Right from the start I was inundated with lingo and betting techniques, horse owners, trainers, claiming, buying ... WOW. The acting is so good and I appreciate that although I am probably like the majority of viewers, who know nothing about horse racing, they do not treat the us like idiots. I am learning as I go, picking up a little more of the subtleties as the season progresses. It's an entertaining show without a doubt; even if you are new to the racket.In short, I recommend this show to anyone who like sports, mob/crime or just really enjoy when bog names like Dustin Hoffman grace the little screen. On that note, this show is jam packed of well known actors from the big and small screen... give it a couple episodes!

I subtitled five episodes of "Luck", and although at times it seemed promising, and Dustin Hoffman was great as always, it always seemed like it never took off. The pictures were mostly beautiful, and everything was as well-filmed as a great Hollywood thriller, but the storyline couldn't keep up. Every episode seemed to simply faze out in the end with Dustin Hoffman falling asleep in his hotel room. I don't necessarily need a cliff-hanger like in Prison Break, where Michael Scofield said "We break out… TONIGHT!" at the end of each episode, in every single episode of a show like this, but there was barely anything in this show that made me want to watch another episode. Besides this, the dialogue was extremely cryptic. I've been making subtitles for a living for five years. At times I get a documentary about some strange subject I don't know anything about, so I have to look up a lot of things, but never before have I had a fictitious show, where the dialogue has been so difficult to understand as in this one. It wasn't so much that they mumbled, but the lines were just strange. Maybe it was supposed to be the way "real people" speak in this environment, but it didn't exactly help the viewer. This mostly happened when the four friends who were betting on race horses were on screen. They were of course at times using "insider language", but most often it was just non-sense they were talking. Although I'm not American, I doubt if most Americans would understand the dialogue in this show. I was lucky to have a script when I had to subtitle what Nick Nolte said. I would think barely any native speakers would be able to understand what he said, as it sounded like he was speaking through his death rattle.

Luck was an epic show. In only 9 episodes, it weaved together numerous, insanely complex story lines which many people probably had trouble following. But what started as a 'too dense for anything but pretense' project soon turned into an amazingly broad show whose characters included mafia, rounders, trainers, jockeys, agents, horse owners, and many others - to create an incredibly smart show which, in my opinion, sought to expose the world of horse racing to the many who are uninformed, or simply would not normally care. The characters and writing were top notch, and this definitely should have been allowed more time to flesh out.Hopefully another network won't be as scared of PETA and will pick it up.

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.