Corporate - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Go!

[bilgistic]

I watched the first four episodes of Corporate on Comedy Central's app, and really liked it! I had very low expectations. The only thing I've liked from Comedy Central for quite a while has been Broad City, which is excellent. Corporate is like an Office Space for Generation Y (definitely not Millennials; there are no ping-pong tables and free snacks in this company).

I laughed out loud several times. I just left a soul-sucking corporate job, so a lot of this resonated with me the way Office Space did when I had a soul-sucking corporate job in the late 1990s-early 2000s. (I'm part of Generation X.) I was afraid it would make me anxious because I'm still dealing with a lot of anxiety and PTSD (seriously) from my last job (I left at the end of July), but it was really well done and not at all serious. It's satirical without being too ridiculous.

I loved the casting of the CEO, and particularly that a black man was cast in what is almost always a white male position in American corporate culture. I recognized the actor (Lance Reddick) as Broyles on Fringe, but he's been in plenty of other stuff since then. He always has such a serious demeanor, but an undercurrent of being in on the joke.

The HR rep is played by Aparna Nancherla, a very funny comedian and writer for several shows. I follow her on Twitter, and she's so witty. I wish she had been one of the leads (the two male "junior-executives-in-training"), because her talent is much bigger than her role. I hope an episode exclusively featuring her is upcoming.

I wholeheartedly recommend Corporate!

[atlantaloves]

oh me two, me three, me four.  I never laugh at anything unless it is probably on comedy central.....this show is so strange, and soooooooooo true. I LOVE IT.   DON'T MISS IT GUYS ----hey I relate, I'll do anything for free cake.  

[marketdoctor]

Quote

I laughed out loud several times. I just left a soul-sucking corporate job, so a lot of this resonated with me...

It would be interesting if they did an episode on career-related PTSD.  I'm not sure how you'd find the humor there--maybe off camera?  And end it with someone discovering that 15 minutes a day of positive, creative action (writing, music, painting, etc.) can reduce symptoms a lot.  (Do NOT "trust me on this"; give it a chance.) 

What they've done so far is awesome, and they deserve free cake for that.

[atlantaloves]

Free Cake and Cocktails! ?

[Neurochick]

Lance Reddick has been in both The Wire and Oz.

[mojoween]

I love Jake the friend more than the lead guy.  Jake is slimy but not too slimy as to not also be funny.  I laughed when he was shot and said he deserved it.

The name Stockheed Barton makes me giggle.

[bilgistic]

"Stockheed Barton" was great! They should namedrop "Pallidurton".

[Dowel Jones]

It's an interesting mix of characters, from The Devil Wears Armani CEO right down to the junior exec who has already cheerfully mortgaged his soul, and all the rest.  I like that the comedy is not broad slapstick; you have to pay attention to what's going on.  Smaller countries finding out they can start wars on the cheap?  Excellent!  Looking forward to the new episodes.

[marketdoctor]

I didn't mention earlier--this is not only very crisp writing, but outstanding acting.  Anne Dudek is brilliant, and the rest of the cast is too.

[Dowel Jones]

The third ep was a bit of a bore.  I lost interest halfway through.  Hope they get traction again.

[atlantaloves]

It picks up with episode 4, you will like it. 

[Dowel Jones]

Thanks.

[SmithW6079]

Is this like "Better Off Ted," which is what I think of whenever I see commercials for this show?

Edited February 7, 2018 by SmithW6079

[bilgistic]

Is anyone other than me still watching?

[marketdoctor]

Quote

Is anyone other than me still watching?

I am, and I love it.  I've seen other people try to "lawyer" a dress code--almost never showing awareness.

[bilgistic]

I'm worried the show won't last very long. The obvious jokes have seemed to calm and it's subtler now. I still very much enjoy it, but I worry that traditional comedy fans might not.

What I mean by subtle is the shirtless storyline. On the surface, it's not very yuk-yuk funny. It's a deeper commentary on corporate culture, where if one person gets away with bad behavior, others will follow, and no one does anything about it (or they send a "don't do this, okay, thanks! email). I imagine this was written before the #MeToo revelations, but that's one glaring example. Another lighter one is how people in my last office would just keep piling glasses in the dishwasher to absurd heights where there was no way water and soap would reach them...rather than actually running the dishwasher. Or throwing out trash if we had bagels and wiping down the counters. Or not stealing others' food from the fridge.

The advertising in church storyline was smart, too. Advertising is taking over everything, and it's inevitable that it will take over "sacred" spaces at some point. What advertisers don't get (but they would if they read the commercials forums on this site) is that ads piss us off more than anything else. We mute them and block them. We hate them and swear to never buy the products.

I hope this show stays on for a while. It's viewers are about half of South Park's, but comparable to Drunk History's, and it's in its fifth season. I don't watch either of those shows.

Edited February 16, 2018 by bilgistic

[bilgistic]

Some Catholics are angry about the last episode. See the news thread.

[Dowel Jones]

I have been watching it, but I'm afraid I have to throw in the towel.  It just seems like they're trying to hard to be an edgy look at soulless corporations, but it comes off as a 10 minute sketch stretched out to 30 minutes.  Hope you all enjoy it.

[mojoween]

I’m still in.  It is definitely getting better each episode.  Also, I still love Jake.

Last week’s ep with the meeting cracked me up because while they were very over the top, if you’ve ever been in a meeting, you know that is what it feels like.

[atlantaloves]

I'm still watching too, sometimes this show is too gross, but hey, it's really funny funny funny. 

[bilgistic]

That restaurant was perfect. Endless refills of milk. Gag.

[mojoween]

It’s nice to see Jake is the same.  He is still my favorite.

The writing was a little uneven, because married or not I don’t believe that John would interrupt Christian for anything.

[atlantaloves]

Just watched the new season opener.  It's terrific, gross, but very funny. I loved the office crush story line. I can totally relate. 

[Amethyst]

I just saw it and it was hilarious.  The “just give up” song had me wheezing!  

[atlantaloves]

Oh I loved the cosmetics episode....that was FLAWLESS....ESPECIALLY THE OPENING SEGMENT....

[Amethyst]

This show definitely deserves more attention than it's getting.  That episode was spot on, from the discussion on "women's tones" to the insanely high AC in the offices.  And Matt killed me wearing the makeup and slowly becoming obsessed.

[ALenore]

I think I know where the writers got the idea for Thanks!  

One of my friends shared a post on Facebook last year in which a writer relayed that she had decided to use fewer exclamation points in her writing, she'd read articles complaining that people were overusing it, that it should be sparingly.   When she decided to follow this practice when writing Facebook posts, she got into trouble.   People thought her comments like "cute kid", "good looking puppy" or "nice music" were sarcastic.   She had to go back to using exclamation points so as not to piss off her friends.  Pretty much what happened in "Thanks!"

[mojoween]

Ohmygod yes.  I often re-read emails and then add qualifying words so they don’t come off too strident, and hate myself a little bit more every time.

I always feel when I sign off “Thank you,” instead of “Thank you!” that I'm being a jerk.  Sometimes I AM being passive-aggressive, but sometimes I'm just not in an exclamatory mood, ya know?

[Amethyst]

The last two were ok, but not as strong as the beginning of the season.  The whole murder mystery thing felt kind of dumb, tbh.  Also, I missed Grace, but it makes sense that she wouldn't have gone to the retreat.

[mojoween]

Yeah there were a couple of amusing moments but the cookie lady’s first story and the murder thing was too over the top.

Matt’s continual “the chips” was funny.

[atlantaloves]

Who played the cookie accountant lady, she looks quite famous. 

[Amethyst]

3 hours ago, atlantaloves said:

Who played the cookie accountant lady, she looks quite famous. 

Elizabeth Perkins.  

[atlantaloves]

Elizabeth Perkins...Yes yes yes....thank you. She was so great in "Big". 

[mojoween]

I feel like Matt is more of a goober this year than last year.  He was always the more optimistic of the two but now he seems kinda incompetent.

[auchic]

A+ callout on the "Thoughts and Prayers" performative angst that goes around on social media after any tragedy. Jake's cynicism can be boring, but it was completely on point for me this episode. I like that he got Grace her Pinterest cake.

Matt and Paige's war on who could be the most caring was amazing.

[mojoween]

Jake is awesome.  They use him the perfect amount. 

In the prior ep I love that his undershirt had a cat on it.

[TVbitch]

This show is hit or miss, but always good for a few chuckles. I got a kick out the one where no one wants to go out at night. So true.

Oh, wait, I mean... so true!!

[mojoween]

Corporate was renewed for its third and final season.  Yay!

(yay to the renewal, not yay it’s ending, heh)

[mojoween]

The ad for the premiere (July 22 yay!) says “remember working from work?” and it’s going to be weird watching a show from the Before Times.

[Apathy]

In hindsight, now it makes even more sense why Jake hates dogs. But really, isn't that a perfect allegory for managing depression? Medication (along with therapy, exercise, etc.) might not get rid of the black dog, but at least it can put a muzzle on him. I can't believe this show isn't more popular.

[Red Bridey]

I am so glad that what started Jake out of his depression was an insult about Pebbles. Never insult my cat! He's the only thing that is preventing a major breakdown. Keep the cat happy. Clean the litter box daily. Know you are loved.

Edited August 1, 2020 by Red Bridey
Wrong kitty name!

[Joimiaroxeu]

Guess the producers didn't want to pay for rights to play a Led Zeppelin classic:

Before this episode I never knew the term "black dog" had a particular meaning. Learn something new every day. 🤔

(The Zeppelin song doesn't mention the phrase though, and allegedly referred to an actual dog.)

Edited July 31, 2020 by Joimiaroxeu

[Amethyst]

On 7/31/2020 at 12:49 AM, Apathy said:

I can't believe this show isn't more popular.

Yeah, this episode really deserved more attention.  It was an excellent view into Jake's chronic depression and how he was starting to spiral.  The scenes in the apartment were way too real.  Also, I didn't know "Black Dog" was a euphemism for depression. 

This interview goes a bit more into depth about the background to the episode, like Jake Weisman's actual experiences with depression, and how it effects the people who want to help, like Matt doing his pathetic Mary Poppins routine.

[mojoween]

I wasn’t enamored of the first two eps of this season, but this one was superb.  It also made me not miss working in an actual office.

I do love how Kate was wearing stilettos and Grace was wearing flats.

[Amethyst]

I thought the coffee plot was kind of silly, but you could tell they were sidelining Matt and Jake a little so Grace and Kate could have the main plot this week.   And the guys could have played dumb when Tammy went to the break room.  Matt and Jake sitting there all smug about the sign just gave them away.

Jake looks like he's in better spirits.  Nice continuity from last week.

I loved Grace and Christian hanging out together, it's always funny to see Christian actually relax for a change.  But Grace, checking the sender in the email is 101.  That's as bad as hitting "reply all".

The best scene was John just sitting in his car, combing his nonexistent hair with that orgasmic expression on his face.  The Jonas-brothers music in the car only made it funnier.

[mojoween]

Oh my god I HAAAAAAATE surveys.  I hate them as part of my job, and I hate that every time I buy ANYTHING I get six emails reminding me to take their damn survey.

Another solid ep IMO.

[Apathy]

"If someone calls you shy, it just means they don't know anything about you. It's like when someone gives you a candle as a gift." Jake gets it. I was honestly scared for Matt when John had the scissors, and Jake when he was being stalked by Jupiter about the survey. "NO! You don't get to know what I think about you!" I'm not ready for this show to end.

[Joimiaroxeu]

I'm gonna give it a 3 out of 5. Y'all tried it though. 😒

I did like the titles of those shows on Jake's streaming service menu:
Jew Pope
Doppelgänger Detectives: Double the Difficulty
Dawson's Freaks
Murder County USA
Your Wine, My Mouth
Society Tomorrow: Generations

Some of those sound real?

[mojoween]

Lance Reddick passed away and so far his work in Corporate hasn’t been mentioned in any of the pieces memorializing him.

I know this was a silly comedy and not a prestige drama, but he was really good in it and showed a different side than on, say, “Oz” or “The Wire”.

I don’t know why, but this one hit me hard.  He was too young.