Lady Dynamite - General Discussion

[Primetimer]

It will probably be the weirdest thing you see all day.

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[Kromm]

Maria Bamford is so fucking great. Go dig up her stand-up, or even just her appearances on @midnight. She be weird.... in the best way.

And hah! Pam Brady. I've been a huge fan of hers since Mr. Wong. Go GOOGLE it. When you find and watch it you will both be deeply offended and... laughing your ass off.

Oh I see celebs and it's not clear who's playing themselves and who's playing fictional people. Ed Begley is a hard call for example. He plays both, all over all kinds of projects. But we also get Brandon Routh and Sarah Silverman. Who's who here? Argh!!!

Whatever. Either way, with Pam Brady writing and Maria Bamford delivering the lines it's going to be a lot of spit takes at my TV while watching this.

[Dave in Chicago]

Excited for this, but already dreading the dueling blog posts over what the show gets right or wrong about mental illness.

[Actionmage]

No!! Guinea pigs, Bridget Everett, Brandon Routh, Dean Cain(?!), Ana Gastyer?! Want now!!!!

[bilgistic]

So EXCITED!!!!

[Kromm]

Excited for this, but already dreading the dueling blog posts over what the show gets right or wrong about mental illness.

Again, it's Pam Brady (more her than the Arrested Development guy, I think, even though he's getting the attention). With her, it's going to tend towards being offensive. So yeah, if there's an overly PC reaction to it, it won't be pretty.

 

For those who still haven't looked up Mr Wong, and shuddered at how over the top offensive it is (and yet I will always maintain... funny despite that), keep in mind she was also an important part of South Park during the years where it pissed the most people off (and was Matt and Trey's co-writer on Team America: World Police). She was also part of Just Shoot Me, a show I hated for other reasons, but which did also tend towards broad over the top humor at times too.

[Omar G.]

You had me at the little hamster arm smack. Or way earlier, if i'm being honest.

[Meredith Quill]

Anticipate Here!

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Them Here!

[Meredith Quill]

Your Media Topic!

[Kromm]

Pam Brady does naughty, politically incorrect, over the top things!  This ought to be good!

 

For those who don't know, Pam Brady was a less vocal third part of the early South Park creative team (maybe a fourth part if you include Brian Graden). Anyway, a lot of that early stuff that didn't come from the pens of Trey Parker and Matt Stone came from Pam Brady instead.  She was also Parker & Stone's co-writer on both South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and Team America: World Police.  Some of the more out there stuff on the George Segal/David Spade show, Just Shoot Me also came from her. 

 

Infamously, she was also responsible for the fairly dangerous early web cartoon, Mr. Wong. A barrel of politically incorrect cursing, piss, shit and race humor. Funny, mind you, but definitely highly offensive. Pam actually appears as one of the two main characters too, "Miss Pam". "Mr. Wong" being her visibly colored yellow, stereotypical old movie chinese talking, "Manservant". Yes, I actually typed that sentence. It makes me suspect she's the one responsible for the "So Ronery" song in the Team America movie. That said, like "So Ronery" it's SO over the top, it's perhaps easier to take it with a grain of salt rather than raving about how racist she seems to be against Asians.

[Kromm]

Here's a taste of Maria Bamford's stand up.  Mind you, on Colbert's network show it's not going to be the most extreme version, probably, but its an interesting display of her totally insane delivery style and weird subject matter.

 

[Kromm]

From 2009: Maria Bamford's One-Hour Homemade Christmas Stand-up Special. I can't vouch for it, not having watched it all yet. But I am going to and a whole hour of it? Wow.

 

 

==========

TONS of stuff about Mental Health and being bipolar, with Maria's name online.

 

For example, The Mental Illness Happy Hour With Maria Bamford:

 

 

 

Maria Bamford - Crazy Meds | Modern Comedian - Episode 29

 

 

 

Psych Ward Visit - Storytime ft Maria Bamford

 

Edited April 23, 2016 by Kromm

[Kromm]

In the media topic (because it's a hair more "newsy") I've posted Interviews Maria has done about her mental health.

 

I also posted a homemade one hour comedy special she did in 2009--was a tossup if that belonged in the media topic or here, but I put in there.

[Lantern7]

I need to get Netflix. Daredevil and Jessica Jones were reasons enough, but I like Maria Bamford, and I'd like to see her autobio show.

[Tara Ariano]

TBA

[Portia]

My youngest daughter introduced to Bamford a few years ago, and I've loved her in everything I've seen her in, from her Target commercials to the stand-up special she performed for her parents in her home. I'm supwr-excited about her new show!

[zxy556575]

Well. There were a lot of cameos by other comics and sitcom stars. Is that something?

[Primetimer]

If you're already among the comedian's fans, you're going to be very, very pleased by her new show on Netflix.

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[Portia]

I'm  four episodes in, and I'm in the tank for this one. It's even weirder than I expected it to be, and I'm  a bit surprised, and occasionally off-put, by how crude it is. But I love love loooove Maria Bamford and am delighted to see her display her bizarre brilliance in a new medium. And on a broader level, the show creators are doing some crazy mad science on the sitcom genre. I'm  all for that.

[Kromm]

6 hours ago, Portia said:

I'm  four episodes in, and I'm in the tank for this one. It's even weirder than I expected it to be, and I'm  a bit surprised, and occasionally off-put, by how crude it is. 

I haven't seen it yet,  but I will say you're clearly seeing the writing effects of Pam Brady. Think of the most out there (although sometimes also funniest) bits of South Park, and that was her. And Mr. Wong, if you haven't seen that... that's epically tasteless.

[Morbs]

I think it's fun too but I'll need more episodes to wrap my head around it.  But I was much more delighted watching this than I have been in a long time with comedies.

[zxy556575]

Maybe I don't like Maria as much as is needed to get into this, but my interest trailed off after four episodes. I enjoyed the wacky lambs-as-people, breaking the third wall, and other random flights of fancy, but the show as a whole doesn't really hold together for me. I think I was pulling for the character to succeed, but her horrible friends and recurring failures made me sad. Her parents are awful to her, too.

I found myself wishing Maria would use her low-talking date voice all the time; it was much more palatable to me than her normal squeakiness.

I may watch the rest of the series at some point just to see which other guest stars show up, but I'd have to be pretty bored.

[joelene]

Loved it. 7 episodes in and loving everything. I was already a fan of Maria, but I'm wondering how people who aren't familiar with her feel about it. 

[DrivingSideways]

It's interesting how dead this topic is.  I find Maria kind of off-putting but I'm enjoying the show.  However, two friends said they shut off the pilot halfway through.  I find it pretty hilarious, and at the least, totally watchable.  But Maria has a detached, almost inhuman style that makes her hard to love as the main character.  It's more of a Seinfeld vibe to me, with cold characters, than shows I normally enjoy.

[Portia]

On 5/21/2016 at 5:41 AM, Kromm said:

I haven't seen it yet,  but I will say you're clearly seeing the writing effects of Pam Brady. Think of the most out there (although sometimes also funniest) bits of South Park, and that was her. And Mr. Wong, if you haven't seen that... that's epically tasteless.

Yeah, I'm  definitely responding positively to the Bamford and Hurwitz elements and negatively to the Brady elements. I don't  think I'm  a big prude, but a lot of modern  comedy has this effect on me. I can handle a certain number of pointless references to poop and genitalia, but at some point I lose patience.

It's  intesesting, though, that the influences  of this show's three creators are so easy to distinguish and identify . 

[JakeyJokes]

I absolutely loved it, but I am also a professional comedian with mental illness from Minnesota and some of this was so dead-on it was eerie.

[Mertseger]

It certainly helps to be a fan of Bamford (and pugs) to find enough to enjoyment to endure the bleakness in parts of the story, but it should be said that the series as whole is hopeful and uplifting. Given what you already know from the first four episodes it is not much of spoiler to say that two out of three of the timelines have a happy ending, and I liked the payoffs for various bits that are set up early in the series. (I particularly enjoyed the surreal resolution of the three Karens Grisham).

It's also a fairly savvy indictment of the Industry and the kinds of choices the people in are forced to make to further their careers or simply survive. I cannot imagine, for instance, that Target would appreciate the series, and that's a very good thing indeed.

[Milburn Stone]

Have only seen the Pilot so far, but we're liking it. Unexpected things keep happening. And Fred Melamed!

[bilgistic]

Episode 6 was ridiculously hilarious to me--so far the standout. Maria screaming into the bath sponges made me howl. I'm burning through this series. I love it so, so much, and I have a special love for Maria as a fellow mental illness struggler-er (not a word).

It's not perfect, by any stretch. It's super-weird, and it's one of those "alternative" comedies that people either "get" or don't, I think, kind of like Flight of the Conchords and Garfunkle and Oates. That's not to say you are superior in your humor if you do "get it"; it's just a different flavor from, say, Everybody Loves Raymond and Big Bang Theory.

[bilgistic]

I just finished the season;

Spoiler

while I really dislike the tropey romantic ending, 

I truly enjoyed the bizarreness (the last episode is like a fever dream) and silliness--and even tear-inducing sadness. It is such a treat for any Maria fan, and anyone who wants more insight into her. It is fantastic.

[bunnylake]

On 23/05/2016 at 11:07 AM, JakeyJokes said:

some of this was so dead-on it was eerie.

Seconded.  Mo Collins telling "hilarious" mania anecdotes was an excellent impression of my sister.

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

As one can see by my profile picture. . . I'm a pug fan. . . and I also have a strange sense of humor. And I love this show. I was trying to explain it to someone and it's so bizarre that I couldn't but I still find it hilarious. 

[Irritable]

I watched the whole season last night, kind of by accident.  It's exactly the kind of everything that I love.  So incredibly smart, but so quirky that people who aren't paying close enough attention might think it's dumb.  I may watch it all over again sometime, just to catch the little stuff I missed since there are so many moments happening in every episode.   The depression parts resonated with me, but not in a way that I found upsetting, just real.  People pleasing, getting myself into situations that suck because I'm apt to say yes instead of no just to avoid hurting feelings, thinking no one could possibly love me if they had any idea of the things going through my head, trying to run away when feelings get icky, thinking that if you have one fight with someone that means you will lose that person forever...all relatable for me.  And that doesn't stop when you find someone; you always think one day that person will see the real you and flee, it's just one of the cruel things that a clinically depressed brain tells itself.  I thought she addressed this so well, and I expect that while things ended somewhat tidily for the season, they will be frayed again by next season.  But, delightfully frayed, in the way only Maria can do it.

I loved her Diana Voice, made me laugh so much.  How is it possible I was completely unaware of Maria Bamford until now?

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

Quote

The depression parts resonated with me, but not in a way that I found upsetting, just real. 

And I found her manic/ OCD parts right on point - your description is perfect - not upsetting, just real (and actually I found them hilarious as somebody who struggles with anxiety/ OCD). 

[bilgistic]

In her standup, she does a different version of the Diana voice when she's imitating her mother. It's so funny to me. I unconsciously speak in silly voices to represent other people (like my boss), and it makes a friend of mine laugh so much. I don't really notice I'm doing it until I am and she's rolling over it. I am a huge fan of self-deprecating humor and humility. I like dark comedy because that's where I live. I have to laugh at myself sometimes or I'll cry. Well, I'm often crying, so...yeah. I might have to watch the series again, too. I'm so glad a few others here have enjoyed it!

[ItCouldBeWorse]

I especially enjoyed Blossom's Cabaret spoof in the last episode:

[maraleia]

Wow the lack of comments here tells me I really don't need to watch this series at all. I'm really trying to cull my media choices right now and things are dropping off my list at a rapid rate.

[joelene]

On 24 augusti 2016 at 1:56 AM, maraleia said:

Wow the lack of comments here tells me I really don't need to watch this series at all. I'm really trying to cull my media choices right now and things are dropping off my list at a rapid rate.

I don't know about that. This is one of my favorite shows of the year, I just haven't felt the need to talk about it or discuss it more than to say "I loved it!" and "That was so great!" Maybe there's more of us who feel the same. I never discuss comedies in general and I don't think I'm the only one. 

But yeah, loved pretty much every second of Lady Dynamite. 

[bilgistic]

Editing mishap!  :: screams into sponge :: 

Edited September 7, 2016 by bilgistic

[Italianleprechaun]

I feel like I'm going crazy, but I'm rewatching the pilot, and the whole intro is completely truncated from what I remembered watching when I first watched months ago. Does anyone else remember this?

[aradia22]

Well, that was real weird. I'm going to stick with it but I'm not sure if it's for me right now. I'm so-so on her stand up. There are jokes I like but I don't think her whole sets are as good as other comedians. I'm also unsure if this show will be funny to me at some point. So far it's mostly random which is not the same thing as absurd humor. The most appealing thing in this pilot was seeing people I recognized... Ana Gasteyer, Patton Oswalt, John Mulaney... I'm not sure that's enough for a show. I get where the humor is coming from but I'm not an actor so even though I get where the agent parody is, it's not that amusing. Though I did think the Ana Gasteyer agent was the best part of the pilot.

[Italianleprechaun]

On 4/8/2017 at 0:40 PM, nosleepforme said:

Did you watch it in a different language? I switched to one of the non-English versions and the opening was indeed completely truncated from the English one.

Turns out that Mitchell Hurwitz actually re-edited the pilot, according to a tweet from Maria a few weeks back. How random!

[vertiegogh]

I also loved this show a lot, and watched the whole series over a couple of weeks when it first came out, which is really fast for me. :)

I keep thinking back to the loaf coach, that was inspired and hilarious.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Maria Bamford on Gay of Thrones:

[bilgistic]

Lady Dynamite's second season is out on Netflix on Friday, November 10!

Discuss all of season two's episodes here!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ana Gasteyer discusses Lady Dynamite on Build:

[bilgistic]

I watched the first episode so far. I love this bonkers show!

ChoochCon!

[QQQQ]

As a 1988 high school graduate (1 month older than Maria) who has spent the majority of her life in Wisconsin/Minnesota, the flashbacks are killing me. The accents, clothing, food, repression... It's all so awesome.

[bilgistic]

I just finished the second episode. I want to write down all the funny lines, but that would be the whole show.

Maria's adult/serious voice slays me. She uses it in her standup as her mother's voice.