Billions Season 3: Capital Offenses

Hi everyone!

We are absolutely thrilled to have a new blogger on Fan Fun! The Tail That Wags the Dog is not only a big fan of Billions but also has a personal connection to the show, exactly like we do, but in a slightly different way.

With David Costabile after his performance in The Hairy Ape

Here is a short bio in his own words:

“I am a high school math teacher – mostly focused on AP Statistics. I also run the theater program at my school. None of this is even remotely interesting or relevant except that the school I do this at also happens to be the school that I went to, which is also the school that David Costabile went to. David was a year ahead of me in high school and I was a part of five shows with him. I say “was a part of” because I was an ensemble player back in the day while David was, quite naturally, the star. I have followed his career from when he left Tufts and moved to NYC onto Broadway, then to TV, then movies, then back to TV and now here on Billions. Having found this show, I am now completely enraptured by the brilliant writing and acting of this show, and my newest bucket list item is to be able to have a drink with Dollar Bill, or maybe even get Kelly AuCoin to follow me back. :)”

The Tail That Wags The Dog is most interested in the character development in Billions and keen on tracking some of our favorite characters during the rollercoaster ride they have over the season and give us his take on where they stand and where they may be going next. Let’s give him a warm welcome! Cheers! Continue reading “Billions Season 3: Capital Offenses”

Billions on Showtime, 3.03: A Generation Too Late

Billions Season 3, with “A Generation Too Late,” just got real dark, folks. Not the sort of dark that takes you weeping to a fetal position when it’s done, your poor heart bleeding from the pain of it. No, this episode is the kind of dark that makes you mad, even when you thought the madness had already reached its upper limit. I don’t mean the characters have become unrecognizably hateful and ugly and you want nothing more to do with them ever. Quite the contrary. This episode instead shows you how real breathing people in technicolor reality sometimes need to go monochromatic, all black and white, when those are the only colors left available to see the world. You feel sorry for them for losing their color a bit and you know it’ll come back eventually (it always does, it has to!) For this hour, though, it’s gone, baby, gone.

Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, 3.03: A Generation Too Late”

Catching up with Bobby Axelrod:
Billions Comes to Upper West Side!

As I mentioned a billion times before, Billions is my dream show! And not only because my favorite actor is in it, but also New York, from its landmarks to city parks to its distinct neighborhoods, appears as a cast member! As someone who feels the only home she has in the world is the city that never sleeps, I love it that the show is taking over New York, the big film studio that it is, and shooting all over the place, from Manhattan to Queens to Brooklyn to The Bronx to Long Island and to northern suburbs. I cannot thank enough to the show creators and show runners Brian Koppelman and David Levien for giving us a love letter to the city in Billions.

That said, one little problem I had until last October was, while they shot Billions all over Manhattan, they did not shoot a scene showcasing not only my but also Mr. Koppelman’s neighborhood, the Upper West Side, or as Lewisto and I love to call it, the Upper Best Side 😀 Continue reading “Catching up with Bobby Axelrod: Billions Comes to Upper West Side!”

Billions on Showtime, Season 3 Episode 3: A Generation Too Late

Talk about twists and turns — Billions is on fire!

As Ira and his girlfriend are having dinner at Craft, the new Halls are sitting at the next table recording their conversation. We do not know if it is her ordering $14 a gram white truffles, 20 grams of them, on her Tagliatelle with Guffanti Butter from Emilia Romagna (the region of Italy which I believe has made the most sacred contributions to human kind: prosciutto, parmigiano-reggiano, and balsamic vinegar)  but Ira hesitates to propose.  Since he has lost all his savings in Ice Juice, they cannot have the wedding she deserves, cannot go to the honeymoon they discussed and cannot even afford the engagement ring he has picked for her. He can barely give her truffles! Ira is in love and probably expecting his girlfriend to say she would marry him no matter what, but guess what, she wants to wait! Is anyone marrying for love anymore?  Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Season 3 Episode 3: A Generation Too Late”

From the Trader’s Desk: Billions S3 Ep2: Young Grasshopper vs Master Po

Happy Friday from the Trader’s Desk.

The title of my post comes from the TV series “Kung Fu” which features a student (Grasshopper) and a teacher (Master Po). I couldn’t help but think back to this reference throughout, and especially at the conclusion of this episode. Has the Student become the Master?

Axe behaves like a full blown addict in this episode. Some people are hooked on drugs or booze. Some on food or shopping; Axe is addicted to the thrill and control that trading, and making  big moves brings to him. It’s late at night, and he can’t sleep. It’s his first night of withdrawal, and he’s aching. You can see it on his face “what did I just do?” He needs to talk to the only person who can get him through this, and that is Wendy. Wendy is his sponsor in the AA of trading. Continue reading “From the Trader’s Desk: Billions S3 Ep2: Young Grasshopper vs Master Po”