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Garfunkel And Oates - General Discussion

Meredith Quill

By Meredith Quill
in Garfunkel And Oates

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Lone Wolf

Lone Wolf

So, did anyone go to IFC.com to watch the rest of the ep?  I'm assuming TBTB are using the number of hits they get as an early indicator of how popular the show's going to be.  I wasn't impressed enough to go to the trouble to go to the website, but I'll still the record the next ep.  

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Mertseger

Mertseger

The "Win, Lose or Draw" scene gave me my biggest laugh of the month. I have been so looking forward to this show, and was worried that my expectations might be too high. 

 

I'm not sure I got the reason for all the leotard changes in "Go Sports". And there's something a little iffy about the only racial diversity in the episode being the nonspeaking background jazzercizers in an episode about not speaking. Katie and Riki had the privilege to choose not to speak ... I wonder if the ethnicity of the background dancers was a choice by G&O for exactly that reason. 

 

It's good that IFC is letting them go all in (on their v-cards to promote the show at least - http://www.ifc.com/shows/garfunkel-and-oates/v-cards): I would not have expected IFC to them to go with an unexpurgated, (albeit shortened) version of "The Loophole". Lots of promising signs here.

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arc

arc

... Ok, finally watched it. I liked it a lot. Very funny, even if I was expecting more of a sketch show than what is basically a sitcom with a couple of musical interludes.

for example, the "maybe those are flowers for you" joke was telegraphed as all hell and yet I still laughed when they pulled it off. Kate and Riki have really terrific comic timing.

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ApathyMonger

ApathyMonger

I probably could have done without the musical interlude, to be honest. It wasn't bad, but it didn't really feel integrated into the episode well. Maybe other episodes will do it better.

Oh, and if any moderators are reading this, this is actually S01E03, according to the Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfunkel_%26_Oates_%28TV_series%29 They just decided to release this one early, I guess. They do the same with preview episodes of Comedy Bang! Bang! most seasons.

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EricJ

EricJ

I really wanted to like this more than I did. The energy of the show is just kind of flat and stilted. I'm going to keep watching, and I expect it to improve, but there's something subtle that needs goosing - the editing, the sound design, the lighting, something like that.

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Mertseger

Mertseger

(edited)

I was surprised that Riki and Kate and their previous work as G&O exist within the context of the show.

 

But, yeah, the lack of harmony in their songs is kind of their thing. They are also are not very strong on melodies, in general. But they are hypervocal, and their lyrics are extremely clever and rewarding. It usually takes two or three listens for me to get everything that they're saying.

 

I must say in Riki's defense that I loved her as Conrad in Whedon's version of Much Ado About Nothing, and I like her here as well.

 

I'd be very surprised if Kate is consistently shown as the dumb one of the pair in the show, since they have been pretty equal in their previous work. I think this particular episode just pushed her character that direction.

Edited by Mertseger
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Kalaba

Kalaba

I registered just so I could discuss this episode - specifically the Go Sports Go music video.  It's a parody of the Break a Sweat video that Jessie, Kelly, and Lisa did on Saved by the Bell.  There were other references I wasn't sure of, but this is the main one.

 

I couldn't find a better video, and I'm not really sure how to post, but hopefully this works (sorry if I screw it up!):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnL3th4ja30

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Mertseger

Mertseger

Does Brian Posehn's presence in this episode mean that G&O takes place in the same setting as The Sarah Silverman Program?

 

The first scene did a great job of setting this sitcom in a version of Riki and Kate's real lives.I'm not necessarily on board with Kate being set up as the dumb one or "borderline autistic", and Riki as the slutty one though perhaps both characterizations have some element of truth to them (who knows?). It looks like they are trying to write from the central song of the episode outward, and I'm not sure that that works in general. I wouldn't want to forgo the music though, and so this approach may be for the best.

 

I liked the episode, but it did not make laugh as hard as Ep. 3.

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Kromm

Kromm

I'm not even really a Garfunkle & Oates fan (I've seen them but never really loved them). But they totally raised their game for this (and at least in this one episode, the writing was pretty sharp).

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ALenore

ALenore

Does Brian Posehn's presence in this episode mean that G&O takes place in the same setting as The Sarah Silverman Program?

 

That wasn't Brian Posehn, it was his "boyfriend" Steve Agee, but of course it could still be part of the same universe.  

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Kromm

Kromm

That wasn't Brian Posehn, it was his "boyfriend" Steve Agee, but of course it could still be part of the same universe.  

My memory of the Sarah Silverman Program has faded a bit.  Did it seem for sure that he was "in character" as the same person?  If so, we can add him to our Tommyverse discussion...  if not, then he's just an actor appearing on multiple shows.

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Mertseger

Mertseger

My memory of the Sarah Silverman Program has faded a bit.  Did it seem for sure that he was "in character" as the same person?  If so, we can add him to our Tommyverse discussion...  if not, then he's just an actor appearing on multiple shows.

No, not at all: he was playing a cashier at a toy store. It's conceivable that the Sarah Silverman Program character could have such a job by this point, but nothing to indicate that he was the same character.

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bilgistic

bilgistic

I watched the shorts on HBO in anticipation of this show, and the show went above the high bar set by those. There are also some musical shorts on IFC that are so smart--witty and droll. I laughed out loud several times during the show. I love these ladies so much now, and I had previously been take-or-leave-them when seeing them on late-night talk shows. My new favorite comedians!

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arc

arc

Finally saw it. The AV Club review wasn't that enthusiastic, but I thought the pilot was really good. Very funny, nice stuff. A couple of rough spots as far as pacing and editing. But on the other hand, I liked how there were little moments like Jeselnik's character snaking Riki's joke that kinda meant something but also weren't made larger than they had to be.

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Kromm

Kromm

Finally saw it. The AV Club review wasn't that enthusiastic, but I thought the pilot was really good. Very funny, nice stuff. A couple of rough spots as far as pacing and editing. But on the other hand, I liked how there were little moments like Jeselnik's character snaking Riki's joke that kinda meant something but also weren't made larger than they had to be.

Then AV Club is wrong.  It was great.

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Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

I watched it. I found it amusing but not hilarious. I also thought the songs were funnier than the non-song parts of the show. It's interesting the last show I remember with this concept (comedians applying their lives to develop their material) was Seinfeld. Considering the number of stand-up types who get shows, I am surprised this type of show doesn't come up more often.

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Kromm

Kromm

I watched it. I found it amusing but not hilarious. I also thought the songs were funnier than the non-song parts of the show. It's interesting the last show I remember with this concept (comedians applying their lives to develop their material) was Seinfeld. Considering the number of stand-up types who get shows, I am surprised this type of show doesn't come up more often.

This fall's Mulaney, on Fox, is going to be that concept too.
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BrahmaGirl

BrahmaGirl

(edited)

Mertsegar, I think the presence of the black woman in the music video was a couple of jokes rolled into one. For starters, she was the "Lisa" in the SBTB parody video (great catch, Kalaba!). Then, there were at least three actresses mixed in there. The first was Lisa-esque, with a ponytail, then there was a larger version of her, and lastly they had a version with short hair that had a flower in it. So I think that was meant as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the non-speaking women as interchangable to the guys, as well as a wink to the lack of diversity in the cast and/or the general representation of black women in television.

I, for one, think this show is exceptional. I've watched each episode multiple times because there are so many little, subtle jokes and prop placements in there that I can't catch them all the first time. I'm really hoping for success for these two.

Edited by BrahmaGirl
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Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

This episode was like the opposite of the last one for me. In this one I found the plot really funny but the G&O song at the end (while good) didn't really bring the laughs. I also did find it weird how the show kind of just ended, not sure if I find that entertaining or now.

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Slovenly Muse

Slovenly Muse

(edited)

I loved the song at the end. It wasn't funny, but it was incredibly sweet. The rest of the episode, however? I dunno, the set-up was fine, but it seemed to have no resolution. I got the feeling the story was half-assedly tacked-up around a song they wanted to showcase, whereas the other episodes had a more logical/natural integration of the music. I'm not against plotting stories that way, I know Flight of the Conchords wrote their episodes around the songs they wanted to use and it worked well for them, but still, the story shouldn't feel like filler or an excuse to use the songs. I'll be interested to see episode 4, anyway, to see if/how they continue ironing out the kinks.

 

They did, however, win me over by casting Dr. Spaceman. I've missed you, Dr. Spaceman!

Edited by Slovenly Muse
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Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

Watched a bunch of the videos today. The "Why Isn't there more Fucking on this Island" one was probably my favourite. Used to love Lost and the amount of effort they put into knowing that show really made me laugh. Also watched the video for This Party Took a Turn for the Douche. Also super funny lyrics and the video was amazing.

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arc

arc

The premise of the hair swap leading to men and women treating Riki and Kate differently went a little too much of a straight line from the premise onwards. Little twists like the two of them passive-aggressively getting digs in at each other could have been played up more.

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arc

arc

Guest starring Ari Graynor as the third member G&O had to kick out long ago. Also appearing, Weird Al and Irene Choi (Annie Kim on Community).

 

I dunno, on most levels the show largely strikes me as a good-but-not-great version of what Broad City has been doing so brilliantly, but OTOH there are the music video sketches, which are pretty great.  And I loved G&O having a nemesis.

 

And the way the episode wrapped up with a callback to the initial plot (weed card) was great. That part really made me laugh.

 

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Kel Varnsen

Kel Varnsen

 I dunno, on most levels the show largely strikes me as a good-but-not-great version of what Broad City has been doing so brilliantly, but OTOH there are the music video sketches, which are pretty great.  And I loved G&O having a nemesis.

 

I am sort of the same way. I would call this show consistently amusing. It makes me sort of smile alot, but it is almost never really hilarious. This episode I thought was the weakest, except for the video which is usually the funniest part. That said last week's wig episode really made me laugh a lot.

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funky-rat

funky-rat

Ripoff of Flight of the Conchords. The dark haired one who looks like a fetus I recognize from somewhere a show or something. .

She was one of the many people who played the daughter on 'Til Death (with Brad Garrett).  I saw them do this sketch on several comedy shows and I had to turn the channel.  Just didn't find it funny.

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Petunia13

Petunia13

True it could have been at bit more complex. I felt like it was a plot that could have been on Don't Trust the B from Apt 23 and done better there.

I couldn't believe she went to bed with that guy from the bar. I actually said "Gross!" out loud. The dog food lines were funny and banter at the bar.

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