Mulaney - General Discussion

[opus]

I find him a decent talk show guest.

[Traveller519]

 

The best conclusion I can draw is that it's his apartment, and they either freeload or pay him rent (so stuff like couches and air conditioners are his).

 

I took that to mean he was paying for his portion (I'm assuming 1/3rd) since it was a purchase for the apartment.

 

If I wasn't so supportive of John and Nasim's careers I'd probably be long gone. I gave Spun Out the season out of support for Canadian TV and it go better, I'm hoping this one turns the corner too, but I don't see much light in this tunnel. 

[pythonite]

I think Mulaney has to find a way to translate his (often clever) comedic ideas from the linier verbal (stand-up) to something that works with story and characters. I watch thinking, "Oh I see the comedic idea there" but I don't laugh. It's not too cerebral, it's just not artful.

 

I just don't like some of these people. They're not edgy, they're off-putting. I really only watch to see Marty. I hope they can turn it around.

 

Some things make no sense. Mulaney whines about his horribly thoughtless boss, yet Lou Cannon seems to concentrate an inordinate amount of his time and attention on him. 

 

Also it bothers me that Nasim is presented as this desperate, sad sack woman while homely-looking Mulaney dates babes! I find it hards to believe someone who looks like her would be starved for male attention in the big city. Of course, she's crazy....

[FineWashables]

Well, I did laugh a few times, which surprised me because sitcoms are rarely funny enough to actually laugh at, though I can't remember what it was that I found funny.  Other than a few good jokes in the script, though, this is a show with serious issues.  

 

Mulaney may be funny in standup but in this show he looked and sounded like a high school kid forced to present his essay to the class.  So uncomfortable that it was uncomfortable to watch.  Martin Short is, was, and always will be a giant ham, but contrary to other posters, I found him even more over the top here than usual.  It's like he was channeling Robin Williams.  (And not in a good way.)

 

This is the perfect show to watch On Demand on a rainy day when there's absolutely nothing on tv.  Otherwise, I'll pass.

[hoodooznoodooz]

The acting on this show is really awful. Nasim was a very talented actress on SNL, so I don't understand what is going on here. But I do think John Mulaney is very attractive.

It seems as if JM looked at the notes he created to flesh out stand-up jokes and tried to make them work as dialogue for the cast.

[cpcathy]

Yeah, he needs to stop doing that. The show needs to be its own entity, not just bits of standup strung together and barely fleshed out.

[briochetwist]

Just watched the first two episodes on demand.  This is beyond horrible.  This shit can't get cancelled fast enough.

[Kromm]

Yeah, he needs to stop doing that. The show needs to be its own entity, not just bits of standup strung together and barely fleshed out.

IMO frankly this show needs to be nothing.  And I don't mean "even more like Seinfeld" nothing, because this is the fun-house mirror of Seinfeld, with the glass smeared with dogshit.

 

If Mulaney is a talented stand-up, he needs to go back to that.  I won't put how nightmarishly bad this is all on him, certainly, but his share of the blame seems sizable enough.

[BoogieBurns]

Order reduced from 16 episodes to 13. (There isn't a media thread, and it looks like we probably won't need one pretty soon)

[pythonite]

Which means no special guest Bill Hader. He was to be in the upcoming shoot. 

[Beach Party]

I like Jane, Motif, and John.  Focus on those three characters.  Make it just like Seinfeld: John does stand up and tries to make it to television/writing like Jerry.  Jane tries to find a decent relationship like Elaine.  Andre is already being treated as the Newman. 

 

Edited after watching Episode 3 on Halloween:  Motif is more like a George Costanza.  I guess that makes Elliot Gould the Kosmo Kramer character.

 

I dislike Lou Cannon's character.  His character is ruining this show for me.

Edited October 22, 2014 by Beach Party

[niklj]

I actually laughed at the image of John's unconscious face upside-down in the pool near the end. And that's the only part I laughed out loud at.

 

There's still something likeable about John, though, so I'll keep giving this show a shot.

[BoogieBurns]

When John uses his late neighbor Lapidus' jokes for Lou's monologue he finds himself willing to rob the man's grave to get more of his material and prove his worth...

 

 

Well... Nasim has a lovely singing voice.

[opus]

I spent half the episode trying to figure out where I'd heard the name Lapidus. (Turns out it was LOST).

[Peace 47]

There was an OJ joke. In 2014. How edgy.

The basic plot lines veer into such ridiculousness, that they become completely unrelatable. Mulaney is going to rob a grave rather than sit down, as the professional comedian he is, and write some actual jokes? Is that how this episode came about? No one wanted to write jokes, and so they robbed a grave?

And how does Nasim get access to the dead guy's apartment? Maybe Friends did something similarly far-fetched with a dead neighbor plotline back in the day, but you didn't really notice any implausibility because at least there were some jokes to pass the time. This show is dreadful.

[Kromm]

If the Pilot was a 1 out of 10, and the 2nd episode a 0 out of 10, this one was a whole 2 out of 10!

 

What epic progress!

 

NOT.

 

Lord this show sucks.

Well... Nasim has a lovely singing voice.

Yes, her singing was the one major piece of the episode that didn't make me want to stick a spike through my own eardrums.

There was an OJ joke. In 2014. How edgy.

I have no idea how someone could actually put that joke into a script in 2014 and actually hand it in without dying of embarrassment.  Then I listen to the REST of the episode and understand how.

[ShadowDenizen]

Honestly, I"m not sure why I'm still watching this show...

It was one of the shows that I was most looking forward to this season, and it's been bitterly disappointing....

[bigbetty]

According to EW and this guy -- we are missing the joke?  http://qoshe.com/the-atlantic/david-sims/mulaneys-weird-dark-edge/197991?ref=yazi

 

 

Thoughts?

[bigbetty]

Could it be we are all too dumb to appreciate it http://qoshe.com/the-atlantic/david-sims/mulaneys-weird-dark-edge/197991?ref=yazi

[joanne3482]

And how does Nasim get access to the dead guy's apartment? Maybe Friends did something similarly far-fetched with a dead neighbor plotline back in the day, but you didn't really notice any implausibility because at least there were some jokes to pass the time. This show is dreadful.

 

When Friends did it, there was a plausible reason. When he died Mr Heckles left the entire contents of his apartment to the "Noisy girls who lived above him" so the super let them in to clean it out. 

 

Could it be we are all too dumb to appreciate it http://qoshe.com/the...197991?ref=yazi

 

So he's doing another show about nothing when Seinfeld did it better. This was the first episode I watched and the whole time all I could think was how Seinfeldian it was. 

[RockShrimp]

at least we got to see Tina Belcher? 

[Nellise]

Could it be we are all too dumb to appreciate it http://qoshe.com/the-atlantic/david-sims/mulaneys-weird-dark-edge/197991?ref=yazi

 

Seems like an awfully big reach trying to justify the show's awfulness because the author likes Mulaney. One scenario that I could see how the show truly could be subversive is if Mulaney really wanted to make the NBC version of the show and hates this version and so is deliberately tanking it and made bets with his friends to see how long it would stay on the air. That would be kind of awesome.

[Kromm]

Could it be we are all too dumb to appreciate it http://qoshe.com/the-atlantic/david-sims/mulaneys-weird-dark-edge/197991?ref=yazi

I smell a stooge. This show is NOT clever. For one thing the stooge, I mean article writer, claims the perception of the show is that it's formulaic and that's the perceived "problem". No. That's not the problem. It's that it's got dumb gross out jokes, nightmarishly bad line readings, cardboard cutout characters, cliches that if they are meant to be played as ironic are incompetently done so, and THEN we can lay the overt but badly done Seinfeldism on TOP of all of that just as a capper.

[dill]

Do we believe our lying eyes, or David Sims and Molly Lambert? Also, google entertainment weekly's strange support http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/john-mulaney-state-of-sitcom/

Stooge pay must be GOOD

[takalotti]

One thing I do wish is that the first episode hadn't relied so heavily on his standup. There were so many parts where I knew exactly what was coming because I heard it in his standup already. I get why he did it - not everyone is going to have heard the standup already, so they're fresh jokes to them- but I hated knowing 95% of the set-ups. And not all work as "conversation" bits - for example, the prostate exam is one of his funniest jokes in his standup, but seeing it play out as a storyline really didn't hit as well.

I completely agree with this. In addition to the fact that knowing his stand up spoiled most of the humor for me, some of the stand up bits were really ham fisted into the episode. The one that stands out to me is the wheelchair joke. Really? You're just randomly going to say that when you just met the guy you're hoping will hire you?

[Kromm]

According to EW and this guy -- we are missing the joke?  http://qoshe.com/the-atlantic/david-sims/mulaneys-weird-dark-edge/197991?ref=yazi

 

 

Thoughts?

He's full of shit.

All these articles should probably be in a media thread, I think.

[takalotti]

I liked this episode better than the pilot. Most of that was probably due to the fact that it wasn't an acted out version of his stand up (that I know of, at least).

But another factor was that the doula theme amused me since I used one when I was pregnant. I especially liked the line, "It's like paying someone to be your mom," because that perfectly describes my situation. Even though it sucks that I didn't want my mom in the room with me, nor would she care enough to be there for me, I was quick to laugh at how true his comment was XD

However, it also meant I knew they got a couple things wrong about a doula, but that's okay. I expect simplified humor from a sitcom.

Oh, and I like Mary Jo.

Edited October 21, 2014 by takalotti

[Lisin]

Media!

[Lisin]

Hey everyone, we've opened up a shiny new Media topic, and some posts have been moved there, if you're looking for something that's probably where it is. Thanks! 

[Lisin]

Hey everyone, check out our shiny new Media topic, some posts have moved so if you're missing something that's where it is. Thank you!

[theatremouse]

The acting on this show is really awful. Nasim was a very talented actress on SNL, so I don't understand what is going on here.

The writing is that bad. Even great actors can't make rubbish good. They can sometimes elevate mediocre to slightly better, but bad is bad and you can't make it better, unless you improv the hell out of it and essentially do something else.

[Kromm]

The writing is that bad. Even great actors can't make rubbish good. They can sometimes elevate mediocre to slightly better, but bad is bad and you can't make it better, unless you improv the hell out of it and essentially do something else.

Imagine it like this. Someone's doing the Yorick speech from Hamlet. But instead of a neat looking skull they're holding a dildo. That's the kind of handicap a decent actor like Nasim is presumably operating under here. This show is the dildo.

[scrambled eggs]

I liked the scene where Nasim sang about the apartment, but the show really lost me when it had Mulaney finding the grave of a recently deceased Jewish man. Jewish graves never have markers that soon after burial, it takes close to a year for the unveiling. I guess there are no Jews on the writing staff, or at least no semi-knowledgeable ones. 

[cpcathy]

I think having a stone at a grave is a convenience for TV and movies, I saw a show where there was a stone at the actual burial, and I don't think that would be accurate, but for TV I suppose they put one there since it's easier than being accurate and saying the stone isn't ready yet.

[Latverian Diplomat]

zap2it says the reduction in the episode order (to the number of episodes already in the can) means Mulaney is effectively cancelled. 

 

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/10/21/fox-predictions-mulaney-is-canceled-dont-fall-for-the-pr-jedi-mind-trick/315841/

 

See also, Tom Shaw's twitter feed:

 

https://twitter.com/tvtomshaw

[Bruinsfan]

I bailed out after the first ten minutes. I don't have time to waste on things I'm not getting interested in. Didn't laugh once. Acting made me cringe. No thank you.

You're made of stronger stuff than I, the first monologue to the friend in the doctor's office made me cancel the OnDemand selection. I like Mulaney's standup, but that same delivery just does not work in the context of a character talking to a friend rather than an audience.

[Traveller519]

I'm pretty sure the "Filmed in front of a live studio audience" is just meant to be an inside joke, since he gets Ice-T to read it.

[opus]

I had heard him say it was originally " Mulaney was shot in front of a live audience"(a double meaning, especially with Ice T's delivery), but it ended up being changed.

[Kromm]

I fear there's no hope for this.

 

I don't watch any other traditional sitcoms anymore. But, I don't remember any of the good ones playing to the camera like this. The acting was very amateur for John, Nasim, and the Motif guy. 

I think it's somewhat generous to call it "acting".  It's been more like "awkward line reciting" (and that hasn't changed in the succeeding episodes).

[pythonite]

Several articles mention Mulaney deserves a better show, but isn't he primarily responsible for this one? Writer, producer, creator, star?

 

If he stayed with SNL he might have Weekend Update and the spotlight he craves. Now he's Jeff without Pink Lady.

Edited October 30, 2014 by pythonite

[Lisin]

John wonders why Jane doesn't like any of his girlfriends. Lou fixates on his death

[Traveller519]

I'll give it this. I think this was by far and away the best episode they've done. It played well off of one of John's sets without the forced dialogue of the pilot.

 

Lou was subdued but still his eccentric self; Jane wasn't the caricature she's been previously; and the notion of Motif having no idea what Friends was made for a good running gag.

 

That said, Andre is still ugh, and despite having the talent of Elliot Gould (and Lorraine Bracco and Penny Marshall this episode) they can't quite figure out how to make him work.

 

I doubt the show survives, but it restores my faith in John.

[opus]

I'm always a sucker for those meta Seinfeld type jokes.

[LiveFromKevin]

I watched New in Town a little while ago to prep for Mulaney. I can definitely see how they could spin some of those jokes into a show but if they do it badly it can easily go sitcom-y in the worst way.

One of the comedy stations on Sirius played New In Town the other day while I was on a long drive, and I retroactively came to the same conclusion.

Shame it went the other way. Performances are way too broad, all around the board.

[theatremouse]

Funny, I was about to say the meta too-Seinfeldy joke didn't save it for me because he continues to be exceptionally Seinfeldy (and I don't just mean the starting with the stand up bit). Heck, when the character was saying he learned how to talk to women from Ross, I was thinking, yeah and you (real-life Mulaney) learned how to act from Seinfeld.

 

I so wanted to like this but it just keeps disappointing. It's somehow...frustrating me more than a really blatantly bad show, as it wallows in mediocrity. Every five seconds I'm like "hey look, another very talented person completely wasted!"

[opus]

Unfortunately for them though, me saying I liked one line, the girl saying "I always defend you when people say you're too much like Seinfeld", isn't the highest of praise.

[Kromm]

I've been harder on this show than anyone.  So I figured I'd give a bit and found a positivity topic, for listing the good things.

 

I'll start.

 

I actually very much enjoy the show's theme music.  It's a kind of similar riff to Seinfeld's popping music (with saxaphones doing a similar rhythm).  

Listen to it here: http://www.televisiontunes.com/Mulaney.html

[Kromm]

The show is still shit, but I have to admit more of the jokes worked in this one than previous episodes.

 

1.) Motif not knowing Friends and his followup reactions actually struck me as kind of funny, if a very broad racial joke.

2.) The stand up joke about women not getting along with each other actually tied well into the episode.  The downside?  This show is fairly misogynistic leaning over-all--every episode so far we see Jane shown as crazy in some fashion. Every episode.

3.) "I did it for the laughs" actually worked as a kind of meta joke for me.  On the bad side, once again the show had to bring another joke back to bodily functions though--in this case dying on the toilet (EVERY episode now there's some joke about some body fluid or function), so that kind of ruined it.

4.) When did Penny Marshall get to be 500 pounds?  Okay, maybe not quite that, but she's HUGE.  Good lord.  Is something wrong there?

Edited November 4, 2014 by Kromm

[theatremouse]

I believe she had/has cancer recently? She gained a bit of weight slowly over the years, but I think she may also have been on steroids at some point related to her illness(es?) which can add a certain "puffy" look. It also was not a particularly flattering outfit.

[giovannif7]

He's definitely self aware, and he's keeping a sense of humor about his sitcom's dire situation -

 

Mulaney appeared on Chris Hardwick's game show @midnight last night. He was the lowest scoring contestant, and at elimination time he said:

 

"Look, you are the first to get rid of Mulaney this fall, but probably not the last..."

 

Hardwick, the panel (Nikki Glaser & Judah Friedlander) and the studio audience all loved it.