It is difficult not to like Vinyl. Mainly because it takes place in a time period I love (the 60's and 70's) where music was created that still inspires to this day, and where artists who had talent, and played their cards right (with a little bit of luck), could actually make a living out of the rock 'n roll life most people only read about or watched from the sideline.
Vinyl has many story lines, some being fleshed out more than others, some are given to much focus, some to little, while others does not seem to pan out like the writers probably hoped for.
Like In the finale we are still circling around a murder that our main character did not even commit (I actually had to go back to episode 1 to make sure I remembered correctly).
Richie Finestra (played perfectly by Bobby Cannavale) is still plagued by the killing of Buck Rogers. The show sort of plays it out like he actually killed the guy, even though he simply defended himself and Joe Corso was the real killer. Finestra was "only" an accomplish, as he helped ditch the body.
This whole murder mess seems like a far fetched catalyst for Richies drug abuse which leads to him losing his wife and kids and almost the bankruptcy of the record company. I mean, they are living in the two most rock 'n roll decades I can think of. We don't need a murder to get things going.
If only they had focused mainly on music, and skipped the Godfather part as well as the murder, all the many interesting characters could have been fleshed out more, and their missions to find new music could have been so much more interesting. Seems to me like there has to be enough material in the music industry, that you don't have to resolve to gimmicks like murders and mobsters to make things interesting.
None the less, even though the season finale felt a bit like if-we-don't-get-renewed-for-season-2-it- is-okay-to-finish-like-this, the episode plays out great with Richie finally getting pay off on his gut feeling about the coming punk era, as well as Clark Morelle's discovery of Disco, which might lead the company to new, long sought after, heights.
I hope season 2, which has already been green lit, pays of on season 1's fragmented narrative, where it sometimes felt like the writers didn't really know which story to focus on, but still, none the less, held more captivating story lines than the opposite, will sort the good from the bad and present a more focused second season which hopefully will be even more about the music and the people of the era.
Vinyl has many story lines, some being fleshed out more than others, some are given to much focus, some to little, while others does not seem to pan out like the writers probably hoped for.
Like In the finale we are still circling around a murder that our main character did not even commit (I actually had to go back to episode 1 to make sure I remembered correctly).
Richie Finestra (played perfectly by Bobby Cannavale) is still plagued by the killing of Buck Rogers. The show sort of plays it out like he actually killed the guy, even though he simply defended himself and Joe Corso was the real killer. Finestra was "only" an accomplish, as he helped ditch the body.
This whole murder mess seems like a far fetched catalyst for Richies drug abuse which leads to him losing his wife and kids and almost the bankruptcy of the record company. I mean, they are living in the two most rock 'n roll decades I can think of. We don't need a murder to get things going.
If only they had focused mainly on music, and skipped the Godfather part as well as the murder, all the many interesting characters could have been fleshed out more, and their missions to find new music could have been so much more interesting. Seems to me like there has to be enough material in the music industry, that you don't have to resolve to gimmicks like murders and mobsters to make things interesting.
None the less, even though the season finale felt a bit like if-we-don't-get-renewed-for-season-2-it- is-okay-to-finish-like-this, the episode plays out great with Richie finally getting pay off on his gut feeling about the coming punk era, as well as Clark Morelle's discovery of Disco, which might lead the company to new, long sought after, heights.
I hope season 2, which has already been green lit, pays of on season 1's fragmented narrative, where it sometimes felt like the writers didn't really know which story to focus on, but still, none the less, held more captivating story lines than the opposite, will sort the good from the bad and present a more focused second season which hopefully will be even more about the music and the people of the era.
