On The Right Track

I caught the sneak of Luck, the new HBO series.  When I heard it was based at a racetrack I thought great, sounds like a little Damon Runyon action.  But coming from David Milch, it's a bit darker and grittier than that. As with so many of these launches, the pilot was directed by a name, in this case Michael Mann, but with Milch in charge it looks like the show will be about the writing.

It's set at Santa Anita, one of the premiere parks in the country. (And since it's closed much of the year I guess it's not hard to film there.) It's got some big names, headed by Dustin Hoffman and also featuring Nick Nolte and Dennis Farina.  There are also veteran character actors like Kevin Dunn and Richard Kind.

Hoffman is Ace, an old guy and top hood who's just done a little time in stir and now is ready to take over at the track.  We also meet those who work there, such as a trainer and a jockey. (There's also a track official played by an old college friend of mine, Don Harvey.) On top of that, there's a misfit group of gamblers who figure out the Pick Six (a one dollar bet picking six winners in a row) when the pool is over $2 million. In fact, when the show ends they have the only winning ticket and are trying to figure out how to deal with the IRS and other issues before they accept the prize.

I found the show entertaining if sometimes a little too arty.  Do we need all the fancy speeches?  Though I did like the camera putting us right in the middle of the races.  It also had the serious problem of not explaining clearly what the show will be about, which is the job of a pilot.  I don't quite understand what Ace's plans are (or why we should care) and I don't see how all the various character will interact.  But it was good enough to keep watching when it starts as a regular series in late January.