Reviews for 'Spinning Out' (Netflix's Figure Skating Drama) - who's watching?

rfisher

Let the skating begin
Messages
76,230
Watched the whole thing during one long travel day. The heroine reminded me more
of Ashley Wagner than of Tessa. It is melodramatic but also great fun. Though they tried to introduce as many hot button issues as possible, they are all true to life. The show is more about dealing with manic depression than skating but I think it is a great reminder that life happens even as people strive for excellence. As
long as there are not too many glaring mistakes about skating, I would not care... the decade of watching movies about music trained me that filmmaking is almost always approximate.
Wagner said she actually auditioned for the part and was turned down. :lol:
 

Sonata

Well-Known Member
Messages
884
So.... I finished and actually enjoyed the second half. There are some new storylines that suddenly pop up (yup, there’s even more coming), but the show overall becomes less frenetic.

I still wonder why a tall singles skater suffering from PTSD after a traumatic fall would ever choose to become a pairs skater.
 

nimi

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,682
Ashley's tweeting the show now. :D She's not threading her tweets, so just scroll through. Http://twitter.com/ashwagner2010
This one made me chuckle
 

sus2850

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,653
So, do you who watched know more what Dylan is referring to? How exactly was he involved?
 

pinky166

#allaboutthevoids #teamtrainwreck
Messages
23,631
This show is dramatic and funny. I am enjoying it though the skating details aren’t very realistic
 

pinky166

#allaboutthevoids #teamtrainwreck
Messages
23,631
Watching this show, I really wished that someone could give Anna Pogorilaya some American acting lessons so she could have played one of January Jones’ daughters (either one really), since she can actually skate, looks like January Jones and would bring a healthy dose of Russian drama to the show. But alas:
 

hanca

Values her privacy
Messages
12,549
I still wonder why a tall singles skater suffering from PTSD after a traumatic fall would ever choose to become a pairs skater.
Maybe she thought that if she has a fall from lift, then she will stop stressing about the fall she had before, because the one from the lift is worse. Suddenly she may realise that actually the past fall was not as bad as it could have been (relatively speaking). All she needs to recover is to have so called ‘recovery fall’ from lift.
 

Andora

Skating season ends as baseball season begins
Messages
12,259
According to imdb, he was Justin Skating Double, Jenn's Skating Coach, and Daniel in six episodes:

He only had one scene where I could definitively catch it was him, and it wasn't a good one. Not that he had much to do but look concerned for Jenn, but it came off awkward. Glad he had more to do than that!

This show is dramatic and funny. I am enjoying it though the skating details aren’t very realistic

Yes! When I finally finished it this weekend, I chalked a lot of that up to what doctors, lawyers, police, CSI detectives, etc., go through with these shows. How many "a REAL doctor gives his opinions on..." articles do we see, after all? :lol: I have to admit I liked how un-stylized or un-glossy the actual skating looked for this level.

And while Tessa Virtue's Olympic FD dress was the most blatant copy, clearly the costumes from this series were stolen from all over. This scene made go back to watch probably my favourite Yuna Kim performance. Now the fun is finding the costume inspiration for the ones I couldn't immediately place.
 

Sonata

Well-Known Member
Messages
884
I hadn't noticed the Yuna Kim costume similarity.

I wondered why Dylan Moskovitch randomly appeared and ask Jen, "Are you okay?" I think he played her coach, in addition to doubling the pairs skating.

The coach gives me more of a parental Tarasova vibe than a Zueva vibe.
 

Vase

Well-Known Member
Messages
308
I thought the show was gonna be for preteens and teens?!
With each episode the scandals, accusations and/or reactions had me like 😳
 

cocotaffy

Fetchez la vache... mais fetchez la vache !
Messages
7,832
Per Guillaume Cizeron's IS is bingwatching the show too and loving it.
Very soapy indeed but the lead actress is doing a good job. Not half as cringy as I expected it to be. They did try to cram an awful lot of social issues in there though. They checked all the boxes of the current hot topics. I personally loved the Russian coach, the best character hands down imo. But the joke that had me crack up was the Coldplay reference from Johnny Weir new choreographer and Johnny's face, utter "oh no please tell me we aren't paying you so much money to come up with that idea". It reminded me so much of an FSU PBP thread reaction. Nice touch, made the show current at least for fan like us here.
 

aftershocks

Banned Member
Messages
17,317
I could distinguish all the scenes in which Kaetlyn Osmond Michelle Long skates as the main character, Kat's, double. The editing is skillful and it works, especially for viewers who don't know much about skaters and figure skating. I could also pick out the skating segments with Walsh/Michaud -- the camera was far enough away interspersed with close-ups of the actors so that it works fairly well.

Of course, a great deal of dramatic license is taken, but I agree that the story is soap opera-like fun and entertaining enough that it works. A lot of errant details are definitely a stretch, of course. The mother and daughter both being bipolar is OTT crazy, not that it isn't possible, but highly unlikely what with all of the other over-dramatic, dysfunctional plot lines going on. Kat is bi-polar, takes drugs for her condition, must babysit her Mom and her little sister who btw is on the way to being seduced by a top coach, while Kat has a habit of inflicting self-harm via biting her arm. Furthermore, Kat doesn't fully believe in her talent, fears jumping, hasn't yet passed her senior test, but yet she's got something 'magic' in her skating and so she's sought after as a pairs partner. :drama: It's like an amalgam of every partnership, coach-skater, coach-parent, and training rink conflicts/ melodramas they could think of.

There are some well-known 'Katarinas' in skating, most well known of course is Kat Witt. The fact that the Russian coach rescued a grumpy stray Persian cat (of the pushed-in face variety) is also symbolic and funny, especially when the coach explains to Kat that her cat's Russian name means 'Little Fcuker' :lol: Kat attempts to pet the cat, and he immediately growls and refuses to leave his comfy perch on the bed. That is very true to life. :p I haven't finished binge-watching, but I'm guessing Kat will ultimately become Little Fcuker's best friend. :D

My fave characters are the no-nonsense, fur-coat wearing Russian coach (shades of TAT), Kat's Asian girlfriend/ training mate, Justin's stepmom, and the tall, dark (i.e., African-American) and handsome h.s. football player/ local part-time bar manager who is clearly into Kat, and vice versa. I haven't seen Johnny's 'Gabe' show up yet. :watch:
 
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Sylvia

Flight #5342: I Will Remember You
Messages
84,278
Kaetlyn Osmond was not in Spinning Out (she jumps/rotates clockwise, BTW).

Article excerpt from: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ting-drama-whos-watching.106641/#post-5718192
... Scodelario's character Kat had four skating doubles throughout the 10 episodes. Her jump double was Kim Deguise Léveillée, a Canadian skater and coach who was the 2014 junior national champion. Léveillée was also the skating double for Kat's sister Serena. Kat's regular skating double was Michelle Long, another Canadian skater. Two women also played Kat's pairs skating double. In episodes 3 and 4, Elizabeth Putnam did the pair skating as Kat. Putnam is a two-time Canadian bronze medalist in pairs skating with her partner Sean Wirtz. In episodes 7 and 10, Evelyn Walsh was Kat's pairs double.
 
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aftershocks

Banned Member
Messages
17,317
Kaetlyn Osmond was not in Spinning Out (she jumps/rotates clockwise, BTW).

Article excerpt from: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ting-drama-whos-watching.106641/#post-5718192

Thanks @Sylvia. I figured since I thought it was Kaetlyn, somehow I would be wrong. :lol: Surely Kaetlyn does appear in an exhibition clip in the show's opening title sequence! ;)

Well, Michelle Long, is a lovely skater, albeit not as skilled a jumper as Kaetlyn:
 

aftershocks

Banned Member
Messages
17,317
Comment from the Globe and Mail:

:lol:
A passage from the Globe and Mail review:
"It’s fair to say that Tessa Virtue is an admired and beloved national icon in Canada. The now retired ice dancer hauled in medals and championship wins with Scott Moir. As we all know, they had this aura, this magnetism, as performers and athletes, and we were enchanted.

Thus, it’s rather odd to see Virtue’s personal and professional style, from her hair, costumes and the gaze on her face – you know that gaze – mimicked, adapted and embraced, without acknowledgment, in a new figure skating-drama series on Netflix. It’s a bit outrageous, actually. The matter raises two issues. First, what the heck is going on with this blatant mimicry, and second, why can’t we have a figure-skating drama that’s actually captivating and good?"



Hey now, that's a bit harsh. The series is definitely 'captivating,' if not necessarily wholesome and 'good' for us. It's about eating a bucketful of popcorn, sharing some guffaws, enjoying some inside jokes, rolling eyes at the inaccuracies, and nodding heads about what they do get right. It's just having a bit of fun after all with some high drama, despite the inaccuracies.

Hmmm, a lot of fans in this thread have mentioned the same regarding the Tessa references. Ummm, but please don't shoot me because I didn't necessarily get those references/homages, or rip-offs if you prefer. ;) I'm an admirer of V/M, but I'm just not that knowledgeable about Tessa's mannerisms, habits, off-ice personality, or her real-life story. Nor do I think the majority of the general audience, aside from Canadians and diehard V/M ubers, will notice any of the Tessa similarities. :COP: Copying of Tessa's costumes seems like a compliment in any case.

Having just read AdaRipp's memoir and now listening to Adam read his memoir, Beautiful on the Outside, I think his book and his reading of it drive home just how surreal the world of figure skating actually is and can be for most skaters. It's life on a different scale in a world that's more than a bit slightly mad as f' in the first place. Kat moves away from home to live with her coach and a cat named 'Little Fcuker.' In a real life figure skating drama: After living with relatives, skating friends' families, and babysitting his own brothers and sisters on the rare occasions he was living at home, Adam eventually moves in with his coach, before later leaving her for a top coach and more rigorous training which put Adam's career in top level overdrive. What a journey he's had. There are so many untold fascinating, uplifting, and :eek: figure skating tales to be told.

Is it wrong to say that by the end of it that Justin (is that his name?) was beginning to look like Scott Moir? 🤣.

:lol: Now when I think about it, sure. Plus, is the filmmaker Canadian? The series is also apparently filmed in Canada with lots of Canadian doubles, actors, etc. So it makes sense that a bit of the story or flavor of iconic Canadian champion skaters is drawn from. Albeit the film's characters are pairs skaters, and V//M are the major fabulous ice dancers on the planet. I suppose real-life ice dance has more than enough drama. So much that it might not transfer too well to a Netflix series. :rofl:
 
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Judy

Well-Known Member
Messages
6,308
:lol:
"It’s fair to say that Tessa Virtue is an admired and beloved national icon in Canada. The now retired ice dancer hauled in medals and championship wins with Scott Moir. As we all know, they had this aura, this magnetism, as performers and athletes, and we were enchanted.

Thus, it’s rather odd to see Virtue’s personal and professional style, from her hair, costumes and the gaze on her face – you know that gaze – mimicked, adapted and embraced, without acknowledgment, in a new figure skating-drama series on Netflix. It’s a bit outrageous, actually. The matter raises two issues. First, what the heck is going on with this blatant mimicry, and second, why can’t we have a figure-skating drama that’s actually captivating and good?"


Hey now, that's a bit harsh. The series is definitely 'captivating,' if not necessarily wholesome and 'good' for us. It's about eating a bucketful of popcorn, sharing some guffaws, enjoying some inside jokes, rolling eyes at the inaccuracies, and nodding heads about what they do get right. It's just having a bit of fun after all with some high drama, despite the inaccuracies.

Hmmm, a lot of fans in this thread have mentioned the same regarding the Tessa references. Ummm, but please don't shoot me because I didn't necessarily get those references/homages, or rip-offs if you prefer. ;) I'm an admirer of V/M, but I'm just not that knowledgeable about Tessa's mannerisms, habits, off-ice personality, or her real-life story. Nor do I think the majority of the general audience, aside from Canadians and diehard V/M ubers, will notice any of the Tessa similarities. :COP: Copying of Tessa's costumes seems like a compliment in any case.

Having just read AdaRipp's memoir and now listening to Adam read his memor, Beautiful on the Outside, I think his book and his reading of it drive home just how surreal the world of figure skating actually is and can be for most skaters. It's life on a different scale in a world that's more than a bit slightly mad as f' in the first place. Kat moves away from home to live with her coach. In a real life figure skating drama: After living with relatives, skating friends' families, and babysitting his own brothers and sisters on the rare occasions he was living at home, Adam eventually moves in with his coach, before later leaving her for a top coach and more rigorous training which put Adam's career in top level overdrive. What a journey he's had. There are so many untold fascinating, uplifting, and :eek: figure skating tales to be told.



:lol: Now when I think about it, sure. Plus, is the filmmaker Canadian? The series is also apparently filmed in Canada with lots of Canadian doubles, actors, etc. So it makes sense that a bit of the story or flavor of iconic Canadian champion skaters is drawn from. Albeit the film's characters are pairs skaters, and V//M are the major fabulous ice dancers on the planet. I suppose real-life ice dance has more than enough drama. So much that it might not transfer too well to a Netflix series. :rofl:

it’s hard to make figure skating movies that aren’t cheesy. I didn’t mind this at all.
 

aftershocks

Banned Member
Messages
17,317
^^ Yep, exactly. The point is that some figure skating movies and tv series are in fact being made. It's nice to start somewhere, and hopefully it continues with more and better productions, and btw, hopefully more and better professional shows and opportunities for figure skaters post eligible careers.
 

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