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S01.E03: A Little Yelp From My Friends

Tara Ariano

By Tara Ariano
in Selfie [V]

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photo fox

I love this show. Regardless of the rom-com stuff, it's just a great workplace comedy. I was rolling during that conference room scene. That's exactly the kind of thing they'd do at my company, minus the face-cupping.

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topanga

topanga

Okay, I'm loving this show. Karen Gillan totally nails Eliza's clueless, self-centered, and superficial side, but she also gives her a certain vulnerability and genuine goodness. The cultural references!!!   "Of course they have a pre-nup. There's a billion dollars on the elevator." and "Who she be with?" It took me a minute to remember that the line was from a B.I.G.G.I.E. Smalls song, but she had the voice down pat.

 

Oh, and it turns out that Charmonique is the brains behind the whole operation. She knows everything about everyone in the company. I think I can forgive the producers for naming her Charmonique.

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twoods

twoods

The boss is hilarious. I love him to pieces. First, the articles on Koreans kissing and now the Channing Tatum article.

I wish Joan realized that Eliza was trying, and at least she paid attention and saw her husband trying to eat oregano. That has to count for something.

Do people seriously yelp gas stations? I always thought yelp was as narcissistic as Facebook is.

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glitterpants

glitterpants

(edited)

I DIED when Henry took off his breakaway suit to reveal another identical suit underneath, TWICE. Karen Gillan is so good at physical comedy and reaction faces, and her dancing was so endearing.

Edited by glitterpants
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topanga

topanga

 

I DIED when Henry took off his breakaway suit to reveal another identical suit underneath, TWICE. Karen Gillan is so good at physical comedy and reaction faces, and her dancing was so endearing.

Yeah, that  was great. But I couldn't tell if they were actual breakaway suits, or if there was just some crafty filming and editing or CGI. The suit broke away perfectly every time. It didn't get stuck or hung up on any body parts.

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mamey2422

mamey2422

@topanga

Okay, I'm loving this show. Karen Gillan totally nails Eliza's clueless, self-centered, and superficial side, but she also gives her a certain vulnerability and genuine goodness. The cultural references!!!   "Of course they have a pre-nup. There's a billion dollars on the elevator." and "Who she be with?" It took me a minute to remember that the line was from a B.I.G.G.I.E. Smalls song, but she had the voice down pat.

 

Oh, and it turns out that Charmonique is the brains behind the whole operation. She knows everything about everyone in the company. I think I can forgive the producers for naming her Charmonique.

 

Yes to all of this! This was the best episode yet and laughed out loud several times, beginning with the "who she be with?" The delivery was so perfect there and the dance class was hysterical also. I think someone mentioned the physical comedy the Eliza character is bringing and I love it. I believe the ratings got off to a rocky start and I'd be curious to see this week's results. 

 

I think I fell in love with this show last night. 

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GenieinTX

GenieinTX

This show is so dang cute!  Karen G is great at physical comedy.  I cringed in embarassment for her but also laughed at the workout scene. But she brings such a vunderability to the role.  That moment where she confessed why she eats standing up tugged at my heart.

 

I sort of love that Henry isn't perfect either.  He's learning as much from her as she is from him.  And John Cho is just freaking adorable.  I love that guy.  I miss him on Sleepy Hollow but I want this show to stay on too.

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BestestAuntEver

BestestAuntEver

This show makes me laugh & very few comedies can do that for me. KG is doing a good job of bringing vulnerability to the role so that Eliza isn't completely unlikable/unroot-able.

 

Charmonique, definitely seems to be the one who knows what's going on.  She also comes off as the sane well adjusted one which I love.

I miss him on Sleepy Hollow but I want this show to stay on too.

 

 

Pulls up a chair. I miss him as Andy on Sleepy hollow, but am enjoying his performance here too.

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iMonrey

iMonrey

 

I'm really liking this show. Karen Gillan can't help but be endearing and John Cho is wonderful and sexy.

 

Does Karen Gillan have some sort of held over good will from a previous show she was on? I've never seen her in anything else and, for me, she's the problem with this show. I believe I've read she's actually British, or Australian, and doing an "American" accent, and that may be part of the problem. She sounds odd. 

 

This is the third episode I've watched, and I don't think I have laughed once. I did kind of smirk at John Cho tearing off the breakaway suits, but that's about it.

 

I think I'm done. I predict the network will be too once they burn through the initial order.

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Whimsy

Whimsy

Does Karen Gillan have some sort of held over good will from a previous show she was on? I've never seen her in anything else and, for me, she's the problem with this show. I believe I've read she's actually British, or Australian, and doing an "American" accent, and that may be part of the problem. She sounds odd. 

 

This is the third episode I've watched, and I don't think I have laughed once. I did kind of smirk at John Cho tearing off the breakaway suits, but that's about it.

 

I think I'm done. I predict the network will be too once they burn through the initial order.

 

She was on Doctor Who as one of my favorite companions.  Also, she's Scottish.  I adore her and find her endearing but to each their own. 

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Kromm

Kromm

I think I fell in love with this show last night. 

I liked both of the the first two episodes, but also had some big reservations.  

 

Episode 3 took care of that.  If the future episodes work like this, I no longer have any reservations.  I'm in.

 

If they backslide?  Well at least we now have a model of how it CAN work.

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thuganomics85

thuganomics85

(edited)

This show is continuing to grow on me.  Whatever issues that I might have are still easily being countered by John Cho and Karen Gillan just giving it 100%, no matter the material.  They're just bringing in the laughs for me, and their interactions are a riot.  They really have good chemistry, and sell both the funny and even sweeter moments.

 

This episode even made me warm up to some of the stuff I wasn't wild about.  I found the Inappropriate Boss more amusing compared to the pilot, and Henry's sad-sack assistant even made me chuckle this time.  Charmonique is still the only side character that works 100% for me, but I'll take this as a sign that the show can flesh out the rest (well, assuming it gets time to do so.)

 

Henry and the tearaway suits was the best.  Really, anything involving Henry is the best.  Eliza though, continues to be charming, even when she can do horrible stuff.  Hate to admit it though, but I've done the "Make eye-contact, but think about something else" stuff more times then I care to admit.  But, at least pay enough attention to respond to the topic, so I'm not quite as bad as her, heh.

 

It's too bad; I think this show really has potential, but I suspect ABC will probably kill it, before it has the chance.  I swear, those damn previews just made the show look worse then it was.  I hope I'm proven wrong, but I'm prepared for the worst.

 

 

Edited by thuganomics85
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Kromm

Kromm

 Also, Eliza (the character not the actress) has her own twitter page which is pretty funny: @The_Doolio

The most hilarious meta piece of this is going to be the sheer number of people who visit that page (or tweet the address) who don't get that it's a joke and very much mocking the other pages/tweeters it's emulating.

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dbell1

dbell1

I don't like comedies as a rule, but tuned in just to see Amy Pond on a show. HATED the commercials for it, but laughed a lot during the pilot. And Karen and John are insanely great together. I love this show. And I hope it makes it.

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me5671

me5671

I DIED when Henry took off his breakaway suit to reveal another identical suit underneath, TWICE. Karen Gillan is so good at physical comedy and reaction faces, and her dancing was so endearing.

 

Yes, I loved this too.  I howled both times he did that.  And Karen's dancing during the exercise class was another great bit.  This was a really strong episode.  I'm in now.  There were lots of laughs, but also a nice sentimental part towards the end.  And Karen G and John Cho are spectacular together... they have a lot of chemistry.

 

Loved when Eliza convinced Joan by singing, "Please, please, please, please?" Straight up now tell me!

 

I couldn't stop laughing at this too.  Clever!

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Kromm

Kromm

ABC owes it to this show to try another timeslot before they dump it.  Tuesday at 8 is viscous.  ANYTHING would die up against NCIS, and The Voice Results show and The Flash don't help it out either.  

 

I have no idea what numbers Black-ish is getting Wednesday at 9:30 or what Cristela is going to do now Fridays at 8:30, but those are the other two obvious spots.

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junemeatcleaver

junemeatcleaver

(edited)

 

I have no idea what numbers Black-ish is getting Wednesday at 9:30 or what Cristela is going to do now Fridays at 8:30, but those are the other two obvious spots.

 

Cristela goes well with that Tim Allen sitcom because they're both multi-cam/live-studio audience shows and Selfie would probably be another Neighbors in terms of numbers. 

 

Black-ish is the first show to do half-way decent behind Modern Family.  I imagine Selfie would do similar numbers to every other show that aired behind MF that was canceled.

 

I actually thought Tuesday's episode was cute, but I understand why no one is watching.  The humor for Selfie is very niche and narrow, but that's what happens when the writers mine Twitter slang for humor. 

Edited by junemeatcleaver
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ohjoy

ohjoy

Best episode yet! I'm enjoying the ways that even though Henry and Eliza are polar opposites on so many things, they can always meet in the middle (where Charmonique is to save the day). Cho and Gillan are both adorable and endearing, even in the most awkward situations.

And since there are so few of us watching the show, I'm gonna take that trash can with Big Ben and a police box on it as a Doctor Who shout-out just for me. :-)

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lassiecat

lassiecat

 

 

I know I shouldn't have laughed at "Dark. Darkness. Endless Night".

But I did.  So hard.

 

I thought the first two episodes were cute, but this line hooked and reeled me in.  Also, the last scene brought a tiny tear.  The perfect combination.  Which means it will be promptly cancelled, but I will enjoy it while it lasts.  

 

I think the key to this ep was the greater role of the supporting characters.  My favorite was the boss, who I didn't care for much in the pilot, but now I really want to know what makes him tick.  Who takes a Channing Tatum relationship article and uses it as workplace tool?  This guy!

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Kromm

Kromm

I think the key to this ep was the greater role of the supporting characters.  My favorite was the boss, who I didn't care for much in the pilot, but now I really want to know what makes him tick.  Who takes a Channing Tatum relationship article and uses it as workplace tool?  This guy!

I think Episode 2 had already started doing this, but with Charmonique.  Her appearance was brief in it admittedly, but it totally made sense (as did hers in this episode).  

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

I know I shouldn't have laughed at "Dark. Darkness. Endless Night".

 

But I did.  So hard.

Yeah. I'm legally blind, I'll be completely blind in about 3-4 years. It wasn't funny. At all.
I suspect the "joke" was initially created to make fun of the ridiculously ineffective sensitivity exercise. Since I don't get most humor on TV, I'm not the best person to explain where this joke went wrong, but it might have helped if a quick close up of John Cho/Henry had shown him cringing on behalf of the audience.
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Kromm

Kromm

I suspect the "joke" was initially created to make fun of the ridiculously ineffective sensitivity exercise. Since I don't get most humor on TV, I'm not the best person to explain where this joke went wrong, but it might have helped if a quick close up of John Cho/Henry had shown him cringing on behalf of the audience.

While I don't have any immediate friends who are blind, and certainly not all situations like this are created equally, in the past few days I have asked opinions of a few other folks (one hard of hearing almost to the point of deafness, and several African-Americans and female friends who have certainly have experiences with jokes that seem insensitive to their lives).  It wasn't unanimous, but the overall opinion seemed to be that it was a matter of the "agency" of the character telling the joke.  Now we don't know if the actor himself is blind, so we have to take things at face value, but as a character we had a seemingly blind person being the one on-screen expressing the "dark as night" thought.  It seemed to be about mocking the person putting him into that place rather than it being a mockery of the blind character himself.  I personally found it funny, because to me pomposity being exploded is usually funny, and that's what the blind man seemed to be doing to the boss character.  But I can understand (and at least one person I asked VERY strongly agreed) with the idea that the very writing of a joke based on someone being blind can be deeply offensive--no matter who the target of the joke is intended to be.  I'll just say that this isn't how I saw the joke.

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scarletregina

scarletregina

While I don't have any immediate friends who are blind, and certainly not all situations like this are created equally, in the past few days I have asked opinions of a few other folks (one hard of hearing almost to the point of deafness, and several African-Americans and female friends who have certainly have experiences with jokes that seem insensitive to their lives).  It wasn't unanimous, but the overall opinion seemed to be that it was a matter of the "agency" of the character telling the joke.  Now we don't know if the actor himself is blind, so we have to take things at face value, but as a character we had a seemingly blind person being the one on-screen expressing the "dark as night" thought.  It seemed to be about mocking the person putting him into that place rather than it being a mockery of the blind character himself.  I personally found it funny, because to me pomposity being exploded is usually funny, and that's what the blind man seemed to be doing to the boss character.  But I can understand (and at least one person I asked VERY strongly agreed) with the idea that the very writing of a joke based on someone being blind can be deeply offensive--no matter who the target of the joke is intended to be.  I'll just say that this isn't how I saw the joke.

 

It didn't seem that way to me at all, nor to any other blind people with whom I spoke. I don't see how the joke mocks the boss in the least. If you can explain to me how that works, I'm open to hearing it.  (I'm totally serious about that, btw. Sometimes defenses can go up and one can completely miss the point. So, if that's the case, then I certainly wouldn't mind being proven wrong, because damn it, I really liked the rest of this episode!)

 

I don't believe that the writers intended to make blind people feel like shit. But that's the way discrimination usually works. We are so removed from other people's experiences that it's acceptable to make a joke of them. The harm it may cause doesn't even enter our minds. We can't imagine it, because we have no frame of reference. Lord knows I've been guilty of this before. It happens to everyone. But if you realize you shouldn't find something funny, if you can see the discrimination in it, and instead of being turned off by the harm, you laugh at the joke... well... that doesn't seem right, does it?

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Kromm

Kromm

I don't know if there's any way to prove it was intended to mock the boss, short of someone putting the question to the show producer or writers.  To me, overall, the boss seems like a caricature (although thankfully not one race-based), so the path of most of what goes on around him is ultimately about mocking what comes out of his mouth.  This particular joke seemed that way to me, but even as I heard it I did even myself realize that it was a dangerous joke, because even in the best of lights (that it was indeed mocking the boss), it was still using the blind character as a device (since we don't really know anything else about him--or if he'll even be there in a different episode).

 

It could be seen in the same manner as if a black character popped up suddenly into an all white show to toss a zinger at all of the white characters, then disappeared.  Sure, he got one over on those white characters... but he was just a cheap device to do so.  I get that the blind character being a "drop in" for a similar purpose among sighted folks may come off the same way.  It's certainly something I had to think about a bit though before I saw how truly equivalent those two situations really are though.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

I don't know if there's any way to prove it was intended to mock the boss, short of someone putting the question to the show producer or writers...

Having read your thoughtful posts, I now have a theory on where this joke went wrong and also how it could have worked. If the actor performing the joke had performed it with obvious sarcasm it would have worked, but only if we had previously met the blind character (even if just in an earlier scene) so there was no doubt that the character was in fact blind and therefore sincere in the sarcasm. A lot of my communicating today has dissolved into what seems like rambling babbling--hopefully this is not another instance of the same.
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Kromm

Kromm

Having read your thoughtful posts, I now have a theory on where this joke went wrong and also how it could have worked. If the actor performing the joke had performed it with obvious sarcasm it would have worked, but only if we had previously met the blind character (even if just in an earlier scene) so there was no doubt that the character was in fact blind and therefore sincere in the sarcasm. A lot of my communicating today has dissolved into what seems like rambling babbling--hopefully this is not another instance of the same.

The note I got from the actor's line reading was indeed not sarcasm.  It was more of a woe-is-me tone--which indeed could account for why it struck such a sour note with some.  If it was intended to be a barb, it should have sounded like one.

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topanga

topanga

 

Having read your thoughtful posts, I now have a theory on where this joke went wrong and also how it could have worked. If the actor performing the joke had performed it with obvious sarcasm it would have worked, but only if we had previously met the blind character (even if just in an earlier scene) so there was no doubt that the character was in fact blind and therefore sincere in the sarcasm. A lot of my communicating today has dissolved into what seems like rambling babbling--hopefully this is not another instance of the same.

The note I got from the actor's line reading was indeed not sarcasm.  It was more of a woe-is-me tone--which indeed could account for why it struck such a sour note with some.  If it was intended to be a barb, it should have sounded like one.

And I heard it as the blind character saying, "What do you think I see, Mr. Idiot boss who's making me participate in this exercise? I'm blind." Maybe the sarcasm wasn't communicated well. Which indeed would make the line offensive to some.

 

This is similar to the argument about whether Charmonique's character is a stereotype. In this episode, she was definitely more than the overweight, sassy black receptionist, and I no longer see her as a sterotype. Some people remain offended, however. Others never were offended.

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arc

arc

 

To me, overall, the boss seems like a caricature

There's a sort of almost willful stupidity to Harewood's character (Sam Saperstein) in the writing and acting that just puts it way too over the top for me.  I think of Veronica from Better Off Ted, but she even wasn't quite as dumb.  Or early season Jack Donaghy from 30 Rock, who was whip-smart but also unfamiliar with the world of TV he'd just transferred to... but Saperstein just doesn't show any competence in any area to offset the cartoonish behavior he's written with.

 

I actually liked the last moment of the show, where Henry graciously came over to eat lunch with Eliza, but everything else this episode was a painful, painful slog.  I feel like stalking/e-stalking has been used as a plot point elsewhere so much that they should have had Joan catch on to Eliza quoting Joan's opinions back to her, word for word, much earlier than she did. And I thought for sure that the whole point of Joan noticing that Eliza was bad at the workout was to signal that Joan was about to catch on, but nope.

 

Same with about everything else. I usually like Brian Huskey, not so much here.  Also, Henry's plot got muddied up -- it seemed to be starting off as "Henry's actually not very good at connecting, he's just got a good handle on a surface gloss of pretending that he's got a rapport with Larry, etc.  But then it went on a big tangent about Larry's stupid flash mob obsession and how weird and off-putting Larry was...

 

Maybe it's just that the show's not really for me.

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SarahPrtr

SarahPrtr

On 15/10/2014 at 10:21 PM, glitterpants said:

I DIED when Henry took off his breakaway suit to reveal another identical suit underneath, TWICE. Karen Gillan is so good at physical comedy and reaction faces, and her dancing was so endearing.

I also loved the part where Henry comes into the office and Charmonique doesn't even look up from her computer and very nonchalantly asks "Why are you wearing a breakaway suit?" - I think I laughed at that even more than at Henry tearing off the suit.  She wasn't even looking and knew that he was wearing the breakaway suit!

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