[Stephen@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

After my mini-Walking Dead marathon (seasons 4-7) I watched the 10 episodes in the first, and only, season of Vinyl. From the two-hour Martin Scorsese-directed pilot to the final episode, it is brilliant TV. If you haven't heard of it, the series follows Richie Finestra, the head of American Century, a record label in 1970s America and how Richie tries to retain the profitable artists, get rid of those who are no longer popular, and discover new bands, all the while battling his alcohol and drug addiction and stay happily married.

There are numerous people involved who were part of the creative teams behind The Sopranos and The Wire, and Mick Jagger is an executive producer as well as a music consultant. The acting, particularly from Bobby Cannavale, Juno Temple, Ray Romano and Olivia Wilde, is superb, the story and screenplay beautifully crafted, and the direction is brilliant throughout. Adding to this is the music, costumes, set design and everything else which goes into the period setting, which is always convincing.

Because Vinyl is so good without reaching the heights of the other TV shows I mentioned, it's a huge shame that Terence Winter decided to leave his position as showrunner (due to creative differences) at the end of the series, with Scott Z. Burns taking over, leading HBO to decide against commissioning a second season. I'll definitely buy the Blu-ray set sooner rather than later and rewatch it with the commentaries and check out the bonus features.

Vinyl also had a great performance from Andrew Dice Clay. It actually took me a while to realise it was him in the show.

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