The Jim Gaffigan Show - General Discussion

[aradia22]

This episode felt forced to me. I know that Jim as a character is somewhat of a pushover but for example, there was an easy way to write Jim out of having to invite Dave to be his opener on the radio show. Why didn't he bring up Christian? It's not like those two were going to start tearing into Christian Finnegan as a terrible comedian. There seemed to be a lot of that... just pushing Jim into this situation so they could let it play out. I can deal with Dave but I think he works best in small doses.

[aradia22]

I record these and I am watching them now only because there's nothing left on the DVR except movies and the Olympics. It's not an awful show but it's not very funny most of the time and it's not compelling enough to make up for that. I'm finding the bits with the real Jeannie and Jim at the end of the episodes interesting. I think they're watching a different show sometimes. I agree this was a terrible turn to focus on Dave that I don't think anyone was asking for. And they dragged poor John Mulaney into it. He and Will Ferrell were two of the only redeeming aspects of this arc and I would have rather seen them come in for a different story.

[aradia22]

I wish there was more of the Benneton model/soccer playing Father Nicholas. The actor is really charming. I don't need him to not act like a priest but he could have more to do. There was nothing to the whole talking Jesus statue. These bits don't feel like jokes to me. They aren't funny. Why would I care if the Gaffigans have another child? I don't know the names of the children they have.

Younger, Impastor, and Teachers are also very messy shows that TVLand is trying out but at least I kind of know what they're trying to do. From these end of episode interviews I feel like Jeannie and Jim think that they've written a hilarious comedy that I find dull whereas before I thought they were trying to do a Louis-style show that wasn't a comedy but occasionally had jokes.

[aradia22]

I'm glad it's not just me. I love his standup. I'm trying really hard to be receptive to what this show wants to be but for the most part, it's just not that funny week to week. If I watched premium cable, I probably would have deleted this off the DVR a long time ago.

[aradia22]

I don't see a thread for the episode where Jim's brother Mitch (Andy Richter) comes to visit but I thought Dave was funny at Veselka. Again, I think he works in small doses. Actually, I thought the entire episode was better than usual. Andy was a good choice for a guest.

[zxy556575]

Richter as Gaffigan's brother was fun casting but then things went south again afterwards with the museum episode. Bumbling dad can't manage his children. Har har?

[TheOtherOne]

This was the first episode of the show I watched. It was all right, though nothing I really feel the need to watch again. I did find it annoying that they kept calling the show "Million Dollar Listings" when it's Listing, singular. The fact that that was the most memorable thing about the show to me probably says everything about my reaction to it.

[Chit Chat]

I love this show, but geez, that was a lot of "G.damns" shouted out in the second episode.  When did the TV sensors start allowing that?  That ruined the episode for me.  YMMV.

[Primetimer]

The TV Land sitcom will be wrapping up at the end of Season 2.

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[PaulaO]

It may have been well-received, but it just wasn't funny. I've watched every episode, and man, this season was bad. Bad in that I turned off the DVR. That said, the finale was quite hysterical. I do love Daniel.

[zxy556575]

It strikes a bit of a false chord for someone who spends so much time on the road* to claim family obligations, but writing, producing and acting in a show -- surprise! -- takes a lot of time. His wife was also on the set and maybe her absence from  home also played a part.

Not that I'll miss the show at all, but the "spend time with my family" explanation is often code from something else and I'm curious in a gossipy way if there was trouble behind the scenes.

 

 

* His tour schedule shows 31 shows from now until the end of the year, including London and a cruise.

[BananaRama]

I enjoy this show, but that may be because I really like Jim Gaffigan.  I did always forget to watch it because it was on TVLand and because it was on Sunday nights.

[Lizzing]

I wonder if the show just wasn't as profitable as touring can be for Gaffigan, especially supplemented by all the minivan commercials.  I enjoy his stand up; this show, not nearly as much.  The two episodes I did like were the museum episode and the one where Daniel stays over on Jim's "quiet" weekend.  Jim, Dave, and Daniel together worked; it's a shame that more episodes couldn't have them interacting as much and Jeannie off screen as much as possible.

[lovinbob]

It strikes a bit of a false chord for someone who spends so much time on the road* to claim family obligations, but writing, producing and acting in a show -- surprise! -- takes a lot of time. His wife was also on the set and maybe her absence from  home also played a part.

Not that I'll miss the show at all, but the "spend time with my family" explanation is often code from something else and I'm curious in a gossipy way if there was trouble behind the scenes.

 

 

* His tour schedule shows 31 shows from now until the end of the year, including London and a cruise.

I would guess that the show wasn't successful enough to justify how much time it took both Jeannie and Jim away from their kids.

Tina Fey writes in Bossypants about the time commitment that writing and starring in her own show was. It sounds like agony. And that was a much more high profile show -- the rewards were greater for Tina and Co.

[J-Man]

It became very frustrating to try to follow this show. My DVR missed several episodes and it became a major challenge to try to catch up with them because my cable provider (Charter) doesn't have TVLand On Demand, nor does it allow me to stream TVLand content via their app. (Same for HBO, by the way.) So either I would have to PAY for it (no way), or watch it many weeks after the air date on my computer. Neither is a good option.

[jbrecken]

It was great when Jimmy's brothers were calling each other "bundle of sticks" in the version of the story he's telling his kids.  And it was odd that when we get an episode where a kid gets forgotten and left in the house by himself, we don't get a guest appearance by Macaulay Culkin.  

[needschocolate]

On 8/24/2016 at 9:02 AM, lordonia said:

It strikes a bit of a false chord for someone who spends so much time on the road* to claim family obligations, but writing, producing and acting in a show -- surprise! -- takes a lot of time. His wife was also on the set and maybe her absence from  home also played a part.

Not that I'll miss the show at all, but the "spend time with my family" explanation is often code from something else and I'm curious in a gossipy way if there was trouble behind the scenes.

 

 

* His tour schedule shows 31 shows from now until the end of the year, including London and a cruise.

I have discovered that I can get out on any invitation by saying, "Sorry, I can't make it.  I have other plans that day."  They don't need to know that my other plans are to empty my dishwasher, or watch reruns, or buy milk.  Anything can be a "plan." Fortunately, most of my friends don't bother asking what my plans are, but if they do, I give a general response, like "Oh, there are too many things to list. It is just a busy time of year."

I think there is a similar excuse making technique in show business.  Most parents believe they want to spend more time with their families.  So, instead of saying that you are ending the show because ratings aren't as high as expected (making you look unsuccessful), or the network doesn't want to pay you as much as you want (making you look greedy), you just say that you want to spend more time with your family.