MovieChat Forums > Game of Silence (2016) Discussion > I'm glad it was canceled because it is a...

I'm glad it was canceled because it is awful

posted 8 years ago by sweetlyght
21 replies | jump to latest

I always try to give creative license when I'm watching a show or movie or reading a book. I try to accept their world as presented, shrugging off when cops don't call for backup, or when no one comes looking for a coveniantly murdered character, or when a couple characters are infected with stupid and do the obvious wrong thing. But, Game of Silence goes farther. Stupid is the main character, the driving force of the whole story. Every single character is so frustratingly stupid and flawed that none of them are likable. It makes no sense that they all would agree to pursue the legal route, but sabotage themselves so blatantly with violence every step of the way. And the fault lies entirely with the writing.

Obviously the script is horrible, as is the plot and the storyline. The writers came up with horrible abuses for these young boys in prison that somehow manage to make you feel severely uncomfortable, horrified and equally confused. So embarrassed are they by their own plot that they muddy it up so thoroughly that you don't actually know what happened to who accept for Gil. They're mad enough to kill, but no one will dare to say why. "What happened to us", "what they did". Who again? Who did what? Did the gangster who is blackmailing the police woman rape them all in jail? I don't know. I'm not even sure if that is what they were suggesting. I'm not sure how or why the gangster is working with the warden. Are we to believe that he had major drug connections while he was in a juvenile detention center? I'm confused. It doesn't help that we are so many episodes in and they're exploring so many characters that I don't quite understand who they are and why they're in the story. I don't understand the fiancé. Jackson's interactions with her just make him seem like a jerk, and I don't understand why we care about the firm or their clients. I don't understand why no one thought Gil was going to go back and kill the guard they interviewed. He is openly unstable and no one seems to notice. The treatment of women on the show is both feminist and chauvinistic. They just can pick a direction and commit.

It's not mystery enough to be intrigue. Not gritty enough to be exciting. Too outlaw to be a crime drama, Too apologetic to be an anti-hero, root for the bad guys action show. It is just convoluted, confused and murky. The whole "who is bad, who is good, who becomes good and bad, who is to be trusted" thing has been over done since Heros brought Sylar back one too many times. I see now why shows like law and order lasted so long. One driving storyline, thoroughly explored, with character development playing second fiddle to story telling fundamentals. In this show the story didn't take the lead, the characters didn't take the lead. Stupid took the spotlight. Just a lot of senseless chaos. I really wanted it to be good too.

[–] deetdee12 8 years ago

It also featured terrible research, anachronisms and dreadful acting...yet it even failed on the bad score, because it wasn't atrocious enough to be an entertaining hate-watch, instead it merely disintegrated into super boring...

[–] puredieselbc 8 years ago

I've noticed a couple shows like Game of Silence, The Family, Containment feel as if they were written by committee.

There is no singular voice in the narratives so the plots of these shows end up feeling very ambivalent...all over the place.

Too dark for network. Too light for cable.

Not surprised that all three were canceled.

Happiness must be earned.

[–] Ghostwriter14 8 years ago

Actually, I thought the show was rather well done, but I can totally understand how it can be confusing. They didn't say right away that the boys had been abused in the prison because they wanted to draw viewers in. And to clear up what happened to them (and this is my own deductions, I can be completely wrong with this), the four boys were terrorized/abused by the inmates and guards and the warden was in on it/condoning it and even had his own "favorites" (Gil being one of them). As for them not knowing that Gil was going to go back to talk to the guard, at this point, Shawn and Jackson were still going down the legal route to bring them down but Gil (who seems to be more impulsive than the other two) went off to do his own thing. Hope that helped.

I don't think more electricity is what this guy really needs. Just throwin' it out there.

[–] sweetlyght 8 years ago

No they did not say right away that the boys were abused in prison. They in fact NEVER said they were. It's all implied, which was kinda my point. You don't actually know what the gangster or his crew did to them. I can't help but think that's a flaw in presentation. If their going to base an entire revenge plot on what happened then why not include a dialogue where they actually confront what happened in a clear way. But even in a private conversation between the guard and Gil wanting answers they can't manage to use the word rape or molested, just a long list of disturbing insinuations. it is like they can't even commit to their own plot, or that it is way too delicate of an issue for them to confront... Which is weird because they built the entire show around it. So confront it or don't make the show, right?

And yes, Gil never seemed to be on the side of the legal thing, however (going back to stupid being the main character) despite Gil's obvious instability they leave him with the ONLY evidence they've collected. Legal remedy is actually so important that it can wait until tomorrow. Whatever happened to them was clearly only slightly devastating that they wouldn't have taken that directly to the police. I get it they cannot solve all their problems in the first few episodes, but bad decisions are the ONLY thing that seems to be pushing the plot, which says to me the story itself is bad. It would have been better if they gave the information to the police only to then discover that the warden knew about the murder Jackson committed. Or maybe they could have gotten revenge on the guard only to learn the warden was in on it as the season continued. Maybe they didn't need all the indecision of what they were going to do. Perhaps instead of them seeming like they're still stuck in helpless boyhood they could portrayed them as grown up men who could come up with a collective plan where the system was against them and not their boring, moronic mental states. The entire approach is just... bad.

And the Jesse/Jackson little plot is predictable to the extent that you can't like either of them. He's lying to his fiancé. She's visiting him in his office at work. He's siding with Jesse against Gil, as if it's not totally disrespectful and out of line. They were asking way too much from their audience to accept this show's reality. They were moving parts to create situations instead of having organic situations flow from them approaching their problems in a logical way. And I haven't even talked about the preacher, or the police woman's little brother, or the CEO woman (who seems to be the best actor on the show). Or the nurse. Too Much!!

[–] Ghostwriter14 8 years ago

Well, you also have to remember that rape/molestation is largely under reported as there's lots of feeling of guilt and shame that go along with it, especially for guys, which is the main reason Jackson hasn't told Marina (his fiancee) about what happened to him. Though I've never suffered abuse of any kind, in my own opinion, the producers who have worked on the show are doing well with show don't tell, but I can also see where you're coming from.

I don't think more electricity is what this guy really needs. Just throwin' it out there.

[–] sweetlyght 8 years ago

But we don't know if Jackson was molested... which is again my point. We know Gil was. We have some clue that Boots was. We really don't know if that was implied or not by watching the show, and I think that vague nature is the reason this show didn't have any steam.

I have hulu so I went ahead and watched the first two episodes right after the other. I wasn't loving it, but I thought it would take on some kind of intrigue, or that the senseless nature of Shawn and Gil would evolve after the shock of losing their friend set in and the resolve to confront enemies became their focus. But no, they keep doing stupid stuff that will only hurt themselves. It would make more sense if they didn't fast forward 25 years and just made it about the children after the 9 months. Then their behavior could be believable because they'd be children. But, they're not children. They're suppose to be fully grown men, who should be very experienced with how the world works. So why are they so simple minded that they keep involving themselves in needless crimes that are contrary to their goals?

And, no I'm not on board with their "good guys who murder people" roles. Either they're playing the good guys against the bad guys, or they should go total outlaw. At least then we'd know who they were.

[–] Ghostwriter14 8 years ago

Fair enough. I'll concede that ambiguity doesn't always work for a t.v. series. My guess is that with all of their emotions about what happened in Quitman coming to the forefront, they're not thinking straight and it's clouding their judgment. After all, just because they're adults, that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to make the right or the good choice. Jackson's at least trying and I can totally understand how watching Gil and Shawn continually make bad decisions can be frustrating.

I don't think more electricity is what this guy really needs. Just throwin' it out there.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] tb-sch 8 years ago

Compared to this The Family was pretty focussed, on the mystery as well as on the different ideas of "family". It fell apart towards the end, but compared to this steaming pile of tropes it had interesting characters and pushed the envelope by portraying the neighbour relatively differentiated. Also it had an economy which I miss in most shows, no matter whether mystery or crime drama: It did not throw pointless dead ends in the mix and it did not kill for effect. Its main flaw was that it was too suspenseful in the first episodes, which is something people can not decode anymore in linear tv. Suspense is for people who select content and watch it on demand. Everybody else uses the tv as the background noise while playing on the iphone.

I totally agree on the "too dark for network" part though. That is something grown-up shows will run into every single time. Everything which can be done on network has been done in the serious genres. At the same time cable has this advantage and too often uses it to the degree of pure gimmickry, being grittier than the actual content.

[–] engle_james 8 years ago

Wow, I disagree, I felt this series was much more focused than the Family. Well, maybe focused isn't the right word. What I mean is, the Family centered around one plot and one plot only- the kid wasn't really Adam.

With GOS, once the warden and his cohorts had been put away, the show could have continued by focusing on cases Jackson worked on while still interacting with the old gang. Marina defending Shawn was very interesting, for example. Gil getting into more trouble legally could cause a strain between Jackson and Marina, or Terry's brother could continue to try for redemption OR he could pursue revenge against them. This show could have kept going, whereas the Family was so centered on Adam's abduction that once that mystery was solved, there was no more show.

[–] tb-sch 8 years ago

Well, you describe exactly the pointless and uneconomic parts which with good writing would not have been necessary. Those are exactly what allows a second season. The less the main story arc matters, the easier a second season is to attach. It is a lack of focus and a lack of tension which makes a show have a shootout or a dead body each episode, something The Family very skillfully avoided.

[–] mgreen9715 8 years ago

Nobody was exactly holding a gun to your head forcing you to watch it.

[–] lferrigon-1 8 years ago

It would have been better as a two hour movie not a series which is stretched too long and the characters and plots were silly. Not telling your fiancee there are dangerous people out there was dumb.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] beauty_underneath 8 years ago

I don't agree, this is not the only show to do this. This is normal. Not stupid. Sorry, are you perfect? No, you are not. I am positive you are not perfect, and have not been perfect your entire life. You have made many mistakes, more then one. You have many weaknesses and flaws and insecurities. How is the script bad? How is the plot? That is why you watched the show, that doesn't make any sense.
People make bad choices if they're mad or scared or stressed. From the movie Frozen. It is very true. They might be "bad" choices, people are not perfect and they do them for a reason or reasons. Possibly to save themselves. both feminist and chauvinistic. How is it both? They just can pick a direction and commit. Do you mean they can't? Not every detail is important. Although the firm is important, we now see Diana is involved with Ray somehow.
e, but sabotage themselves so blatantly with violence every step of the way. Every step? I doubt it. Things will get screwed up. Nothing is perfect. The Show Revenge came to mind for some reason. There will be some senseless chaos but a lot? Also Gossip Girl. This is normal, most shows that are revenge, drama, scandal, gossip are this way.

[–] random_guy85 8 years ago

Your opinion which is fine. It kept getting better like "The Family" was, so I'm a bit disappointed

[–] starstruck3160 8 years ago

I concur 'random guy!!'

Tune in tonight for the finale on NBC, live tweet with cast & crew. We had it trending 4 hours on Thursday night!

“With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.” -Oscar Wilde

[–] ravmeltt 8 years ago

OP, I wanted so badly to disagree with you but I can't. While I got invested in the show and wanted to see it to the end (and still do), a lot of it has been frustrating, especially the flawed characters. Gil and Jackson irritate me no end. You are supposed to have characters, lead characters that you love, but the only one I have some likeness for is Shawn (maybe it's because he's so caring about Boots' wife and the baby and seems to care more about Boots than anyone else).

Jackson lied so much to his fiance and I can't understand why, because Gil's girlfriend ended up being the one to tell her. It should not have been so. Jackson should have been the one to tell her.

Gil is such a hothead that I feel I can go through the television and strangle him.

So I really won't grieve too much that it's been cancelled, though if it had continued, I would have continued to watch it, like a sort of guilty pleasure.

Teenage love affairs are about intensity, not longevity

[–] tb-sch 8 years ago

You are supposed to have characters, lead characters that you love

There are loads of shows with evil lead characters the audience hates as much as they love them. The difference is, that they are real characters and not a bunch of tropes we are supposed to root for. The problem is less that they are flawed but that they are acting so unrealistically and not understandable, just like the example you have given. It is a parade of morons I want to see punished for the way they acted.

[–] ravmeltt 8 years ago

There are loads of shows with evil lead characters the audience hates as much as they love them. The difference is, that they are real characters and not a bunch of tropes we are supposed to root for. The problem is less that they are flawed but that they are acting so unrealistically and not understandable, just like the example you have given. It is a parade of morons I want to see punished for the way they acted.

Yes there are shows with evil lead characters the audience hates as much as they love them, though I can't think of any right now. But I so wanted to love Jackson. Yet I think I liked him least of all. Mainly because of his deceptive and sneaky ways. His lies to his fiancee while always going off somewhere with Jesse. He almost made love to Jesse, yet he professes his undying love to his girlfriend. It was so hypocritical to me. And I blame him for her demise, because if he was honest with her, she might have been more alert and able to protect herself better. And what man knows that someone would want to hurt you and yet you leave your fiancee alone most nights while you go traipsing off with another woman, no matter the reason. I enjoyed the show while it lasted, for its suspense, but I must admit I won't really miss it.

Teenage love affairs are about intensity, not longevity

[–] casper51 8 years ago

That was your opinion. I enjoyed it. Thanks! 😠