Television Situation Comedy Reviews...
Sep. 28th, 2019 12:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatAnother pretty day. Doing laundry again. I think I've managed to work it around other people's laundry, we shall see.
There were more people than I expected down there. But it worked out. I was tempted to use three dryers, but I didn't need them -- it would have cost more, and I could air dry the remainder. Was doing a blanket, two towels, and a sparse amount of clothes. I thought about waiting a week -- but I need those two shirts. The dryers are small electric dryers with a long running time. And there was another woman behind me who needed two dryers as well. You can't over-stuff the electric dryers like you can the gas dryers -- which are faster. We do require at least four dryers though, right now we have three gas dryers. And that's not enough for the number of people doing laundry, also we have four washers.
More television reviews.
1. Carol's Second Act - sigh, worst I've seen yet. It's dumb and offensive, not sure how they managed that but they did. The set-up wasn't bad - an woman decides to become a doctor after her daughter is grown and her husband left her. We start with her in the residency program at a hospital, and all the action takes place at the hospital. (Television hospitals are very nice looking and everyone has a private room...what's up with that?) But the writing doesn't work. And the jokes feel labored and canned. Shame, I like Kyle McLachlan. But dear lord, he's gotten old and hasn't aged that well. It unfortunately has a laugh-track, which merely highlights all the things that aren't funny.
2. Sunnyside (Sunnyside, Queens -- where I lived when I first moved to NYC) -- has potential. Kal Penn plays a down on his luck former council man who was booted out for bad behavior. (He got drunk and tried to bribe a police officer.) And while hunting work (he gets paid for signing autographs and taking photos with people who are obsessed with the youtube video of his drunken downfall), he stumbles upon a group of immigrants frantically trying to get American Citizenship. Not a bad set-up. But so far, it has a lot of jokes that are at the expense of the characters and slyly poking fun at immigrant stereotypes, which isn't really a good thing. Feels a little bit like "Community" and has a similar set-up to Community. In which you have the token bad boy, this round refreshingly played by a non-white ethnic actor, and the interracial immigrant. We do have women in the adult or sane/non-quirky roles -- Kal's sister who is a medical resident and an actress who could be the doppleganger for Alexandra Oscasio-Cortez. (She's also on New Amsterdam, playing Valentina, the actress is getting around.) It didn't make me laugh, but I didn't cringe either - so progress.
3. The Good Place - The Girl From Arizona -- not sure why it was called this, since it seemed to be about things other than Eleanor, maybe they've run out titles?
It made me laugh. It does have one really good and unexpected out loud laugh moment, mainly because it seemingly comes out of nowhere and is absurd. Also, weirdly cathartic. So cathartic, I watched it twice. The episode up to that point was rather annoying. I really wanted to smack Eleanor and Michael. Also Simone, who has decided that she's in a coma and none of this is remotely real. While Chidi accepted he was dead -- because Chidi is a moral ethics and religious philosopher, Simone who is a neurologist and atheist didn't. They can't stand each other upon being introduced. And then there was the Jason/Derek/Janet subplot that is barely saved by Mindy getting off on Jason killing Derek.
Jason: Are you sure it's okay?
Mindy: Trust me, I do it all the time.
Jason: You got to understand I'm only doing this because -
Mindy: You don't have to explain. I totally get it. I've killed him lots of times.
I don't blame her, I'd kill Derek too, just for being Derek. But, if I could get away with it -- I'd have done in Jason by now.
There's some nifty little details in there as well. Such as Lasgna any time, and a popcorn river.
The best bit though is the old lady who doesn't care about anything. That they can't figure out. I think her name is Linda (I suck at remembering names and she's so bland...it's hard to remember). She's just blah, Eleanor thinks. And clearly there to annoy Jason, then she changes her mind and wanders if she's there to annoy her?
After failing with Simone, Michael and Eleanor decide to team up and figure out Linda. And manage to annoy Linda just enough, for her to suddenly punch them both in the nose and take off and punch a bunch of the fliers.
Eleanor: Well, at least, Linda's no longer boring.
Bwhahahha.
Then there's the amusing exchange between the Judge and the head demon regarding Linda who turns out to be in reality a very hunky demon, that Eleanor is trying not to drool over.
That part was hilarious. Partly because at that point I wanted to smack Eleanor and Michael in the nose.
I'm seeing a pattern here. Apparently television writers think comedy sprouts from poking fun at extremely annoying behavior?
4. Bob Hearts Abishola -- this is the new comedy by Chuck Lorre, and I think we have a winner. It was the only one of the group that I laughed several times during, and I did not find annoying in any way.
The set-up is that Bob, who has a heart attack, is rushed to the hospital by his family. He wakes up after surgery to a Nigerian Nurse named Abishola who is somewhat snarky but overall fairly kind in her own way. She basically does her job as a nurse in a major Detroit hospital, and is kind about it. I've met women like her. Actually I've met both of these people in my lifetime. They are real and not weird caricatures out of the brain of some television writer. Bob tries to flirt, Abishola is having none of it. She assists him to the bathroom, he wants to close the door, she realistically informs him that he has to keep it open.
Bob: I'm pee shy.
Abishola: Yes, well, it has to stay open. Otherwise what would happen if you fall? And how would I be able to assist you.
Bob: Okay. (It's taking a while.)
Abishola: I have other patients. Do you want me to put a catheter in your penis?
Bob: Really not.
Abishola rolls her eyes and starts to sing a Nigerian song.
Bob: That's pretty, what is it?
Abishola: A song I used to sing to my son at bedtime it always worked for him.
She sings again.
Bob pees.
See? Funny, but not at the expense of the characters.
Bob tries to joke with Abishola. But the only one that lands..
Bob: Is my family still here?
Abishola: Yes, do you want me to send them in to see you?
Bob: Please no. In fact, it would be great if you just told that I died.
Abishola (laughs)
Bob: Now that one landed.
Abishola: I can relate to difficult families.
Bob: Do you have one?
Abishola: None of your business.
What's wonderful about this one is it goes against the stereotypes for the most part. Bob, who is obese, he's a huge guy, runs a sock company, and is shown to be fluent in Chinese. (He's a white middle class guy.) And his family is middle class white Detroit, and not with a lot of education - and everyone is employed in the family sock business. Abishola is Nigerian, she is the single mother of a small boy, with a nice apartment, and her Auntie and Uncle who live with them. Her son is very smart and wants to join the track team. He gets into a fight with another boy, who is also black, who calls him an ethnic slur (Jungle bitch).
Abishola: What did her son say to mine, who is a straight A student and never gets into fights?
White Woman Principal (who is very nervous): Uh.
Other mother (black): That's irrelevant. Your son threw a chair at my son and should be suspended.
Abishola: What did he say? What word did he call him?
PRincipal: I'll write it down because I am not going to say it.
Abishola reads it and turns to the other mother: Jungle bitch? This is a racist epithet. You let your son say such things? If you were to call me that, I'd throw a chair at you.
Other mother: Her son should be suspended.
Abishola: What is happening to her son? Who is not going to be the doctor, my son will be.
Later.
Abishola's son: I'm sorry mom.
Abishaola: You have been suspended for three days. You will clean the house from top to bottom, and do your homework. And when you are done, we will find more work for you to do.
Son: Okay.
Abishola: And you may join the track team. Because the next boy you decide to fight, may be stronger than you -- and you will need to know how to run very fast to get away from him.
The supporting characters and actors are also very good. From the nurses at the hospital..
Bob to desk nurse: Where does Abishola live, I'd like to give her some socks as a thank you.
Stella: I can't give out that type of information.
Bob tries to bribe her with socks.
Stella: This is Detroit, socks aren't enough.
Later..
Stella: Here's fifty dollars.
Abishola: What is this for?
Stella: I sold you out for a hundred, I'm happy you are still alive.
From the pilot, you know the following: what these people do for a living, what they care about, who is in their family, and their values. The comedy is grounded in the absurd situations they handle daily, in particular Bob's attraction to a Nigerian Nurse -- and how odd, yet weirdly compatible the relationship truly is.
Abishola: Here's some socks.
Friend on Bus: Oooh, these are nice. Where'd you get them?
Abishola: From a patient.
Friend: They gave you socks?
Abishola: He gave me socks.
Friend: Oooh, a male patient. Why socks?
Abishola: It's what he does, he makes socks.
Friend: sounds like a woman.
Abishola: He owns a sock company.
Friend: Oooh, and he obviously likes you, you need a man.
Abishola: He is white.
Friend frowns ever so slightly then shrugs: You can't afford to be picky at your age.
LOL!
That's good dialogue. Why? Because I've heard this dialogue on the subway and on buses. Because it is relatable. It's what Abishola states early on -- if you can't relate to it, it is not funny.
Plus most of the characters are likable. (I'm on the fence about Bob's stupid family, but that may change. I adore Abishola's friends and family.) I also like the fact that they hired Nigerian actors with Nigerian accents along with other African-Americans -- so we have a diverse cast.
Anyhow, I've decided to stick with this one. And it shows why Chuck Lorre has continued to make hit comedies through the years -- he starts with the characters and moves from there. Too many writers start with an ideal or message, and the characters as a result become the punchline or pawns of the joke or message (one of my issues with the Good Place is that, although it has fun with philosophy, so I hand wave it), while this one goes with the characters first.
5. mixed-ish - this is the spin-off from "black-ish", which is about the wife's childhood in the early 1970s and 1980s. She's the child of inter-racial parents, who lived on a commune in the 1970s, and got kicked off when she was 12. They move into a furnished rental owned and paid for by her paternal grandfather, played by Gary Cole. Her sensible black mother joins Cole's law firm, while her free-spirited white father tries to grow his own vegetable garden out back to fee them. The series much like "blackish" is more about race relations and how they affect family dynamics than well the characters themselves. And it at times goes a bit over the top to make its points. It's exaggerated humor, and doesn't quite work for me.
Although they are right -- the writers -- interracial relationships weren't acceptable in the 1970s and 1980s, it really wasn't until the 1990s that this began to change. And it didn't change that much until some time around 2003. It took a while.
Now, anyone under the age of 50, won't watch a television series that isn't diverse.
The critical 18-45 demographic won't watch shows that are all white casts, and all male. And as a result television studios are no longer really producing them.
Anyhow, it's not bad. I may watch it again. But I wasn't pulled into it. And I didn't find it all that relatable. Blackish is the better series.
There were more people than I expected down there. But it worked out. I was tempted to use three dryers, but I didn't need them -- it would have cost more, and I could air dry the remainder. Was doing a blanket, two towels, and a sparse amount of clothes. I thought about waiting a week -- but I need those two shirts. The dryers are small electric dryers with a long running time. And there was another woman behind me who needed two dryers as well. You can't over-stuff the electric dryers like you can the gas dryers -- which are faster. We do require at least four dryers though, right now we have three gas dryers. And that's not enough for the number of people doing laundry, also we have four washers.
More television reviews.
1. Carol's Second Act - sigh, worst I've seen yet. It's dumb and offensive, not sure how they managed that but they did. The set-up wasn't bad - an woman decides to become a doctor after her daughter is grown and her husband left her. We start with her in the residency program at a hospital, and all the action takes place at the hospital. (Television hospitals are very nice looking and everyone has a private room...what's up with that?) But the writing doesn't work. And the jokes feel labored and canned. Shame, I like Kyle McLachlan. But dear lord, he's gotten old and hasn't aged that well. It unfortunately has a laugh-track, which merely highlights all the things that aren't funny.
2. Sunnyside (Sunnyside, Queens -- where I lived when I first moved to NYC) -- has potential. Kal Penn plays a down on his luck former council man who was booted out for bad behavior. (He got drunk and tried to bribe a police officer.) And while hunting work (he gets paid for signing autographs and taking photos with people who are obsessed with the youtube video of his drunken downfall), he stumbles upon a group of immigrants frantically trying to get American Citizenship. Not a bad set-up. But so far, it has a lot of jokes that are at the expense of the characters and slyly poking fun at immigrant stereotypes, which isn't really a good thing. Feels a little bit like "Community" and has a similar set-up to Community. In which you have the token bad boy, this round refreshingly played by a non-white ethnic actor, and the interracial immigrant. We do have women in the adult or sane/non-quirky roles -- Kal's sister who is a medical resident and an actress who could be the doppleganger for Alexandra Oscasio-Cortez. (She's also on New Amsterdam, playing Valentina, the actress is getting around.) It didn't make me laugh, but I didn't cringe either - so progress.
3. The Good Place - The Girl From Arizona -- not sure why it was called this, since it seemed to be about things other than Eleanor, maybe they've run out titles?
It made me laugh. It does have one really good and unexpected out loud laugh moment, mainly because it seemingly comes out of nowhere and is absurd. Also, weirdly cathartic. So cathartic, I watched it twice. The episode up to that point was rather annoying. I really wanted to smack Eleanor and Michael. Also Simone, who has decided that she's in a coma and none of this is remotely real. While Chidi accepted he was dead -- because Chidi is a moral ethics and religious philosopher, Simone who is a neurologist and atheist didn't. They can't stand each other upon being introduced. And then there was the Jason/Derek/Janet subplot that is barely saved by Mindy getting off on Jason killing Derek.
Jason: Are you sure it's okay?
Mindy: Trust me, I do it all the time.
Jason: You got to understand I'm only doing this because -
Mindy: You don't have to explain. I totally get it. I've killed him lots of times.
I don't blame her, I'd kill Derek too, just for being Derek. But, if I could get away with it -- I'd have done in Jason by now.
There's some nifty little details in there as well. Such as Lasgna any time, and a popcorn river.
The best bit though is the old lady who doesn't care about anything. That they can't figure out. I think her name is Linda (I suck at remembering names and she's so bland...it's hard to remember). She's just blah, Eleanor thinks. And clearly there to annoy Jason, then she changes her mind and wanders if she's there to annoy her?
After failing with Simone, Michael and Eleanor decide to team up and figure out Linda. And manage to annoy Linda just enough, for her to suddenly punch them both in the nose and take off and punch a bunch of the fliers.
Eleanor: Well, at least, Linda's no longer boring.
Bwhahahha.
Then there's the amusing exchange between the Judge and the head demon regarding Linda who turns out to be in reality a very hunky demon, that Eleanor is trying not to drool over.
That part was hilarious. Partly because at that point I wanted to smack Eleanor and Michael in the nose.
I'm seeing a pattern here. Apparently television writers think comedy sprouts from poking fun at extremely annoying behavior?
4. Bob Hearts Abishola -- this is the new comedy by Chuck Lorre, and I think we have a winner. It was the only one of the group that I laughed several times during, and I did not find annoying in any way.
The set-up is that Bob, who has a heart attack, is rushed to the hospital by his family. He wakes up after surgery to a Nigerian Nurse named Abishola who is somewhat snarky but overall fairly kind in her own way. She basically does her job as a nurse in a major Detroit hospital, and is kind about it. I've met women like her. Actually I've met both of these people in my lifetime. They are real and not weird caricatures out of the brain of some television writer. Bob tries to flirt, Abishola is having none of it. She assists him to the bathroom, he wants to close the door, she realistically informs him that he has to keep it open.
Bob: I'm pee shy.
Abishola: Yes, well, it has to stay open. Otherwise what would happen if you fall? And how would I be able to assist you.
Bob: Okay. (It's taking a while.)
Abishola: I have other patients. Do you want me to put a catheter in your penis?
Bob: Really not.
Abishola rolls her eyes and starts to sing a Nigerian song.
Bob: That's pretty, what is it?
Abishola: A song I used to sing to my son at bedtime it always worked for him.
She sings again.
Bob pees.
See? Funny, but not at the expense of the characters.
Bob tries to joke with Abishola. But the only one that lands..
Bob: Is my family still here?
Abishola: Yes, do you want me to send them in to see you?
Bob: Please no. In fact, it would be great if you just told that I died.
Abishola (laughs)
Bob: Now that one landed.
Abishola: I can relate to difficult families.
Bob: Do you have one?
Abishola: None of your business.
What's wonderful about this one is it goes against the stereotypes for the most part. Bob, who is obese, he's a huge guy, runs a sock company, and is shown to be fluent in Chinese. (He's a white middle class guy.) And his family is middle class white Detroit, and not with a lot of education - and everyone is employed in the family sock business. Abishola is Nigerian, she is the single mother of a small boy, with a nice apartment, and her Auntie and Uncle who live with them. Her son is very smart and wants to join the track team. He gets into a fight with another boy, who is also black, who calls him an ethnic slur (Jungle bitch).
Abishola: What did her son say to mine, who is a straight A student and never gets into fights?
White Woman Principal (who is very nervous): Uh.
Other mother (black): That's irrelevant. Your son threw a chair at my son and should be suspended.
Abishola: What did he say? What word did he call him?
PRincipal: I'll write it down because I am not going to say it.
Abishola reads it and turns to the other mother: Jungle bitch? This is a racist epithet. You let your son say such things? If you were to call me that, I'd throw a chair at you.
Other mother: Her son should be suspended.
Abishola: What is happening to her son? Who is not going to be the doctor, my son will be.
Later.
Abishola's son: I'm sorry mom.
Abishaola: You have been suspended for three days. You will clean the house from top to bottom, and do your homework. And when you are done, we will find more work for you to do.
Son: Okay.
Abishola: And you may join the track team. Because the next boy you decide to fight, may be stronger than you -- and you will need to know how to run very fast to get away from him.
The supporting characters and actors are also very good. From the nurses at the hospital..
Bob to desk nurse: Where does Abishola live, I'd like to give her some socks as a thank you.
Stella: I can't give out that type of information.
Bob tries to bribe her with socks.
Stella: This is Detroit, socks aren't enough.
Later..
Stella: Here's fifty dollars.
Abishola: What is this for?
Stella: I sold you out for a hundred, I'm happy you are still alive.
From the pilot, you know the following: what these people do for a living, what they care about, who is in their family, and their values. The comedy is grounded in the absurd situations they handle daily, in particular Bob's attraction to a Nigerian Nurse -- and how odd, yet weirdly compatible the relationship truly is.
Abishola: Here's some socks.
Friend on Bus: Oooh, these are nice. Where'd you get them?
Abishola: From a patient.
Friend: They gave you socks?
Abishola: He gave me socks.
Friend: Oooh, a male patient. Why socks?
Abishola: It's what he does, he makes socks.
Friend: sounds like a woman.
Abishola: He owns a sock company.
Friend: Oooh, and he obviously likes you, you need a man.
Abishola: He is white.
Friend frowns ever so slightly then shrugs: You can't afford to be picky at your age.
LOL!
That's good dialogue. Why? Because I've heard this dialogue on the subway and on buses. Because it is relatable. It's what Abishola states early on -- if you can't relate to it, it is not funny.
Plus most of the characters are likable. (I'm on the fence about Bob's stupid family, but that may change. I adore Abishola's friends and family.) I also like the fact that they hired Nigerian actors with Nigerian accents along with other African-Americans -- so we have a diverse cast.
Anyhow, I've decided to stick with this one. And it shows why Chuck Lorre has continued to make hit comedies through the years -- he starts with the characters and moves from there. Too many writers start with an ideal or message, and the characters as a result become the punchline or pawns of the joke or message (one of my issues with the Good Place is that, although it has fun with philosophy, so I hand wave it), while this one goes with the characters first.
5. mixed-ish - this is the spin-off from "black-ish", which is about the wife's childhood in the early 1970s and 1980s. She's the child of inter-racial parents, who lived on a commune in the 1970s, and got kicked off when she was 12. They move into a furnished rental owned and paid for by her paternal grandfather, played by Gary Cole. Her sensible black mother joins Cole's law firm, while her free-spirited white father tries to grow his own vegetable garden out back to fee them. The series much like "blackish" is more about race relations and how they affect family dynamics than well the characters themselves. And it at times goes a bit over the top to make its points. It's exaggerated humor, and doesn't quite work for me.
Although they are right -- the writers -- interracial relationships weren't acceptable in the 1970s and 1980s, it really wasn't until the 1990s that this began to change. And it didn't change that much until some time around 2003. It took a while.
Now, anyone under the age of 50, won't watch a television series that isn't diverse.
The critical 18-45 demographic won't watch shows that are all white casts, and all male. And as a result television studios are no longer really producing them.
Anyhow, it's not bad. I may watch it again. But I wasn't pulled into it. And I didn't find it all that relatable. Blackish is the better series.
no subject
Date: 2019-09-29 04:23 pm (UTC)Eleanor knows she can't hold onto Chidi and successfully run the experiment, but selfishly (if understandably) tries to hold onto him anyway; Michael has all-but checked out, reduced to empty boosterism (has he already been replaced by his Bad Place double?); Janet, our serene not-a-girl miracle worker, is snappish and distracted; and Jason.... Jason! With very, very little prompting from Mindy, he kills Derek!
They're all regressing, and they need to dig much deeper if they're going to hold on to the progress they've made over the past three seasons.
I liked mixed-ish, but so far, the series doesn't match up to the episode that inspired it. "Being Bow-Racial" was a high point for black-ish, and it makes sense that Kenya Barris would want to explore that rich vein of comedy and conflict. But that episode had Tracy Ellis Ross and Beau Bridges carrying it, and the series doesn't have anybody at that level. Let's see how it develops.
no subject
Date: 2019-09-29 07:17 pm (UTC)Agree on the Good Place. Team Cockroach was snapping under the pressure, due to varying degrees of selfishness. Still liked the last ten minutes the best.
no subject
Date: 2019-09-29 08:21 pm (UTC)Random notes on The Good Place:
-- "Stonehenge was a sex thing!" As I always suspected.
-- Derek's lustful description of Janet as "mommy-girlfriend" was wonderfully creepy.
-- I envy the viewers who have never heard the Kars4Kids jingle. It truly was spawned in the bowels of Hell.
-- We get it, Chris. You have killer abs. Buy a shirt already.
-- What's wrong with Robert Downey Jr.'s goatee?
-- We need to see Disco Janet. If only for a second.
-- Rock legend Alice Cooper (ne Vince Furnier) is indeed the pride of Phoenix, Arizona. Don't believe the cigarette butt statue is a real thing, though.
no subject
Date: 2019-09-30 01:07 am (UTC)We get it, Chris. You have killer abs. Buy a shirt already. -- Sigh yes. Although it's the only part of him that is interesting or worth looking at -- which is sad but true. Probably why he's flaunting it. Also, if you have it? Flaunt it. Considering all the work that goes into it.
What's wrong with Robert Downey Jr.'s goatee? -- Agreed. I actually think he looks better with the goatee. Whoever wrote that line was reaching.
We need to see Disco Janet. If only for a second. -- weirdly, I actually agree with this. I wanted to, too.
Rock legend Alice Cooper (ne Vince Furnier) is indeed the pride of Phoenix, Arizona. Don't believe the cigarette butt statue is a real thing, though. -- I am still sorely tempted to ask my Arizona buddies, who live in Phoenix if this is true. (Apparently it is true. According to superplin, who lives there -- it's in front of the Town Hall. Although I'm not quite sure if she's pulling my leg -- Google doesn't show it.)