poker game. Spoiler stuff: I don't like the fact that The Matador is a cheater. It'd be a lot better if he were just a really good player whom the casino regulars fear and the young players want to knock off. Make him a thug, but not a cheat. And I don't like that he's in cahoots with the casino owner. ESPN is probably going to give people the impression they'll get cheated if they go to a casino, and while that's possible, it's not likely. The mousy-looking cop was a surprise. I thought he'd be just a bit player from the trailer, but it looks like he's going to be a thorn in everyone's side. Now that he knows The Matador is shady, I'm sure he's going to turn up the heat, especially since the LVPD is in with the casino owner and won't help.
JJMc Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 Loved it. I'm just kind of an all-around fan of Michael Madsen, though, but it was still good.
Guest OSIcon Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 I thought it was alright. They put way too much focus on the cheating aspect though. I know it is supposed to be a drama, but they still could have created a sense of controversy without making the whole thing seedy. In the episode last night, not one player was just a "straight laced" goot poker player. You had the casino fixing games. The Matador cheated. There was even cheating and collusion going down during the satelite tournament. Poker is so popular right now that they could have made a straight up show about poker and it would have been well recieved. The Matador could have been portrayed as a "bad guy" without playing him up as a complete cheater. ESPN has been able to portray Phil Hellmuth as a good "bad guy" simply by his attitude so I don't see why the same couldn't have been done in this show. I think it'll end up like 'Playmakers'. That is, it'll focus too much on the drama aspect (cheating) instead of the aspects of poker that people are drawn too.
Hogan Made Wrestling Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 I loved it. This is going into my regular TV rotation for sure. The whole feel of the show was really appealing I thought. I would definitely like to see more pro player cameos, perhaps even having some of them do more than just poke their heads like like they did with Danny and T.J. I'm sure an egomaniac like Phil Hellmuth would be more than happy to play a part as long as it glorified him. I do agree that they played up the cheating/corruption angle a bit too much. On the other hand, they still haven't given away exactly how it happens (in the case of the Matador) unless I missed something. That's one card they need to keep in the deck so that the show has some decent suspense.
Rendclaw Posted January 14, 2005 Report Posted January 14, 2005 I liekd it, but I have to agree, the aspect of cheating was overplayed. Poker is a dynamic enough game with more than enough personalities to make a great TV series. I thought that it was going to be like OSI said, Michael Madsen playing a thug-like poker player and the three main characters all having a stake in wanting to take him out. It seems that the latter is the case, but as was said before, the cheating aspect was unnecsessary.
iggymcfly Posted January 20, 2005 Report Posted January 20, 2005 Yeah, I actually really like the show. I think the cheating aspect is good, because while the straight poker obviously neess to be involved, there has to be something to differentiate it from a game that you could go play yourself right now. The idea of building a bankroll to go in at ridiculously high stakes to bust a known cheater is just more intriguing than a straight up poker show. This show's number 2 on my weekly most anticipated list behind the O.C.
Guest OSIcon Posted January 20, 2005 Report Posted January 20, 2005 The idea of building a bankroll to go in at ridiculously high stakes to bust a known cheater is just more intriguing than a straight up poker show. I wouldn't mind it so much if it was just that the Matador had cheated those three out of their money and now they are back for revenge. Instead, there is cheating everywhere. Matador seemingly never plays legit. The casino owner is in on the cheating. The satelite tournament in the first episode wasn't even played legit, as one of the "good guys" cheated by dumping his chips to that other guy. They paint poker in general has this really sleazy game where you will be cheated everytime you play. Like I said before, I am all for drama and don't even mind a cheating storyline. However, this show (at least the first episode) made it seem like poker is all about cheating and nothing else.
Slayer Posted January 20, 2005 Report Posted January 20, 2005 I didn't watch it, but Page 2 had a fun little article about it The only problem is that I don't understand anything under the first number 9 (Ordinary, run-of-the-mill obsessive players looking to improve their games)
CanadianChris Posted January 20, 2005 Report Posted January 20, 2005 I haven't seen the show, but I haven't heard many good things about it. Daniel Negreanu (a pro who had a cameo on the show) went on record as saying the show painted poker in the most negative light possible, and that it didn't resemble anything he'd ever seen in the poker world. And the funny thing is, ESPN wants to promote their own pro poker tour! How is this show going to help that at all?
Slayer Posted January 20, 2005 Report Posted January 20, 2005 So apparently this show is to real poker what the NFL claimed Playmakers was to them
Open the Muggy Gate Posted January 20, 2005 Report Posted January 20, 2005 I thought it was ok. Like most of ya'll said, the cheating may have been a bit too much, but I can't wait to see tonight's show. Anyone know the name of that girl (Matador's daughter) in the promos? I've seen her before, but I can't remember her name.
pochorenella Posted January 20, 2005 Report Posted January 20, 2005 I thought you were referring to that old Brooke Shields movie were she plays pinball and stuff. Horrendous flick.
iggymcfly Posted January 21, 2005 Report Posted January 21, 2005 Damn, how can you not love this show. The second episode was even better than the first. There's enough depth to the characters to make them interesting, and yet there's plenty of new stuff every episode. This show's definitely on my can't miss list now, and I'm about one more episode away from calling it my new favorite.
Hogan Made Wrestling Posted January 21, 2005 Report Posted January 21, 2005 Damn, how can you not love this show. The second episode was even better than the first. There's enough depth to the characters to make them interesting, and yet there's plenty of new stuff every episode. This show's definitely on my can't miss list now, and I'm about one more episode away from calling it my new favorite. Agreed. I also liked how there was a lot less of the cheating aspect in this episode, and it was centered more around taking suckers for all their money.
iggymcfly Posted January 28, 2005 Report Posted January 28, 2005 They're going with reruns already? They've only had three episodes! How the hell do they expect to get people hooked on the show when they're doing reruns before it even gets going?
Zetterberg is God Posted January 29, 2005 Report Posted January 29, 2005 I was kind of surprised they killed off Seymour so early. I thought he was going to be a regular but I guess not. Anyway, I quite enjoy this show. It could have been some cliched pile of crap but instead it's turning into quite the series.
mike546 Posted January 29, 2005 Report Posted January 29, 2005 God damn that was shocking. Watching the comericals, I thought it was gonna be the cop killing somebody. I'm defintley liking the angle with the main guy, as to whether or not he'll stick it to his friends or the Matador.
CanadianChris Posted February 1, 2005 Report Posted February 1, 2005 I saw the third episode Thursday while I was in Vegas and I kinda enjoyed it. I didn't think the poker scenes were worth much, though.
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