Well episode 4 was pretty rough. A river that looks like a shallow creek with the actors trying to pretend they were in danger. The daughter walking around looking at all the woman doing man's work came across as very smug. And then her playing piano while the Germans were splashing around -- the dude who had to give up the piano should have been playing! And going back to the Germans. The whole village couldn't swim because they'd get beat if they tried? Is there any history of something like that? And of course the endless monologue voice overs by her. I hope this was just a bump in the road because it was almost Naked Gun level silliness.

@mechajutaro said:

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are giving acting a go, eh? Having seen House Of Gucci a few days back, one must wonder how they compare and contrast to Lady GaGa's foray into thespianship?

Lady Gaga had been in another movie before House of Gucci. Now, I'm not saying that makes her a bonafide actress but she has acted. There have been plenty of musicians that have tried their hand at acting.

This site must not be real popular. I can't figure out why more people aren't commenting on this show. It's one of the most watched shows there is right now.

I will say all the performances are very good. I mean you could split hairs about how beautiful everyone's teeth are? Otherwise, I find the show -- with the exception of last week -- to be outstanding. Sam Elliot as a bad guy?

@terriecoleman said:

This site must not be real popular. I can't figure out why more people aren't commenting on this show. It's one of the most watched shows there is right now.

We have a small dedicated group. The website is a hugely popular database and used on many apps and websites. But I agree I'd like to have more folks commenting!

@felixxx999 said:

@terriecoleman said:

This site must not be real popular. I can't figure out why more people aren't commenting on this show. It's one of the most watched shows there is right now.

We have a small dedicated group. The website is a hugely popular database and used on many apps and websites. But I agree I'd like to have more folks commenting!

Have you watched episode 5 yet? I thought it was an excellent episode.

no! Didn't know it was out yet. There was a big pause on new episodes and I honestly don't know what day they come out. Watching today. My football team is out of it, and it's snowing. Perfect.

New Episodes are on every Sunday. But, it's going to be 2 weeks for the next new one after this week. It's snowed here as well this morning but it's now turned into rain. So, yes, perfect. LOL!

@mechajutaro said:

And going back to the Germans. The whole village couldn't swim because they'd get beat if they tried? Is there any history of something like that?

Well, there was an incident within Germany itself, which occurred in the earlier part of The 20th Century. Not being a historian, I can't recite the details of this incident ad nauseam, but apparently it entailed some Jews, Gypsies, Roman Catholics, and homosexuals not being able to jump the fence at Auschwitz, because they'd be machine gunned into swiss cheese if they tried. Apparently, events such as this and the one you're describing in the show aren't all that far fetched

That was mid century, not earlier part...

These "Germans" are stupid, but it's the writers fault, like how law enforcement was depicted in The Following.

Was it Really Illegal to Swim in Germany as Shown in 1883?

It's selective cherry-picking bullshit you'd expect from commentary shows on Fox news.

Unless it was fast flowing and clear, no one drank directly from a river without boiling the water. Considering the level of pollution in European cities, people had been boiling water for centuries. There are poisonous snakes in "Germany" too, so someone wouldn't go to the bathroom without checking their surroundings.

These "Germans" are depicted as wanderers, so they would've known how to ride and oxen are better than horses in pulling wagons.

thanks for that link. Big diff in having a town ban swimming due to drownings, and banning swimming through all of Germany --- which of course didn't happen. I'm regretting calling this thread What's Not to Like? because a few things do bug me. The "Germans" not knowing anything. I mean Sam Elliot probably taught them to wipe their butts too. The other thing that bugs me is the LOONNGG monologues by the young lady -- in a lousy southern accent -- talking about how how everything is wonderful but different for her now.. I mean she was almost raped in her hotel room the first episode, her friends murdered, drowned and she keeps droning on about love and loving nature.

Also, it bugs me that that "river" was a creek and easily to cross. If the stars can have a quiet conversation from one side to another it's not a river. Lol. I think that was a budget/safety thing during shooting but it was clear that the "Germans" could just stand up and they wouldn't drown. That episode is one that I wish didn't happen. And the poor guy had to leave his Piano, but they let what's her name play it all day long while "Germans" are drowning.

In Praise of Oxen

I still don't get the Sam Elliott character's animus towards oxen, as most pioneers' wagons were pulled by 'em and when times were tough, could be used for food. They weren't fast compared to horses, but these folks weren't operating on a timetable.

About Claire's comment about women and coffee, is this something the showrunner pulled out of his arse? I found this, The Revolution of American Drinking, and something about 18th Century women railing against coffeehouses, due to prostitutes frequenting some locations, but nothing against coffee being taboo for women, like smoking and maybe hard liquor.

Regarding women and trousers, not as rare as one would think, though there were laws against it in some places and not something worn in polite company, but out on the frontier, it might be worn under dresses if riding horses.

I'm not the only one bugged by the confusing geography...

I don't understand the geography of 1883's N. Texas. Someone help me out here.

If the Duttons are from Tennessee, wouldn't it have made more sense to start off from St. Louis if they were heading North West? If James Dutton could afford train tickets from Tennessee to Texas and put them up in a fancy hotel, couldn't he have paid for passage on the Transcontinental railroad? The Union Pacific passed through Wyoming and they could've stepped off on any of the stops and continued by wagon the rest of the way until they reached James' ideal location.

What was the Fare for Railroads and Stagecoaches?

Passenger train travel during the 1880s generally cost two or three cents per mile. Transcontinental (New York to San Francisco) ticket rates as of June 1870 were $136 for first class in a Pullman sleeping car, $110 for second class and $65 for third, or “emigrant,” class seats on a bench.

@felixxx999 said:

Well episode 4 was pretty rough. A river that looks like a shallow creek with the actors trying to pretend they were in danger. The daughter walking around looking at all the woman doing man's work came across as very smug. And then her playing piano while the Germans were splashing around -- the dude who had to give up the piano should have been playing! And going back to the Germans. The whole village couldn't swim because they'd get beat if they tried? Is there any history of something like that? And of course the endless monologue voice overs by her. I hope this was just a bump in the road because it was almost Naked Gun level silliness.

The swimming thing is understandable. Swimming was something most people never learnt to do until modern times. The bit about not being allowed to was stupid. The Germans not knowing how to handle guns was stupid too. They were farmers. Of course they would have had guns. Josef even talks about his military service (presumably the Franco Prussian war of 1870).

There are a lot of things that are plain stupid or inconsistent in this series. Still, I enjoyed it anyway.

They're actually ok mecha. I have no idea who McGraw is and Hill I only knew from a few songs 20 odd years ago, so I wasn't looking at these guys as singers turned actors. I think when you 'see' an actor as something outside the role then that can be hard to overcome. I think that's what prevented Bowie's acting career from really taking off. Onscreen he was always 'David Bowie acting', at least to me. Mind you, an actor doesn't need to be a singer or whatever to have this problem. The harder Streep acts, the more she is just Streep. But Katherine Hepburn and I seem to be a minority in this view.

Sorry guys but I finally got caught up. Wow! The last 2 or 3 episodes were amazing. Nothing like it on Western tv shows before. Just amazing. Really looking forward to the next season. It's a hard show to binge watch because it gets so sad at times but those last few moved. Now who wants to bet they change the title next year to 1884