Welcome To Sweden - General Discussion

[possibilities]

At Slate, the American writer has been watching the show with his Swedish born wife.

I was just coming over here to post that article. i think it's a good one, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I've enjoyed the show; it shows just how good the premise of the show is, and just how bad the execution of it turned out.

[Dagny]

I thought it was funny how the wife thought they exaggerated the shoe thing, but he gently reminded her that her one recollection was of an incident 5 years previous.

[annzeepark914]

Gosh...I can just see the look on his face when she tells him this news (oh wait...that's his permanent expression, right?)

[Bretley]

It hasn't aired yet, has it?

And why would his parents be "shocked by his life in Sweden"? Because he is being so helpless? Because he's not trying to fit in? Because he acts like a douche to these nice people?

TRUTH.

Edited August 17, 2014 by Bretley

[ottoDbusdriver]

Amy Poehler offers Bruce a huge raise if he'll go back to New York and resume his old job and when he doesn't accept the offer, she enlists the help of Aubrey Plaza. Plaza then flies to Sweden and begins to stalk Bruce in an attempt to get him to go back. Bruce attempts to hire Swedish celebrities as his clients.

 

This is just getting plain ridiculous -- when are Bono and Bill Gates going to show up to beg Bruce to come back to New York to do their accounting ?

 

ETA: In this stupid show setup, is Amy Poehler playing 'Amy Poehler' a former famous client of Bruce's or a character called Amy Poehler that is Bruce's boss (that would be in a position to offer Bruce a raise) ?

Edited August 18, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[henripootel]

ETA: In this stupid show setup, is Amy Poehler playing 'Amy Poehler' a former famous client of Bruce's or a character called Amy Poehler that is Bruce's boss (that would be in a position to offer Bruce a raise) ?

I think Amy Poehler is playing 'Amy Poehler', a notoriously self-centered and venial celebrity in need of some book-fixing.  This fictional version can be distinguished from the real Amy Poehler by the fact that real Amy Poehler has a brother she pulled some strings to get his own tv show.  Which sucks a bit.

 

Her's is far from the most embarrassing of the cameos in this show.  Watch for Malin Akerman in an upcoming episode to see a truly cringe-worthy bit of unfunny.  I checked the IMDB - her people didn't include this appearance in her résumé.  Smart.

[biakbiak]

I am assuming this episode was filmed last summer when Aubrey was in London filming the season premiere of Parks in London.

[ichbin]

In this stupid show setup, is Amy Poehler playing 'Amy Poehler' a former famous client of Bruce's or a character called Amy Poehler that is Bruce's boss (that would be in a position to offer Bruce a raise) ?

She is playing Amy Poehler the way Matt LeBlanc plays Matt LeBlanc on Episodes spoofing his real life persona as a character.   It looks like I'm in the minority here but I really enjoy this show.  I'm glad NBC is picking up the 2nd series too.  It reminds me of some British series, like Worst Week of My Life. It's kind of like Curb Your Enthusiasm too in the way the main characters are somewhat jerks.    I thought Björn Ulvaeus always wearing an Abba costume and hanging around the museum was really funny.  Unfortunately there were storms in the area and the weather alert crawler stayed on the screen for the entire episode which blocked out a lot of the English translation sub-titles.  Its definitely not a typical sit-com. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

Bruce was just awful as usual -- awful to Björn Ulvaeus, awful to the woman at the cafe .... again.  He's just an asshole in general and really unlikeable.

 

The parts with Aubrey Plaza were awkward and odd and the opposite of funny.  Amy tells her to go and bring him back, but all she does is stalk him and never really mentions going back to NYC.  Are we supposed to assume that Aubrey and Bruce palled around all the time back in New York when he lived there ? Because that's how she came off but it's completely unbelievable.   Would Emma even know Aubrey personally, enough to recognize her skulking in the street ?  

 

And that stupid montage while Bruce got dressed for work was beyond stupid -- it seemed like it was from a different show altogether and went over like a lead brick.  Thud !!  

 

I'm confused -- in the previous episode, Bruce's parents called in the middle of the night to tell him they were coming to visit, but now he's supposed to be going back to New York for 3 months. So, won't his parents be visiting Sweden when he's in New York ? WTF ?

[biakbiak]

I'm confused -- in the previous episode, Bruce's parents called in the middle of the night to tell him they were coming to visit, but now he's supposed to be going back to New York for 3 months. So, won't his parents be visiting Sweden when he's in New York ? WTF ?

Two episodes aired tonight, his parents visited in the episode that aired right before this one.

[Dagny]

I thought Björn Ulvaeus always wearing an Abba costume and hanging around the museum was really funny.

 

And he conducted the interview with Bruce at the museum. I laughed at that.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Thanks @biakbiak -- that makes more sense, but having seen the comments for episode 6, I'm dreading watching it if it's worse than this one.

[ottoDbusdriver]

@takeittotheBanks, you were right, this episode stunk bad.  There was barely anything good about it. Yikes !!

[toddabearsf]

I had high hopes for this show, since I'm a Swedish-American on my mother's side of the family and I've been to Sweden twice. I stayed for a few months on my last visit. The thing is, Sweden isn't a difficult country to live in if you have manners. Bruce, unfortunately, is a horse's ass and, after the first episode, I started liking this show less and less, primarily because Bruce is such an idiot. For example, Bruce showed up one morning in a konditori and finally figured out what the delicious pasty or bun he likes is called, but couldn't pay for it since his credit card was declined and he didn't have any cash. By the time he believes that his credit card is maxed out, he has stuffed the bun into his mouth while standing in front of the cashier. Who does that? You complete payment first, take your receipt when it's handed to you, walk away with your purchase and then eat it. Another cringeworthy event was when Bruce was getting driving lessons -- he doesn't know how to drive a stick (all right, almost everyone I know in the U.S. does know how, but a lot of Americans don't, I suppose), and then he makes a right turn on a red light without stopping at the red light first -- he rolls right through the light and almost has an accident as he completes the turn, since he didn't wait until it was safe to turn. Then he says he thought right turns on red lights were legal. Sorry, but in New York (where Bruce supposedly drove all the time) as in every other state that permits right turns on a red light, you have to stop at the red light first, then proceed with the turn when it is safe to do so. So, suddenly, Bruce is in Sweden and doesn't make right turns the way he had to in the U.S.? I rented a car in Stockholm, by the way, and drove a number of hours up the coast to Umeto visit friends and had no trouble at all driving on my U.S. license. Also, I can't stand the fact that, suddenly, Bruce's ability to comprehend English is impaired. An immigration official is interviewing him (separately from his bride to be) and when he is asked, "How did the two of you meet?" he suddenly can't answer the question, because he doesn't know what it means. He keeps evading answering because "What does it mean, how did the two of us meet?" Funny, but when he's asked that very question in a previous episode by a member of his fianc's family, he answers readily. A similar asinine situation is in the first episode, where his interaction with a Swedish customs official almost gets him in hot water when he responds to a question as to whether he has any illegal substances in his luggage by saying, "No, I don't do drugs. Well, except for marijuana." Who in the world would say that to a customs official when you're trying to get into the country? Then there's the whole thing about the language. I can't think of a language easier for a native English speaker to learn than Swedish. Yeah, the nouns are difficult with 9 different ways to form a plural, and two arbitrary genders, common and neuter, requiring the correct indefinite article, but the verbs are easier than English and the compound tenses are formed the same way. Tere are so many cognates between English and Swedish, too, and the grammar and syntax are pretty close, though not identical. I did run into some idiots from the U.S. when I was in Sweden, but even they weren't as dense as Bruce or as purposely rude. Add all that to the fact that Greg Poehler can't act and I've stopped watching this show. It's just too annoying. But the worst thing of all is that the show runs in 4 or 5 minute segments punctuated by long commercial breaks. It seems that in its 30-minute time slot, there's about 16 minutes of actual TV show and 14 minutes of commercials (or is it 14 minutes of show and 16 minutes of commercials?). I guess they can't have just one commercial break in the middle, because that one break would have to be ridiculously long, but I can't stand such short increments of TV show with such frequent and long commercial interruptions.

[Shermie]

Yes, that's the logical thing to do if you really want to wear shoes inside to complete your outfit. That won't protect floors from scratches or stiletto heel jabs, though (I've seen both happen in lesser quality floors, but not everyone can afford high-end flooring).

 

I remember my father had little slip-on rubber thingies that he put over his dress shoes for better grip in the winter and to protect his good shoes from salt and snow. He just removed those when going inside.

 

Regardless whether it seems weird or not, when you are a guest in someone's home, you abide by their rules.

[possibilities]

I actually liked this episode more than the others, because it wasn't Bruce who was acting worst, it was his parents. So I didn't have to hate him and wonder why his girlfriend puts up with him, I could just sympathize with everyone against the common "enemy" of his parents. And then I liked his dad's reaction to the gay bar.

 

At the same time, I find it strange that he wouldn't know what to make of the possible pregnancy. Isn't this something couples discuss? Wouldn't he know if they were trying to have kids or not?

[Azaelia]

possibilities, I felt the same way. I actually think the show is better when it's other people's awkwardness. 

 

I think his reaction to the pregnancy MAY have been more that he knew how his parents would react, and they were there and he didn't know what to do about it. But I agree it was odd. And you'd think the fact that Swedes often don't marry would've come up between him and Emma before. 

[sjohnson]

Nobody's hitting other people with a rubber chicken, but I think this show is a farce. It is just disguised as a normal sitcom. Bruce's happy face is just about what you'd expect from the kinds of morons who live in a farce. And I thought it was done quite well. 

 

Mom telling Bruce the union rules meant he had to sit on the couch alone struck me as hilarious. 

[sjohnson]

How not to laugh at Ileana Douglas trying to get stoned off a Swedish mushroom?

[ottoDbusdriver]

I think his reaction to the pregnancy MAY have been more that he knew how his parents would react, and they were there and he didn't know what to do about it. But I agree it was odd. And you'd think the fact that Swedes often don't marry would've come up between him and Emma before.

 

The way Bruce acts it's like he never met Emma before he moved to Sweden, and for Emma, it's like they went on one date and decided to both quit their jobs and  move to Sweden.

Edited August 23, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[ElleBee]

The way Bruce acts it's like he never met Emma before he moved to Sweden, and for Emma, it's like they went on one date and decided to both quit their jobs and  move to Sweden.

 

I agree and I think part of the problem is also that the two leads have very little chemistry. I get that a comedy doesn't necessarily have to rely on chemistry to sell a story but IMO they're just not convincing as this couple so madly in love that they're willing to make whatever sacrifices necessary to be together.

[Roaster]

Björn Ulvaeus was actually a celebrity appearance that worked - they got some laughs out of it and his wearing the costume while at the hot dog stand.

 

But my thumb is down on this episode, especially the way it ended.  Should not have had Bruce get excited when Emma says she is open to returning to New York.  The show is asking us to accompany Bruce on this life change in a new country - don't suggest he is less than enthusiastic about being in Sweden.

[Azaelia]

Someone asked if this was filmed last summer - I think it actually aired in Sweden earlier this year (presumably with English subtitles), so yes, it was filmed last summer.

 

I like the show for the potential it has. I liked the episode with Bruce's parents, because Bruce acted like a decent person, not a complete idiot. I actually laughed a few times.

 

One of my problems with Welcome to Sweden apart from Bruce's personality is that we don't really have any buildup on Bruce or Emma, at least not that I can tell. Why was she in the US? Was she originally studying in school, or working abroad for a given amount of time before moving back? How long have they been dating? I think the show would have served itself better had it actually begun a bit before them moving. And condensed some episodes into one.

 

My thinking though is that shows often have trouble finding their footing the first season, so I'll hope they're just trying to smooth things over. Amy Poehler's own Parks and Recreation had a pretty slow season. Hopefully in season two there won't be as many cameos (I'm actually not a fan of "as themselves" cameos if the cameos aren't very brief - just a viewing quirk of mine), and maybe with Bruce in America for a bit we can almost start over a bit and figure out where he and Emma started. 

[Shermie]

I agree about the lack of chemistry. I would prefer that he was trying to fit in, but failing in amusing ways (misunderstanding the language, misinterpreting a common Swedish custom or saying, a la Amelia Bedelia, etc.) rather than the underlying laziness and disinterest he seems to have about his new home country.

As for this episode? I was amused. I get why Americans are offended, but sorry, the Ugly American Abroad stereotype exists for a reason. I have encountered stupid American tourists so often, asking dim witted questions that they really should know better. That comment by Bruce's mom about expecting snow, and Emma's mom sighs, "It's summer" with the unsaid "you idiot"? Heard it about Canada often. Yes, morons, it's 80 degrees in Detroit but when you cross the border it suddenly drops 50 degrees and we have snow so you can use those skiis you brought.

So that's why this show is a hit outside of the U.S., because other countries are finally seeing their annoyances played out for laughs, and realizing we (non Americans) are all victims.

[annzeepark914]

...realizing we (non Americans) are all victims.

 

Sniff.  Hiccup.

[Shermie]

Hey, there's camaraderie in numbers. Clearly we're laughing at you, not with you.

 

As for the show, I'm glad Emma's not pregnant. Babies ruin sitcoms, and Bruce and Emma haven't been together long enough, nor are they settled enough, to become parents. And they're old enough and intelligent enough (you would think) to be able to prevent this sort of "surprise".

[ottoDbusdriver]

And they're old enough and intelligent enough (you would think) to be able to prevent this sort of "surprise".

 

I wouldn't give Bruce that much credit when it comes to intelligence -- when Emma finally tells him she got her period, Bruce asks "What does that mean ?".  Really Bruce, does Emma need to buy you a high school sex ed textbook so he can figure out how things work .... down there.  Bruce probably doesn't even know about the existence of 'A Whole Other Hole' (copyright -- Orange is the New Black).

Edited August 25, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[trow125]

Well, NBC supposedly renewed the show, but they're burning off the last two episodes tonight and didn't even broadcast the rather pivotal episode #8 -- just threw it up on the webby-web, to quote Jon Stewart. Here is a link. I suggest everyone watch it if for no other reason that you will stand up and cheer when you hear what Birger says to Bruce near the end of the episode. Though the fact that Bruce defends "Tootsie" so vigorously does win him points in my book; that is an awesome movie.

 

 

A family affair stops Bruce and Emma's plans to move back to the United States. Bengt takes advice from Bruce on how to flirt with a woman. Emma allows a friend to crash on their couch, only for Bruce to later discover he's an ex-boyfriend of hers.

Edited September 1, 2014 by maraleia
added episode description

[Roaster]

I was wondering if I missed an episode when I watched what are apparently episodes 9 and 10.  (Emma's parents broke up?)  This explains it, but WTF NBC?  If you want to build an audience and fanbase, you don't skip showing episode 8.

 

I won't be upset if they cancel this show, but if NBC wants to keep it around, they need to commit to it and not skip major plot developments without explanation.

[ottoDbusdriver]

I can see why they probably left it to the web as it really paints Bruce in a worse light than usual, but I agree with @roaster, that the last two episodes make no sense without first seeing episode 8.  

 

Bruce mocks Swedes in front of Malin Akerman, he is the direct cause of Birger and Vivecka's breakup (though Vivecka is an even bigger idiot for taking any advice from Bruce in the first place) which leads to Birger's collapse at the party, and Birger tells him to 'Fuck off' and "I wish you had never met my daughter".

 

Way to go, Birger !!!

 

Emma allowing an old boyfriend to crash at their apartment while Bruce heads to the States was brutally stupid as well.

[ottoDbusdriver]

How could "Amy Poehler" afford to pay Bruce anything in this scenario, as she seems to be completely incompetent. Plus the nonsense with expecting Bruce to reassemble shredded documents and the idiocy with Pepe was just not funny one bit. Or the fact that "Amy" thinks that she can buy Bruce 10 Emmas, why does he need to go to Sweden for a woman when any woman will do, who cares about Emma.  Geez, this version of "Amy Poehler" is fucking horrible as well.

 

It's nice to see that Bruce is a dick to wait-staff in pretty much any country he goes to.  What an asshole !!!

 

Aubrey Plaza is not doing herself any favors with her part on this show -- what exactly was she supposed to be doing ?  Sabotaging Bruce's phone and trying to make him forget his girlfriend (after 2 days in the States) so he'll work for "Amy", she definitely doesn't come off as his friend at all.  WTF ?

 

The one redeeming factor -- Lena Olin going full-on cougar-mode.  I can't believe she's nearly 60 -- she's still hot !!

[ottoDbusdriver]

Wow, I thought it would have been impossible for this show to get worse after episodes 8 and 9, but it did.  And that's even after the fact there is minimal Bruce in it.

 

Why was Aubrey going full-on April Ludgate the morning after, because that was fucked up ?  Is she a one-note actor as well (cough, cough .... Jim Parsons) ?

 

Birger and Vivecka breakup because of Bruce's bad advice, but now Vivecka hates the summer house for some reason -- and that's why she won't get back together with Birger.  Who writes this shit ?

 

That clerk at what is apparently the only travel agency in all of New York was beyond ridiculous and would have been fired for that kind of attitude with a customer.

 

"Amy" buying all the direct flight tickets to Stockholm was extremely stupid, but then he ends up on a milk run that included stopover in Bolivia (WTF?), Switzerland and Norway when all they had to do was get Bruce on a flight to England or Germany, and he could easily get a connecting flight.  Plus, it wasn't funny, as it would have taken him days to get back to Sweden between all the flights and layovers.

 

And that bad skit with the guy with the dog at the ticket counter wasn't funny either.

 

Why would Emma and her brother knowingly take their father to a support group for widows/widowers ?  Was that supposed to be funny, because it wasn't ?  It came off as incredibly stupid.  I know Emma's brother is cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs, but Emma should have known better (but it did chew up a substantial part of the episode so I guess that's the point where the writers ran out of ideas).

 

The scene on the escalators at the airport was kind of dumb too -- way too force-fed Hugh Grant-style romcom ending.  For Season 2, I hope that Bruce dies in a tragically funny way and they just concentrate on Emma and her family, as it would put an end to the shitty cameos.

Edited August 30, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[Roaster]

Oh, that part with Bruce trying to buy an airline ticket was painfully bad.  And the guy with the dog was bad and Amy showing up and having bought all the tickets to Stockholm - bad, bad, horrible.  It was like high school kids wrote this - what's it doing on a network during primetime?

 

The support group could have been mined for comedy as the guys were trying to do with fake stories at the end, but when Birger was there it was stupid and unrealistic (he didn't know it was for widows/widowers?)

 

This show gets goodwill from association with Parks and Recreation (one of my favorite comedies of all time), but it is squandering the luck it had with some truly bad writing.

[Grammaeryn]

I was wondering if I missed an episode when I watched what are apparently episodes 9 and 10.  (Emma's parents broke up?)  This explains it, but WTF NBC?  If you want to build an audience and fanbase, you don't skip showing episode 8.

 

I won't be upset if they cancel this show, but if NBC wants to keep it around, they need to commit to it and not skip major plot developments without explanation.

I had the same problem but remember there was a primetime Presidential address? I think the missing breakup episode happened then. I don't like the show enough to catch that episode online.

[trow125]

I just checked next week's listings, and there's a primetime NFL game (Packers at Seahawks) airing on NBC next Thursday. It's the first regular season game of the year and will no doubt get blockbuster ratings (unlike "Sweden"). No wonder they wanted to clear their Thursday calendar.

[sjohnson]

I think there's a place for stories about cool, clever people saying witty things in an intelligent story, but it's not in sitcoms. Sitcoms are for idiots who show themselves and we laugh because we are so relieved we found someone worse off than off. 

 

I can forgive characters who make me laugh, and they did. Working the Engels is just as farcical but it's so heavyhanded and frantic it's not funny to me.

[Azaelia]

I watched the last three episodes at once, so I forget what order in which things happened exactly - forgive me if something belongs in a previous thread.

 

sjohnson, I see your point, but sitcoms can still have intelligent storylines and make us laugh. That's why I like Parks and Recreation, and I have a feeling a lot of P&R fans are the ones trying out this show. Amy Poehler is capable of much better comedy. Plus, I haven't necessarily found everything funny.

 

Is Emma's brother supposed to be mentally challenged or mentally ill or something? Because he seriously comes off that way, and it's cringeworthy to watch. As for Bruce... had I been Emma, I would've just told him to stay in America after abandoning the family at the hospital because he just can't take any more of Sweden. Emma knows full well that's his issue. If something were actually going on at home, or they were seriously broke and needed the money, that would be one thing, but apparently they have enough money to buy multiple tickets back and forth.

 

As for Aubrey, I think even April Ludgate would stop at trying to rape someone. I'm sorry, if that had been played with the opposite genders, it wouldn't have been for laughs. Male rape isn't any funnier.

 

However, I'm hoping if they lay off the cameos (that seemed promotional more than anything else) and make Bruce actually want to be in Sweden next episode, the show will be better. I keep reminding myself that a lot of first seasons aren't that great, and I do think the show has potential. How has it been received in Sweden? I heard it aired there first?

Edited August 30, 2014 by Azaelia

[Azaelia]

Am I right in thinking Greg Poehler's actually had the show based on his own experiences? If so, the fact that he made some mistakes typical of Bruce - arguing with the critic of his show - doesn't surprise me. And yet it also depresses me.

 

Wow. I guess the previously untarnished Amy Poehler is probably starting to regret helping out little brother.

Or maybe not.  Renewed is renewed, and the bad press probably hasn't really crossed into the US media.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure. Amy Poehler's also presumably made a lot of the writing/cameo decisions. Between this and finding some of the things she's said elsewhere (irrelevant to this particular show). i'm beginning to view her negatively, which is a shame as I've always enjoyed her on Parks and Recreation.

[trow125]

Azaelia, the show got very good ratings in Sweden, though they did decline toward the end of the run. It originally aired on Fridays, which believe it or not is the prime viewing night for Swedes; almost all Swedes traditionally stay home and have family time on Friday nights. It was shifted to a different night because of the network's previous commitment to air soccer matches on Friday nights. As in the U.S., moving a show around is usually a guarantee of losing audience.

 

The reviews were mostly negative. It got way, way better reviews in the U.S. (Metacritic link). As I mentioned in the "on the media" topic, Greg feuded with a prominent critic and wound up totally embarrassing himself when it was found that he was the one who had posted "anonymous" comments on a negative review.

 

Amy Poehler is capable of much better comedy.

 

 

I was just saying to my husband this morning that Amy probably went into P&R with 20 years' experience in comedy and improv (Upright Citizens Brigade, SNL, etc.) whereas Greg is a total rookie. He's so outclassed by the other actors. I really enjoyed the scenes that took place in Sweden in the last two eps when he wasn't around!

[annzeepark914]

According to that Slate writer who married a Swede, every December 24th at 3:00 PM, 40-50% of Swedes turn on their TV's and watch an old Donald Duck Xmas special...it's a "tradition" for them.  As a Swedish-American (2nd generation), I find these folks embarrassing but can now understand their peculiar love for this wretched, obnoxious & inane WTS show--no taste whatsoever!

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2009/12/nordic_quack.html

[sjohnson]

^^^I think you're making way too much of bad taste. A habit of bombing other countries is vastly more embarrassing. for me.

[Shermie]

every December 24th at 3:00 PM, 40-50% of Swedes turn on their TV's and watch an old Donald Duck Xmas special...it's a "tradition" for them.

 

I don't see what's so odd about this, and tradition doesn't need to be in quotation marks. It actually is a tradition, not a "tradition". It's a Disney special, with a montage of clips from Disney movies and shorts. I have something similar that I recorded on VHS for my kids years ago and it was cute. Half of it is actual Christmas cartoons, and the others are about giving gifts or sharing or whatever (like the scene from Cinderella where the mice and birds make a dress for her). Americans watch animated Christmas specials too. It makes a lot more sense to me than watching football on Thanksgiving, which has nothing to do with that holiday.

 

As a Swedish-American (2nd generation), I find these folks embarrassing but can now understand their peculiar love for this wretched, obnoxious & inane WTS show--no taste whatsoever!

 

Americans can't criticize anyone for taste in TV as long they produce and watch the Kardashians and Honey Boo Boo - two opposite sides of the same trashy, tacky, tasteless coin.

[possibilities]

I think "Amy" is supposed to be horrible, as is "Aubrey"-- whose character is a loyal minion to "Amy", and not actually meant to be a friend to Bruce. There seems to be a joke in Hollywood, where famous people like to play horrible characters and pretend it's their real self. Matt leBlanc plays a horrible version of himself on "Episodes." I've also seen Ray Romano do this-- I'm not talking about the "hapless husband" character from Everyone Loves Raymond, but he did a guest spot as himself on "Maron" where he was a total jerk to Marc Maron and his own wife. I can't remember the other ones I've seen, but this is becoming a TV trope.

[ottoDbusdriver]

I think "Amy" is supposed to be horrible, as is "Aubrey"-- whose character is a loyal minion to "Amy", and not actually meant to be a friend to Bruce. There seems to be a joke in Hollywood, where famous people like to play horrible characters and pretend it's their real self. Matt leBlanc plays a horrible version of himself on "Episodes."

 

The big difference I find is that on Episodes the exaggerated horrible version of Matt Leblanc is funny in the context of the show -- whereas the horrible versions of Amy and Aubrey just aren't funny, not even mildly amusing.  If anything, they kind of make you cringe at how awful they are.

[Ipse Dixit]

I'm posting this here because it seems to be the only place to talk about the series as a whole, and not just an episode or star. Thank you, mods, for moving it as need be. I found a video of Greg Poehler doing standup act in Sweden, and I actually really liked it. Maybe it's because I've been where he was - as the American who is considered ugly even when she's acting pretty nice. He seemed to have some good comedic chops, anyway. Which gives me a little hope for the second season. Right now, I'm watching for Josephine, Lena, and Sweden. And I'm letting my vision go blurry when Greg's fisheye face is staring all over the screen. I hope that season 2 will focus on anything but Bruce, who has been written so stupidly he's not entertaining at all.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Ipse Dixit

[ElectricBoogaloo]

But the worst thing of all is that the show runs in 4 or 5 minute segments punctuated by long commercial breaks. It seems that in its 30-minute time slot, there's about 16 minutes of actual TV show and 14 minutes of commercials (or is it 14 minutes of show and 16 minutes of commercials?). I guess they can't have just one commercial break in the middle, because that one break would have to be ridiculously long, but I can't stand such short increments of TV show with such frequent and long commercial interruptions.

I just started watching this show and all of the episodes are around 21 minutes long which is pretty standard for half hour network shows (similarly hour long network shows are usually 41-43 minutes long).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I find the infantilized brother super annoying in this show; I was wondering if that is a stock character in Swedish sit/com equivalents.

I feel like it's not just a Swedish thing. There are lots of comedies with idiot brothers. The main character's brother on Orange Is the New Black would probably get along with Gustaf.

 

The main thing I liked about this episode was that Bruce was going to a language class. I can't imagine moving to a foreign country with no idea how to speak the language. When my friend got a post-doc in Portugal, he started learning Portuguese before he left so that he would be able to communciate at least minimally. Although we saw Bruce tell Amy that he was quitting his job and moving to Sweden, they didn't specify how far in advance he made this decision but you'd think he would have at least asked Emma to teach him some Swedish once they decided to move there. But I'm glad he is finally trying to learn the language, not only because it's the polite thing to do when you move somewhere but because it must also feel very isolating not to understand what people are saying all day.

 

One thing that I thought was realistically awkward was staying with someone else's family as an adult. When I moved in with Mr. EB, we were in a similar situation (our place was supposed to be ready on the 1st of the month so I made plans months in advance about renting a moving van, quitting my job, etc. and then at the last minute, the current tenant had some sort of issue and ended up delaying her move for two more weeks so I left on the pre-arranged day but stayed with Mr. EB's family for thsoe two weeks). Luckily his family was way less judgmental than Vevika and much more welcoming but it was still a little weird to be staying in someone else's house for more than one or two nights. It's not like I wanted to run around the house naked or anything, but I had only met them a handful of times so I wanted to be on my best behavior.

Edited February 8, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Once again it seemed almost like Emma and Bruce were not together before Sweden. Does she really have no sense of what furniture he's shipping over? Did she never go to his place in NY? Her stuff should be new to him, but his stuff should not be new to her.

This was confusing to me as well. I could have sworn in the first episode, they said that they had lived together in New York for a year but even if they had only dated for a year rather than lived together, she should have been familiar with his furniture and various stuff and they should have talked about what he was going to ship (at least the large pieces of furniture). It's just the normal thing when you move in together, even if you're staying in the same city, because you probably don't need two beds and two couches and two dining room tables. But if you are paying to ship all that stuff overseas then you would definitely want to talk about that ahead of time.

 

I need...more Sweden, it is so pretty.

ITA - it's really beautiful no matter where they are. When they are in the city, it's beautiful. When they're at the summer house, it's beautiful. What a gorgeous place!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

At first I thought there was some sort of issue with his card (which happens - sometimes the card reader is kerflooey, other times there's a problem with the magnetic strip, and in this case the bank can put a hold on your card if it notices a bunch of out of town charges and thinks it might be credit card fraud, which happened to me once when I was on vacation). But when he later said he had no money left, I thought how in the world do you not know how much money you have in your bank account, especially in this day and age when you can check your balance by phone, on the internet, at the ATM, etc? I'm not saying you need to know how much you have down to the penny at any given moment but it seems ludicrous that he picked up his life and moved to another country, has no job, and can't be bothered to keep track of how much money he has left.

 

 

 

Bruce was such an asshole at the coffee shop !!  Dude, have cash as a backup -- he basically stole that pastry and was extremely rude to the clerk.  And it was so much fun, he did it again at the end of the show.

I couldn't believe how rude he was to that cashier. Even if you come in every single day, that girl sees hundreds of people. It's obnoxious to expect her to remember you. But telling her that she must be sliding the card the wrong way and then being a complete dick? Ugh. And then being a dick later because she didn't remember you being a dick a few days ago? He is THE WORST.

 

It was also ridiculous for him to be so offended because the cashier thought he was a tourist. Dude, you don't speak Swedish. That's kind of a dead giveaway. Just because you have lived there for all of a week does not make you a native. If you want to blend in with the natives then you should at least make an effort to learn enough of the language to say hello, order, a pastry, and say thank you.

 

For the record, I am American and I don't find this offensive as an American. I just think Bruce is a dick who also happens to be an American.

 

 

 

Seriously, this is going to be the 3rd former client pining after him for his magical accounting kung-fu.

I KNOW! I was beginning to wonder if he had done some sneaky bad things for all of these celebrity clients for them to be chasing him down.

Edited February 8, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Regardless whether it seems weird or not, when you are a guest in someone's home, you abide by their rules.

ITA - this is the most important thing, whether it's wearing shoes, smoking, or whatever. You can do whatever you want at your own house, but when you're at someone else's house it's their prerogative to decide if they do or don't want that stuff.

 

I grew up in Chicago and moved to California and I knew people in both places who were shoes on families as well as shoes off families. My grandmother has a shoes off house but she has slippers at the entrance of the bathroom. I would never put on someone else's shoes, but she saw me walking into the bathroom barefoot and she yelled at me to put on the slippers while I was in the bathroom. I have no idea why.

 

I personally prefer a shoes off house because it means that I can lie on the floor without thinking that I am getting tiny bits of dog poop or whatever else other people stepped in before coming inside, but that's just me. I still don't know how regular shoes would have caused those long scratch marks in the floor though. Did he glue tacks on the bottom of his shoes and then drag them all over the floor by pretending he was cross country skiing?

 

 

 

Just more awful and squirm inducing every week. The "negotiating" over the foot massage was embarrassing, as it would be anywhere in the US outside of NY.

That was just awful. He knew in the last episode that he was broke so why would he offer to take Viveka to a spa if he knew that he couldn't afford it? You don't get to haggle over services that have already been rendered.

 

I felt bad for both Emma and her friend. It sucks that Emma was being left out of stuff because her friend didn't want Bruce around, but I also felt bad for her friend who tried to include Bruce in the conversation at the first party by explaining what they were all talking about and not being able to convey what was so funny about it.

 

On top of all that, it's the fifth episode and he is STILL making fun of the language. That's just rude. Even without knowing that Emma and her friend were taking about someone who was dying, insulting the native language is not a great way to interrupt someone else's conversation.

Edited February 8, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo