S01.E01: Pilot

[dubbel zout]

Quote

Neil Bremer starts his first day as mayor of Los Angeles, where he faces new challenges on the job and at home.

Starring Ted Danson, Holly Hunter, Bobby Moynihan, Vella Lovell.

Premieres 1/7/2021.

[appositival]

I'm in. I was hooked in the opening scene when Ted said, "you know I'm lost, right?".

My only objection is that the opening theme sounds too much like 'The Good Place'. I wonder why they would do that.

I normally come here to mock bad writing so I'm feeling a bit lost too.

Edited January 8, 2021 by appositival

[Almost 3000]

Haven't watched a sitcom from any of the alphabet networks in years but saw an ad for this and thought it might be a distraction from current events. Guy with no political experience wins the election. What could go wrong. (to soon?) Glad I did because it made me laugh. 

[DanaK]

I found it amusing and likable enough to keep watching 

[chaifan]

I am happy to welcome Ted Danson back to my tv screen!  If you liked The Good Place, I think you'll like this.  Danson's character here has a very similar tone to Michael in The Good Place.

I think this is really well cast.  I love Vella Lovell (from Crazy Ex Girlfriend, among others).  And I'm happy to see Bobby Moynihan again.  I know I was one of a handful of people who watched Me Myself & I, and I was sad to see that cancelled.  And Holly Hunter is soooo tiny! 

My only quibble is Danson having a teenage daughter.  I think I'd be a little more comfortable if they didn't make her an only child, but a very late in life surprise "oops" baby, and that he also has grown children that we won't see on screen.  Danson is 73.  I could buy his character being younger, maybe 65, so having this kid at 50 with a wife who was 5-10 years younger than him.  I really don't want the character to have become a dad for the first time at 58 with a wife 20+ years younger. 

 

[OoogleEyes]

This made me chuckle a few times, and I really need that. I have high hopes!

Just to see Ted Danson and Holly Hunter standing next to each other is a visual delight 

[hoodooznoodooz]

Tina Fey and Holly Hunter! Raised my expectations, so, of course, I will be a little disappointed. I think it will eventually consistently amuse me.

I liked Katniss Everdeen, your wife, and HH is always good even though her lines were sometimes cringy. 

It feels like they are pushing too much, too often the PC awareness.

The daughter is annoying.

Edited January 8, 2021 by hoodooznoodooz

[tennisgurl]

They had me at Ted Danson, and they had me even more with Vella Lovell in the supporting cast. This was a fun start, it made me smile and even laugh quite a few times and that's all I need from my sitcoms. 

Although I am so used to Ted Danson as Michael from The Good Place, that I keep expected him to sign off his press conferences with "Smell you later". 

Edited January 8, 2021 by tennisgurl

[OoogleEyes]

"Okay,  next dumb question!"

[dshgr]

One of my all time favorite shows is 30 Rock, and this show had Tina Fey written all over it.  Latiltthecuptodrink.org/mouth made me pee my pants. As did PPPORN (for the children).  I guess I'm the target audience

[bad things are bad]

agree, dshgr. Very Tina Fey. Which is a good thing. I'm in for a while at least. Hope we'll see more Rachel Dratch

[MarthaEllisanne]

Watching the pilot now. Ten minutes in and I am already tired of the teen daughter.  Send her off to boarding school or keep her in deep background.

[Browncoat]

I'm in, too.  I'd forgotten how short Holly Hunter is!  

[dubbel zout]

She's 5'2", and Danson is a foot taller.

I'll keep watching, but I'm not entirely sold yet on the show. It needs to be sharper, IMO.

[bugsmum]

A good start, there is potential.  I'm in.

[mertensia]

"The Murder hornets are actually tiny North Korean drones".

" And I'm out". 

Hee.

[stonehaven]

I really wanted to like this but I just couldn't. Ted was great but the character of a doofus in charge is just not something I need to see right now. Plus, the humor seemed juvenile to me. So, I'm out...Wishing it was better as Danson deserves more.

[iMonrey]

Quote

My only quibble is Danson having a teenage daughter.  I think I'd be a little more comfortable if they didn't make her an only child, but a very late in life surprise "oops" baby, and that he also has grown children that we won't see on screen.  Danson is 73.  I could buy his character being younger, maybe 65, so having this kid at 50 with a wife who was 5-10 years younger than him.  I really don't want the character to have become a dad for the first time at 58 with a wife 20+ years younger. 

Yeah, this. Look, Ted Danson looks great for his age, and sure it's quite possible he could have a daughter who's a sophomore in high school. But it feels a bit like vanity for him to be playing that when it's far more likely she would be his granddaughter. In fact they could easily have gone there - a granddaughter he's raising for whatever reason (dead parents, etc.).

Also a bit tired of the tropey millennial obsessed with social media and her followers. 

Otherwise this was pretty decent. Not ROTFLMAO funny but cute and amusing.

[possibilities]

I have a visceral aversion to everything about Holly Hunter and everything she's ever in, but I like this show and I like her character, so maybe I'll get over it. 

I actually love the daughter, and I think she's meant to be annoying. She's a teenager. What teenager is not annoying?

Edited January 10, 2021 by possibilities

[seasons]

Ted Danson is still great at tv comedy in my opinion.

I would lose my mind if he just put a little rinse of color in his hair.

 

Not a fan of HH or her character.

Edited January 11, 2021 by seasons

[seasons]

"I'll show you how to turn off the tv later." Lmao

[candall]

I couldn't even make it through the pilot.  Ted Danson is his usual affable charming self, but HH's lockjaw politico is relentlessly grating.  The daughter shouting all her lines is an easy tiebreaker.

It's all just so juvenile and obvious.  Bobby Moynihan plays a lovable quirky eccentric.  How do I know?  He's wearing orthopedic flip-flops and the ridiculous wig+glasses combo that even Ricky Gervais understood were a send-up.

 

 

[Tachi Rocinante]

I'll keep watching for now, but Holly Hunter's denture noises, Bobby's cliched character, and shoehorning in Rachel Dratch may get old real quick.

[dubbel zout]

7 minutes ago, Tachi Rocinante said:

shoehorning in Rachel Dratch

Aw, I like how loyal Tina Fey is to her old friend. 

[Kel Varnsen]

I liked it. It had some weird pilot stuff going on but a lot of that seems like it could disappear as people get more comfortable (writers and actors).

I loved how well Danson and Bobby Moynihan played off each other. Plus Danson having a young daughter didn't bother me that much, especially since he was a rich guy in LA so a much younger wife would not be surprising.

On 1/8/2021 at 1:44 PM, bad things are bad said:

Hope we'll see more Rachel Dratch

I like Dratch but preferably in small doses. Her characters are usually way too over the top even for Tina Fey shows. It freaks me out to imagine what 30 Rock would have been like with her as Jenna.

Edited January 16, 2021 by Kel Varnsen

[Kromm]

Saw this last night. I know it's early days, but that was really a big bag of "Meh". 

Shows of this type DO often find their way and improve, so there's that. 

It's so odd to say Bobby Moynihan was the MVP. No hate, it's just that I've never seen Bobby Moynihan as the best anything. But he definitely is here. He, Holly Hunter, and the Chief of Staff character are all over the top clichés. But HIS clichéd character is actually funny, unlike those other two. 

The daughter is awful. The whole IDEA of the daughter on the show is awful. This show is only going to work if it's biting and subversive. Not family oriented feel good BS. She's a cliche too. The faux rebel child who's actually entitled, but "good" underneath. Ugh. 

Danson is.... okay here at best. It's unclear if he understands this character any better than we do. 

This show must must must become an ensemble, where the mayor is just a point of intersection. He can't be a classic protagonist, because he's at the top. It would be like if Jed Bartlett was the main focus of all of The West Wing. You can't do that. 

Oh well. I'll keep checking back on the show. Again, it's a genre of show that often takes a whole season or more to click. Or... never. 

On 1/15/2021 at 8:56 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

I like Dratch but preferably in small doses. Her characters are usually way too over the top even for Tina Fey shows. It freaks me out to imagine what 30 Rock would have been like with her as Jenna.

People don't want to be mean.... but it would have been awful.  She's inherently over the top.  Jane K had the ability to reign back silliness when needed, to put it in context. 

[Crashcourse]

I just watched this pilot episode tonight, don't think I'll be watching anymore. 

I hadn't seen Holly Hunter since The Piano, but I didn't realize she was so tiny.  She looks like an annoying little elf.

[MisterGlass]

On 3/15/2022 at 7:59 PM, Crashcourse said:

I just watched this pilot episode tonight, don't think I'll be watching anymore.

If you ever feel like giving one more a try, I'd skip ahead to episode 6.  Starting with that episode they began to improve.

It's still not a must watch for me, but I'm enjoying it on the whole.