52 replies to this topic

[DimeStormRing]

Nashville looks surprisingly interesting, given that I'm not a fan of country music.

Added bonus, Powers Boothe seems to be doing what he does best.

[Nightmare Logic]

I am a fan of country music...add to that I am a fan of both lead actresses. Loved Connie Britton in American Horror Story and Hayden Panettiere was one of the few things that remained watchable when Heroes began taking a nose dive. So giving this show a very big shot.

[loriro]

Count me in as someone who is very interested in this. Tami Taylor can do no wrong, and I've always loved Eric Close. Some of the dynamics b/t the feelings (whether right or wrong) of the established stars who feel like the new "sensations" haven't paid their dues was pretty realistic in the trailer (and I loved the "auto tune" line!).

Add in the fact that they are actually shooting in Nashville, and I'm in...

[gpgurl50]

I'm also interested in the show. The auto tune line cracked me up. It looks like a lot of soapy fun.

[Irlandesa]

I'm glad someone started a thread. I am definitely "in" for this show. I already tentatively had it on my schedule because I like Connie and I like Hayden (Eric Close, Powers Boothe and Jonathan Jackson certainly don't hurt either) but the preview kind of sold it for me on its own. Execution is everything but it looks like what the dismal Smash could have been but isn't.

Some of the dynamics b/t the feelings (whether right or wrong) of the established stars who feel like the new "sensations" haven't paid their dues was pretty realistic in the trailer (and I loved the "auto tune" line!).

I agree. Another thing that felt realistic to me is the attitude towards the new generation's stars. It's a tale as old as time that the older generation tends to look down on the next generation's sensations. It happened with Elvis and the Beatles. It happened when country changed and became increasingly more 'pop.' And it's happening now with the likes of Taylor Swift (who Hayden is clearly modeled after...except maybe more of a schemer) and Justin Bieber.

That's why one of my favorite scenes in the promo is of Connie's character listening to Hayden's character's music, hating it while her daughters are enjoying it. Just perfect.

P.S. I love the title of this thread.

Edited by Irlandesa, May 20, 2012 @ 6:51 PM.

[DimeStormRing]

Add in the fact that they are actually shooting in Nashville, and I'm in...

I was wondering if that was actually Nashville and not Vancouver or something.

Edited by DimeStormRing, May 20, 2012 @ 7:19 PM.

[smiley13]

After being very ticked off with ABC over Pan Am and GCB, they may have me back with this one. I like Connie Britton on Spin City and Hayden P. was on Guiding Light back in the day. The premise of the show sounds interesting.

[lillybee]

Jonathan Jackson is a talented actor and musician. His band ENation is very good. He also did show tunes on Broadway Cares. I am so hooked on this show and its potential.

[DimeStormRing]

Jonathan Jackson is in this? I used to have a big crush on him like 15 years ago. Totally missed him in the preview.

[mishy]

Jonathan Jackson is in this? I used to have a big crush on him like 15 years ago. Totally missed him in the preview.

It's seriously blink and you'll miss it. I had to watch the preview a second time to look for him. When the Hayden character is walking in the hall on the way to the stage (?) she bumps in to him and says something "sassy", he's flustered, the woman he is with is irritated.

[Empress1]

Tami Taylor can do no wrong

Agreed. I'll be watching for Connie Britton. And with a Southern accent too? Yes indeed. (I watched American Horror Story entirely for her, and then stayed for Jessica Lange.)

[ethanvahlere]

I like Connie Britton, but I am awfully curious as to what the show will consider "old" country vs. "new" country, as they didn't sound much different to me (except for maybe the acoustic duet Hayden was doing).

[Nightmare Logic]

but I am awfully curious as to what the show will consider "old" country vs. "new" country,

Different people will have different opinions on what "Real" country is, but most will say the "old" country music had meaning and you could feel the emotion in them. And how real they were. "New" country tends to fall into the pit that most other genres do, its all cookie cutter music that has no real meaning. It sounds good but it is empty. I don't necessarily agree with it. I like many of the "new" country stars but too many of them want to cross over into a broader base and that is what makes the "older" country fans upset.

THis show looks like very interesting battle between the old and the new. Both types have the stengths and their weaknesses.

Edited by Nightmare Logic, May 21, 2012 @ 5:38 PM.

[biakbiak]

(except for maybe the acoustic duet Hayden was doing).

If you mean that scene in the bar/cafe that was Clare Bowen.

[DimeStormRing]

From USATODAY:

Most promising: Nashville (Wednesday, 10 ET/PT)
Friday Night Lights' Connie Britton stars as a country legend facing off against a young, pretty, wildly ambitious and woefully untalented rising star (Hayden Panettiere) in this music-business mix of Smash and All About Eve. Panettiere looks like fun as the auto-tuned bad girl, and Britton is one of those actors who almost instantly comes across as both real and sympathetic. Combined, you have a show that's already being discussed as one of fall's frontrunners, though it's a long, long time from May to September.

Most promising! That's great to hear.

[slasherboy]

Ooooooooh, I love the trailer. I live right here in Nashville and think I'm really going to like this show. Maybe I'll see them filming someday. That would be fun.

[DimeStormRing]

Have there been any reviews of the pilot yet?

Info from the TCAs:
http://beta.abc.go.c...og/all/tca-blog

Edited by DimeStormRing, Jul 31, 2012 @ 3:00 PM.

[MethodActor05]

Another thing that felt realistic to me is the attitude towards the new generation's stars. It's a tale as old as time that the older generation tends to look down on the next generation's sensations. It happened with Elvis and the Beatles. It happened when country changed and became increasingly more 'pop.' And it's happening now with the likes of Taylor Swift (who Hayden is clearly modeled after...except maybe more of a schemer) and Justin Bieber.

See, this is the interesting thing- if she's about 40, that would put her as being contemporaries with Shania Twain and Faith Hill, who were the big country/pop stars of the 90's. Make her a little younger, and she'd be about the age of the Dixie Chicks, who were credited with making more traditional country music popular in the late '90's to early 00's. I think it would be funny if she were like a Shania Twain, meaning her music wasn't anything to sniff at, either- it's just you can't really be a country pop princess anymore at 40.

[kennyab]

See, this is the interesting thing- if she's about 40, that would put her as being contemporaries with Shania Twain and Faith Hill, who were the big country/pop stars of the 90's. Make her a little younger, and she'd be about the age of the Dixie Chicks, who were credited with making more traditional country music popular in the late '90's to early 00's. I think it would be funny if she were like a Shania Twain, meaning her music wasn't anything to sniff at, either- it's just you can't really be a country pop princess anymore at 40.

The impression I got from the trailer is that she's more of the tail end of the Suzy Bogguss/Pam Tillis/Patty Loveless era. Connie Britton's age is more in line with Shania Twain, but honestly, there's only about a ten year spared between the Shania/Faiths and the Suzy/Patty/Pams. And since it looks like her family has long-standing ties to Nashville, I could easily picture Britton's character seeing herself more in the lineage of the late 80's-early 90's country crowd. Still, while Shania and Faith may have been the start of the modern crossover phenomenon, there's still a huge difference between them and Taylor Swift. Faith Hill still recorded "country" songs, while the Swift era records music to be mixed and packaged for different audiences (these are generalizations, of course, but I believe valid generalizations). And this isn't a slam against Taylor Swift personally. She seems like a very lovely person, and I don't have much of an opinion about her music either way.

I'm very excited for this show. The cast looks great. I was raised on the Grand Ole Opry, Ralph Emery, and the Grizzly River Rampage.

[mscav]

When watching the pilot it looked like she was modeled after Reba era singers. I believe she is supposed to be mid-late 40's. The person who introduced the pilot said Hayden's character was supposed to be a bitchy Taylor Swift.

It is hard to tell how good this series will be based on watching a pilot as it is mainly geared at introducing the characters, and there are a lot of them. I did love all of the shots of the city, including the interior shots that were filmed locally.

I'm very excited for this show. The cast looks great. I was raised on the Grand Ole Opry, Ralph Emery, and the Grizzly River Rampage.

You and I both:) I practically lived at Opryland in my teen years. May have rode the Grizzly River with you some time.

[annonshay]

The pilot is up on Hulu and I just watched it. I'm from the Nashville area so it was fun to see all of those familiar locales and scenery in the show. We just took our first tour of the Opry this summer and I recognized a lot of the dressing rooms they were in! Anyway, I liked the set-up of the rivalry between Juliette (Hayden) and Rayna (Connie). It's hard not to see Juliette as Mean Girl Taylor Swift, but I liked it. The music was decent; that "Boys & Buses" song Juliette was recording sounded like something Kellie Pickler would release.

I definitely am more interested in the storylines having to do with the music business than the Nashville mayoral campaign stuff. My only other complaint is that I had trouble keeping some of the other characters and their relationships straight, but I'm sure I'll be less confused as the series goes on. I see the potential in this show. Hope it finds an audience!

[gpgurl50]

I saw it and really liked the show too. There's a lot of different dynamics going on which is interesting. I also didn't mind the music too much even though I'm not a country fan.

Spoiler

The one thing that seemed kind of weird to me was that the guy Juliette sleeps with (Randy) was one of the football players on "Remember The Titans." I remember HP telling a story about being 9 on that movie and she would sit on the guys laps and stuff and then she got to a certain age and they wouldn't let her sit on their laps anymore and she didn't know why. Now she has a makeout scene with one of them. Weird coincidence.

Edited by TWoP Nikita, Oct 4, 2012 @ 8:23 PM.
added spoiler tags

[mariah23]

I just watched the pilot and thought it was great. One question, was Powers Boothe implying that

Spoiler

Connie Britton's daughter wasn't fathered by her husband?

[gpgurl50]

@mariah23 I think so.

[Slade2]

I enjoyed the pilot and I'm happy about that. The Nashville preview was my favorite of all the previews. I admit I didn't expect the pilot to be so busy, but I thought all the story lines intertwined well and didn't make me feel as if I was watching three different shows. There are a lot of characters, but they're all connected and I thought that was really cool.

I think my biggest nitpick is that the guys look similar to me. I know Eric Close and Powers Boothe, of course, but

Spoiler

I had no idea who was on Juliette's couch when the other guy stopped by for a visit. And since it was the pilot, I wasn't sure of names so now I'm trying to figure out if she was with Deacon (who I assumed it was at first), or Randy (whoever that is) or Gunnar (is that the young man at the bar with the crush on Scarlett?).

And since I'm not sure if we have to spoiler tag our discussion now, I will. (I checked the FAQs and didn't see anything about early-preview protocol. So though ABC has released the pilot early, the show hasn't officially aired. My apologies if I've missed the rules about this, but I can always remove the spoiler bars.)

Spoiler

I was so glad a different boy was interested in Scarlett since her boyfriend came off like a jerk and will probably sleep with Juliette at some point. Her duet with Gunnar (?) was beautiful. I'm not big on country music, but I'd buy that in a minute. I'm looking forward to watching how that story line plays out. In fact, I think that's the story line I'm most interested in right now. The actress playing Scarlett reminds me of Geena Davis, which distracted me a little. I wonder if Callie Khouri saw that and wanted a young Thelma.

And because I'm even more shallow than I thought, I was so happy when we learned Deacon is in love with Rayna. I love Eric Close, but I don't know how interested I am in his marriage to Rayna. And once Teddy agreed to run for mayor, I was actually rooting for Rayna to leave him and try to start her own record label and remain independent from her family. But I feared Deacon and the rest of her band would leave her. Now that we know Deacon loves her, I feel he will always be loyal to her. Unless he's the guy on Juliette's couch at the end. That won't end well, but it will definitely add some drama to his relationship with Rayna.

And is Juliette trying to sleep with every man on the show? Of course, I hated her. But I was pleased she had a serious backstory. I'm not 100% interested in that story, but I think it had a lot of potential.

My least favorite story line was the political one, but I think it works well as the plot that brings together Rayna's conflict with her father and sister, her struggle to be independent and her rocky marriage.

Edited by TWoP Nikita, Oct 4, 2012 @ 8:22 PM.
added additional spoiler tags

[nerdyduck]

What a great show! I will definitely be tuning in and this is easily my favorite new show for the new season, and not just because there are a lot of pretty men in this. But it doesn't hurt.

[gpgurl50]

Spoiler

Now that we know Deacon loves her, I feel he will always be loyal to her. Unless he's the guy on Juliette's couch at the end.

Spoiler

Deacon was the guy on the couch at the end. Basically, Randy slept with Juliette earlier in the episode. Then he happened to walk in on Juliette in the middle of her family breakdown and she jumped on him. So, at the end of the episode he showed up at her house but she told him to leave because she had Deacon on the couch. She didn't tell him that but...

[TWoP Nikita]

Hey, guys. Just a reminder that until the show airs on TV, it's a spoiler. So don't discuss specific plot points and details without spoiler bars. Most of you are doing fine, but some are getting a tad too detailed.

And just in case anyone didn't see the post in the Tech Issues forum, this show is getting a full forum. It will be set up before the show airs next week.

[loriro]

Loved it! And I too live in Nashville and it was great to see so many exterior *and* interior local shots.

gpgurl50, thanks for the reminder as to what else the actor who plays Randy was in. I KNEW he looked familiar but couldn't place him.

Spoiler

Juliette is a bit of a tramp, and a bitch, but I did like that they at least introduced a reason. With her mom being a junkie, I can see that she'd have some issues, and maybe sleeping with men is the only dysfunctional way she knows how to get any affection -- since her mom obviously didn't give her any. That doesn't mean I was happy to see Deacon sleep with her! LOL
But lots of stories started... the political one actually intrigues me, as does the insinuation that Rayna's daughter isn't Teddy's.

And don't know if this is technically a spoiler, but I liked the little details, like the fact that her record label, "Edgehill" is named after an actual Nashville neighborhood just off Music Row, the fact that they had the real Grand Old Opry announcer up on stage talking, and real artists back in the hallways. For example, the guys that Deacon was talking with backstage were Del Mccoury and his band, who are one of the biggest, most acclaimed Bluegrass bands around. They are magnificent.

I loved the music as well. And that last song? It's a song written by The Civil Wars. I hope the songs end up on Itunes. I'd buy them. And considering the actors all did their own singing, I was impressed.

[annonshay]

loriro

Spoiler

<snip>...and real artists back in the hallways. For example, the guys that Deacon was talking with backstage were Del Mccoury and his band, who are one of the biggest, most acclaimed Bluegrass bands around. They are magnificent.

Spoiler

I think I saw Little Jimmy Dickens lurking in the background of the Opry backstage scene too, heh.

The song that Scarlett and that guy sang at the end did remind me of The Civil Wars, so it's cool to find out they wrote it! Obviously they'll be trying to get that song for Rayna but I find myself pulling for Scarlett to get a record deal of her own.