HBO's prestige piece Luck was anticipated dramas

HBO's prestige piece "Luck" was easily one of the year's most anticipated dramas. Its creator David Milch had been responsible for some groundbreaking shows including "NYPD Blue" and "Deadwood." Film legend Michael Mann (director of Heat among many other great pictures) was also a driving force behind the scenes. And with Dustin Hoffman (not to mention Nick Nolte) stepping into television to take a leading role, expectations were through the roof with this pedigree of talent. The real life story of "Luck," however, made more of a noise than the actual program. Though the show opened to generally favorable, but cautious, press--the viewership numbers didn't exactly ignite a ratings maelstrom. Juggling dozens of peripheral characters, "Luck" was best appreciated by an adult audience with patience and fortitude. Its methodical pacing was a challenge to some and as various plot threads wound around each other, the early episodes seemed to lack a dramatic imperative. HBO backed Milch and Hoffman with an immediate second season approval, however, and yet this sophomore season was scrapped even as its filming was underway.

As "Luck" begins, Hoffman as Chester "Ace" Bernstein is being released from prison. The generally underrated Dennis Farina plays his right hand man, and the two have concocted a scheme where Farina would buy a prize winning horse as a front for his boss. This leads our pair to the stables where we meet a plethora of supporting players. There is a quartet of lovable losers led by inveterate gambler Jason Gedrick, a driven trainer with questionable tactics with his lady love and vet, a grizzled owner, several jockeys, a comical agent (Richard Kind), and any number of other personalities. It truly is a lot to juggle and not everyone is as developed to the degree necessary to maintain equal interest in the sideline plots. Some of the disparate threads overlap, some intersect, and some seem to exist in a completely separate world. While I was genuinely amused by Kind as well as our band of four low level gamblers, I was less impressed by other stories.