Maron - General Discussion

[DXD526]

I didn't quite get what happened with the mom's BF. He got kicked out and had nowhere to go and, presumably, no money, and the next minute he was paying Marc off to leave. Did I doze off and miss something?

The rehab episodes have been strange. Marc's counselor has been portrayed as an ineffective, clueless idiot, yet Marc seems to have gotten something positive out of the experience, regardless. I unexpectedly grew fond of his two roommates. Couldn't stand either of them at first, but now I think I'll miss them. Looks like Marc feels the same.

[Dewey Decimate]

After the sexually explicit material warning, I figured it would be yet another random ingenue throwing herself at the middle-aged male lead (I've had more than enough of that from Louie), and was happily - and hilariously - relieved to find it was a strung-out junkie shoving barbie doll heads up his poop chute. Did not see that coming.

The cocoa mommie-snuggle was disturbing and probably clinically wrong but also kind of sweet.

[Accidental Martyr]

Ugh, too much 12-step/AA BS. I kind of liked The Sklar brothers, though.

[Tosia]

So has this show become abt weird people that Maron has met or made up?  Or a vehicle for old starts?  Cuz its not funny or clever or witty. 

[meisje]

WTH happened to my hilarious Maron of s1 and most of s2? I remembered watching at least 1 episode from season 3 but thought I had given up, only to read the season 3 thread and realize I'd indeed seen every episode but apparently completely forgotten... and I don't know if I've ever forgotten watching a season of any show!

I heard or read something about Sally Struthers being on and set a season pass, but wow, it's still a mess. All I can figure is that the autobiographical angle (Mark fucking and getting engaged to a litany of young women) started to not reflect so well on him or he didn't enjoy seeing it on television, so it was decided to change it into a show about addiction. I could swear it's on Hulu since they took The Mindy Project's ever-weakening writing and tried to turn it into a show about domestic abuse. Is this the new TV crutch? Gahhh...

Nothing rings authentic anymore about the story. Some of the rehab stuff feels legit, but it doesn't feel connected to the first seasons at all. Is it just a vehicle for Jerry Stahl's story now? It certainly feels like revisiting Permanent Midnight fairly often.

Did Josh Brener leave for Silicon Valley? Both only seem like part-time gigs, but he is sorely missed.

[zxy556575]

It's bad, right? I'm not just imagining it?

I enjoyed seeing Sally Struthers turn it out like the old pro she is, but don't get why the show couldn't have kept it going with the various podcast guests and incidental scrapes/escapades as usual. If Marc wanted some dramatic tension he could have done drugs and lost his sobriety without making him pathetic and homeless.

[meisje]

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I enjoyed seeing Sally Struthers turn it out like the old pro she is, but don't get why the show couldn't have kept it going with the various podcast guests and incidental scrapes/escapades as usual.

I don't know if I've heard Sally's non-Babette voice in ages (here's that in case the Maron/Gilmore Girls crossover isn't a thing), so it was fun to hear what she probably sounds like IRL. It also gave me a sympathetic sore throat to wonder how she did the GG voice for 7 years straight and assuming she re-booted it for Netflix this year, youch!

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After the sexually explicit material warning, I figured it would be yet another random ingenue throwing herself at the middle-aged male lead (I've had more than enough of that from Louie), and was happily - and hilariously - relieved to find it was a strung-out junkie shoving barbie doll heads up his poop chute. Did not see that coming.

I felt the same sense of relief, but then sighed the sigh of a thousand bored moments when the donut trip became just another hot woman begging Marc for his D, and Marc turning her down out of respect for her and the process, blah, blah, blah, whatevs Marc... That dude and his barbies were straight up terrifying though - and original - and the last scene of his joy over not having removed the whole doll was, um, distressing.

I watched a couple of these out of order so sorry for confusing things.

Edited June 18, 2016 by meisje

[Milburn Stone]

On June 17, 2016 at 0:06 PM, meisje said:

Is it just a vehicle for Jerry Stahl's story now? It certainly feels like revisiting Permanent Midnight fairly often.

In general I'm hating everything that feels like its Jerry Stahl's story. (Had the same perception as you, that Maron basically turned the show over to him, for some ill-advised reason.)

However, I'm loving the last two episodes, the ones where he shitcanned the Jerry Stahl Story and returned to the show-biz-sucks theme, with the assholish-in-a-whole-new-way Dave Anthony.

For some reason I just went to Dave Anthony's wikipedia page, and it says that he had a podcast from 2010-2014. Wouldn't it be a funny twist of fate if it turned out Maron ripped off his life for stories, instead of Anthony ripping off Maron's life as the show would have it?

[Sader87]

Maron confirmed today in an email for his podcast that this (4th) season would be the last. Basically saying that he didn't want to "keep making it to make more content" i.e. the story has been told.

I've liked not loved this season....wondering if he was pressured to up the yucks for a 5th season and basically said fu?

Btw, am I a perv for getting turned on by Dave's doctor gf? Probably.

[Uncle Benzene]

MC Gainey!

So that last scene was Marc realizing that Shay bugged and was never coming back, right? Yikes.

[DiegoBurger]

I also got the impression that Shay took off but Marc knew it but he seemed happy about the new direction of his life. And even though they kept talking about how they were in a crappy town, any place that has a real used bookstore run by MC Gainey and Ron Perlman is better than anywhere in LA. Plus - endless podcast potentials!

I do appreciate when shows don't try to linger on past their due date but I will miss the show (even though this season was nowhere near the quality of 1-3). I

[DXD526]

I'll really miss this show, but the last two episodes were a very good wrap up. I even got a little choked up when Marc started doing his podcast again. 

What did that closing shot mean, exactly? Shay just went to get coffee, I didn't get the impression that she was skipping out for good. She was certainly flaky and might do that at some point, but not at that particular moment. Marc seemed happy to be holding the kid, then all of a sudden, looked kind of morose. So, happiness is fleeting, is that the message? Life sucks then you die?

Was Jack a man or a woman? Does it matter?

[QQQQ]

Zoinks, even for Maron that was a lot of navel-gazing.