In EASTBOUND & DOWN, Kenny Powers, burnt out major league baseball pitcher turned PE Coach, ran from his failed life and ended up in Mexico. Here he goes by Steve, dabbles in cock fighting, and dictates his memoirs. Each week, he heckles the local baseball team until he is approached by the team’s coach who recognizes Powers and wants him to join the team. Powers has to decide if he is ready to come back to baseball after his comeback failures.
I had a completely different idea of Eastbound & Down based on the description. I also wasn’t aware of this show until I was asked to review it, I didn’t even realize it was the second season. All in all, I almost like this show. The premise is very solid. I immediately watched the second episode despite all the negative factors. Sadly, the execution is lackluster and makes me cringe. The show is a bit too crude, the main character is too much of an asshole, too immature, and there’s needless pessimism. And I’m a pessimist saying that!
Power’s personality makes me not care about his redemption, or the people around him who put up with him. But the show’s writing–especially the timing–is such that I’m drawn to care. And then Powers goes a step too far and I don’t care anymore. My guess is that the writers are going that ‘extra mile’ because the show is on HBO. I’d rather they toned it down as if it was network television. Because there’s a really good story in the second season of Eastbound & Down, if they’d get over the fact they can use the top 5 curse words and show breasts. In the end, I’ll be watching this show when I have extra time (and space on my DVR), but if I missed an episode I wouldn’t have a heart attack.
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