...but not hard enough.
I was really looking forward to seeing the pilot episode, hoping that they would "get" Memphis--at least a little. And it ended up being too little.
The Booker T & the MG's interlaced throughout is a nice touch. The bridge shots are good. I like the situation that was set up, and the resolution isn't too bad. Props for WHER & Gus's Fried Chicken.
That said, the accents are, to put it kindly, inauthentic. It's almost like someone just said, "give me your best 'Gone With the Wind' accent". Memphis contains many different accents, and many in Memphis have no accent at all. The neighborhood scenes are obviously not Memphis. Things grow here. A lot.
If I didn't live here, the show would give me a stereotypical view of Memphis--sort of a surface view, one that a tourist might see. I hope that as the show progresses, it dives a little deeper. Since it's shot in New Orleans, it may not have that chance. I love NOLA, but though the demographics are similar, there's a whole different vibe.
And the vibe is what "Memphis Beat" lacks. I hope it finds it.
I was really looking forward to seeing the pilot episode, hoping that they would "get" Memphis--at least a little. And it ended up being too little.
The Booker T & the MG's interlaced throughout is a nice touch. The bridge shots are good. I like the situation that was set up, and the resolution isn't too bad. Props for WHER & Gus's Fried Chicken.
That said, the accents are, to put it kindly, inauthentic. It's almost like someone just said, "give me your best 'Gone With the Wind' accent". Memphis contains many different accents, and many in Memphis have no accent at all. The neighborhood scenes are obviously not Memphis. Things grow here. A lot.
If I didn't live here, the show would give me a stereotypical view of Memphis--sort of a surface view, one that a tourist might see. I hope that as the show progresses, it dives a little deeper. Since it's shot in New Orleans, it may not have that chance. I love NOLA, but though the demographics are similar, there's a whole different vibe.
And the vibe is what "Memphis Beat" lacks. I hope it finds it.