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Tilt - Season One
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // PG-13 // June 14, 2005
List Price: $49.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
In the world of poker, when someone is said to be on Tilt, it doesn't mean that the table is slanted towards them because of a massive stack of clay in front of them; it refers to the tendency to play their cards based on emotion. If someone loses a particularly rough hand, they may start to play hands that they might not normally play, and play those hands very poorly putting themselves in an even worse situation than they might have been before. Poker can be a very emotional game for an amateur player, as they won't be able to detach themselves from the game as much as someone who's been training themselves to bottle every little emotion out of fear of giving an opponent the advantage.
Written by the same team who created the magnificent Rounders, David Levien and Brian Koppelman, Tilt is the latest original series for ESPN that revolves around the Las Vegas poker scene. This isn't the same poker that gets played weekly at home tournaments around the country, and this sure isn't the poker that we're all watching on ESPN and the Travel Channel, as this is the gritty backroom poker that can lead to men disappearing into the desert and lives being changed forever.
Tilt follows the story of three attractive card players on their journey to avenge a wrongdoing by a man known to the world as Don "The Matador" Everest, played by the perfectly cast spray on tan and polyester sporting Michael Madsen. Each of the three players, who may or may not be friends outside of their attempt at maiming The Matador has a different reason for them wanting to accomplish such a feat, but it takes time for these reasons to surface in the series, and as a result it takes some time to actually admit that you have a vested interest into these characters. Kristin Lehman plays the single named Miami, an attractive women who not only uses her sex appeal to rob men blind at the poker table, but is also quite the player; Eddie Cibrian plays Eddie Towne, the pretty-boy of the series who's character also provides some narration during the beginning and ending of each episode, which usually contains some sort of poker or even Vegas themed nugget; and lastly Todd Williams plays Clark Marcellin, the son of a rich man who's playing because it's a fun thing to do.
As the early season progresses, we see Towne, Miami and Marcellin as they build a bankroll large enough to allow them to tackle Everest at a large stakes game. They do this by entering closed door games that are frequented by the type of player that not only has expendable income, but also the overconfidence to enter a large stakes game with players whose skill level far exceeds that of their own. Eddie catches the eye of Everest with his play at one point, and they strike an agreement that when they play together, Everest fronts the initial purchase to Eddie who then feeds the chips to Everest throughout the night to help increase his take, as well as feed his reputation.
Subplots are commonplace through the nine-episode season of Tilt, one of the most prominent is the story of Lee Nickel (Chris Bauer), a small town police officer who ventured to Vegas to avenge the mysterious death of his brother Wayne, a man who was at one time affiliated with Everest, and subsequently came forward to try and explain the method of cheating that helped propel him to the top of the poker world. While this plot device does further the character of Everest I found it to be slightly lacking, and I can't place my finger on the reason why. I think that perhaps the main reason was that I didn't find Bauer to carry the character well, nor convey the emotion that demonstrated the reasons why he was taking on a feat such as this.
For a series that is based on poker, I found that the amount of cards played in the show is actually quite minimal; but this might be a good thing. By focusing a lot more on the characters off the felt, we get to feel for them and see them as more than the card sharks they are when watching the World Series of Poker for example. Even though the amount of poker played in the show was minimal, when it was played it was done very well and showed off the skills of the characters and in the case of the Matador, demonstrated his character even more fully.
The DVD
All nine original episodes are included in this three DVD set, with four episodes on two discs, and the finale and loads of supplemental material on the third and final DVD.
How's it look:
Each episode is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, and has been enhanced for the widescreen viewing audience. Throughout the series the quality of the video was very high, with dark interiors of the smoky casino lit by the ever present slot machines and some oddly placed lighting on each poker table. The only real issue I had was with some of the effects in the series, as it was obvious at times that blue screen projection was used for some exterior shots.
How's it Sound:
A Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mix is what we're given with this DVD series, and I found the mix to be very clear and crisp through each and every episode. As it's a predominantly dialog based show, most of the sound will be coming from your front speakers, but the rears are used to nicely convey the atmosphere of the casino.
Extras:
Seeing as there was only one episode on the third disc of this set, ESPN has loaded it up quite heavily with supplemental material, and thankfully a lot of it is quite entertaining.
Closing:
I found this to be a very entertaining look into the seedy underworld of poker, perhaps not fully at the level of greatness that Rounders was, but a very entertaining series overall. I think a large appeal of the show was not only the poker theme, but also some of the cheesy lines and interesting ways of pushing the cable TV envelope that the writers would add into the show. Early personal favorites were in the opening episode, The Matador excuses himself from a room to "relieve himself", only to be met in the washroom by a blond who is proceeds to pleasure Everest. Another great line by Everest (who got a lot of the good ones) was "I wipe my ass with $8000. $9000 if I've had chili.", so expect some level of cheese when watching this.
Should you run out and buy this if you're a poker nut? Well, if you're expecting a large portion of table talk and tips on how to improve your game, then this might not appeal to you. But if you'd like a poker themed drama with some interesting characters who you just might grow attached to, then yes I do recommend this title. I for one really enjoyed the 420 minutes of Tilt that I got to watch, and I look forward to seeing a second season. Recommended.
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