My wife and I are big fans of The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, True Blood, and Sex in the City. Needless to say, we were excited about the arrival of a series with a pedigree like Luck. Hooray -- a totally unique drama, with interesting subject matter, starring more big names than a typical Hollywood blockbuster. After watching the first and only season, I'm amazed at how utterly awful this series turned out. Luck is a completely garbled mess with a disastrously bad script, which it tries to cover up with lots of style and music. If you are thinking about watching this train wreck, I have one word of advice – don't. If you have watched a few episodes and you're checking in to see if this series gets better, then let me tell you – it doesn't.Where to begin, where to begin? Should I start by telling you about the horrible theme song? It's the first HBO theme song that I have ever had to fast forward through. Should I start by telling you about all of the characters who mumble and are painful to listen to? Or should I start by telling you about the endless parade of side plots and undeveloped ancillary characters, whose fates we're supposed to care about, but don't?Nope. I think that I'll start by telling you about how none of the plots in the show make sense, and how they don't even overlap. Luck could almost be split into five different TV series, and you wouldn't miss anything. There's the feature story, that of Dustin Hoffman getting out of prison and scheming up what appears to be some kind of revenge against his former partners in crime. Dustin Hoffman is totally unconvincing when it comes to being a wealthy, gangster-esque criminal. Then there's the #2 story, the story of four racing junkies who practically live at the racetrack and sleep at a nearby motel. Then there's an Irish jockey, Rosie, and her boss Nick Nolte, who owns a fast racehorse and mumbles about the "horsekillers" who killed that horses father. Then there's the story of Leon, a young jockey trying to break into the business who has trouble losing weight, and his stuttering agent Joey. Then there's the talented old jockey Ronnie, who has had problems with injuries and drug addictions. Then there's the insufferable jerk trainer Escalante and his bitchy veterinarian girlfriend.There's almost no dialog overlap between any of these groups. I don't remember Dustin Hoffman sharing screen time with much more than Escalante and a few characters I didn't mention. The four racing fans buy a horse with Escalante as their trainer, but they pretty much stick to their own story. This is par for the course. You know how in True Blood and Game of Thrones, the first season started with essentially all of the main characters in one place as part of one big storyline? It's the complete opposite of what happens here.Within each of these little groups, there are all kinds of convoluted little stories -- stories where it sounds like there are years of background that is never given to you, and stories loaded with nonsensical behavior and huge plot holes. Do you want some examples? Here, I'll give you examples… A. The Four Guys talk about buying a cheap horse. One of them thinks it's a terrible idea. The next day, they chip in for that same horse for FOUR TIMES THE COST, and everyone is suddenly hunky dory about it, with no explanation as to why this one guy changed his mind.B. Dustin Hoffman's story centers on some huge scheme, whose workings we never understand. It has something to do with buying a horse track and casino gambling. We never learn if he really wants to buy a track or if it's just a ruse to get his enemies to invest in it. It doesn't make sense. His entire swindle/revenge plot is a confused mess.C. Dustin Hoffman hires a young hotshot to work for him as a go between for this scheme. He states that he hires the kid because he's both naïve and annoying. But then he's genuinely upset when the target for this unexplained scheme (Michael Gambon's character) angrily kills the kid. Why? Is Dustin Hoffman a complete moron?D. Rosie is in the last turn of a tight race. She has a fast horse, but she thinks that she might not win. So she whips it, and wins easily. Nick Nolte (the owner of the horse) explodes with anger, grabbing her riding crop and throwing it into the garbage. Rosie cries and apologizes a million times but she still gets sacked. She won the race, but apparently she wasn't supposed to work the horse that hard, or something. What if one of those other horses found a burst of speed and she lost? What did I miss here?Those are just a few examples of something that happens in every episode. You expect to learn something later that explains what happened, and you never do. In addition to the stuff that makes no sense, there's all kinds of stuff that you don't care about. Ronnie snorts painkillers. *yawn* The horse trainer is pregnant. *yawn* Dustin Hoffman has an awkward, completely devoid of chemistry romance with Joan Allen. *yawn* The only entertainment value in that part of the show is looking at Joan Allen's wrecked face.The only good parts of this show are Dennis Farina's character and the story of the four horse racing junkies. They have good chemistry together, and you actually care about what happens to them. That's the kind of quality that you expect when you watch an HBO series. Other than that, Luck is a complete fiasco.

Luck is the kind of grand sociological series that creator David Milch and to a lesser extent HBO as a network are known for. It presents a cross-section of one out-of-the-way spot in the dying world of horse racing. That sense of death and decay pervades the entire narrative, which stars an assortment of broken-down men headed up by Dustin Hoffman and extending to the quartet of hard-luck gamblers that are perhaps the soul of the show. And yet there's a sense of hope that occasionally shines through and makes it all not just bearable but beautiful.This all makes it sound arty and kind of dull, and indeed the series has a very deliberate pace that might turn some viewers off, although that's an essential part of its style. But even without the overdose of sex and violence you can get from other HBO series, Luck provides some exhilarating sequences, most notably the brilliantly-shot horse races. Add that to great writing and acting and you have a show that satisfies on every level.Well, up until the end, that is. Luck is doomed to be a one-season wonder, cancelled not because of low ratings but because of a series of horse deaths on set. It still works as a whole, but with only nine episodes, it's hard not to wonder what could have been. Still, what we have is a gem of a series, and well worth checking out for any fan of high-quality drama.

This was pretty much the best mew show out there... incredible story, directing, acting, writing, producing the whole lot of it. Dustin Hoffman, was so brilliant in this role it was mind-blowing. The whole cast was just perfect as actors, I enjoyed every moment of this. It seems these days that anything Michael Mann touches is really, really good. I think if this show would have got higher viewer ratings they would have fought the animal rights groups, but instead opted to pull the plug rather than fight the fight. The Human Society and PETA are two organizations that I do not like nor appreciate. They only want attention for themselves, but rarely do anything good for the actual animals themselves, which is sad, but true. Sue, sue, sue... is the only name in their games. Anyhow, don't want to veer to far off topic. Once again hats of to an incredible show.

Simply put, in one respect Luck is excellent, apart from plots and characters, because it gives entry to the world of horses and horse racing. I have learned a lot about the these subjects. Regarding the characters, they are a varied lot, in terms of acting ability and the personality/actions of the fictional characters.Nick Nolte is marvelous as a curmudgeonly trainer, while the semi-low life gambler characters who hang out at a tawdry motel are also very well etched and well acted. Dustin Hoffman uses retro method acting techniques in his performance, which often doesn't work for me. I can't get past the immediate impression that Hoffman's acting is just that: Hoffman acting. He strains my credulity most of the time. I don't find him real as a character.Overall, the show is entertaining, but lacks thematic depth (which isn't necessary in a t.v show, but it helps). The theme of the evils of obsessive gambling as reflected in the performance of the young card player fails to move me. For me , the theme of obsessive gambling and the destruction it wreaks has been done a lot in books, t.v. shows and movies. Perhaps I would be more positive about this plot-line if I didn't find the whole concept to be a cliché, a very negative one.When the show focuses on Nolte and the horses, it is top-notch. Also, the low-life track obsessives have a certain aura or charisma. As stated above, I don't find Hoffman's character or performance convincing. I understand the motive behind having him as character (very clever, sinister, an upper-echelon criminal and also humorous at times) but his plot thread is weak. It doesn't keep up with the others.