S04.E01: Great Escapes

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

In the Season 4 premiere, LSD guru Timothy Leary breaks out of prison; a sailor attempts a bold rescue from Devil's Island; and a baker remains calm on the Titanic thanks to his whiskey habit.

Featuring: Thomas Lennon as Timothy Leery; Thomas Middleditch as William Willis; Ron Funches as Jules; Derek Waters as Bernard Carnot; Chris Parnell as Charles Joughin

Retellers: Duncan Trussell on Timothy Leary; Steve Berg on Devil's Island; and Doug Jones on The Drunk Baker of the Titanic

[teddysmom]

Is it me or is the premise of the show so well known now that the stories aren't that funny any more? 

I figured when they said they were doing a story about Devil's Island, it would be the story of  Henri Charriere (Papillon).   

Why not do a story about the British soldiers who escaped from the German prison camp that the movie The Great Escape was based on?  I just realized I have Steve McQueen movies here as a recurring theme.  I know the movie made up a lot of the characters, as the Americans were not involved at all with that escape.  Tell the story of what really happened, and how American film makers came along and changed it so that US audiences would be more interested. 

[Irlandesa]

That's a good question @teddysmom.   I didn't find last night super entertaining either.  I can handle a lack of comedy if the stories are interesting but I didn't really find any of the stories interesting. 

But I've always found this show hit and miss.

[ganesh]

If the narrators are good, then I'm good. These just weren't. Derek seemed more plowed than usual so I'm thinking they didn't get the direction they needed and he didn't end up with much usable material. 

The titanic story was interesting though. 

[ABay]

Maybe I missed them, but there didn't seem to be as many background bits, like when someone's holding a newspaper and you just catch that it says something ridiculous. 

The Devil's Island story didn't seem to go anywhere, but I enjoyed the other 2. 

[peeayebee]

Yeah, this one wasn't good. All the narrators were too drunk, particularly the first and last one. Also, the performers weren't all that interesting. I think it's important that the performer has an expressive face.

The Titanic story was the only one that halfway interested me. IIRC, in Cameron's movie there was a baker at the stern with Rose and Jack. I always wondered about the look exchanged betw Rose and him. 

[msani19]

So glad that it wasn't just me. The episode ended and I was like huh, what did I just watch? Couldn't figure out if something was cut out, not filmed or they were so wasted it was unusable. Not the best for a season opening but I love this crazy show so much that I'll still continue watching. 

[cpcathy]

It took me three tries on the DVR to finish this episode.

Oh, and Derek needs to shave the beard, he looks like a werewolf.

[Neurochick]

I watched this last night on demand and I thought it was hysterical.  I'm glad they don't waste time on going to whatever city they're in, just get to the stories.