WIGATI: Eastbound and Down

This week on When I Get Around To It, Danny McBride's Eastbound and Down. Excited? I bet not.
So I was going to write about how, despite this show's hype, I've found Eastbound rather underwhelming. You see, I read an article on /Film about how the second season was moving to Mexico. The article talks very positively about the show, and as I scrolled down the comments, many people spoke of the show as if it were the second coming of whatever Christ's equivalent on HBO would be. Then, hitting up IMDB to see all-who's-in I see a nine star rating. Mental process: I love edgy HBO comedies; hey, its only sex episodes, just like a BBC show; I love edgy short run BBC shows (they get in and get out like any good man comedy); oh, just watch it you coward. But tonight as I check out the Meta-Critic score for the show, I see it's got a 62%. So my voice, really, is unnecessary. That review, after the jump.

First off, the protagonist, Kenny Powers, is a huge prick. I never see anything remotely redeemable about this guy, and while I cringe (cringe humour) at the things that he gets himself into, never do I feel bad for him. Now, I don't need a protagonist to relate to a show, comedy is allowed to be difficult sometimes. Think Curb Your Enthusiasm. Larry David is not a likable character, yet I really enjoy the show. I think the success there is that while you dislike Larry, you can relate to him. He is often the person we'd like to be ourselves, the man that stands up to ridiculous social etiquette or their breaches (depends on what side he finds himself on really). But Kenny Powers is just hopelessly self-involved and never on the right side of anything.

I bet I could get passed the reprehensible protagonist if the show was funnier, though. I'm not a big believer in the complete subjectivity of funny, so I will say, yes, I may not find this show funny where someone else might, but, really, I think Eastbound and Down is a very lazy funny. The majority of the humour in the show comes from Kenny's actions. And like I've said, he's awful, so most of the humour is derived from watching a douche do douchey things. Subjectivity: some people might find this funny, I think its lazy comedy writing. Here as a writer, jokes come from setting your character up in a situation where he can be a prick, and then having your character act a prick. This lacks the more involved comedic structure of set-up and exploit. You don't need a clever trick for a punchline, just a character to curse and hurt people's feelings.

The show isn't hopelessly funny. There are usually a couple of moments an episode that are pretty funny and the show is well written in terms of dialogue and its not sitcom-y in terms of narrative. But I could see the last episode's plot, and how it plays out, coming from the second (maybe the first) episode. It goes exactly where comedies like this do. Being edgy isn't just about fucks and tits (or racism and dicks), its about pushing the norm. Yes, you have a non-typical set of characters, no you have the paint-by-numbers narrative arc.

NOW, I really want to address Katy Mixon's character, April Buchanon. But I'm going to get SPOILERy to do so. So WARNING: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS. When we first meet April, she has a life in which Kenny has absolutely zero presence in and it's been so for a very long time now. And she hates him. He disgusts her. Really, she could not be less happy to see him now. He obviously treated her like crap at some point in their past and she is bitter about how things ended. Given Kenny's behaviour, its safe to assume he's mostly to blame for the relationship problems (if there were any, and he didn't just dump her when he got bigs or when he wanted to have sex with someone else). BUT, as the series goes on she falls in love with Kenny. Why this happens is not really apparent. He still acts like a douche around her, isn't respectful of her at all, and really seems to be mainly interested in her tits. There are moments where he shows something good around her, but it's usually in connection to the fact that he wants to be with her. You don't score points with a woman that hated you a week ago just because you exhibit signs of wanting to be with her.

MORE SPOILERS!! So the real reason that she falls in love with him is because the narrative arc says so. She's the leading lady so she necessarily falls in love with the leading man, despite everything about her character saying she would NOT. So what her husband is a wanker; so what she might have some pent up sexual desire for whatever dirtiness that she could get with Kenny; she still would not "fall in love" and decide to leace her life behind to follow him back to stardom-ville (the stardom-ville which manufactured his extreme sports level of douche to begin with). You know what April would do? She'd fuck him on the DL and feel slightly guilty about it. That's it. She'd exorcise her sexual demons, and move on. The character she is, would not love the character he is--nope, not unless the script says she would. So fuck that, give her character a little more dignity.

SPOILERS OVER!! The show is gearing up for another season down in Mexico, and maybe it will be better with more interesting characters, but I'm not optimistic. The writers don't seem to be able to create humorous and believable characters, or even unbelievable but funny characters, so making all of these new characters Mexican, probably won't help anything.

Watch it if you have nothing else on your plate.

Are you my caucasian?

Comedy Network Low-Jacked Comedy Central.

So I read on Stereogum that The Daily Show has posted a new website disconnected from Comedy Central. Alright let's blog about that. First maybe I should check out the site though. Oh no we won't. Things are involved.

Seriously try out this link to www.thedailyshow.com. Note the address that appears in your bottom status bar. Now click on it. Well it seems like you've been re-directed to a site you had no intentions on visiting. Strange.

Hmm. Let's try www.comedycentral.com. Hey look that's re-directed too.

Just a quick explanation: The Comedy Network is a Canadian cable television channel that plays various funny (and often unfunny) shows. Comedy Central is an American cable television channel that does the same. The Comedy Network syndicates a lot of shows off Comedy Central (like The Daily Show). Up until recently one was able to access either network's websites to watch streamed content. No longer. Here's a CTV news story about the issue (be aware that CTV owns The Comedy Network).

So what's going on here? This has happened to me before when trying to gain access to a certain site hosting bittorrent files. The site blocked my access because of the different laws in Canada in regard to copyrights. I wasn't really aware sites were able to block sites based on country of origin. And now this is what The Comedy Network is doing. They are re-directing Canadian traffic to their own site--essentially blocking Canadian access to Comedy Central on the net.

So what's the deal with this? I don't want to rant but where does The Comedy Network get off blocking perfectly reasonable access to Comedy Central? Blah blah blah Google and China, but like Comedy Central is an American channel that can only be accessed through illegal methods in Canada. Their website, however, was a way to watch Comedy Central content not available on The Comedy Network and further had a greater selection of streamable content.

According to the deal The Comedy Network will have access to all of Comedy Central content but will they be hosting that all on their site? For instance can I stream content from a show The Comedy Network doesn't air but is still aired on Comedy Central? And am I going to have access to the archives that The Daily Show's new site hosts? This was an awesome feature that I don't see on The Comedy Network. Also I'm not really able to stream any of the content because it requires a plug-in that won't install correctly onto my computer (that one's probably on me though).

But beyond these issues of comparable content access, I think this whole tactic is a rather cheap way to promote that their "website doesn't suck anymore." I don't really care that it doesn't suck. I may not use it regardless because, yeah, I too am that petty. So, please don't block my access to websites whether you claim to offer the same content or not. This is America dammit and I should be able to go wherever I want on the internet. Be that porn, porn, or porn.

Lucky You

Another sitcom? I'm hoping you are not yet completely exhausted by my current TV comedy fixation because I've got one more sitcom to talk about (promise.). My motives today however are not to review a new sitcom though, it's to finalize (ha!) my discussion on sitcoms in some way. So why don't we start talking about Lucky Louie?

Lucky Louie isn't a new show this season, in fact the show's actually been cancelled for a while now, but I want to mention it as a contrast to all the sitcoms strewn across your television channels. Lucky Louie actually aired on HBO, making it the first sitcom to be produced by the channel, and upon watching any episode of the show you'll understand why its HBO and not CBS, Eric. In brief: Louie and wife deal with the problems of their marriage and 4yr old daughter. Sounds like a generic sitcom but... well watch this clip. This little scene sums up the show for me. It starts out deceptively like any sitcom with the set and pan in, then even sort of a familiar joke, but then as the conversation continues we start to go further than a regular sitcom would normally go. His daughter's incessant questions almost lead to a monologue of self contemplation for Louie. This is the very first scene of the pilot, brilliantly introducing the show.

The show gets a lot filthier as well. Lucky Louie takes on issues that sitcoms skirt around because they aren't wide viewership friendly and discuss them blatantly with copious amounts of cussing. I can remember conversations about Louie's eating problems, masturbation, and a lengthy scene between the couple regarding anal sex (seriously beware of content). A large driving force for the show is the problems with Louie and Kim's marriage and provides moments of honest realism and yet still moments of great comedy.

I discussed the racy nature of the show but I think I need to stress this point further. This show is absolutely filthy. If things aren't getting dirty at home, the moment his friend Rich walks on screen you're guaranteed to hear some things that will make you uncomfortable to be watching it with your mom. (Seriously this is how I started watching the show, with my mom. My mom and dad actually became fans of the show--an unexpected outcome and one that has required near limitless numbers of mental blockings.) Sometimes this perversity is a strong point for the show. In an argument about having another child Louie explains "my dick is too aware that your pussy is a chamber of financial ruin." This line was the reason I started watching the show: honest, crude, and funny. However!, sometimes the perversity just goes on without a point. Just a long conversation about masturbating with his friend which isn't particularly funny and, what?, shows us that men talk about masturbating? I saw that on The Drew Carey Show.

The show is very interesting in how it takes the sitcom genre and exploits it to be sometimes movingly honest, yet still manages to be consistently funny. The writing however really kills Lucky Louie. The writers (mainly Louis C.K.) didn't know the strong points of the show and so for every scene of hilarious reality inside the most unrealistic television show form, we had long uncomfortably dirty and unfunny scenes. HBO didn't renew the show and it's a shame because a second season can often drastically improve a show (remember the first season of Seinfeld?). I would have been interested in seeing the show Lucky Louie could have been. But alas.

Check it out if you aren't too bashful and if your mom's out of room.

Return of The Office

I wanted this to be a positive post. For earnest I swear. However, I got home today planning on writing today's blog and found not the new Iron and Wine CD I ordered in the mail-box BUT my roommate's damn Scary Go Round book. Also!, I wasn't overly impressed by The Office last Thursday.

I watched The Office's (hour long!) premier after the (hour long!!) premier of My Name is Earl. And this was actually the problem for me. MNiE is trying something new this season that actually has me looking forward to the next episode. They've thrown Earl in jail and thus the show's formula has been tossed about too. I hand it to the show, they've shown a fresh willingness to renew their format. This might be something The Office could learn from?

Now I'm not ignorant. The Office has had some shake-ups, like relocating Jim in the start of season 3. This was a good move, one I thought they could have milked a little longer. I enjoyed the alt. branch a lot and the scene that occurred between Jim and Pam over the phone was quite touching. But the two offices merged and Jim came back with Karen which was essentially a reversal of our old love triangle. This isn't really the dynamic that troubles me though. Pam and Jim have always been The Office's strong suit and more and more the rest of the cast is becoming increasingly fleshed out and hilarious. Just take a look at Creed and Darryl. Oddly the problem I'm having with The Office is its root: Michael Scott.

Indeed. Michael's antics started to wear on me a little last season, his character seeming to become sort of a caricature of itself, and this season's opener didn't show any signs of relieving the problem. I know it may be an odd move to cite the main character and premise of the show as its main problem but that's what I'm finding consistently makes me reserve all out praise for the show. For instance: this new episode's nude scene. Honestly, this joke was lame. Pam walks in on Michael changing after he told her to come in. I didn't even smirk at this joke. Blurred out man parts aren't really funny on their own, especially not in a show that is pretty good about avoiding tired humour.

After all this though, the episode was pretty decent. There were plenty of good (humorous and sweet) moments between Jim and Pam, and the rest of the cast had some pretty good moments too (taking off for a beer during the run), but Michael was unforgivably annoying. Yes, he drove the story forward, but he used to do that while still making me laugh. Michael used to be a doofus that was trying hard to be cool but now he's this zany clown that the writers seem to be trying to have out-do himself each episode. I think they should take a hint from MNiE's writers (did I just write that!?) and try to mix things up a little more by focusing on other secondary characters or by having Michael be the straight man for once.

Remember though: this was just the first episode of season 4; there is still so much to like about The Office; I didn't get my CD.

Not with a Bang but with a Whimper

The next sitcom I downloaded was The Big Bang Theory on CBS. This show is created by the dude behind Two and a Half Men as well as Dharma and Greg. I was surprised to find the pilot was directed by the same cat who directed the pilot for Back to You, making for a heavy James Burrows slant to Now that's Comedy. In brief: TBBT throws two nerdy geniuses into social interaction with (you guessed it!) a generic hotty from across the hall. I went into this show with low expectations as I saw it metacritiqued in the yellow. And after watching the pilot I do agree with this consensus but I will admit, however, that this show has a lot going for it (even if only potentially).

First off, this show needs to ditch it's laugh track or risk having me watch the show closed-captioned. It was honestly distracting/annoying/grating/sob-inducing. As a society I think we've moved beyond the need for laugh tracks but, as this is a sitcom, I guess it's to be expected? If we can't rid ourselves of these antiquated techniques then for god's sake at least use a live studio audience. This provides some semblance of proportioned laughs forced upon a viewer. Moving on!

The majority of jokes in TBBT are pretty obvious and really only function on a familiar level. Oh yes nerds like Star Wars, hi-larious. At one point our duo are debating interaction with the new move-in. Leonard comments on their closed circle of friends. Sheldon defends himself by saying he has 318 friends on myspace and Leonard "quips" that he does but has never met a single one. These lines led my roommate (ignorant of the show's origins) to ask "who are these guys the Dharma and Greg of nerds?" Too many jokes simply play off nerd cliches and the attempts at physics references usually come off as obvious or wikipedia-ed.

That all being said however! the dialogue in the script is actually quite well written. The manner in which Sheldon and Leonard talk is engaging and makes me wish for funnier jokes. Secondly, the acting is pretty superb. Sheldon in particular nails his wordy lines and adds plenty of sarcastic disdain sending my heart all a flutter. The characters probably flirt with familiarity but I think the acting brings them past that mostly. It's the acting that really saves this show, elevating mediocre jokes into laugh-earners!

So, I'm conflicted. Too many lame easy jokes to call TBBT good but such deftly acted and engaging characters to write off immediately. What's a boy to do? I wish perhaps they could hand the show over to some people that are willing to move beyond humour mined from library joke books, but I've learned wishing does nothing in regards to the fate of comedy shows. I really want this show to get better. I'll tune-in likely to only find heartbreak.

Ditch the damned laugh track though, yeesh.

The Show's called Chuck

I was really looking forward to this new show Chuck. In brief: charismatic and comical nerd gets involved with secret agent nonsense and some generic smoking hotty. I missed it on Monday night the same way I missed Heroes. What the hell was I thinking? Oh yes, I was hoping to see Emily Haines dance. I (again) was disappointed.

And! the trailer was quite promising: ninja jokes, computer jokes, Batman jokes, videogame jokes, CHiPs jokes... But I just finished my downloaded pilot and honestly, what the hell NBC?

I'm not going to say there weren't any good jokes, in fact those jokes listed above were all pretty respectable, but most were in the trailer. (When did TV shows start having trailers btw?) If you watched the trailer there's a moment where Chuck is beat-boxing "Vicky Vale!" but looks up to see the "smoking hotty" and so stops the beat-boxing and drops the phone all so suddenly--a well acted and timed physical comedy beat. The full length show also has a pretty funny follow up joke that's not included in the trailer. So there are for sure some quality moments in the show but this quality isn't all that consistent. For instance, the whole buddy aspect, which is a main element of the show, fails pretty much outright.

The buddy system is just as important in comedy as it is in... bench pressing I guess? But I mean it's a pretty standard mechanism, two characters playing off each other to generate the laughs. This particular instance has a wise cracking lead and the more-of-a-loser-than-the-lead foil. But this foil, named Morgan, is more of a loser than the lead, but he's never really funny. The jokes involving him fall flat 95% of the time. Not since Kanye and Myers have we had such dead weight in a team (Myers here being the dead weight of course).

My therapist(s) say that I need to work on being more optimistic though, so I am willing to come back to this show a few more times in hopes things will tighten up. It won't be hard for Chuck to set itself apart from the new comedies this season so I may find myself downloading it consistently out of plain boredom. Also there could be more ninja jokes. I love ninja jokes.

I don't have a clever sign off line, dammit.

Back to Sitcoms

Perhaps I should start off by saying that I never really enjoyed either Everybody Loves Raymond or Frasier. Perhaps I should start off by saying that I never really enjoyed sitcoms. Perhaps I should start off by saying that when I read about the new show Back to You I rolled my eyes. I think that covers my ass adequately.

Well I write a blog on comedy and Back to You is one of the most anticipated comedies hitting this new season, maybe I'd be amiss if I didn't blog about it at least once. So I made myself catch the tail end of the premier. I wasn't all that impressed. But you know to be fair perhaps I should watch the entire show before I pan it outright yeah? So I found myself a download.

When I checked out the credits I was sort of excited to see Christopher Lloyd was a co-creator. Doc Brown knows a thing or two about funny. Unfortunately there are multiple Christopher Lloyds in this universe and this is the bloke behind Frasier and Wings. Alas.

So onto the show! The pilot actually starts with a youtube clip of Grammer's character blooping on live TV. I think a few other comedies (and reality) have hit this joke first, but keep trying guys. The show centers around the production of the daily news and the team of characters doesn't really provide the audience with anything they haven't seen before. In fact the characters are strangely reminiscent of folks from Bruce Almighty and The Anchorman. The one character that wasn't immediately recognizable was the news director but that's quickly rectified with a brief monologue. He's an internet geek promoted to TV news director and is 26. Him and the sports announcer provide the closest approximation to humour (ie I laughed at each of them once).

But the real point, I guess, of the show is the chemistry between our two leads, however, the scenes featuring Grammer and Heaton were some of the most awkwardly acted scenes I've seen on television recently. I don't know if it's a lack of chemistry or just poor acting, but their scenes come off like some low quality local theatre. Both of these cats are sitcom stars, what's the deal? Mysteriously, the show also attempts to pull on the old heart strings with the revelation of Grammer as the father to Heaton's 10 year old daughter. The last scene is Grammer sipping some sort of bourbon or whiskey and calling Heaton to tell her the child is magnificent. This was the third time I laughed at the show.

Back to You isn't original in any regard. Unfortunately it isn't really funny in any regard either. The young geeky news manager and sports dude don't provide consistent laughs and the actual main characters/main thrust of the show are actually painful to watch. Hell though, I bet this show will be a hit and I'll have another reason to loathe Fox.

The Office returns this week.