Fellow Travelers

[olivermoss]

I feel like I've been waiting about three years for this show, and it's possible I have. I think it was actually announced pre-panini press.



It's not the vibe I thought it was going to be. It's interesting, and I will watch it. But... the main characters are conservative gays. Some of the scenes are hot, but... conservative gays working for the GOP.

Comments

[mistressofmuses]

I don't have the necessary platform to easily/legally watch it... but I'm not sure I can get over the conservative gays aspect, tbh. Yes, yes, historical, before the GOP was the same kind of dumpsterfire it is now and all, but... STILL.

[olivermoss]

It starts in the McCarthy era and one of the guys is working for someone McCarthy aligned. The anti-commie anti-gay paranoia and witch hunts are in full swing.

I don't need them to be altruistic or have my politics, but damn. The tag line is something about two guys trying to stay together through a changing political landscape. Turns out, to navigate the turmoil

spoiler title

Matt's character tosses a gay guy who rubbed him the wrong way to the McCarthy witch hunts. This is not quite what I'd been looking forward to for years.

[mistressofmuses]

Yeah, I'm not one to demand moral purity from my fictional characters or my media as a whole, but... there are still certain things I'm *not* really able to enjoy in my fiction, and even if I don't have to morally mesh with a main character, I usually want them to not BE AWFUL. (I can ENJOY awful, irredeemable characters, even; but generally the story isn't simultaneously asking me to look on them sympathetically.)

That... doesn't sound great. Maybe it gets better and there's a worthwhile arc coming out of the early stuff?

[olivermoss]

It starts modern day and time skips back so, it's not looking too good. It might make for an interesting story, but it's very different from what I expected.

I swear, since White Collar Matt Bomer keeps being in things that sound amazing to me, that I then really dislike. Also I need to rewatch White Collar at a point

[mistressofmuses]

Bleh. That sucks. I hope it is at least interesting, but it doesn't sound like what I'd anticipated from the small snippets I'd heard about it.

I should watch White Collar! I know it's been rec'd to me a few times, but I never had a chance to watch it. I... mostly liked Matt Bomer's character (as in, enjoyed watching) in that one season of American Horror Story? He seems like someone I've seen in way more things than I have actually seen him in.

[olivermoss]

White Collar is something special. It's no Leverage, but it's way more grounded in how things actually work than 99% of shows. The characters and their dynamics are also amazing. There are also certain tropes they either don't pull, or actively subvert. If you get a chance, I highly recc at least taking in the pilot.

But yeah, time...

[mistressofmuses]

Yeah, that's a lot of what I've heard about it! That it has a pretty decent understanding of How Stuff Works rather than being like... CSI-type "only how it works on TV". I've largely heard good things about the characters as well, and that they have good chemistry with each other. I think it's one I'd like if I have a chance to watch it.

But... time...

[profiterole_reads]

Good to know!