Pluribus (with spoilers)

[Cmaier]

I can't name a show that I consider to be the runaway "best television show ever made," but I don't think "Pluribus" (the first four episodes, anyway) even crack my Top 100. It's way too slow for a show that asks the audience to completely suspend belief.

I would have said the same thing about the first season of Better Call Saul, but that slow pace turned out to be necessary.

 

[Eric]

I can't name a show that I consider to be the runaway "best television show ever made," but I don't think "Pluribus" (the first four episodes, anyway) even crack my Top 100. It's way too slow for a show that asks the audience to completely suspend belief.

Married with Children.

 

[japanime]

Married with Children.

Interesting choice. Definitely some top-notch writing.

I think "Letterkenny" might have the best comedic writing of any television I've watched. I'd even call it Shakespearean.

 

[DT]

I would have said the same thing about the first season of Better Call Saul, but that slow pace turned out to be necessary.

I don’t actually remember having that reaction to the first season of BCS. I feel like we were into it pretty much right away, with that “ok fine, one more episode” energy that turned into binging a bunch at a time, where we already got to Pluribus feeling like a chore.

I do think BCS and Pluribus work pretty differently, though.

BCS had the advantage of Breaking Bad behind it, so we were already invested in the world and in Jimmy as a character. It didn’t have to win us over from scratch.

And unlike Pluribus, BCS isn’t a mystery-box type of show. Those can be tougher because the whole thing depends on holding back info, and you can’t reveal too much too soon or the story kind of evaporates.

For example, Lost managed that well early on with all the flashbacks and side mysteries, even if it eventually went off the rails (we’ve tried rewatching twice and never made it to the end). Severance has a similar setup, but we were way more hooked on the main mystery from the start, so the slow rollout of answers felt more fun than frustrating.

Just one of those cases where it’s not for us even though the DNA would’ve suggested otherwise

 

[fischersd]

Interesting choice. Definitely some top-notch writing.

I think "Letterkenny" might have the best comedic writing of any television I've watched. I'd even call it Shakespearean.

OMFG NO!!! From one that grew up in Listowel (which Jared Keeso based the show off of) - that's just a horrible, horrible show. And the writing is horribly weak....honestly, he was just taking from 1970's/1980's Listowel....the lives we all lived as kids and teenagers.

It's a rural town. 7 churches....at one point 4 bars....and had a population of 5000 for the longest time. The gossip is horrible....everyone is two-faced (your friends talk about you behind your back when you're not in the immediate vicinity).

Anyone who can....LEAVES.....and avoids it like the plague thereafter....returning only when they absolutely HAVE TO for family obligations.

Ugh!!!

 

[fischersd]

Back on topic - why didn't he transmit oh that frequency to see if he would get a response?

Aside: I still think M.A.S.H. was the best TV show of all time. . Alan Alda is a genius. Horrible to hear how he's diminishing now.

 

[DT]

Aside: I still think M.A.S.H. was the best TV show of all time. . Alan Alda is a genius. Horrible to hear how he's diminishing now.

Agreed. While a lot of my Top N would be more recent shows, M.A.S.H. is certainly in that list. New thread maybe? Not M.A.S.H., but GOAT series, maybe some people will find something new!

 

[japanime]

OMFG NO!!! From one that grew up in Listowel (which Jared Keeso based the show off of) - that's just a horrible, horrible show. And the writing is horribly weak....honestly, he was just taking from 1970's/1980's Listowel....the lives we all lived as kids and teenagers.

It's a rural town. 7 churches....at one point 4 bars....and had a population of 5000 for the longest time. The gossip is horrible....everyone is two-faced (your friends talk about you behind your back when you're not in the immediate vicinity).

Anyone who can....LEAVES.....and avoids it like the plague thereafter....returning only when they absolutely HAVE TO for family obligations.

Ugh!!!

I'm a sucker for alliteration. The cold opens where they recite alliterative words from A to Z, and all of them are tied to a single theme — that's brilliant writing. (King Crimson attempted to the same thing lyrically with the fantastic song "Elephant Talk" — but still only managed to get to the letter E before ending the song.)

But I'm wiling to agree to disagree, because ...

Aside: I still think M.A.S.H. was the best TV show of all time. . Alan Alda is a genius. Horrible to hear how he's diminishing now.

I wholeheartedly agree with you about M*A*S*H. And not just because of the magnificent Alan Alda. That show was blessed with multiple creative geniuses — on both sides of the camera.

In any case, I'm glad that you shared your thoughts about Letterkenny. Thank you for doing so. I can understand why it offend and/or annoy a person who lived in the place upon which the show is based the wrong way. (I will also confess my ignorance – I had no idea the show was based on an actual town.)