Crashing - General Discussion

[scrb]

No reviews yet but I'm in.  It doesn't seem to have a huge audience so those who enjoyed it, enjoy it while you can.  May not be back.

[scrb]

The ex-wife doesn't appear to be in this season.  But the guy she cheated with is still around?

Pete is questioning his faith but how long will that last.

Wonder how much of the season Artie Lange manage to film.

Looks like Ally is just a one or two episode fling.  

I don't know how much Pete struggled in his career.  He seems to have no problems getting all his comic friends to appear on the show.

[atlantaloves]

Good Lord, that was a boring episode...I'm going to give it one more shot. I sorta liked it last year, but not to sure I care this year.

[msrachelj]

i agree. that episode was horrible. i ff'd thru some of it. i feel the same way, so far not as good as last season. i do NOT want to see Pete drunk and having random sex either. the writing seems off. it really sucked.

[100Proof]

After this episode I really started to hate this guy. What a clueless irritating obnoxious a__hole

[scrb]

Guy is lost and all his beliefs are being challenged now.

And then Leif gets him high without him knowing it?

He's definitely fish out of water in NY but also in the milieu of the comic clubs full of cynicism.  Not really a place for someone who grew up knowing only to be devout.

I think there's more to this show than a series of funny, cringey scenes.

[100Proof]

Was he high???  He certainly didn't behave any different. He thought he might get  high was, again, being clueless in thinking you can get high from a couple drops of infused oil rubbed on the skin.

That Dr Oz saying he was high was because he was talking like a buffoon. Oz shining a light in his eye was no 'proof' imo.... just Oz being 'showbiz'.... as shown by Oz then unveiling the internal organs body suit in front of him and then out to start his show thus himself becoming a sort of 'showbiz clown'

[Caseysgirl]

This show has me cringing throughout. I'm only watching for the cameos.

[iMonrey]

I'm a bit lost - where is Pete living? In a garage somewhere? Whose? Is Leif living with him? Why? 

[scrb]

So far in the series, he seems to crash with different people.

I hope that's not the only meaning of the name of the show and it becomes a gimmick where he's sleeping on one acquaintance's couch to another.

Realistically, for him to build up some momentum in his career, he's got to be doing more than passing out fliers and doing the set in that sad little club.

You would think if he hasn't seen any kind of progress like getting regular gigs booked after say 6 months, he has to give up and do something else, maybe even go back home.

Or maybe in Holme's biography, he did this for a long time before he kind of got enough notoriety.  Maybe even this show will help him some in headlining, maybe at bigger venues and stuff.

 

He lost his marriage pursuing this dream so who knows how far he'll go.  I guess in real life, he gained notoriety for his podcast, which I've never heard.  Most comics do podcasts to help promote their upcoming shows while some get enough listeners that they can make money from the podcasts directly.  I don't know if his podcast ever reached the latter level of success.

But it wouldn't be too interesting a show if it's about him doing a successful podcast every day or week.  I guess the struggle and the adventures with the types of people he meets is where the entertainment is suppose to come from.

Maybe that's why he'll never have a regular TV job warming up the audience.  He'll book it and then screw it up, never gain enough success to avoid being around the club scene.

[msani19]

I didn't really enjoy this episode, there was something hollow in it. I felt like there was a stronger story last season and this is the sophomore slump.

The question is what does Pete do now and I think the show hasn't figured that out yet. 

[msrachelj]

i didn't enjoy it either. i give it one more ep. and then i'm out. really bad this season.  he was acting like a school boy with his hook up. even stalkerish. and how stupid, immature is he, to eat her one bit of food and not know not to put something hot on glass? i just can't with this ignoramus. 

[candall]

For me, it's saved by the parts where he's proficient with his comedy.  I even enjoyed the success of his "journey" with Leif.  But the slobby man-child who won't get out of bed to vacate the woman's apartment, helps himself to a big feed, manages to ruin the furniture and STILL won't leave--not so much.

[One Imaginary Girl]

On 1/22/2018 at 8:31 PM, Caseysgirl said:

This show has me cringing throughout. I'm only watching for the cameos.

I think I might be done.  Not really interested in watching a show about a sad sack.  

[iMonrey]

Really, what is Pete Holmes thinking? I've never seen someone so utterly lacking in self-awareness. I don't remember him being this awful in Season 1.

[auntiemel]

I think the difference between the two seasons, so far, is that season one had a driving arc - the divorce and Pete having to leave his home and his life. This season is (so far, at least) is just Pete fumbling around.

[topanga]

13 hours ago, auntiemel said:

I think the difference between the two seasons, so far, is that season one had a driving arc - the divorce and Pete having to leave his home and his life. This season is (so far, at least) is just Pete fumbling around.

I haven’t watched this season. But I want to catch the episode with the  Bill Burr guest along with the lovely Nia. Has that aired yet?

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, topanga said:

I haven’t watched this season. But I want to catch the episode with the  Bill Burr guest along with the lovely Nia. Has that aired yet?

It was last nights ep.

[biakbiak]

As a lifelong fan of comedy Bill Burr's insistence both here, interviews and in his standup that peo7ple who don't like certain jokes its because they don't like humor, no your jokes aren't funny.

Edited January 30, 2018 by biakbiak

[cpcathy]

I'm of the opinion that everything can be funny, I don't usually get offended at comedy. However, there are certain comedians who can finesse a joke that may seem offensive. Dave Chapelle is good at it, in my mind, and so is Louis CK (I know, I know, he's still my favorite comedian).

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, cpcathy said:

I'm of the opinion that everything can be funny, I don't usually get offended at comedy. However, there are certain comedians who can finesse a joke that may seem offensive. Dave Chapelle is good at it, in my mind, and so is Louis CK (I know, I know, he's still my favorite comedian).

Yes anythimg can be funny but the examples shown in this episode or examples Bill Burr has given in interviews to illustrate that he is so un pc aren't actually funny. And two dudes coming up with the unbaked cake abortion joke? It mainly offended me because it wasnt funny. I have laughd at several abortion jokes that was just a shitty joke and since you mentioned Louis CK I also didn't find his abortion jokes in his last comedy special funny. Much like there and here it seemed they never ran it by a live woman.

Edited January 30, 2018 by biakbiak

[cpcathy]

I've never seen Bill Burr do standup, I've ignored all his stuff on Netflix, but I would generally think he's not that funny.

[biakbiak]

4 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

I've never seen Bill Burr do standup, I've ignored all his stuff on Netflix, but I would generally think he's not that funny.

I edited while you were posting but Louis Cks "abortion joke" in his last special, 2017, was even less funny and that says a lot when you are talking about a joke that equates abortion to throwing out unbaked cake batter.

Edited January 30, 2018 by biakbiak

[cpcathy]

I'd have to go back and revisit that special to see if it was a good joke or not. I just don't remember it.

[biakbiak]

57 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

I'd have to go back and revisit that special to see if it was a good joke or not. I just don't remember it.

You can read it which I realize its not the same thing. An unbaked cake is less digusting than taking a shit but neither are funny or have an interesting take on the issue which is essential for a joke to work. The Bill Burr segment was a riff on Louis bit both failed in my opinion. 

Edited January 30, 2018 by biakbiak

[topanga]

2 hours ago, cpcathy said:

I've never seen Bill Burr do standup, I've ignored all his stuff on Netflix, but I would generally think he's not that funny.

I enjoy him in general but don’t find 100% of his jokes funny. But whose are?

I don’t think the cake batter joke was a rant against reproductive rights. But the better jokes of the episode were the ones with Bill and Pete riffing about Pete not really being a guy’s guy and not caring much about sports. 

One nitpicky thing:  Bill Burr is left-handed, and Pete is right-handed. But when they were playing golf, Bill swung his club like a right-handed golfer, and Pete like a lefty. Unless it was a camera thing, and we were looking at a reversed image. 

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, topanga said:

don’t think the cake batter joke was a rant against reproductive rights. B

Neither did I, I took it as dismissive of what most/many women feel when they make that choice, similar to the CK bit and not funny.

Edited January 31, 2018 by biakbiak

[scrb]

Brutal for Pete, Jess will have a friends with benefits arrangement with Leif but not with him.

Surprised there were no jokes about him not recognizing Jess' moaning because he's probably never heard them from her.  But if his comics friends ever found out ...

So a comic whom Pete didn't think was good gets on HBO and kills.  Will it encourage or discourage him?  Or is it just a moment that will be forgotten by the next episode, so there's no continuity or development of his skills as a comic?

[Caseysgirl]

If you ever want to discourage someone from a career in stand up, this show should do it.  Everything is so dark and joyless and no one is even slightly funny.  

[cpcathy]

I know! Two things I would NEVER try are standup comic and chef, the businesses seem so hard!

[msrachelj]

i deleted this mess of shit off my dvr. can't believe i liked the first season. the "character" pete holmes is portraying makes me cringe and makes me ill. it has tainted my opinion of him. this was not a good career move.

[cpcathy]

My husband left to go to bed in the middle of the episode, he thinks Pete is too whiney and pathetic. I'm still watching, but I hope "Pete's" journey starts to turn in a better direction!

[iMonrey]

Quote

If you ever want to discourage someone from a career in stand up, this show should do it.  Everything is so dark and joyless and no one is even slightly funny.  

No kidding. The kicker was Whitney Cummings telling Pete you either have star power or you don't. That it's not something you can develop, you're either born with it or you're not. Now granted, she admitted to not having seen him, but his desperation with her was just sad and pathetic. Equally sad and pathetic? Pete pleading with his ex-wife to "use" each the way she and Leif had. 

This guy needs a win desperately.

[100Proof]

On 1/30/2018 at 7:46 PM, topanga said:

One nitpicky thing:  Bill Burr is left-handed, and Pete is right-handed. But when they were playing golf, Bill swung his club like a right-handed golfer, and Pete like a lefty. Unless it was a camera thing, and we were looking at a reversed image. 

I'm right handed but I'll play pool, hold a rifle and use a camera left handed. Never even realized it till years after. Probably has something to do with my left eye being dominant.  Its not that an unusual thing I don't think

Edited February 9, 2018 by 100Proof

[100Proof]

On 2/8/2018 at 1:26 PM, iMonrey said:

Whitney Cummings telling Pete you either have star power or you don't.

Hope that's scripted and not biographical given the shows premise, cuz she ain't that funny or has 'star power'.

She came off as full of herself as what's his name comes off as pathetic

Edited February 9, 2018 by 100Proof

[scrb]

Pete got lucky again.

So it's something.  

Maybe the show is about featuring as many of his comic friends, in these little cameos.

I guess nobody can stay mad at the dorky dad persona.  But he tries too hard to please so he's bound to annoy people.

The booker at that one show said he'll be funny in about 3 years.

[cpcathy]

I enjoyed this episode, I liked the different comedy locations (comedy still seems horrible, y'all!), and I'm actually happy for Pete that he got some laughs and he seems to be getting the girl.

[Caseysgirl]

Loved seeing John Mullaney and  if Allie Riessen is actually a struggling comic (I've never heard of her before) this is a great showcase for her.  It also highlights how hard you actually have to work to make it in that business. I have a lot more respect for those who have succeeded.

[bilgistic]

I get we're supposed to root for Pete, but this episode bothered me. He wouldn't take Ali's no for an answer, and that's part of the worldwide #MeToo conversation. Even "nice guys" sometimes don't get that women don't need saving and no really does mean no. Step off the first time a woman says no. Stop hounding her and trying to wear her down. The message that if a man keeps trying, eventually the woman will relent (and have sex with him!) is a really dangerous message.

I'm going to have to quit watching on that fact alone, which saddens me, because I've really liked Pete's comedy in the past, and his one-time talk and skit show.

[scrb]

Well in this case he helped her make that gig after she told him to leave her alone.

But obviously making the gig was a big deal to her.  She not only let him come to the club but also try to tape her again.

He finally found a way to be helpful.

 

But if she was grateful, seems like she should have been going down on him, not the other way around.

Pete is such an eager beaver pleaser though.

[Phishbulb]

That joke about the "pretentious orphan"- "Do you have any idea who my father is?" That's a funny idea for a joke, but really, an "orphan" is not necessarily someone who doesn't know who their birth parents are. It could just be someone whose parents have died. 

I think what the joke is getting at is, a person who's been adopted who never knew their parents- but there isn't a one-word name for that I guess. 

[biakbiak]

8 hours ago, Caseysgirl said:

Loved seeing John Mullaney and  if Allie Riessen is actually a struggling comic (I've never heard of her before) this is a great showcase for her.  It also highlights how hard you actually have to work to make it in that business. I have a lot more respect for those who have succeeded.

She's not real. She is played by Jaime Lee who is a writer on the show, comedian, she was on Last Comic Standing, and a real life exgirlfriend of Pete. 

She wrote an article about working with him.

Edited February 13, 2018 by biakbiak

[iMonrey]

Quote

Loved seeing John Mullaney

Ah! I wondered who that was - he looked vaguely familiar. I also recognized Joe Machi walking by (wearing cardboard boxes, oddly) - I remember him from Last Comic Standing. It would be great if Crashing did a riff on that show and got Pete booked as a contestant. Maybe then they could expose it for the sham that it is/was.

[msani19]

9 hours ago, iMonrey said:

It would be great if Crashing did a riff on that show and got Pete booked as a contestant. Maybe then they could expose it for the sham that it is/was.

Is Last Comic Standing still on? I agree with you, it was a sham but then so are all the reality shows so it's not surprising but I had hoped that there was some effort to have good comics pushed through. I do like John Mulaney though. His show was brutally awful but he's a good comedian. 

I liked this one more than the earlier episodes but I still feel like the show is trying to find it's voice for the season. 

[The Mighty Peanut]

On 2/9/2018 at 4:22 PM, 100Proof said:

Hope that's scripted and not biographical given the shows premise, cuz she ain't that funny or has 'star power'.

She came off as full of herself as what's his name comes off as pathetic

 

Agree. I have never got Whitney Cummings. I feel like there are two camps—people who think she’s the second coming of funny female Jesus, or a mediocre comic who got in the right place at the right time and hit it big. 

Pete is a dorky dad and I get it, and I generally like him, but his level of obviviousness is sometimes too unbelievable, IMO. I think we were supposed to feel like Allie was being mean to him, but she clearly needed some space and “let’s end this, I’m not mad and I have no resentment but it’s time to go our separate ways” wasn’t cruel. She only yelled at him to go away when he WOULDNT LEAVE. He’s a nerd, he’s not Sloth from the Goonies. He should have picked a little street smarts up. YMMV of course.

Edited February 15, 2018 by The Mighty Peanut

[cpcathy]

I agree that Whitney Cummings is mediocre. On a good day.

John Mulaney, however, is awesome.

[scrb]

Pete Holmes is on the Adam Carolla Show podcast, the 2/16/18 episode.

Has a way different energy than his character on the show, talks way fast.

[CofCinci]

The girlfriend looks too much like the wife and the wife looks too much like Chelsea Peretti for my comfort. 

[DiabLOL]

I loathe Whitney Cummings and was livid when they had her play herself as some sort of a big deal. I don't care how much money she makes or whatever she sucks.

I love John Mulaney and how bizzarely dickish he was playing himself here.

I guess we got the Very Special Episode tonight. Ot reminded me of the Doug Stanhope playing Greg Giraldo on an episode of Louie. I'm wondering if it would have been better to have Artie die in the end. 

[scrb]

Pete's a nice guy.  But he should have taken away a lesson, that standup comedy is very uncertain, with Wayne unable to afford health care despite a long career.

If he's into Ali, you'd think the last thing he'd want to do is organize this benefit.  He lost his wife because he was too preoccupied with all the time he spent on this.  Of course she's a standup as well so maybe she's letting him do his thing.

I guess they didn't overtly show Artie relapsing.  He denied he was getting high but maybe we're suppose to read between the lines with what's happened in real life.  At least they didn't label this "a special episode of Crashing."