Category: Billions

Billions on Showtime, Season 1 Locations: The Grand Tour in New York and Beyond

source: Showtime
source: Showtime

I told you all before. Billions is a dream coming true for me since it is bringing two of my favorite things in the world together: Damian Lewis and New York. And I particularly love the fact 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 published a warm-up Billions locations post months ago, just using information from teasers and trailers, before Season 1 hit our TV screens. And, in that post, I promised a comprehensive locations tour by the end of the season… and so here we are with Billions Season 1 Locations: The Grand Tour in New York and beyond. This is my tribute to my most favorite place on earth as well as to my all-time favorite actor and my favorite TV show. Hope you enjoy it!

And if you think I am missing a location, please let me know and I will be very happy to add it to the list. Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Season 1 Locations: The Grand Tour in New York and Beyond”

Best of Billions Season 1

Season 1 is behind us and Season 2 is a long way in front, so think of us as the in between because who says we have to stop talking about Billions Season 1 just because it has finished? We were talking about it long before it hit our screens and we’re not stopping now.

With that in mind, we have our fun list of our best of Billions Season 1. Feel free to agree or disagree with our list in the comments and let us know what your best of Billions Season 1 are.

Source: Showtime
Source: Showtime

Best Minion

TBkWrm: I have to give this to Bill ‘Keyser Soze’ Stearn. He of Pepsum Pharmaceutical infamy bought his mum a washing machine, blows up his two families for Axe, has a wonderful fake fight with Axe and he plays Carly, Channing and Lhasa like a fiddle on Axe’s behalf.

JaniaJania: Wags. Something of a mystery just what expertise makes Wags’s position so firm as Axe’s Number One. Axe is even willing to put his hands out for handcuffs if Wags turns out to be a mole. Yet, he is kept out of the loop on other things, i.e. the Pouch situation. His capacity to punctuate Axe’s lines perfectly with his own ribald observations and his willingness to lug around binders of prospectuses on busy NYC streets make him my Number One Minion.

Damianista: Oh, the knight who falls on his sword! The guy who figures this business makes liars out of all of them eventually but still stays loyal to the end. His last months are not his; he does it all to leave a comfortable life to his family. The one-hit wonder. The “Brian Doyle” of Axe Capital: “Let’s do this. Donnie.”

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Billions: Fly Away, Fly Away!

This blog has been a long time coming. Damianista and JaniaJania have been wishing to see it up for a long time . I wanted to wait until I had seen all 12 episodes before posting.

We had devoured all the early promos for the show and have been blogging about Billions for over  a year. We attempted to get a feel for the characters as early as we could and this helped immensely as we discussed what we thought about Bobby and Wendy. Even early on, it was clear those two had a connection. After Naming Rights, we were having one of our discussions and I mentioned that I thought there was some Peter Pan in Bobby and Wendy. I was encouraged to investigate this further as Jania Jania said “Peter Pan is an archetype now…the boy who doesn’t want to grow up.” Investigate I have and there is a fair bit of Peter in Bobby. I am not saying this was intentional on the writer’s part, but that I had fun digging through the book looking for it. .

Quotes from Peter Pan by J M Barrie are in italics. The other quotes not in italics are from Billions.

Bobby and Dr Mojo/Peter & Wendy with sprinkles of lost boys and Tink

Bobby even has his own Wendy, (hereinafter referred to as “Dr Mojo”) and he has built his house around her.

source: Showtime
source: Showtime

“She knew of no Peter, and yet he was here and there in John and Michael’s minds, while Wendy’s began to be scrawled all over with him. The name stood out in bold letter than any of the other words and as Mrs Darling gazed she felt that it had an oddly cocky appearance.”

Dr Mojo’s mind seems to be scrawled all over with Bobby Axelrod and Bobby Axelrod is quite as cocky as Peter Pan. Dr Mojo knows what Bobby is, but she stays by his side for a very long time. She forgives his transgressions and mistakes.

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Billions ep 12 : The Conversation

The season finale of Billions starts with a wonderful shot of Axe rising to be part of the NY landscape. He waits to give Wendy a prize for fixing him. From there the episode progresses into a series of cathartic scenes fit for a stage.

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Billions on Showtime, Episode 12: The Conversation

source: Showtime
source: Showtime

May I just say I will miss Sunday nights so much? Here’s my typical Billions Sunday: Watch at 10pm and live tweet. Take notes. Watch for a second time at 11pm. Take more notes. Sit down at midnight and start to write. Go to bed as the sun rises. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Sitting down to write for hours as if the world is waiting for my recap to be published… But it is not that. It is the thrill. I just LOVE the ride. Billions is such a pleasant puzzle to think about and write on. Standing Ovation for all brilliant minds behind and in front of the camera for the last 12 weeks! And special thanks go to my husband for bearing with me for the last couple of months and letting me sleep until noon on Mondays.

Continue reading “Billions on Showtime, Episode 12: The Conversation”