HBO's new drama series "John From Cincinnati", is certainly somewhat strange, mysterious, and somewhat hard to catch on to you really wonder just which way the next wave will roll. Yet the stress and miracles and problems of this California surfing family just pulls you as a viewer in and you feel like your part of the clan. It's set in a California beach coast town that borders Mexico and you have the Yost family and the family harbors three generations of surfers. First the legendary Mitch(Bruce Greenwood) then next his drug addicted son Butchie(Brian Van Holt) and then finally the new prodigy that's Butchie's son and Mitch's grandson Shaun(Greyson Fletcher). During it all the boys are held together by Mitch's strong and tough wife Cissy(Rebecca DeMornay) who's always on the lookout and very protective of Shaun, and quick to scold son Butchie as she urges him to change his ways. When a stranger enters by the name of John(Austin Nichols) a guy from Cincinnati strange things start to happen from medical miracles to floating above the ground like in air without standing on the ground! Also Luke Perry is pushing as a sneaking surf promoter who always tries to push his influence on the family. One good bright note away from this dark underworld is family friend Bill a bird talking and pro wrestling watching lover who' a great family friend, and I must say great job of acting from Ed O' Neill he's come a long way nice work he's doing in such a serious drama. David Milch really has the audiences thinking and feeling the pain of this family as one watching you just don't know what's going happen at sea. More and more has to be revealed about this messed up and conflicted family much should be discovered at the bottom of the sea. A good new series that's plenty interesting and mysterious that will have you as the viewer wondering and feeling the power of the strange forces of nature and miracles. Really it's nice to see good work again from veterans like DeMornay and O' Neill too. Really a pretty good pick up for HBO.
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ChaCha4410 July 2007Go ahead - those of you who love the show will automatically give me a "not helpful" rating and attempt to make my comment look like it was written by a second grader. Here is the truth, my truth anyway. This is a challenging show to watch. It took me four episodes to determine if I would be back for a fifth but I am and I will continue. It's building up to something that is slowly giving birth to the idea that we are going to witness something incredible. I just wish not every single character was so odd. There's no doubt in my mind that there's going to be some big redemption factor coming up. This is one weird show; I don't mind it being deep and mysterious but there is something about it that makes me uneasy - maybe that's good. All I can say is I hope it has a payoff that I'm "not expecting".
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From watching the first couple of episodes I wasn't sure what to make of this new series. It was a world that we've seen before, sort of. I mean, we've seen shows about beach communities(Flipper,Baywatch). We've seen shows about strange and wondrous beings among normal human beings(My Favorite Martian, Mork and Mindy and even THE FLINTSTONES w/The Great Gazoo). What distinguishes this story from those other shows is that even though the the situations are vaguely familiar David Milch slows things down and opens up the world to more than the standard situation conflicts that we're accustomed to. When a character can levitate when he's never levitated before is something you would see on 60's TV. But usually that is the only thing weird going on. You don't spend time on a telepathic parrot or a couple of immaculate conceptions. On top of that a lot of hard drug abuse, incest, communication with the afterlife and porn stars. Now with all that going on is Milch's signature writing style that forces the audience to pretty much pay undivided attention to what the characters are saying and what they are doing while they are speaking. Basically, this is another show too smart for its own good. I would have liked a second season. We don't get enough Rebecca DeMornay as it is.
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I am fascinated by this show. I have tried a number of times explaining to people what it is about, and I find it difficult. If I had to sum it up in one word I would say "redemption". This whole family is so screwed up and John seems to be there to help them heal, but in the most bizarre way! This has now become THE show that my husband and I have to watch each week. My only complaint is about the language. I realize that it is part of the character development, but I think I would still watch without every other word being an F-bomb. I hope the show catches on and people watch, but I fear a lot of people won't get it or will think is it too much work because it does require some thought. That's what I like about it, though.
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UncleTantra18 July 2007It is difficult to say enough good things about this series. The ensemble cast gives new meaning to the term; there hasn't been as wacky and as wonderful a cast since Firefly. There are standouts -- if Rebecca de Mornay and Ed O'Neill are not nominated for Emmys something is very wrong indeed -- but pretty much every one of the actors is spot-on.
Many people will probably comment about the odd paranormal events that start to happen when John arrives on the scene. Many theories will be generated about who John is and what he does to "cause" them. I see things a different way. The magic of this series, and the brilliance of its writing, is that despite the title it really isn't *about* John. John doesn't really cause these extraordinary things to happen to this odd group of people; it's more like his presence allows the odd group of people to realize what is already going on.
There's an old spiritual saying: "Before realization, chop wood and carry water; after realization, chop wood and carry water." Realization isn't about changing anything, it's about noticing what has always already been present. The magic surrounding the extended Yost family has always already been present. You want miracles? It's a miracle that most of them are still alive. But they've been so busy for so long now chopping wood and carrying water that they never realized how much of a miracle their lives were. Around John, they start to realize this. -
I live here in SoCal, and this show really represents a side we don't ever see in mainstream media. It is very true-to-life, aside from the supra-natural elements. What I would like to say about the show is this: I don't want another 'Deadwood'. So I was not disappointed in this at all. Where 'Deadwood' had a creeping dread that ANYTHING (usually horrible) could happen at any moment, this show creates a sense that ANYTHING (probably magical) can happen. The characters are all acting out of a sense of earnestness and love, however it is manifested. I love this show and would say that those who don't like it or get it are not it's audience anyway. They can go watch Deadwood or Sopranos on DVD. What we have here is something fresh and great. Watch it.
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liquidcelluloid-18 September 2007Network: HBO; Genre: Drama, Fantasy; Content Rating: TV-MA (for pervasive graphic language and sexual content); Available: DVD; Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);
Seasons Reviewed: Series (1 season)
An average day in the life of the distant, dysfunctional Yost family starts to get a paranormal twist when a mysterious stranger (Austin Nicols) shows up at the door of Butchie Yost (Brian Von Holt), a washed-up former professional surfer, and insists he should get back in the game. He can only speak by repeating back what is said to him. He can cause father Mitch Yost (Bruce Greenwood) to levitate. He can send images over the internet with cryptic messages. He can make people disappear and he has something to do with a parrot who relays messages to motel resident Bill Jacks (Ed O'Neill) - among other things. A reporter and what may be a secret organization hot on their trail are also thrown in the mix.
History will probably record "John From Cincinatti" as the show that aired after "The Sopranos" finale sent the country diving for their cable remotes more prominently than it will mention it as another series from famed "Deadwood" scribe David Milch. It has one of the most lively and fun opening title sequences ever to grace the premium channel. So good, in fact that Milch ("Deadwood") actually flashes back to it in the show's pretentiously empty ending montage. But I'm getting a head of myself.
While "John" couldn't be further away from the lawless wild west and Milch's trademark backwards sing-song dialog, it has it's share of frustrations. OK, more than it's share as the show gets increasingly trying with each outburst fueled, narratively empty episode. One of the chief irritations is how crammed it all is. Milch, apparently feeling that the John/Yost storyline wasn't enough crams the periphery with the several guests at a run-down surf-side motel. The HBO/beach bum version of the "quirky colorful characters" you'd see in a "small town" movie.
Milch tries to create a world here, surround us with a diverse ensemble and immerse us in a barren self-absorbed California wasteland that contrasts a tourist nightmare of a motel with it's love of the sand and sun of the beach culture. But Milch populates this world with aggressively annoying characters and pushes HBO's freedom to the breaking point with little to nothing to reveal with each episode and paranormal activities whose connection with each other remains locked in Milch's mind after a 1 season cancellation. It is a show about a love of surfing that will probably annoy surfers. A show about the paranormal that will annoy the sci-fi crowd. Where "Deadwood" had a "Sopranos" serial structure, it still moved. "John" has seemingly no structure, spending the entire first season running in place using the blank-faced, parrot-nature of it's title character as a literal screen writing roadblock to keep the story moving anywhere.
It's hard to feel for the characters in any way when they are either screaming their lungs out in a fit of melodrama (Rebecca De Morney is the chief offender) or doing things no one can relate to for reasons they, themselves, often have no idea why. Here is the thing. I'm all for weird. I love weird and I love original. But you've got to give me weird with something else. Weird and funny ("Flight of the Conchords"), weird with intelligent storytelling ("Lost") or weird with a swing-for-the-fences David Lynch style of visual poetry ("Carnivale"). "John from Cincinnati" is weird for the sake of weird. I might call it original if I had any idea what the hell it was trying to say. But either way, Milch's bizarre "Roswell" by way of "Step into Liquid" story fails to give us anything to hold onto.
"John" is another self-indulgent, pretentiously enigmatic TV treadmill whose sole purpose seems to be to send the audience away bored and befuddled and then demand they come back for more if they want to know how it all "fits together". But Milch, unlike J. J. Abrams or David Chase, has yet to earn that trust. Without that it comes off more like "keep watching if you know what's good for you and maybe we'll throw you a bone in a few years". Something tells me this show could have gone on for 5 years and we'd still be standing in the same spot.
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TheWillVega21 September 2007Now that the show is canceled by the time of this writing, I have to say i'm neither sad nor glad at the decision. The show was pretty deep and bizarre, especially when the title character John was there.
John (Austin Nichols) himself was probably the best character in the entire show. He was child-like in nature, but there was so much more about him that was intriguing to keep watching the show. His ability to learn by repeating sentences (and relentlessly repeats them), pull things out of his pockets, and heal were probably a few of the possibly many things the writers originally planned to do with him. We will never know now.
Greyson Fletcher as Shaun Yost is probably one of the worst casting decisions ever made. This kid can skate and (possibly) surf very well, but he sure can't act. Pro surfers like Keala Kennelly actually can act pretty well despite their actual profession, so this is simply inexcusable. As I read somewhere, this is reminiscent to George Lucas casting Jake Llyod as Anakin Skywalker in Episode I: it should have gone to a more capable actor and they should've been the stunt doubles instead.
The entire Yost family was interesting to say the least, they lacked a certain something that could've made their characters more engaging. I can't say the same for everyone else, especially Ed O'Neill and Luis Guzman who were very uninteresting and hollow in their performances (sad cause they are good actors). If the show had more compelling characters (and a few actors) along with the dialogue actually going somewhere instead of being overly dull and cryptic, this would've been a great show without a doubt. It has its moments (episode 2 and 3 were great especially of what the show should've done, as well as the John and Cass relationship), but ultimately it left me wanting more of "human" moments and less of the nonsensical ones. -
eastonhodges26 August 2007This show was shaping up to be really outstanding, and I cannot believe that HBO gave up on it after only one season. Once the story matured, people would be glued to their sets. I hate to see the best television station cancel their best new show made by a director who has delivered for them before (Deadwood). HBO shouldn't claim to be above normal paid-cable channels if they're going to play by the normal standards of network television. I just wish HBO would have stuck up for their most compelling dramatic series. The fact that Jon From Cincinnati was canceled after season one really makes the season not worthwhile. It's a very good show but watching will leave you with a fatty case of blue balls.
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glgioia15 June 2008Show had tons of promise, and created a great texture that was a throwback to the golden television era. But...it just kinda fizzled mid-season, as if they really had no master plan for what was to be, and just ham and egged the plot line. The more they revealed the true nature of the story, the dumber it became. It went from really cool and fresh to the final life-support season of Melrose Place in 5 episodes. I can hyperbole all night here, but i think you get the picture. Disappointing. So I don't know what to make of the whole project. Watch the first 3 episodes only? I cant really say. Personally, I can credit this failed venture with if nothing else turning me on to the amazing music of Joe Strummer, who's Johnny Appleseed backs the opening montage. Now thats good stuff!!
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fowler-1620 August 2007I've respected David Milch's work and looked forward to this series. But where "Deadwood" had bite, resonance, and an historical patina that allowed us to imagine Milch's compact, grinding, elliptical language filtered through decades of eccentric expression, this series is sadly pretentious. The cast is good (although Shaun reminds us that it takes actors to be "real"), generally doing an excellent job of believing and justifying. And some sequences rose above the rest, such as the brilliant surf-riding resurrection of John and Shaun. But the script ties vague, simplistic messages to a Saroyanesque story--a quirky parable of acceptance and renewal, laden with arcane spiritual allusions. The use of mythic action and the over-use of jargon, even pidgin, obfuscate the tale even for a careful listener (or CC reader). I suspect the mannered events and language were meant to make us labor for the message, the better to "treasure" it. But there's a huge difference between grasping and savoring truly complex concepts, such as one might gain from Shakespeare, Beckett, or Stoppard, and merely deciphering whimsical twists and bent lingo to arrive at a commonplace tale.
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This is an amazing show. I liked it from the beginning, but I enjoy it more and more with each episode. I can feel the families emotions. I have known families just like this. With multiple generations that share a passion and a talent but for whatever reason something leads one or all of them astray. I have found this show to be like a drug, I can not get enough of it. I liked some of the other HBO series over the years, but if I missed an episode it really did not matter, but today, with this show, it matters. I watch each episode several times, so that I can catch all the little things that I missed. you have to be open, to give it a chance, to try to feel the pain, the joy, and the confusion within each character.
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sensorshot25 October 2011This is the TV equivalent of being abused by a trusted relative. You don't believe that they could do you any harm and are too naive to suspect their psychological tricks. You just believe that this is the way things should be done and that there is something wrong with you for not enjoying it.
I ended up feeling that my trust in HBO had been chronically abused.
It's particularly ironic that this followed the finale of the Sopranos because many people felt they were cheated with that ending.
Maybe in a 1,000 years people will review top quality HBO as the eras "BC" - before crap and "JC" - John from Cincinnati.
The big downside is that I never trusted HBO again for fear they are dumping more pretentious crap on me . To this day my wife and I use the phrase, "the Zero and Ones in Cass's camera" as a metaphor for hinting how bad a show is.
awful.
oh did I say it was awful? -
bangermash17 October 2008Do not listen to any of the fanboy posts on this page, this show is an absolute disaster. The pilot is quirky and interesting and alludes to this huge strange world of the show that will be revealed...and then it just doesn't. It's amazing to watch, there is literally no development of the central plot after the first episode--I've never seen anything like it. Killing this sham had to be the easiest decision HBO ever made. I think my favorite part is near the end of the season when John gets picked up by some Hispanic gangsters, parrots back some slang, and gets stabbed and thrown out of the van...episode over. It appears that they had no idea where the series was going, and managed to dupe HBO along with anyone unfortunate enough to waste their time on it. I CAN NOT BELIEVE anyone would compare it to deadwood, they have absolutely nothing in common save the person behind the camera and a few actors. It's mind boggling that people would dream up these similarities like "speech pattern". Deadwood has some of the most stylized dialogue in TV/movie history! JFC is naturalistic dialogue fitting for SoCal. Very different. I love almost everything HBO touches, but JFC is just hot garbage. It's an example of how difficult it is to make these shows, and how even very talented people can fail completely.
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jgblackb14 June 2007I think this show is completely original and exactly what should follow something everyone else perceives to be the "best show ever". Don't get me wrong... I loved the 'Sopranos' and I loved the finale. But it's time to move on and I think a show like this; a show that actually makes you think a little bit is exactly what HBO needs. And I don't think this is HBO's excuse for a "Lost" (because I know that's what most of you are going to try to argue, because it's all you know). Everything else has been done, so we need to embrace a next step (Start writing if you think otherwise).
The whole point of this show (i think) is to THINK!, not just about yourself but about everyone else around you. -
mihalo-110 July 2007Terrific plot foundation, in the Hitchcock tradition, barely watchable at 1st, but the characters are interesting and compelling, But it tweaks you a couple different levels, grows on your like athlete's foot, by the end the 1st episode sold, complete with the expectation and anticipation of the next episode. Could be a very special show.
Best the characters are well developed, and wildly diversity. a few very strange people, but yet the ring true, in other words, strange enough to be real people.
Not a gift show to watch, reguires most of your attention, in this day of scattered and short attention spans, the show may be too much trouble for people to work. By the way, the opening theme must be added to the pod, any idea who they are. ???
HBO cancel this show, I cancel my HBO -
beav-719 June 2007The first episode was great, the second brilliant. If you are a fan of HBO series, then I would say this is a mix of Carnivale and Deadwood. When I heard that David Milch had a new series coming out on HBO I was able to curb my mourning for Deadwood! As in Deadwood, the cast is composed almost entirely of brilliant character actors (with two former TV stars, Luke Perry and Ed O'Neill). The writing is top-notch and it is set in Southern California in a surfing town near the Mexican border.
Honestly I always liked the sopranos, but always believed that Deadwood was a superior series. Well JFC is striking me as better than Deadwood....what does that say for it?
***After seeing a few more episodes I feel that JFC lost it's way but the last few have looked better***
Also regarding the question from one poster, the opening song is Johnny Appleseed by the (sorely missed) Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros. -
imizrahi20024 September 2008i had no intention of writing this when i set out to find out something about the show that i wasn't sure of(HBO or SHO)...but then i started reading the comments... i guess i knew from the first episode that this, like deadwood, wouldn't last...i sometimes got the feeling that the writers knew it, too...it was part of the show's 'wobble'...
deadwood, to me, was like Shakespeare set in the wild west...that's how i described it to people that i wanted to get interested in the show...no one came back disappointed...
but, as far as i'm concerned, that's where(besides the great writing) the comparisons need to stop... still, it would seem, from many of the reactions, that JFC was somewhat over some people's heads...probably about 3 feet over their heads. that might seem funny if you know the show... and, beLIEVE me...i'm NOT putting people down for not getting it or being angry over one aspect of the show or another...
a)when i first tried, after someone i thought of as musically well informed suggested it, to listen to steely dan's work(mostly 'pretzel logic'. this was in '74/75), i felt like, 'well i ALmost get it...'. and, being a musician and nyer, i felt i SHOULD've gotten it. and so i felt left out. and frustrated. cuz i knew it DID make sense from SOME perspective...some place of experience i, at 20something, hadn't arrived at yet...and that smudged my mirror...
b) i didn't like the second indiana jones movie. but, recently, speaking to people about it...YOUNGer people(not that i FEEL old...i just AM ;-), who said, 'i LOVED it', i realized...'DUH! that movie wasn't MADE for me...!!!' but i was glad for the first time realizing that there were a LOT of people who really got a kick out of it...
c)and, i'm sure you'll be happy, the last part... 'JFC' is zen on a surfboard...either is difficult...BOTH? near impossible to balance well...unless you know/feel the sound of one wave rolling... it helps to remember that there IS a valid form of art known as 'impressionism'...emotions/feelings are not only not mathematical... but they're also not predictable...chaotic, at times b/c they must react to the unexpected/unpredictable... you can not like it if that's where you're at, but to even TRY and invalidate it? i think that's more telling about someone having that sort of reaction than what the show, itself, offers... at least i'm glad for john, wherever he's gone back to...
and for you detractors... try starting out with steely dan and work your way up the abstract ladder... it might take 30 years or so, but it worked for me. shaka bra... -
Watched the first three episodes in a row and now we're completely addicted. The Deadwood- like dialogue is funny, raw and literate, and doesn't talk down to it's audience. I totally get the Carnivale connection too - there is a wonderful combination of realism and mysticism in this show, along with the sense that the episodes will always surprise you. It's so refreshing to be challenged by a series that never follows a formula and always makes you laugh. Wonderful characters, great acting (half the cast was on Deadwood) a complete delight. Everyone in my house is in love with JFC. WATCH THIS SHOW! This doesn't deserve to fall into the Brilliant But Cancelled category.
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thebug5012 August 2008After watching the first few episodes of this show, I was stoked...was the most excited I'd been about a show in years. Interesting characters...intriguingly vague plot developments that seemed to elude to something huge...but then a switch flipped. Coherence became taboo. Look...I understand that some people like a challenge...a big challenge even. Checkers isn't you're game. You prefer chess. This is the equivalent of playing chess blindfolded with pieces missing...and you get a smack across the face every time you make a move. Frustrating and pointless. Thank God the show ended...as I would have inevitably continued watching in an attempt to find that initial excitement again.
To the self proclaimed intellectuals that got off on this thankfully brief failure of a series...fear not. Go to your local museum or art gallery...find a nice lil abstract painting...and find the plot in that. FYI...the blue splotch represents your struggle to prove that less is more. -
E-un2 July 2007I take offense at the "Lost" comment. I'm a huge fan of Lost, but I love this show for entirely different reasons. And for the record, I can't stand the Sopranos. However... back on point.
JfC is an awesome show and I can barely explain why. It's smart, it's funny... very funny at times, and it just keeps getting more interesting. The first episode was quite slow but showed real promise. I said that I'd give the show two more episodes to prove itself... and now I find that I'm desperately looking forward to the next installment. And that's the only thing JfC shares with Lost. So I guess we have a winner.
So what else is so great? Well, the acting, the dialog, the characters, and the anticipation of what might happen next. Because it could go absolutely anywhere.
By the way, if you want to get an idea of what the show is truly about, look up "Monism." -
hardestheartedharlot21 August 2021Deadwood is so good I thought I'd take a look through Milch's back catalogue, I wish I hadn't. I'd suggest fans of Deadwood in particular not watch JFC. To see talented actors miscast and having to wade through the dross Milch has written here is tragic. Many of the actors cast in JFC played much loved and memorable characters in Deadwood to see them in something so slapdash is jarring. The young leads acting is disastrous. The plot, if there is one, is dire so too is the dialogue. I never thought to see the day when Milch screwed the pooch on dialogue. Don't waste your time on this.
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lists-18014 August 2007Finally a show that makes a person really think. Not just causally, but deep down. It is sad that others won't take the time to really try to understand it. I don't think anyone is really capable of understanding every single nuance, except the writer, and that is what makes it so intriguing and so satisfying. It was a show ahead of its time. Once the world gets over its CSI and LAO this, AmericanIdiot that, they will finally realize that they missed out on something completely fresh.
HBO, you should have given it a chance. You cannot write a novel in 10 pages. This show was the evolution of the serial drama.
To all that created, worked on, or even had a part in JFC, Thank You. Thank you for making me think, making me challenge, and remind me of how some of the best stories are not those in the limelight, but those in the shadows, looking for their opportunity to shine. I wish you all the greatest of success and let this just be the beginning to even greater horizons.
-jason -
fanjam9 June 2013The back story on this excellent series resides in three novels of California writer, Kem Nunn. So stretch your mind and read Tijuana Straits, Tapping the Source, and Dogs of Winter. You got plenty of time and the effort will be rewarding. Nunn's initial mystical twist on surfing cuts across the plot line and blasts out the barrel of the series finale like s surfer in a curling wave. Way too much fun with Christian liturgy and satirical leverage on the New Testament likely cut the series short. The series begins where Deadwood left off and bumps against the final boundary of the nation's frontier. The sport of surfacing provides a swell metaphor for the interface of religion and nature. Such a shame that HBO didn't have the balls to run another season. The fun had hardly begun.
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heffay1116 August 2007"John From Cincinatti" is one of the most intelligent, creative and challenging shows on television. It has more in common with "Twin Peaks" than anything else that has ever been on television. The writing and directing on this show is top notch. It has found that special place where they are taking an incredibly strange, somewhat unbelievable situation and are managing to make it feel like the most realistic show on television. Seriously, these characters are "out there" for certain but there is something about them that is more real than any other program on television.
The other great thing about this show is the cast. Every single cast member, except for perhaps a few of the younger cast members, is doing amazing things on the show. They are all standouts. All excellent. In spite of that, I have to add the Rebecca de Mornay is deserving of an Emmy for her performance on this show. Everyone else is superb, but she is lightning.
Watch this show. It's an IQ test. If you don't like it, you're probably not very bright.