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Celebrating 25 Years Of The West Wing

S01.E01: Josh Just Happens To Live Here

Tara Ariano

By Tara Ariano
in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend [V]

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Snarklepuss

Snarklepuss

Well, I guess it's just me then.  I stumbled upon this and actually had higher hopes for it.  I love kooky but this went a little over the line into creepy and overdone for me.  There are elements to like such as the cast, but surprisingly the musical aspect was not enjoyable for me.  I thought it could easily end up going nutso and more out there than it already is and I'm just not on board with that much unreality.  Plus it's pretty predictable already.  Perhaps I'm just showing my age, I don't know.

  • Love 2
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AnnaRose

AnnaRose

I mostly liked this, but I felt really bad for the bartender who seemed like such a nice guy.   It was pretty cold to use him so callously just to get to his friend. 

 

By the way, I wondered about the 2 hrs from the beach, 4 with traffic thing because I remember Roswell being filmed in Covina back in the day, and Covina was in the LA filming zone.  Google maps told me West Covina is just 44 minutes from the Pacific ocean without traffic... so a bit of poetic license taken there.   Fun song, though I wish it hadn't gotten stuck in my head for several days.  I had the same problem with Galavant and had to stop rewatching episodes because of it.  I'm very prone to earworms, unfortunately.

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Wings

Wings

(edited)

I loved this show and did not expect that!  I am not a fan of musicals but this was just fine with me.  It has been a long time since a scripted show other than Big Bang Theory has caught my fancy.  I am looking forward to where this will go.  Hard to imagine they can get more than one season out of a woman, no matter how fabulous, chasing an ex in a small CA town.   But I have high hopes.  

 

ETA.  I loved that her co worked turned out to be on board with her plan.  It would have been a common device to have her try and sabotage her plan.  That said, she is crazy and is likely to, unwittingly, do just that!  

Edited by wings707
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calliope1975

calliope1975

By the way, I wondered about the 2 hrs from the beach, 4 with traffic thing because I remember Roswell being filmed in Covina back in the day, and Covina was in the LA filming zone.  Google maps told me West Covina is just 44 minutes from the Pacific ocean without traffic... so a bit of poetic license taken there.  

 

It might be an exaggeration, but since I have to fight through LA traffic every day, it made me laugh. Man, LA traffic sucks.

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AnnaRose

AnnaRose

It might be an exaggeration, but since I have to fight through LA traffic every day, it made me laugh. Man, LA traffic sucks.

 

I hear ya!   Considering typically insane LA traffic, maybe it really does take four hours.

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BooBear

BooBear

Yeah, the way they depict West Covina as small-town America, out of the way of the big city, is kind of hilarious. Not the case, at all.

Oh I thought that was funny in another way... I thought it was so obvious to the audience that West Covina was kind of run down and skanky (the bartender ranking on it) but she was so crazy she saw it as Mayberry and perfection.

 

Watched it again last night on rerun. Still made me laugh so much. The only thing that was slow and clunky was the new law firm. That went on forever.

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Rinaldo

Rinaldo

Yes, I know nothing about West Covina (well, actually I've looked it up a bit in Wikipedia scene since the episode aired, but still), but it seemed clear that it was a "community" largely of retail strips and chain restaurants, with a sprinkling of "professional" buildings like the one housing the law firm (which clearly was unused to seeing Harvard grads on its payroll)... but she exalts it into this paradise. Isn't that the whole joke of the big production number?

  • Love 5
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LADreamr

LADreamr

Yeah, I get how they're trying to portray it vs. how she sees it, but even their version is kind of wrong. It's actually kind of a big area, and rather homogeneous. I have no problem with it, and it certainly works for the show. I just thought that was funny.

  • Love 1
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bilgistic

bilgistic

I was NOT going to watch this were it not for the review here on PTV. The title alone turned me off. I still HATE the title, because "crazy" is so incredibly derogatory toward any kind of mental illness, and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" connotes that the POV is not the lead's. The latter point just makes zero sense.

I'm not 100% and nothing made me laugh out loud, but I enjoyed it. I, too, was reminded of Flight of the Conchords. A few things bothered me (she's offered junior partner at age 28 at the oldest? How long could she have even been practicing?), but I nitpick the shit out of everything.

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arc

arc

A few things bothered me (she's offered junior partner at age 28 at the oldest? How long could she have even been practicing?), but I nitpick the shit out of everything.

I think she was about 26?  "I barely know him; I dated him for two months when I was sixteen at a summer camp", which was ten years ago. She's a young 27, tops.

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bilgistic

bilgistic

That makes even less sense, then. She's been practicing law for four years at best. I know; it's TV, but come on. If we're supposed to believe she was working at some high-powered NYC law firm, she wouldn't be making junior partner four years in.

  • Love 1
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JustaPerson

JustaPerson

(edited)

They did mention that she works 24/7 even for a lawyer and was their hardest working employee. Like they implied that she seemed to have zero life outside of the office, which is one of the reasons she leaves -- to find a life. I mean it's kind of an explanation.

Edited by JustaPerson
  • Love 3
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Wings

Wings

That makes even less sense, then. She's been practicing law for four years at best. I know; it's TV, but come on. If we're supposed to believe she was working at some high-powered NYC law firm, she wouldn't be making junior partner four years in.

 

 

This is pure fiction and not supposed to mirror real life.   It was a plot device to illustrate that she is way over qualified for any job this small town offered.  This further illustrates how crazy in love/infatuation she is to have made this leap.  

 

 

 

I am sad to see that nothing escapes the PC police, no matter how small.  sigh

  • Love 3
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dubbel zout

dubbel zout

I am sad to see that nothing escapes the PC police, no matter how small.  sigh

While I agree with the general sentiment, I don't think the show is wrong to address the "crazy ex-girlfriend" label. Women have enough problems without that sort of thing being the identifying characteristic of a network TV show. (I know, the pilot was shot for Showtime.)

  • Love 7
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springbarb

springbarb

I appreciate that she actually had a plan when she moved; so many shows/books/movies would have her movie and get a job in a coffee shop or something, but in this...she's still a lawyer. Just with a slower pace. Makes perfect sense.

  • Love 3
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absnow54

absnow54

Yeah, the way they depict West Covina as small-town America, out of the way of the big city, is kind of hilarious. Not the case, at all.

It was like the show was meant to be located in Palmdale or Victorville, but the names didn't have the same type of whimsy for the big musical number.

  • Love 1
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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

(edited)

So this is what might have happened if Felicity hadn't followed Ben to New York for college?

 

I, too, thought I wouldn't want to watch this show based on the title, but I saw some clips on youtube and decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did because I love musicals and non-corny romantic comedies. This was so fun!

 

And as someone who lived in LA, I was cracking up over all the very specific LA jokes. I never really hung out in West Covina, but a few of my college friends were from there so I visited a few times a million years ago. It didn't really strike me as much different from a lot of other parts of LA with strip malls. And even though technically it's not really 2-4 hours from the beach, traffic can be so bad that it was still a funny joke. I used to take Beach Boulevard to Huntington Beach just to avoid the freeway traffic..

 

Anyway, this was a fun show so I'm in!

 

The fact that it's an American show with a white female lead who is head over heels crazypants in love with an Asian male lead - without making any big deal of that at all as being off the wall - is so incredibly progressive it makes me want this show on forever.

I loved this seemingly minor aspect too. It's so rare to have an Asian male love interest (and even then, 99.99999999% of the time that means the girl has to be Asian too). I also love that he isn't the usual Asian stereotype of a doctor or engineer. And while I totally support not staying in New York (or anywhere) if you aren't happy, he initlally sounded like a total slacker who wanted to move back to California to be lazy. But now that we know he moved back to be with his high school girlfriend, does that make him any crazier than Rebecca? Heh, of  course, if his high school girlfriend knew about this beforehand, that definitely makes his move way less crazy than Rebecca's.

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
  • Love 3
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Raja

Raja

So this is what might have happened if Felicity hadn't followed Ben to New York for college?

 

I, too, thought I wouldn't want to watch this show based on the title, but I saw some clips on youtube and decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did because I love musicals and non-corny romantic comedies. This was so fun!

 

And as someone who lived in LA, I was cracking up over all the very specific LA jokes. I never really hung out in West Covina, but a few of my college friends were from there so I visited a few times a million years ago. It didn't really strike me as much different from a lot of other parts of LA with strip malls. And even though technically it's not really 2-4 hours from the beach, traffic can be so bad that it was still a funny joke. I used to take Beach Boulevard to Huntington Beach just to avoid the freeway traffic..

 

Anyway, this was a fun show so I'm in!

 

 

 

I heard of the West Covina connection and since I have family there decided to check this out on a day off. It sort of reminds me of Cop Rock with the musical aspect being a much easier genre fit. I had to chuckle with all the emphasis on West Covina when it is part of the greater San Gabriel Valley  and greater Southland  area sprawl

 

During the wrong time of day I can see over two hours on the road depending upon the beach. Getting to the Santa Monica pier which is often featured or Venice Beach next door that time could easily be lost just clearing the East LA interchange and then hitting the coastal traffic

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RevmodDon

RevmodDon

The next woman on Nipsey's "Bitches to apologize to" list is Destiny.  

 

I'm so pleased there's more for me to find on repeated viewings, particularly if we end up with a smaller collection of these than we might like.

  • Love 1
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cleo

cleo

The "NYC" scenes at the beginning really reminded me of mid-town Toronto, so I wonder

 

 

A couple of the scenes were definitely Toronto. I don't always recognize the city when I see it in movies, but the scene where she was standing outside smoking- I've stood in the exact same spot- I've worked in the building that she was standing next to and used to smoke where she was. It's near University and Adelaide.  The building wall behind her is distinct, as is the little sidewalk she's standing on that runs down the drive to the underground garage. The view to the grey building across the street was familiar. 

 

I recognized it instantly, it was kind of neat, but when you smoke in the same place for a couple yrs it stays with you :)  I don't know about the rest of the scenes.

 

Interestingly enough I was not very happy there either and have since quit smoking and gotten a different job. :)

 

I just watched this and really enjoyed it, though the emphasis on Josh was a bit much. I liked the song with the two women singing at the end. It's the only new show I've watched this yr and enjoyed.

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arc

arc

A couple of the scenes were definitely Toronto. I don't always recognize the city when I see it in movies, but the scene where she was standing outside smoking- I've stood in the exact same spot- I've worked in the building that she was standing next to and used to smoke where she was. It's near University and Adelaide.  The building wall behind her is distinct, as is the little sidewalk she's standing on that runs down the drive to the underground garage. The view to the grey building across the street was familiar.

I think those exteriors were shot somewhere in LA. Every single outside shot of "Manhattan" - even that ramp down to the underground parking - has LA Metro or LA DOT Dash buses going by.  On a closer rewatch, in that first line of "West Covina" (where she rounds the corner and tosses away her jacket), at least they blurred out the "Wilshire Bl" street sign.  She then runs past a cafe called "Caffe Primo", which does have a location in downtown LA on Wilshire and S Flower, and when I look that intersection up in Google Maps, that's definitely the location.

 

Also, kudos to the VFX team for at least putting in signs so that the falling-apart butter ad points to Josh at W 56th st and 5th Ave. Though even in that shot, there's a reflection of an LA Metro Express bus.

  • Love 2
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cleo

cleo

They always 'dress up' the buses etc. when they shoot here. Anyway it doesn't matter. Sometime when I have some time I'll go down and see if I can get a pic. It's been awhile since I was there.

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Snarklepuss

Snarklepuss

I'm neither from Toronto or LA, but I am a New Yorker - Those buses were definitely LA buses even in the scene after when she runs into Josh.  They had the same blue swoopy line down the sides but all identifying logos were removed.  I can't imagine why they'd go to Toronto to film when they could do everything in California.

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arc

arc

They always 'dress up' the buses etc. when they shoot here. Anyway it doesn't matter. Sometime when I have some time I'll go down and see if I can get a pic. It's been awhile since I was there.

If they did that, they wouldn't dress "New York" buses to look like two different transit agencies both from LA.  And I gotta say, the Vancouver-shot shows never bother dressing up the Vancouver buses.

 

Also, here is the exact spot in downtown LA where the underground ramp is. This is the exact building, complete with green neon, and if you rotate the view 180 degrees you can see the underground ramp.

 

Areas with a bunch of skyscrapers tend to look similar. It's how they get away with shooting in DTLA for Manhattan in the first place. It's not unlikely that it does look an awful lot like Toronto too, then.

  • Love 1
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Eolivet

Eolivet

I saw the preview, was charmed by it, and then wanted to check out the Pilot, then forgot. A friend just reminded me about it, so I watched it today.

 

And I did like it, although similar to another poster, I thought it got much better when they hit the titular West Covina (still not out of my head). Some parts played like a Saturday Night Live skit that went on for too long, and the "Sexy Getting Ready Song" -- while cute and on target -- also seemed SNL-ish. The show seemed to rapidly jump from musical send-up to SNL parody. I mean, is this supposed to be played straight or is it all just social commentary, with some of it set to music? Yes, it can be both, but tonally, I found the shift awkward. "Glee" got around it by having mostly earnest characters, with a couple that were there to keep them honest. But a half-earnest, half-winkingly-self-aware protagonist is difficult to pull off.

 

However, as this features Broadway quality voices, music and choreography, I'll be tuning in again. I'm all for more musicals on TV.

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