S03.E03: Alicia

[maraleia]

While Selina prepares to announce her candidacy, Dan discovers that she features in a Saturday Night Live sketch.

Discuss away.

[Danny Franks]

"Fucking comedians" indeed.

Loved the jokes about Amy being crap with children. "Do you like Power Rangers?" "Peeing is fun!" The fact that Anna Chlumsky was pregnant with her first child while filming those scenes is such a great little in-joke, even though it was previously established that Amy and kids don't really mix. I did enjoy Dan moderating his language, even briefly. "cock.... tail napkin. Yeah, you heard me."

And poor Dan, right again but no one was listening. So he spends the whole episode trying to browbeat SNL into submission, only for Selina to do what he suggested in the first place and not remember that he suggested it. Loved him labouring the point of Selina's impossible desire to mention hospitals, but not after the war, but the military had to be mentioned at the start of the speech. 

Jonad as the "dick that keeps giving" is a good fit for his character. But I still think he worked better as an actual West Wing staffer. Because how long will he last as a journalist if he never manages to get any stories?

"Would you mind smashing his head off with a fire extinguisher?"

"I wouldn't mind."

First time I've liked Leon West.

Catherine was amazing in this episode. Love her laying down the law to Selina, and getting a bit crazy with it. Such a great mother/daughter moment, at least through the rather skewed lens of this show. "It's okay, I fixed her." as the departing line was delivered with killer precision. Sarah Sutherland is good.

And yet again Selina Myer proves to be one of the great comic creations. Utterly venal and selfish and callous, but somehow sympathetic and loveable. Seeing her get one over on Doyle at the end, while still being completely fake and disingenuous? Julia Louis-Dreyfus already deserves another Emmy.

[Tara Ariano]

Dave was kind enough to make me some gifs from the episode!

[abcfsk]

Too good. They've gone bigger scale and more varied in approach this season and they still nail it all. 

[Baltron9000]

It's weird that I look forward to this show more than Game of Thrones on Sunday, yes? Delightful episode. Everyone was on their top game, and it's hard to pick a favorite. Mike singing to Jonah is a highlight, as was Jonah trying to sound 'black' to the two women in the opening scene. 

[abcfsk]

Not weird, partly because this is dangerously high up there among the most rewatchable shows ever - in fact most of the times I enjoy my second viewing of an episode more than the first, and the third and fourth still give me new things to discover. 

[Danny Franks]

It's weird that I look forward to this show more than Game of Thrones on Sunday, yes? Delightful episode. Everyone was on their top game, and it's hard to pick a favorite. Mike singing to Jonah is a highlight, as was Jonah trying to sound 'black' to the two women in the opening scene. 

Not at all. This show is just about the best thing going, right now. Everything is so sharp and works so well. The jokes are almost constant, but so rapid fire and often spoken on top of one another, so you need repeat viewings just to get them all.

I love the little tangents characters go off on, while other stuff is going on. Like with Dan muttering that perhaps Selina could talk about the military and hospitals simultaneously, and Ben said she could be like "those Tibetan throat singers". It just makes everything seen that much more real.

I thought I'd get annoyed at the 'let's look at our characters through the eyes of an outsider' trope, because I usually do when shows do that. But I thought it worked really well, because Alicia got just a glimpse at the chaos and how heinous these people are, and she never got to see that they're good inside, but nor did she tell them all off for being assholes. The Veeple stayed in control throughout. At least, in control as much as they ever are.

I also now have a bit of a crush on Catherine, thanks to the sassiness she showed her mother. More Sarah Sutherland, please.

And Dan and Amy have matching exasperated rhyming, defecation-related cursing. "shit on my tits" and "crap in my lap". How romantic.

[Ankai]

I liked the inclusion of Alicia and her daughter and...Dee? Another David Simon veteran, anyways. The Veep team got them on their side just in time, but kind of left them hanging right at the end. I don't know if that could come back to hurt Selina a little bit...or at least Mike. Maybe not. And what did happen to the coat?

I found it a little amusing that the whole debacle concerned universal childcare, while Selina's care for her own child had been questionable at best. I was wondering if Catherine would have tied those two things together in her rant, but I guess that it was not meant to be so on-the-nose.

[SpiffyShindigs]

Catherine was the highlight of the episode for me. I wasn't a gigantic fan of hers in the past, but here she seemed so much more engaged and aware of what was going on. That "pep-talk", oh man was that cathartic, but most of all I loved how it ended with her embracing her mother's massive ambition. And then Selina's rebuttal of "I'm not a bitch and you look like a waiter." Perfection. Their dynamic was amazing this episode.

And then, of course, Goober Peas. I knew someone was going to walk in on them, but that didn't stop me from howling when it actually happened!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

When Dee let Catherine borrow her coat, I thought for sure that there would be backlash against the Presidential candidate's daughter wearing fur and that it might be part of the SNL skit. I loved JLD's intentionally terrible acting during the SNL skit too.

I know that there has been some debate about everyone crapping on Jerry on Parks & Rec but on Veep, it is universally accepted by every character regardless of their affiliation or loyalties that Jonad is THE WORST and we as the audience have seen multiple examples of why people hate him, which makes it so enjoyable when a character who is normally slimy and loathsome like Leon is more than happy to agree to Amy's request to hit Jonah in the head with a fire extinguisher.

I'm not always a fan of Catherine being included, mostly because it's sad to see her be disappointed for the millionth time, but I really liked that her pep talk to Selina was essentially "I put up with your crap and neglect for all these years so make it worth my fucking while by getting your shit together and achieving the ultimate goal!"

I know that certain aspects of this show are not realistic, but how realistic would it be for a divorced single woman to run for President? I have no issue with it, but it seems like they would want her to have a husband in order to present a family friendly image.

Always lovely to see Tracie Thoms, who will always be Majandra from Wonderfalls to me!

Edited April 22, 2014 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Bill]

Not weird, partly because this is dangerously high up there among the most rewatchable shows ever - in fact most of the times I enjoy my second viewing of an episode more than the first, and the third and fourth still give me new things to discover. 

So very true.  I don't have the time or inclination to watch any show more than a single time in recent years, with the single exception of Veep.  I've seen both seasons on HBO GO multiple times and I keep going back.  It's pretty close to impossible to catch all the rapid-fire quips on a single viewing and this show rewards you with such wit and brilliance in every scene I can't help but watch it more than once.

[Catherinewriter]

Danny Franks, I agree about Jonad. He works better as the West Wingnut, coming in and out with his West Wingnut announcements. True, without posts, he won't last long. I'll just hope Ianucci knows what he's doing.

[Muffyn]

I did enjoy Dan moderating his language, even briefly. "cock.... tail napkin. Yeah, you heard me."

 

The "Yeah.  You heard me." really sold it.  You could feel the "What?!?" on the other end of the phone.  It reminded me of an Arrested Development classic "you cunt-try loving . . . ."

I loved the sight gag with the similar red dresses.  I will need to watch this episode several times.  There were so many funny lines and sight gags.  

[EdnasEdibles]

"Peeing is fun!" is probably one of my favorite lines in this whole episode.

 

Second favorite was when Selina said "Didn't everyone have a pony . . . " and then everyone started shaking their heads and she said ". . . I mean a pet when they were growing up?"

[Lizzing]

I'm catching up slowly on Veep (lost HBO due to downsizing), but I really, really thought the "Didn't everyone have a pony" line was a clear throwback to the Pony Remark Episode of Seinfeld (S2, E2).  OK, maybe I'm just old. :)