S3.01: Just for Laughs

[NeenerNeener]

New season. 

Deborah's wardrobe warehouse would make Carrie Bradshaw drool with envy.

[maddie965]

They're back! God how I missed those two. I laughed, I cried, I cheered them on. Perfect as always (except for K, but I'm not going to talk about that).

[ProudMary]

I missed this show! I laughed out loud several times. 😄

When Deb emerged from her "closet" (Wow!) with that hideous dress, I said to my son, who was watching with me, "This is a test to see which of her surrounding sycophants will actually speak truth to power." I was shocked Deb truly liked the ugly dress! 😄 But it turned out to be a well-written way of letting it be Ava who told Deb the truth. 

[aghst]

They really did the accidental running into each other in the elevator scene very well.

It was more like two people who had an intimate bond, than mere employer/employee or mentor/protege.  So there was this real awkwardness between two people who didn't know exactly how to restart the relationship they had.

The second episode hints that Ava was really hurt by Deborah firing her and then ghosting her.  But we also see that Deborah, despite her success, being at the top of her game creatively as well as commercially, can't sleep and her world is disturbed, like those antique figurines she's rearranging in the middle of the night.

And I agree, the dress demonstrated to Deborah what she had been missing, how brutal honesty was always a part of their relationship.

That is the way they re-gain the rapport they had, of challenging each other.  While there is genuine respect and love, there's also calling each other out on their respective BS.

They're not equals of course.  The only way they can work together is that Deborah hires Ava.  But Ava is able to challenge Deborah in a way few other employees can.

So the great dialog of the show, especially these two characters riffing great lines at each other, emanates from this relationship of equals but not equals.

 

 

[arc]

What a phenomenal opening shot: drone fly-in to a seamless transition to handheld. Was that transition done entirely real or with some CG stitching? Also, terrific fake out. I don't know why I didn't think the camera staying deliberately behind "Deborah" for so long wasn't going to lead to a fake out.

Between her little pop-in show and the stylist, it looks like the problem for Deborah at the start of the season is she's surrounded by yes-men, even among comedy audiences and not just her employees.

Oh hey, wunder kid Silas is back! I actually quite enjoy all the flailing Jimmy gets up to in general, and I like taking the show to JFL. I figured at first that guy Jimmy and Kayla was aiming to sign probably sucked, cause it's a red flag they missed his show (and apparently didn't try to catch up by watching some clips on their phones). ... But it turned out he doesn't suck, he's just not going to be a long term client.

Is "On the Contrary" directly a swipe at Hasan Minhaj's show, or more of a pastiche of a bunch of politically minded comedy talk shows?

I wonder how long till Deborah hires Ava back. Gotta be soon. I feel like a year is about as long as a stand-up can ride the wave of one comedy special. Maybe two if they're a superstar, and Deborah's blown the first year having developed basically no new material.

Also, I really liked Ava quoting Deborah's "it never stops being hard" speech from s1.

Edited May 4 by arc

[Quickbeam]

Patton Oswalt does a bit where he talks about performing at a casino where despite not telling a joke the audience never stopped laughing. Essentially he shouted out his resume to the crowd and they screamed the whole set. That’s what this episode made me think of.

[chaifan]

I'm glad this show is back, but I have to be honest... I don't remember a scrap of Season 2.  Watching the "previously on" intro I was honestly wondering if I even watched Season 2.  But I remember Deborah firing Ava, so yeah, I guess I did.  I may need to binge it before Episode 3 comes out (I assume they'll be weekly from this point?).  

I liked Ava hanging with Deborah, sort of getting back into their old groove, and then realizing that things weren't all rainbows and unicorns.  The dress bit was funny, but I think it was too obviously telegraphed - that dress was nothing like anything we've seen Deborah wear.  The warehouse scene was wild - but I can't imagine even someone like Deborah would have that many clothes, even spread out over a 50 year career.  I do think they missed an opportunity - they should have had a wig wall that she walked past! 

15 hours ago, arc said:

Also, terrific fake out. I don't know why I didn't think the camera staying deliberately behind "Deborah" for so long wasn't going to lead to a fake out.

After about 10 seconds I was thinking it was going to be a fake out, mostly because no one was recognizing/swarming her.  But I was expecting it to be a drag queen impersonator.  

 

20 hours ago, aghst said:

can't sleep and her world is disturbed, like those antique figurines she's rearranging in the middle of the night.

Those were salt & pepper shakers!  I loved the next morning analysis by Josefina.  The corncobs aren't even together!  Oh, no, the horrors!  

 

[Blakeston]

16 hours ago, arc said:

Is "On the Contrary" directly a swipe at Hassan Minaj's show, or more of a pastiche of a bunch of politically minded comedy talk shows?

There's definitely some John Oliver in there.

[peachmangosteen]

10 hours ago, chaifan said:

I may need to binge it before Episode 3 comes out (I assume they'll be weekly from this point?).  

2 a week through the 23rd and then the finale on the 30th.

[sskrill]

I've missed this show so much.  When I knew it was getting close to returning I watched both seasons as a refresher.

The On The Contrary "I've seen clips" was a call back to Ava's interview with Deborah when Ava said Deborah's TV show was great and Deborah asked if she'd actually seen it.

I loved the warehouse scene - Deborah's rolling index lectern made me bark laugh.

I loved Ava calling Deb out over "as a friend".  "You hurt my feelings" you could see how uncomfortable Deb became because she knew she was wrong but couldn't bring herself to apologize.  This is the dynamic that makes them so good together.

I'm going to be petty and complain about the places they claim are Las Vegas and are so clearly not.  That dirt road they barrel down going to the warehouse.  Pretty sure that's the dirt road in the Mojave in CA.  Most entertainers have warehouses off Russell Road near Allegiant Stadium. It's petty, I know.

 

[IvySpice]

On 5/3/2024 at 4:30 AM, arc said:

Is "On the Contrary" directly a swipe at Hasan Minhaj's show

I was thinking it was John Oliver, too.

[LuvMyShows]

 

On 5/2/2024 at 3:25 PM, maddie965 said:

They're back! God how I missed those two. I laughed, I cried, I cheered them on. Perfect as always (except for K, but I'm not going to talk about that).

I am asking this question legit seriously. Why is Kayla's character on the show? Is the actress someone known to the staff and they feel pressured to have her on? Do the writers/showrunner genuinely think that Kayla adds something positive to the show? I just don't get it, because she is an awful character and as an actress she brings absolutely nothing to the role.

On 5/3/2024 at 10:43 PM, chaifan said:

After about 10 seconds I was thinking it was going to be a fake out, mostly because no one was recognizing/swarming her.  But I was expecting it to be a drag queen impersonator.  

Same with me! The way she walked is what gave it away almost immediately that it wasn't Deb, and the walk looked masculine.

Edited May 7 by LuvMyShows

[MicheleinPhilly]

I wasn't going to watch this until the whole season was available because I'm terribly impatient. But I needed something funny and caved last night.

My lord, I didn't realize how much I had missed this show. Deborah and Ava are probably my favorite duo on television right now. Their chemistry is just off the charts. 

[chaifan]

13 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

Why is Kayla's character on the show? Is the actress someone known to the staff and they feel pressured to have her on? Do the writers/showrunner genuinely think that Kayla adds something positive to the show? I just don't get it, because she is an awful character and as an actress she brings absolutely nothing to the role.

I totally agree.  I think the character is there for Jimmy to have someone to interact with, and give him a B plot here or there.  And I like that she's the boss's daughter, because that brings in a difficult element.  But Kayla is way way way too over the top.  They could have made her about 20% as annoying as she is, and she would still serve the purpose.  To me, she distracts from the show because there is nothing realistic about her character, and everything else on the show I could actually see happening in real life. 

[peachmangosteen]

I love Kayla. She is consistently entertaining to me.

[Dev F]

54 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I love Kayla. She is consistently entertaining to me.

Yeah, I always get a kick out of supporting characters who are just unapologetically awful: Pete Campbell on Mad Men, Jeremy Jamm on Parks and Recreation, Ellen Tigh on Battlestar Galactica . . .

[geekgirl921]

19 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

 

I am asking this question legit seriously. Why is Kayla's character on the show? Is the actress someone known to the staff and they feel pressured to have her on? Do the writers/showrunner genuinely think that Kayla adds something positive to the show? I just don't get it, because she is an awful character and as an actress she brings absolutely nothing to the role.

Same with me! The way she walked is what gave it away almost immediately that it wasn't Deb, and the walk looked masculine.

Me too!! I knew it wasn't her. The walk was wrong and you are right, it looked masculine.

[EtheltoTillie]

On 5/7/2024 at 9:56 AM, peachmangosteen said:

I love Kayla. She is consistently entertaining to me.

Kayla is showing growth.  She's less annoying and has actually started acting shrewdly.  She is using her nepo status wisely.  The showrunners even discussed this in one of the post-episode chats.  PS:  fie on Max with its annoying way of stopping the episode during the credits and making it difficult to stay tuned and watch the post episode discussion. 

Edited May 13 by EtheltoTillie

[peachmangosteen]

I didn't even know there were post episode chats. Max's interface is so damn annoying!

[EtheltoTillie]

4 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I didn't even know there were post episode chats. Max's interface is so damn annoying!

I can more easily control it on my iPad.  If I watch the episode on TV using Roku, and I cannot get to the post episode chat, I switch to the iPad, where it is easier to use the slider and get to the right point after the credits roll. 

[aghst]

Go to the series page on Max app and look for extras.

[Kel Varnsen]

On 5/3/2024 at 7:30 AM, arc said:

What a phenomenal opening shot: drone fly-in to a seamless transition to handheld. Was that transition done entirely real or with some CG stitching

Not sure if this show did it the same way but Slow Horses had a very similar shot in the most recent season and it was basically a drone which flies in, and then is caught by a camera operator covered in body armour (who manages to stay out of the shot). Then once the operator catches the drone they use it like a handheld camera.