Think of all the poor souls who couldn't give up on a show before it ended and suffered through the ending of Lost
― mh, Thursday, 25 April 2019 13:58 (five years ago) link
Wasn't 30 Rock, like Parks and The (American) Office, one of those shows with more or less expendable first seasons?No, 30 Rock was incredible from the first episode, and had their back nine picked up after the first six (of 13) had aired. The Office and Parks only had 6-episode commissions.(30 Rock got even better as it went along, but that doesn’t make those first 21 disposable.)Damnit, that's why I never stuck with Parks.You can jump to episode six and then pick up with S2, that’s all the context you need - it’s all uphill from there, for years. (I used to say just watch the deleted scenes from S1, maybe they’re on youtube?)
― blokes you can't rust (sic), Thursday, 25 April 2019 14:01 (five years ago) link
yeah I've never seen s1 and never felt like I was missing much
― Simon H., Thursday, 25 April 2019 14:08 (five years ago) link
more controversially I also endorse this strategy for Halt and Catch Fire
― Simon H., Thursday, 25 April 2019 14:09 (five years ago) link
30 Rock jumps up notably after The Rur(al) Jur(or) episode ime which is only a few into s1.
― nashwan, Thursday, 25 April 2019 14:37 (five years ago) link
echoing the I Think You Should Leave love, so far my fav sketches have been the toupee sketch, the scrooge sketch, and the office prank.
anyone who hasn't seen it yet should watch Tim Robinson's episode of The Characters.
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 14:48 (five years ago) link
Baby of the year too omg
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 14:49 (five years ago) link
So was the histrionic all-screaming trailer not indicative?
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 14:55 (five years ago) link
Did you watch Mr Show? Cause the yelling percentage seemed similar to Mr Show
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 14:57 (five years ago) link
Yeah, I also was going to pass on this because the trailer was all screaming.
― Yerac, Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:00 (five years ago) link
I'm an OG Mr Show fan. They made judicious use of screaming outbursts, especially from Bob Odenkirk. I'll give this one a shot, because it is short, but yeah, that trailer was literally all screaming.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:04 (five years ago) link
just watched the trailer for the first time--all those moments are a lot less obnoxious and jarring in context
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:05 (five years ago) link
xp mr show was probably a bit screamier than you recall, i mean if you think of their best-known sketches--story of everest, pre-taped call-in, 24 is the highest number--there's a lot of yelling.
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:06 (five years ago) link
xpost Ok, good to know. That's why I brought up Tim and Eric, I know that show has it fans and moments, but they also seemed prone to sketches that would just be somebody screaming monotonously for a couple of uncomfortable minutes.I
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:07 (five years ago) link
There's yelling in all sketch shows, that's how people can be heard over each other and the audience while they are improvising, afaict. I've been listening to the How Did This Get Made podcast, and the volume difference between the studio recordings and live audience recordings is pretty astounding.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:09 (five years ago) link
The live ones are practically unlistenable and I think it kinda says everything about that podcast that they pretty much only do live ones these days (or that was certainly the case when I stopped listening)
― milkshake chuk (wins), Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:13 (five years ago) link
I think either they only do live ones or at least studio ones are behind a paywall?
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:20 (five years ago) link
I think the last one I listened to mantzoukas got it into his head at one point that saying “put her in a bra” over and over was comedy gold and I was oh ok that’ll be the next 20 minutes of this then *smashes 30 second skip* Why yes this has everything to do with Netflix actually
― milkshake chuk (wins), Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:23 (five years ago) link
I do like Mantzoukas screaming. He's like this generation's Bobcat Goldthwait.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:39 (five years ago) link
I got through a few eps of I Think You Should Leave last night and tbh there really is a lot of screaming / Tim Robinson doing an impression of the more manic Charlie Kelly bits
some of it was legit funny, tho
― gbx, Thursday, 25 April 2019 17:15 (five years ago) link
Charlie Day: the other this generation's Bobcat Goldthwait
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 17:29 (five years ago) link
Yeah I much prefer mantzoukas when he plays slightly quieter weirdo characters than when he’s acting the self-indulgent cokehead on hdtgm, whereas Charlie screaming will never not be funny to me
― milkshake chuk (wins), Thursday, 25 April 2019 17:32 (five years ago) link
the most recent how did this get made was not paywalled or live. topher grace was on it. was about a duchovny film from 2007 called the secret which is about a mother and daughter body swapping and then the mother's body dying and the mother (in her 16 year old daughter's body) and father (duchovny) are horny for each other. sounds horrific.
i mean it is kind of a bad podcast but I'm glad i found out about this movie without ever having to see any of it
― findom haddie (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 25 April 2019 17:34 (five years ago) link
I like the podcast. I like when they make a distinction between movies too terrible to recommend (like The Snowman, which is a funny episode) and bad movies that are nonetheless worth seeing (like Action Jackson).
This show, though ... I just watched the first episode (it is indeed short) and it goes almost straight toilet humor and screaming, then the baby skit (which wasn't funny), then instagram tag skit (which wasn't funny and reminded me of some Amy Schumer bit?) and then the receipt skit ... which *was* funny! But then it went toilet humor again and I thought, really? That's where you wanted to go with it? Sigh. Why does life have to be so hard?
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 17:50 (five years ago) link
the baby sketch was hilarious, perhaps the problem is you
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 17:59 (five years ago) link
toilet humor isn't bad in and of itself--it's bad when it's a crutch, but robinson's work has an insane level of commitment to toilet humor.
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 18:02 (five years ago) link
I thought the In Memoriam bit was funny, it's true. But it's probably still me.
Poop is funny - shoutout American Vandal Season 2 on Netflix! - I just thought it was lazy that they had at least two skits that had funny premises that went screaming poop humor when they really didn't need to.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 18:04 (five years ago) link
Tiebreak: I just watched the baby sketch and it was not funny. I kind of made a noise at the throat slash thing though.
― Yerac, Thursday, 25 April 2019 18:19 (five years ago) link
First ep of Imposters not bad! Will continue
― calstars, Thursday, 25 April 2019 18:30 (five years ago) link
xp maybe i just reflexively laugh at everything that sam richardson does, and that's why i loved the baby sketch so much (i didn't like it as much as the scrooge sketch, which also involved richardson)
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 18:32 (five years ago) link
I love Sam Richardson. I have actually never heard of Tom Robinson or Detroiters and have no recollection of him on SNL? weird.
― Yerac, Thursday, 25 April 2019 18:35 (five years ago) link
i do think it gets better as it goes along
― maura, Thursday, 25 April 2019 21:27 (five years ago) link
Ah, the time honored tradition of leading with your lesser material. "Gather 'round, boys, this is how it's done: we craft a weak debut, weed out the half-hearted viewers, then when we finally get going in earnest - blam! - we have an instant cult audience!"
I love Sam Richardson in Veep, and liked him in this, though it was weird to hear him curse. And some of the other actors, too, were good, like Steven Yuen (who already proved he could be a great straight-man on Conan). The guy I didn't recognize must have been Tim Robinson himself, who I had never heard of, him or The Detroiters. Holy shit, he was on SNL?! When? (looks at Wikipedia). 2012? Wow. "As a cast member, his celebrity impressions included Ben Bailey and Bill Cowher." I don't know who either of those people are, either, so maybe explains a little.
Anyway, he and the cast were not necessarily the problem. The problem was it was not funny. So when you say it gets better, gosh, I sure hope so.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 21:46 (five years ago) link
can't tell whether you really don't understand why shows get better as they go along, or if you're just being a dick?
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 21:50 (five years ago) link
to me that's preposterous, it ignores the history of many canonized classic television shows and the early struggles with tone and character and pacing many of them often had.
― omar little, Thursday, 25 April 2019 21:55 (five years ago) link
it is WAY more rare for a show to arrive fully-formed with an incredible first season. even shows that storm out of the gate with great material improve as the writers get a better handle on their characters (and the strengths of the actors who play them)
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 21:57 (five years ago) link
I thought it was common knowledge that pilots are more often than not pretty weak? I've found this a lot, as I'm sure I've posted loads of times on here I never judge on the first 1-2 eps unless it's really not my thing.
Trailers are even worse. Some of my favourite shows I originally avoided for years because of the trailers/ads. For movies they can be put together by PR type teams rather than anyone working on story etc. Music tracks being picked because they say a word that's in the title of the movie, that sort of thing.
― kinder, Thursday, 25 April 2019 22:01 (five years ago) link
I'm not really talking about narrative driven shows, nor do I understand why making fun of a Netflix show makes me a dick, unless you (xpost) write for it, in which case, sorry. But I truly *don't* know why a non-narrative *sketch comedy show* would necessarily get better, especially one where all the episodes are released at once. It's not like an off night at the improv. It's a written short sketch comedy show, the first episode should be funny, and if it gets better ... make one of *those* episodes the first one!
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 22:03 (five years ago) link
ok but upthread you were complaining about how narrative shows get better as they go along
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 22:05 (five years ago) link
Oh, yeah, I did and they do, but in that case I'm frustrated but totally understand. There are reasons. This comedy show lacks those excuses.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 22:07 (five years ago) link
i guess in this case the writers of the show have a different idea about what their strongest material is than you do, which i agree is inexcusable
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 22:08 (five years ago) link
Perhaps just not to my tastes, yes.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 22:09 (five years ago) link
so this show is good and i should watch it right?
― findom haddie (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 25 April 2019 22:09 (five years ago) link
yes
― mourning joe (voodoo chili), Thursday, 25 April 2019 22:10 (five years ago) link
Go for it, unless you don't like MUDPIES!
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 22:11 (five years ago) link
I have never heard mudpies used that much before. I watched the second episode. I still think it's not good, but I am easy about sketch comedy and want to see the parking thing maura mentioned. Also Tim R does do a crescendo of yelling in every sketch as his big comedy move it seems.
― Yerac, Thursday, 25 April 2019 22:23 (five years ago) link
This may be along the me hating Kyle Mooney divide too.
― Yerac, Thursday, 25 April 2019 22:24 (five years ago) link
I like Kyle Mooney. His unfunny comedian character is one of my faves.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 25 April 2019 22:38 (five years ago) link
I don't usually like scatalogical humor, I dunno if I'm embarrassed or it just feels cheap, but Tim LOVES it and I don't mind it from him I guess. He did a bit in his episode of the Characters that was about a guy ruining a bathroom at a gun shop or something that was pretty fantastic.
He definitely never shined in SNL, except for the fake ad of him and Galifianakis wearing New Balance shoes that cut a little too close to the bone, but I remember reading that every cast member said he was the funniest person during writing and table reads. Seems like a certain kind of comedian's comedian. I LOVED Detroiters.
― dan selzer, Friday, 26 April 2019 02:40 (five years ago) link
This season of Bosch is far from the worst they've done! Plenty of story going on, there are some excellent supporting cast members, and even the core cast have begun changing their facial expressions once in a while.
The strange bathos of Amazon Prime Video popup infoboxes:https://i.imgur.com/sdaLnMB.png
― mick signals, Friday, 26 April 2019 20:33 (five years ago) link