Billions: the Long and the Short of it

Billions has arrived and it seems that the relationships will be the most important issues on the show. Therefore it probably is not necessary to be able to understand what Bobby is saying when he is talking about Lumetherm, Electric Sol and Southern Wind or what he says when speaking to the reporter about Arcadian Railroad.

However, generally speaking people do not like it when they do not understand something. In fact we don’t like not understanding which is why we  have added a Glossary to the blog with definitions for words that we hear on the show and make us go ‘what?’  We invite you all to let us know if there is a word or words you have heard which we haven’t added yet.

A big thank you to Lady Trader who took the time to look this over and ensure we have it down right.

There are two terms which seem particularly important to understand. They are both mentioned during the pilot and no doubt will be important moving forward.

They are “stay long” meaning long position and “go short” meaning short position. Bobby tells Danzig to ‘go short’ on Lumetherm. Bill later advises that they should ‘go short’ on another stock (Superior Auto) as well. So what does this mean exactly?

Long or ‘long position’ is where you expect the value of stock to rise. You buy this stock and own it.

Short or ‘short position’ is where you expect the value of stock to fall. You borrow this stock rather than own it. You then sell it. However, you must later buy the stock back.

source: Showtime
source: Showtime

Continue reading “Billions: the Long and the Short of it”

Billions on Showtime, Episode 1: The Pilot

source: spoilertv.com
source: spoilertv.com

So, Billions is finally here! It’s absolutely fascinating to finally meet the characters that we have speculated about for months. Now we will get to hang with them for 12 weeks and hopefully for years to come and I know we will not get enough of them!

Since it was the writing that impressed me the most in the pilot episode, I chose to write about it in our collective blog about our first impressions with Billions! Now I am happy to turn my utmost attention to the characters and their intriguing relationships for a proper episode recap! Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Episode 1: The Pilot”

DRUMROLL! Reviews are IN & Billions is a Critics’ Pick!

damian lewis, bobby axelrod
source: showtime

As Billions is premiering on Showtime tonight at 10pm ET, reviews have been pouring in… and guess what? It is getting a LOT OF LOVE and BIG THUMBS UP from the critics. HURRAH!

So… Welcome to a little celebration organized by Damianista & JaniaJania!

We both read all reviews that came out and picked our TOP TEN. Damianista selected her favorite paragraph from each review and JaniaJania added her two cents to that paragraph. Hope you enjoy our post as much as we enjoyed collaborating on it!

First things first! … This is not a review but it’s a little story PressTelegram reports Billions co-creator Brian Koppelman has shared with them: “Koppelman tells a story about how years ago he was sitting in an agency in New York with Levien when they saw Lewis, who was then starring in HBO’s “Band of Brothers,” walk by. “Dave turned to me and said, ‘Someday we are going to work with that guy.” He’s the best actor.’ ” Continue reading “DRUMROLL! Reviews are IN & Billions is a Critics’ Pick!”

Promos, promos, get yer Billions promos right here!

imageedit_2_7462163440We were all talking earlier today about spoilers…The thing is I can handle visual spoilers via trailers and promos just fine, but something about written spoilers gets me slamming my computer shut and quickly walking away, particularly for shows I’m interested in getting to know completely. You see, images and the world of visuals can be contained. Images are manageable, relegated to a separate part of the brain that loves them, no doubt, but doesn’t keep too tight a hold on them. They’re fleeting, flashing in and out of real cognition. The written word on the other hand knows no such boundaries. Words, whether they be plot summaries or entire scenes with dialogue, when they are strong, have the capacity to sear into the brain for much longer. And words open up worlds. You read something and you want to know: Well, how? What? If x, y, and z happen, then what comes next? And you imagine so much more than a measly 60 second promotional spot of a series of flashing images can ever provide. There’s no end to the worlds that good words can open up in your head. Thus, sometimes, it all just becomes too much and your head feels ready to explode with its own set of visuals and ideas and speculation.

Continue reading “Promos, promos, get yer Billions promos right here!”

Speculate to Accumulate

We love to speculate on here and so I am going to do exactly that by dissecting the 6 episode synopses that have been released so far. There are potential spoilers in the episode synopses. I may or may not get some ideas right and more than likely I will be wide of the mark, but that is a risk I’m willing to take.

All definitions from ‘Investopedia.com’

“Insider trading” is defined as ‘the trading of stock or securities by individuals with access to non-public information.’

I think it could be safe to assume that we may see many an “insider” joke from the writers over the season.

From recent trailers and pictures (I’m looking at you, Damianista), it appears that Bobby’s wife calls him “Axe” and it may in fact be his nickname going forward. It is the perfect name for him as:-

“Axe” is defined as ‘the interest that a person or trader shows in buying or selling a financial security’.

Billions hasn’t even officially started yet and the writers are laughing at us and have been for quite a while!

Breaking it down “the term ‘axe’ may be derived from the phrase ‘axe to grind’ which means to possess an ulterior motive or selfish aim.”

For my part, I would put Bobby in the ulterior motive category rather than the selfish aim category…though I suppose you could argue that is semantics.

source: Showtime
source: Showtime

Episode 1, the Pilot

Chuck Rhoades, the powerful U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, is tipped to a case of insider trading with links to Axe Capital and the billionaire hedge fund king Bobby “Axe” Axelrod.

Continue reading “Speculate to Accumulate”