NOT FUNNY.

xpost to self
Specifically the first three criticisms (wacky "types", everyone's an idiot, making jokes out of politically incorrect situations)

- Actual humor at the expense of mentally disabled people (i.e. Buster)

what words do u stress in this sentence when u say it out loud

"I don't find this funny, so neither should you" vs. "I find this funny, so you should too" followed by excessively analytical discussion of comedy truisms and archetypes. Should be a productive discussion.

the internet is amazing

People acting totally fucking dumb all the time, almost as if mentally disabled is where the show most closely approximates life for me, and makes.me feel like, all in all, my problems aren't all that bad.

this fall, the New Adventures of Fezziwig & Chuzzlewit

Tracer Hand is a funny name

You know what Que, I think Dickens also said that family was like, real real important. You're right - this is just like Dickens!

Haha Mordy I have totally avoided those shows.

Z S I love Curb Your Enthusiasm (or least I did a few years ago, when I watched it last) but I guarantee I would not be around for that shit if Ron Howard was narrating every line like some kind of kindly scout troop leader.

Super Cub when did I ever say no one else should find this funny?? In fact I explicitly said, twice I think, that if you like it, great! I just can't understand why that would be!

I had no idea Buster wasn't supposed to be mentally disabled. They certainly make him seem that way in the first three episodes.

please note, i did not say that the show, Arrested Development, was just like Dickens.

I love AD for the characters and the writing and the acting and the premise.

Also, the second half of the second season was completely fascinating to watch as the show marched toward annihilation and the writers fully acknowledged that fact.

xpost, Tracer true, I was just describing a larger pattern of internet discourse. Apologies.

xp to self: actually a big contributing factor to my enjoyment of most television/movies/novels.

http://www.wearebored.com/gallery2/d/10728-2/Dickens+Energy+Cider.JPG

Doesn't Buster have several college degrees?

(This may not have been established until later, I don't remember.)

if you think Buster is wacky now, wait until he has no arm!

no i think in the first episode it's suggested he has multiple degrees

NOT FUNNY - education is impt

What is impt? Is it a past tense of some verb to "imp"?

like a more light-hearted, puckish version of "trolling"?

It's true that Curb has plenty of people doing extremely dumb things that you cannot imagine a real person ever doing. But usually it's just out of carelessness. Which is pretty relatable. One of the things I like about Curb is that it feels loose. Though often plotted very tightly, each scene feels like it could careen off in any direction. The actors feel less like actors and more like improvisers. You can see them really aggravating each other, really making each other laugh. If a situation escalates it feels slightly out of control.

Haha it is hilarious to me how utterly futile my efforts to explain why I can't find this show funny are.

Who needs DVDs??

this whole exchange is why i try like hell not to post about shit i don't like

i know, right?! (not that i try that hard on that front obv ; ))

Maybe stick with it for a few more episodes? I didn't 'get' a lot of the greatness first off. (It's now my favourite US show).

That said if you're actually finding it hateful rather than just a bit bewildering/ unsure of it then perhaps there's no point.

I wonder if it makes a difference being familiar with the actors already - when I watched it I had no idea who David Cross, Will Arnett or M Cera were. I only knew Lindsay from being in Ally McBeal. So I'd not seen any of their 'schtick' before.

didn't like this show at first but then gave it another chance and the rest is history

if you hate funny names then the scott baio appearance will leave you in stitches. from attempted suicide!

Though often plotted very tightly, each scene feels like it could careen off in any direction.

perhaps... larry will make a faux pas!

- People acting totally fucking dumb all the time, almost as if they are mentally disabled

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrested_development

However, in the Mental Health Act of 1983, the term "arrested development" was considered a form of mental disorder consisting of severe mental impairment, as a lack of intelligence.[1] Other researchers have objected to the notion that mental development can be "arrested" or stopped, preferring to consider the mental status as developing in other ways, rather than the notion of mental growth as arrested. Consequently, in psychological terminology, the term "arrested development" is no longer used by them in referring to a developmental disorder in mental health.

- They put a spoiler in the title

- Abstract earnestness about the value of "family"

in a show about a dysfunctional family. makes no sense. i mean boy that is silly

the david cross/ron howard gripes i get but the former really is pretty good in this and the latter you get used to as the show progresses but obviously ymmv

So are you going to sell your box set Tracer or are you just going to have emotions at it as it sits unused on your shelf?

he needs to write a one-page, single-spaced margin-less essay about why it's not funny first </mcm joke>

tracer will keep it so he can feel superior to it

I dunno. It's not like I can regift, what am I gonna say? "I thought this was pretty lame but it seems right up your alley!"

"I thought this was pretty lame but it seems right up your alley!"

"you may enjoy this popular comedy programme"

perhaps... larry will make a faux pas!

― Dean Gaffney's December (history mayne), Tuesday, December 29, 2009 8:12 PM

haha

hang on weren't you meant to be pubbing with us rather than slagging off the funniest tv show ever Tracey boy

This might explain why he wasn't pubbing with you.

i'm slowly turning the goodfolk of freaky trigger off socialising one by one eh :D

just move to America, dude.

watched 15mins of AD once a couple years ago and really wasn't feeling it. david cross def. a factor. also generally do not like movies/shows where the action pauses and characters start talking to the camera. AD does this, right?

It doesn't do that latter thing, no.

i think tracer's reacting too much from the fanfrenzy but the criticisms are otm. after watching a few it was pretty evident that nailing that particular tone and pace and certain other unconventions were almost the whole point of it, but it was also something good enough to sit through if there was nothing else on. i could swear the style was borrowed from something else too can't remember what, maybe a movie?

30 rock is an interesting comparison, it seems similarly impressed with itself as far as having a tone and maybe acidity unique to television but they also barrel forward with a bunch of jokes which are just good enough to serve as an engine and make the other stuff less annoying

ZOMBIES

I've always thought david cross was a weak point in the show, but I derive enjoyment from snowballing of in-jokes that accumulate as the seasons go on

I recently tried to get into Always Sunny, but I just didn't feel it at all.

I've also sat through plenty of episodes of The Office (US) without cracking a smile, just wondering to myself why so many people I know love it (or loved it up until the last season or two).

I didn't like the almost forced zaniness of AD the first few times I saw it, but it eventually won me over mostly thanks to Bateman, Cera, and Tambor. It reminds me of The Simpsons more than any other show, in the way it tries to appeal to so many different types of humor. I don't care for wacky names or puns, but love stuff like the flashbacks of the stunts the dad pulls (using the one-armed guy) to teach his kids lessons they won't forget. By the way, I think referring to anyone in that show as 'mentally disabled' is kind of missing the point. Everyone in the show is fairly dumb, but I think they can all be split into two groups: Greedy, selfish, narcissistic parents, and the fucked up kid of these parents.

yeah this might work better if you think of it as live-action Simpsons