Stream It Or Skip It?: ‘Vinyl’, HBO’s Sex, Drugs, And Rock N’ Roll Ode To The ‘70s

Here at Decider, we’ve committed ourselves to watching the pilots of pilot season and reporting back to you on whether or not you should see these brand new shows all the way through. We’ve even drawn up a super specific, highly scientific (totally kidding) rating system. Below, we clue you in on everything you need to know about Vinyl, HBO’s throwback to 1970’s New York City as rock n’ roll tried to find its footing in a wild new decade. Backed by New York-born director Martin Scorsese and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and created by Terence Winter (The Wolf of Wall Street, Boardwalk Empire), Vinyl blends crime with the coke-fueled wheeling and dealing of the record business with Bobby Cannavale as waning label mogul, Richie Finestra. So how does it fare? Let’s break it down.

A Guide to Our Rating System

Opening Shot: The opening of a pilot can set a mood for the entire show (think Six Feet Under); thus, we examine the first shot of each pilot.
The Gist: The “who, what, where, when, why?” of the pilot.
Our Take: What did we think? Are we desperate for more or desperate to get that hour back?
Sex and Skin: That’s all you care about anyway, right? We let you know how quickly the show gets down and dirty.
Parting Shot: Where does the pilot leave us? Hanging off a cliff, or running for the hills?
Sleeper Star: Basically, someone in the cast who is not the top-billed star who shows great promise.
Most Pilot-y Line: Pilots have a lot of work to do: world building, character establishing, and stakes raising. Sometimes that results in some pretty clunky dialogue.
Our Call: We’ll let you know if you should, ahem, Stream It or Skip It.

Opening Shot: Close up: Richie Finestra’s (Bobby Cannavale) sweaty, worried expression. He’s in the driver’s seat of his seemingly swanky car (1970’s automotives aren’t exactly my area of expertise), sucking down a bottle of scotch and waiting on his drug dealer. After bumping up his order from an eight ball to a quarter, he rips off his rearview mirror and proceeds to divvy up his coke. Something, however, is obviously amiss. Finestra seems as if he’s on a mission to black out completely — possibly for good — rather than just blow off some steam. After snorting a line, he fumbles around his glove compartment and pulls out a NYPD detective card: homicide. After tooling with it a bit, he picks up his car phone, dials 9-1-1 and waits. Finestra is jolted out of his moral moment, however, by a fleeting group of crimped-haired, flare-jeaned, leather-clad rock n’ roll fans on their way to the (now, non-existent) Mercer Arts Center where the New York Dolls are rallying the crowd. It’s slow-mo pandemonium, basked in neon, before the building begins to crumble aaaaand hard cut: “5 Days Earlier.”

The Gist: While Vinyl features representations of real-life bands in their heyday — New York Dolls, Led Zeppelin, and so on — in addition to name-dropping various music industry influencers (Lester Bangs and David Geffen each get a shout out), Richie Finestra and the characters within his American Century Records inner circle are completely fictionalized. They adhere, however, to the climate of their business within one of the more trying eras for both New York City and rock music. The gist of Finestra’s story revolves around merging his failing record company with German Polygram — dangling Led Zeppelin as part of a package deal. Things go haywire, however, when Zeppelin backs out due to some bad business.

Our Take: A two-hour pilot is intense. But the cast — which includes Olivia Wilde as Richie’s wife Dev, Juno Temple as drug dealing record exec assistant, Jamie Vine, and Ray Romano as Richie’s (genuinely funny) partner-in-crime, Zak Yankovich — makes it worth seeing through to the next episode. Not to mention, if you’re a fan of classic rock, as well as a devout Scorsese follower, you will love this extended version of the director’s latest period piece.

Sex and Skin: I mean, it’s HBO so you know it won’t be lacking. There’s seedy club sex and plenty of lounging groupies to ogle over, but the pilot focuses primarily on Finestra’s journey as a lowly lover of the blues to an in-over-his-head record man. More to come!

Parting Shot: After the Mercer Arts Center collapses, Finestra emerges, unscathed, from the rubble and hobbles down the street to… his car? The arms of his wife? His office at American Century Records? It’s unclear from his dusty, smiling, and delirious expression what Richie intends to do after dodging a bullet, but from the look on his face just before the credits roll, he’s had somewhat of an “Aha!” moment.

Sleeper Star: Juno Temple as Jamie Vine. On a personal note, I’ve been waiting forever for Temple to have her big moment and Vinyl could very well be it. After all, the UK-born actress been grinding it out for years in the independent realm before securing small but impressionable parts in larger productions like The Dark Knight Rises, Maleficent, and most recently, Black Mass. Temple is like a chameleon and perhaps she stands out so strongly in Vinyl, because you really, truly believe she grew up in the late ’60s/early ’70s rather than the ’90s. Right on, girl.

Most Pilot-y Line: “So, this is my story. Clouded by lost brain cells, self-aggrandizement, and maybe a little bullshit. But how could it not be — this fuckin’ life. But hey, let me just shut up, put the record on for you, drop the needle, and crank up the fuckin’ volume.” — Richie Finestra

Our Call: Stream it. If you’re a classic rock fan who happens to love Scorsese and Winter meddle in a solid throwback, this is the show for you. Plus, costumes! So. Many. Costumes.

[Stream Vinyl on HBO NOW and HBO GO]

Photos: HBO