Luck presents a hierarchical look at the track (it's Santa Anita, although the characters never refer to it as such), from the owners to the trainers to the jockeys to the grooms to the railbirds.
But on all levels, their concerns and interactions are arcane. The show is simply too stable-bound, the dialogue often stilted.
There are some great performances here, including John Ortiz as a Peruvian-born trainer who has clawed his way to the middle of his profession and Jason Gedrick as a gambler so sick he loses even when he wins.
But from Hoffman to his chauffeur and legman Dennis Farina and on down the line, a lot of this cast is simply too long in the tooth to be convincing.
There are also problems with scale. Tom Payne seems awfully tall to be an apprentice jockey. And when Nick Nolte as a broken-down old trainer has his tearful soliloquy, you could swear his head is bigger than that of the horse he's haranguing.
The racing sequences are quite exciting (even if again and again you can see the horses' heads turned sideways from being reined in to stay in scripted formation).
For most viewers, Luck will prove to be an acquired taste. Several weeks in, after it turns down the intrusive musical score and scales back the overwrought dramatic moments, the series develops a texture and rhythm that are far more enjoyable than the first few episodes.
But we TV viewers have never been renowned for our patience. Consequently, Luck is a real long shot.
If you want a brilliant re-creation of life at a racetrack, read Jaimy Gordon's National Book Award-winning novel, Lord of Misrule.
Contact television writer David Hiltbrand at 215-854-4552, dhiltbrand@phillynews.com, or @daveondemand_tv on Twitter. Read his blog, "Dave on Demand," at www.philly.com/dod.
TV Review
Luck
Sunday at 9 p.m. on HBO.
