I'm still up north, I still have too much time on my hands, and I'm still filling part of my time cruising Netflix.
As a frame of reference, in my opinion, the best TV comedy ever was "Barney Miller." The second best was "Schitt's Creek." The best TV drama ever was "Six Feet Under." It's just my opinion, of course, but again, it's for a frame of reference.
I don't know how I found my idle way to "The Good Place." It was one of many possibilities, and for who knows what reason, I thought I'd take a look. To be fair to myself, I check out lots of shows. Sometimes, I get through one episode, or less than an episode, before I decide it's not interesting. That was overwhelmingly not true of "The Good Place." This series aired from 2016 to 2020.
I sort of don't want to say too much about the series, because if anyone watches it, I want them to experience it with the same curiosity and surprise I had. Suffice it to say that "The Good Place" is the alternative to "The Bad Place." But they make clear this is not to be considered "Heaven" and "Hell," (although it's not clear why not), and there are no godheads.
"The Good Place" is a project of Michael Schur's, and he's been involved in various other shows. He was even a writer for SNL for a stint. The story-telling in "The Good Place" is wondrous. And what's better than that is the acting. The top billed person is Kristen Bell (whose real life husband is Dax Shepard, who himself appears in one episode). I didn't know anything about Kristen Bell, although she's been around in various things I don't watch. The other main actors (William Jackson Harper, the shockingly gorgeous Jameela Jamil, and Manny Jacinto) are completely unknown to me, except for "and" Ted Danson. I never knew Ted Danson from anything but "Cheers," and I never had any special feeling for him as an actor. I sure do now. D'Arcy Carden was also unflinchingly terrific. And if anyone was as far off the charts as possible, it was Maya Rudolph, who appears in about seasons 3 and 4.
This series is magical (literally, and its genre is fantasy), and it's captivating. William Jackson Harper's character had been a professor of moral philosophy, and this series is awash in that.
As a further frame of reference, I watched all four seasons (12-13 22-minute episodes -- 52 in total -- I assume they were 1/2 hour episodes on network TV, including commercials -- per season) in three days. I couldn't stop.
This series was sometimes like "Groundhog Day," sometimes like "The Sixth Sense," sometimes like "Dogma," and D'Arcy Carden's versions of herself as different personae were reminiscent of "Orphan Black."
It's not my business to tell you how to use your time, but you'd do yourself a big favor...
And just to prove my point about passwords and such. That post goes up “anonymous.” It’s me, Mac Kennedy, unable to navigate my Google account on my phone to post something on your blog, Fred! Something Tina Fey would have written, although it would be funny.
ReplyDeleteMelanie and I loved that show. Sharp writing. Best TV from a major network in a long time.
ReplyDelete-Mike O
Mike,
DeleteThe only drawback of this show is that it has loads of different writers. The writing in each episode is great, as you say. But as in other series with varying writers, someone has to stay on top of the story line, to be sure the facts are kept straight.
For example, early in this series, the highest judge and authority is Shawn. But later in the series, Shawn is much closer in rank to Michael, and the top judge is Jen (Maya Rudolph). Also, people who do consistent and great good can be disqualified from going to the "Good Place" if their motives are self-serving, and not genuinely representative of independent goodness and consideration of others. But when our four heroes are brought back to life, they do sometimes try consciously to increase their point counts (Eleanor and Tahani constantly do that), so they can go to the real "Good Place" this time, and Doug Forcette, whom Michael considers the best person ever, does everything with a conscious intention to get a high point count, so he can go to the "Good Place." He was the person mentioned very early, who, in an intoxicated state, figured out the "Good Place" with over 90% accuracy.
So I agree that the writing is great, but Michael Schur, or someone, had to have been more careful with the editing, and tracking the message.
Fred
Why are you guys using "Anonymous" as an alias?
ReplyDeleteYeah using this blog from iphone os a pain in the neck.
DeleteMike
Because I can't get my fucking phone to recognize my fucking gmail password.
ReplyDeletePS: The best part of your blog is being able to "fuck" as much as I want. That, and hearing from you long distance, I mean.