Mulaney - General Discussion

[Kromm]

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.

I haven't see that @midnight yet, but frankly... if he was there with Glaser and Friedlander he was ALREADY very outclassed!

 

That said, I can credit his response as a decent way to respond to the situation.  It's not like on a gameshow he has time or the inclination to go into WHY his sitcom is tanking, but even the joke illustrates he isn't simply acting like it never happened (some people might).

[Tyrone Biggums]

The show's only 30 minutes long?

[pythonite]

It's a credit to Mulaney's good will or Lorne's power that the show hasn't been cancelled yet.

[Kromm]

Here's one.

 

Elliot Gould, while he's giving the worst line readings of his career (everyone on this show constantly sounds like they're reading off cue-cards, and Gould is no exception) is STILL funnier than every other person on the show put together.

 

EDIT - Wait.  That may not on balance be a "good thing" to say about the show.  I tried though (I figured if it was nice about Gould, that might count).

Edited November 6, 2014 by Kromm

[Pine]

EW never writes true reviews on pretty much everything anymore.  I have stopped believeing what they like a long time ago.

[Beach Party]

Motif watched all season of Friends and doesn't realize he is living across the hall from Ross and Monica's dad, lol!

[ari333]

I'm still catching up, but is this show shot on the, "Friends" set? The doors looked familiar. It reminds me of a trying-to-be Seinfeld. I do like Fortune.

[Kromm]

Wow. Episode 5 (the one after this) was so bad nobody even bothered making a topic!

[pythonite]

The description sounds hideously convoluted. But I'm sure they can pull it off, (snort!)

[RockShrimp]

hearing Ice-T do the opening voiceover is still funny.

[me5671]

Wow. Episode 5 (the one after this) was so bad nobody even bothered making a topic!

 

LOL... that fact is funnier than the entire episode itself.  I'm not religious, but even I found the whole thing very offensive.  Even worse, the episode itself was  was dreadfully unfunny from start to finish.  I've stuck with it for these past five episodes, but at this point I don't see any reason to continue watching.  It's not showing any signs of improvement, quite the opposite.

[Beach Party]

John gets a visit from his devoutly Catholic parents. Meanwhile, Jane starts taking a certain medication to impress a guy, despite the unpleasant side effects.

TV Guide.com got the description incorrect.  I only saw John's mom.  The story of the mother and Lou might have been different had John's dad been there.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Beach Party

[Beach Party]

Nasim is playing Jane well.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Beach Party

[takalotti]

Ughhhhh

I know this show's thing is a bright and shiny face on dark twisted humor, but it is not working.

I didn't find any of the religious stuff funny, and I'm not religious (wasn't raised anything) so that's not why.

I didn't find the cheap stereotype of a hormonal woman funny, even if a pill was to blame.

I didn't find the "cheating" thing funny.

Lou foists himself on an unwilling kiss participant - HAHA, he's such a nut! No.

"Mom, I'm so disappointed in you even though you did nothing to cause this." - HAHA! No.

Mom didn't want (or participate in, I gather) the kiss, but don't tell Dad - HAHA! What? No.

I know there's a thing called hate-watching a show, but I'm pretty sure that's not what I'm doing. This is more like pain-watching. I like Mulaney enough to watch his show just on principle and with the slight hope it'll get better, but gee terwillakers does it hurt to do so.

The only other time I can think of pain-watching a show was A Gifted Man to "support" Patrick Wilson (yes, I know my watching doesn't actually do anything for him, especially since I don't have a Nielsen box or whatever). I spent the whole season waiting for it to get canceled so I could be put out of my misery since I couldn't do it myself. Same feeling here.

8 more episodes left, right? Sigh. To the pain...

Edited November 11, 2014 by takalotti

[Kromm]

Nasim is playing Jane well.

Is she?  Maybe.  But the writing for her is shit.  Every week her go to plot is how crazy and unstable Jane is. That's her only consistent defining characteristic. 

I was quite amused to find no topic for this episode for days.  I myself only watch for the Trainwreckedness.  

[opus]

MULANEY on the move:

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/11/11/fox-replacing-mulaney-with-bobs-burgers/

[Maire]

John was on the most recent WTF podcast with Marc Maron. As much as Marc was trying to get him to admit the show was probably cancelled John wouldn't. I really love his stand up but the show just doesn't work for me.

[DrSpaceman]

I havent seen the show but his stand up is great. Although on the radio sometimes I have a tough time telling him and Michael Ian Black apart. They have similar delivery, voices are a little different

Not all stand ups will translate well. Or maybe he just needs a different combination of things to make it work. I thought Louis CK's first sitcom try sucked. He has been successful

[Kromm]

MULANEY on the move:

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/11/11/fox-replacing-mulaney-with-bobs-burgers/

This is bizarre.  Not the fact of the move (although with such a shitty show you wonder why they'd bother), but also the location.

 

The comic’s freshman sitcom Mulaney is moving from 9:30 p.m. — where it enjoyed a lead-in from the top-rated animated series Family Guy — to 7:30 p.m. The show will be replaced by new episodes of animated comedy Bob’s Burgers.

So let me get this straight. Aside from... sucking... the one other big feature of Mulaney is that it's a pretty "blue" show, with references to body fluids, sex, vaginas, penises, etc. constantly. So THIS is your 7:30 show?

I havent seen the show but his stand up is great. Although on the radio sometimes I have a tough time telling him and Michael Ian Black apart. They have similar delivery, voices are a little different

Not all stand ups will translate well. Or maybe he just needs a different combination of things to make it work. I thought Louis CK's first sitcom try sucked. He has been successful

You have to see the show if you think it's about bad combinations. It's not. There's bad performance, low-browedness (in a bad way, not a good one), lack of chemistry, nightmarish line reading, etc. Not that you might not find resemblances to his stand-up, they're deliberately salted in there, but it's less a matter of combination, and more I think that his idea of what a sitcom is seems to be fart and pussy jokes, combined with the form of stuff people did on Seinfeld, but not the spontaneity that show had.

[opus]

He was pretty funny talking about the negative reaction to the show on Jimmy Kimmel last night.

Edited November 18, 2014 by GaryE

[pythonite]

Next year Will Forte's "Last Man on Earth" is going to take over Mulaney's old spot.

[Kromm]

He was pretty funny talking about the negative reaction to the show on Jimmy Kimmel last night.

Did he just make fun of being canceled or did he actually admit to the show well.. sucking.  

 

I hope he didn't take some kind of "people just don't understand it" position. I understand it.  There may be some pretense of presenting us Seinfeld, but in an absurdest fashion, with other sitcom cliches mixed in what's supposed to come off as some kind of high level parody of the form, but... it just comes off when viewed as horrible line readings and endless jokes about pussies, dicks, pee, poop, barf, placentas, and whatever other gross out stuff they insert.

[opus]

Did he just make fun of being canceled or did he actually admit to the show well.. sucking.  

 

I hope he didn't take some kind of "people just don't understand it" position. I understand it.  There may be some pretense of presenting us Seinfeld, but in an absurdest fashion, with other sitcom cliches mixed in what's supposed to come off as some kind of high level parody of the form, but... it just comes off when viewed as horrible line readings and endless jokes about pussies, dicks, pee, poop, barf, placentas, and whatever other gross out stuff they insert.

Probably best to judge for yourself. Me describing it wouldn't be fair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEhmDc8OREY

[Kromm]

Probably best to judge for yourself. Me describing it wouldn't be fair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEhmDc8OREY

So it was a joke about him needing all he friends he can get, then a joke about the reviews being just as bad as the ratings, and a joke about the phrase "Mulaney sucks", and a statement that he's nevertheless proud of the show. Edited November 21, 2014 by Kromm

[pythonite]

To be fair he can't really distance himself from the show while it's still on the air. It would look disloyal, and shitty to all the people who worked on it. If he's still saying it was Grade A stuff too heady for the rabble a year from now and ignoring its obvious flaws, that's another story. He should be happy with what he's good at - stand up and writing monologues. Never act again, please.

[Latverian Diplomat]

This is bizarre.  Not the fact of the move (although with such a shitty show you wonder why they'd bother), but also the location.

 

So let me get this straight. Aside from... sucking... the one other big feature of Mulaney is that it's a pretty "blue" show, with references to body fluids, sex, vaginas, penises, etc. constantly. So THIS is your 7:30 show?

Due to the high risk of preemption by football games running a little late (Eastern US), this is the worst slot on Fox Sunday. Being moved there is a definite signal that Fox is killing the show.

[takalotti]

Ugh. The only funny part was the meta joke made by the military guy.

"'That gives me an idea'? What is he, in a play?"

[opus]

FOX has heard your holiday pleading. There's a new MULANEY Sunday at 7 EST.

[Kromm]

Shockingly, somehow I actually found this episode... wait for it... funny (well, the parts that didn't have Marty Short in them).

 

I don't know how that happened.  Maybe because it was Motif-centric, and I appreciate that they do some very odd things with the character.

 

That said, one funny episode and 6 mega-shitty ones don't balance out.

 

Also, I noted from wikipedia that the writer of this episode (Rachel Axler) wasn't someone who'd written any of the others.

 

EDIT - more on Rachel Axler (I just looked her up) - she's an Emmy winning writer from The Daily Show, who also has written for HIMYM, Parks & Rec and New Girl. In other words, in Mulaney show writing terms.. one of these things is not like the others.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Kromm

[Kromm]

New one.

 

Episode 7 (Motif & The City) somehow actually managed to be funny.

 

A pre-Christmas miracle.  Or maybe ONE good writer (Rachel Axler) out of a whole pack.

 

It's probably a case of too little too late.  And it's not Rachel Axler is magically going to be writing the REST of the episodes (long ago produced), I'd bet. 

[Kromm]

This was a return to form (bad) after last episode (the Sex & The City parody) was actually somehow funny.  Why did I create a topic then?

 

Just to point out a tiny bit of light in the episode.  Ron Funches had a cameo.

[takalotti]

Ron Funches had a cameo.

I liked his giggle :) Don't even care if it was authentic.

One part that made me laugh was the bit between John and Jane about him helping her cheat. Not saying it was innovative; just struck me the right way for some reason. I actually kind of liked John during that whole scene. He managed to convey pissed off/seething inside but sarcastically playing along pretty well. On the flip side, unrealistic talking to oneself is hella annoying. Not saying that good shows have never done that, but it certainly didn't do Mulaney any favors in my eyes.

[pythonite]

I'm not making it up. The show is still on the air.

[Meraji]

Yeah, I saw that on Sunday. Other shows were repeats, but Mulaney was new. Not too surprising, I guess. Other cancelled shows like Bad Judge and A to Z have continued to run out some episodes lately. 

 

I definitely avoided it.  I gave the show about a 6 episodes which was about 5 1/2 too many. I couldn't stand the supporting cast and how they all talked like Mulaney, all stiff with a ton of pregnant pauses. I wonder how many episodes were filmed?  I saw this was #10.

[takalotti]

My understanding is there are 13.

16 were ordered, but then ... ratings. So TPTB said to stop filming, and they happened to have completed 13.

I'd say more, but this is the positivity thread.

[pythonite]

Mulaney made the cover of TV Guide recently! Best and Worse issue. Not saying which.

 

(But he was grouped with Mama June and Theresa & Joe Guidice.)

[opus]

Could be worse. Could have been sandwiched between Cosby and Stephen Collins.

[Kromm]

Mulaney made the cover of TV Guide recently! Best and Worse issue. Not saying which.

 

(But he was grouped with Mama June and Theresa & Joe Guidice.)

It's a confusing cover since Twisty the Clown (who I'd think would be a "best") was on the same side.

 

[opus]

A positive-there won't be a new ep during the Super Bowl. For some reason I thought that would happen, but I guess even FOX isn't that mean.

[takalotti]

Okay, I don't know what's wrong with me, but I actually enjoyed both French Roast and Power Moves. I laughed a lot, in fact.

[Scott]

So my cable's on-screen guide calls tonight's episode the "series finale", but yet calls next Sunday's episode the "season finale".  I'm so confused...

[takalotti]

Not sure if this is the same thing, but I used to watch Raising Hope and Fox would often rearrange the show's intended order. Why, I don't know. Usually it was transparent, but sometimes you'd get little weird moments where Jimmy comes in and says, "Hey look at this video camera I just got!" even though you'd seen him with it the week before.

Anyway, my point is, maybe the show intended these last two episodes to be aired the other way around and wrote the description blurbs accordingly, then Fox decided to reorder them and adjusted some blurbs and things just went screwy?

In reality, I'm imagining someone half-assing it and just went, "Ah, fuck it."

Edited February 12, 2015 by takalotti

[xander874]

 

When a bed bug infestation strikes their building, the gang secretly crashes at Lou's place and accidentally drink some of Oscar's treats.

 

I assume this is the last episode, and am not terribly sad it's going away. I did like this show, but it was never great and wasn't really improving. Although, I thought John got better as time went on. 

 

For this episode, it was nice to see the whole cast together. But, I don't think this was supposed to be the last episode, because Lou didn't know Motif and Jane and he had a B-plot with them last week.

[BetterButter]

John Mulaney's one-season sitcom was originally supposed to be about sobriety