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pixelburp · 12-05-2020 8:33am #1

Could have sworn this had a thread, but maybe my mod powers aren't that great lol.

New show from Greg Daniels (Parks & Rec, King of the Hill, etc.). This dropped the other day & checked out the first episode. It's ... well, it's fine & has room to grow. Just nothing spectacular yet.

Hard not to think of the Good Place really, given they share the same story subject (the afterlife, the main character a fish of water), and both their characterisations are quite broad and goofy. This was a lot more satirical in tone though, given its afterlife is digital & run by a tech company - with all the lampooning that can spawn.

Anyone who plays games in 2020 will appreciate many of the gags in heaven; a heaven made of microtransactions feels more like hell to me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZfZj2bn_xg

magic_murph · 12-05-2020 9:01am

this looks absolutely terrible.
Prime really doesn't have a patch on Netflix in terms of quality content

pixelburp · 12-05-2020 9:13am

magic_murph wrote: »

this looks absolutely terrible.
Prime really doesn't have a patch on Netflix in terms of quality content

Funny, based on current offerings, I would have said the opposite; a lot of Netflix's recent output has been very, intentionally(?) trashy compared with Amazon's.

Anyway: trailer's for comedies are hard 'cos the giggles require context & setup: I'm happy to keep going - especially given Parks & Rec was famously awful in Season 1.

Tabnabs · 12-05-2020 10:14am

Am most of the way through the series. It needs better writers, there is so much they could have done with it but it's really just 25 minutes of mildly fun distraction. Issues or storylines come up and just seem to be forgotten about, making them pointless and unnecessary.

I haven't seen the final episode quite yet, but can see them stretching this out into another series.

EoinMcLovin · 12-05-2020 9:10pm

Tabnabs wrote: »

Am most of the way through the series. It needs better writers, there is so much they could have done with it but it's really just 25 minutes of mildly fun distraction. Issues or storylines come up and just seem to be forgotten about, making them pointless and unnecessary.

I haven't seen the final episode quite yet, but can see them stretching this out into another series.

It already got renewed for a second season last week

Cina · 13-05-2020 8:09am

I really enjoyed it.

Not sure what people are expecting from a 25 minute comedy by the writer of The Office. I liked the picture of the near future they created and it had a good few slapstick/gross out belly laughs.

Tabnabs · 13-05-2020 12:49pm

EoinMcLovin wrote: »

It already got renewed for a second season last week

Netflix won't be overly concerned to hear that...

Tabnabs · 15-05-2020 1:30pm

Much of the final episode was very cringy. Was it written by a 1 year old girl?

15-05-2020 10:03pm

On episode 2 now... it's okay. Not super exciting. I like the concept

Always wonder if it's really you or a copy of you that gets uploaded though!

edit: it definitely gets better, it's pretty good

pixelburp · 22-05-2020 4:10pm

Watched the first 3 episodes and it's "fine", sometimes drifting into "underwhelming". There's a really engaging intellectual drama to be had here about a digitised after-life, but the somewhat scattershot jokes & humour bring it down when they didn't land. Often, it felt like the writers felt compelled to jam in some goofy humour for the sake of it. The perversion of this universe - leasing the after-life for your loved ones, yikes - should be enough to wry some dark laughs as it stands.

Also, the "private investigator" character feels like they were writing for Mellisa McCarthy but couldn't get her onboard. Maybe it's just me.

And while only tangentially related to The Good Place, I can't help but constantly think of how much better that show managed the ennui of a curated After Life.

gmisk · 16-06-2020 8:25pm

I am quite enjoying it.
It's a really interesting idea and it's growing on me, some bits don't quite work for me, e.g. the investigator....awful. Definitely not quite at the same level as the good place.

ixoy · 16-06-2020 9:11pm

If you're watching it, just stop at Episode 9 and only watch Episode 10 when Season 2 is available because it's a rubbish finale and best not to linger on it. Episode 9 is much better and works as a finale itself.

pixelburp · 03-07-2020 5:35pm

ixoy wrote: »

If you're watching it, just stop at Episode 9 and only watch Episode 10 when Season 2 is available because it's a rubbish finale and best not to linger on it. Episode 9 is much better and works as a finale itself.

Belatedly finished this, as kinda drifted out of my mind. Which kinda says it all really. Would agree with the above in the finale felt weirdly detached from the previous episode.

A very unessential show but one with potential too. Season 2 needs to pick a lane though: the comedy was too flat, with the broad swings not landing in the way Good Place managed. The drama itself being too tepid in place of aforementioned humour.

Agent Coulson · 20-01-2022 8:05pm

Season 2 starts March 11th

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpB-h3hl6_I&ab_channel=AmazonPrimeVideo

Agent Coulson · 23-02-2022 3:32pm

Season 2 trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OtfjPCJpU0&ab_channel=PrimeVideo

pixelburp · 23-02-2022 3:57pm

"Prime video's #1 half-hour comedy returns"? Had they even that many to begin with?

A fun little distraction of a show, little else; while anything that has a Wealth Inequality angle feels really awkward when it's broadcast on Amazon of all things.

Basq · 11-03-2022 10:38am

Could have done with a better recap.. no clue what the hell was going on!

EoinMcLovin · 11-03-2022 1:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118767117#Comment_118767117

Good recap here

https://youtu.be/JqPqXxQkyD8

gmisk · 11-03-2022 9:57pm

Enjoyed episode one of the new season. It's a really nice easy watch.

EoinMcLovin · 11-03-2022 11:24pm

Just finished it there, 7 episodes was not enough. Hopefully it gets renewed for a third season

artvanderlay · 15-03-2022 3:32pm

Loved season 1: season 2 is muck. The writing is non-existent, and only 7 episodes? WTF? Too many unnecessary and unfunny background characters hogging the camera this season. I hate them! Very little of Nora and Nathan together, which is a shame because they had good chemistry. It's just terribly underwritten and very inconsistent. Looking at the credits, it seems that Greg Daniels has tasked others with the writing and directing this season; he is sorely missed, like when he took his eye off The Office and it turned to ****.