666 Park Avenue

Just watched the first episode of this new ABC series yesterday, and figured I would create a topic to discuss.

Terry O'Quinn (which is honestly the reason why I started watching this in the first place), plays a great devil surrogate, building owner and businessman who offers to the people who rent an apartment in his building their most cherished wish ... for a price.

We follow the newest tenants in the building, who take on the job of managers. There are already weird things happening and secrets to unveil in the 999 Park Ave building.

I thought it was ok. There's definitely grounds for improvement but the premise is interesting, and the strong undertones of guilt and sin is something I hadn't seen in a series in a while.

The leads are fairly bland, but the couple who owns the building, played by O'Quinn and Vanessa Williams, is reason enough for me personally to keep watching. And the leads started in the pilot could provide for an engrossing mythology and possibilities for storylines featuring events underlining the past or the motivations of the characters.

Anyone seen it ? What do you think ?

Hmm...with a title like 666 Park Avenue, that has Number of the Beast written all over it! Uh-oh.

Well, it does seem mysterious and there are definitely supernatural things going on there. I wonder if Satan will show up at some point.

edited 23rd Oct '12 7:14:26 AM by TiggersAreGreat

Well, obviously.

But since they haven't really spelled out he his the devil, I can't help but hope they're going to go with a more roundabout way than usual with this type of story. I'm hoping it won't just be "what it says on the tin" and nothing more.

I've watched the first three as of now and I think they're setting up some interesting plot points. Besides the leads are slowly gaining some substance. Though mainly Jane (Rachael Taylor) to be honest...

It would be scary if it turns out the guy isn't actually Satan but one of his demon servants...because if a mere servant can cause loads of damage, imagine what his boss can do.

If you ask me, I consider Deal with the Devil to be a Pet-Peeve Trope. Why? Well, as the trope's page says, everyone who ever tries this trope always ends up worse off than before. When you consider how many times this happens, it begs the question as to why nobody learns and insists on continuing to try it. Still, some stories offer Fridge Brilliance: anyone in their right minds do know better than to accept such a deal. But...the minute something terrible happens, knocking the person off hir rhythm, and leaves them feeling desperate is the minute that they might accept this sort of deal against their better judgement.

I say all this, because a number of folks say that the characters of this show must be Too Dumb to Live to accept deals with Gavin. Maybe they are TDTL. Or maybe they too desperate, greedy or ambitious to think about the price and consequences of the deals they are making.

Aren't short-sightedness or desperation generally the reason people make a Deal with the Devil? Maybe I should familiarise myself more with the trope...

Well, we're only a handful of episodes in, and only the guy in the first episode had what was explicitly referred to as a deal. The woman from the second episode is more being used as a tool by Gavin, and the reporter from episodes three and four simply made an offhand comment about wanting to change the world with her writing, and he made it happen. And then she went to him for help, and he made her a deal to get out of trouble, but she was desperate, and so far it doesn't seem to have had any consequences.

Well, the reporter died.

edited 24th Oct '12 6:07:28 PM by nightwyrm_zero

Did she really? I didn't notice.

Well, death is a consequence of a Deal with the Devil. Do you think she'll go to hell for that? Actually, that's a question that I think fictional works haven't really explored. Maybe Gavin wants people to go to hell as part of a plan of his.

I've heard that this show has Rooting for the Empire going on. Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing, because a lot of people apparently wish they were the bad guys and not the good guys. But...it can be a sign of Bad Writing if the good guys are not legitimately interesting enough. At least it's not to the level of Star Wars, where even the writers think the Empire is good and the Rebel Alliance is bad!

The black widow from the second episode didn't die. Granted, she's in a sort of perpetual limbo, constantly at Gavin's mercy, but she's still alive.

It's difficult to say that there's Rooting for the Empire, because Jane isn't really aware that there's a conflict, yet. The show basically breaks down into two stories, so far. Jane's investigation of the Drake, and its supernatural elements (specifically the little girl that keeps appearing to her), and Gavin trying to influence Henry for some unknown but probably nefarious purpose.

Gavin is interesting because we don't really know much about him. We see glimpses of his true nature here and there, but they never give us enough to really nail down what his deal is. He's an enigma. Contrast that with Jane, who, as our viewpoint character, has all of her relevant information given to us. As we learn more about Gavin (and see him commit more and more atrocities with no apparent motivation other than greed) I'm sure he'll become the sort of villain you love to hate. The kind that you want dead, even though your really don't because it's just so much fun to watch him.

Kind of like ... Un-Locke then? I do sense a lot of the same Affably Evil vibes coming from Gavin.

As far as Rooting for the Empire goes, I don't know. I'm still not set on whenever Henry is Too Dumb to Live or just needs more backstory to flesh out his character. He does seem to display some borderline annoying "supernatural-proof boyfriend" qualities but then again nothing much has happened to him ... yet.

edited 25th Oct '12 2:52:18 PM by Akalabth

The difference between Henry and your usual supernatural-proof boyfriend is that the supernatural forces are specifically hiding themselves from him. Gavin needs him for something, but Jane is part of the package, and she's interfering. The only thing that Gavin probably doesn't have any control over in the Drake is the ghost of the little girl, and again, she seems to only want to communicate with Jane.

I'm hoping Terry's character isn't even a demon or devil of any sort, but just someone else who made a deal. He's middle management, to make a heroes qoute.

But I've managed to miss a couple of episodes, so my personal theory might have been jossed already.

I didn't see tonight's episode, but last week revealed that he's pissed someone off, and that someone really scares him.

And they've stolen a very important box from his safe.

I find it interesting that he's not some all-powerful devil. Also, it seems like his powers are location based. He only has magical powers over those who lives in or are currently inside the Drake. It's like he's a store manager at a Mc Donalds franchise.

We keep on piling up the Hitchcock homages btw.

After The Birds and the L.B. Jeffries-esque playwright now we have a nice replay of the Psycho shower scene in the latest episode.

We should do a betting pool. Next, Henry has dreams about falling off from the roof of the Drake, anyone?

Double-posting, just watched the latest episode.

I have something to address right now : to the annoying playwright and his wife's annoying assistant, just die already damnit. You're just getting in the way. And your acting is terrible.

On the other hand, Nona is gaining in new layers of backstory which I thought was interesting. And the cliffhanger at the end with the hidden staircase (beautiful special effect imo) is classic but well executed.

Wait, so this show is getting cancelled after 13 episodes? Ouch!

Then again, a lot of shows these days get show down pretty fast. So would 666 Park Avenue qualify for Too Good to Last?

Where did you see that?

No, because I didn't like it and I the quality control of the universe.

Happened just last week. Check the news sites.

edited 23rd Nov '12 5:49:08 PM by Nicknacks

Kind of seen it coming. Not much support (at least that I could see online), and it looked like the budget for the episodes was quite consequent too.

I wouldn't say it qualifies for Too Good to Last either. I enjoyed it but I don't think it's stellar. It could of course have improved over time but then again, more and more shows are getting kicked out like that. The most memorable examples I have on top of my head is Alcatraz (which I actually really damn liked), as well as Pan Am and Flash Forward (which were also on ABC).

edited 23rd Nov '12 6:10:08 PM by Akalabth

Why, on Wikipedia. I know it's not the most accurate thing ever seen, but it does have helpful information like that from time to time.

Seen last week's episode, What ever happened to Baby Jane ? (I see what you did there)...

I actually found it to be really clever. It nicely showcases Rachael Taylor's range of acting and turns her character into something else entirely. Loved the manic look in her eyes and the scenes in the hospital were effectively tense.

However I'm still convinced they should drop the doofus brigade entirely (the playwright, his wife and the girl next door), they just keep bringing the whole thing down. Especially considering all the good to solid acting around them they stick out like a sore thumb.

edited 2nd Dec '12 8:20:10 AM by Akalabth