The Good Place

[cactuswatcher]

After pretty much not watching TV all last season I'm going to try it again. Last night was the two episode premiere of the new sit-com The Good Place. The premise is that a very selfish woman finds out that she has died and been sent through mistaken identity to a heaven supposedly only for super-good people. The only option apparently being The Bad Place, she tries to mend her ways, rather than inform the angel/manager of this-slice-of-heaven of the mix up. I went in thinking it would be pretty much a one joke show, and not thinking it would last long. After seeing two episodes I have to say it wasn't the one joke I expected, and I still think the show won't last long. Problem? It's not funny, certainly not enough for a prime time comedy. It's more zany than funny, if you know what I mean. Lots of grandiose 'humor' that was mildly amusing at best. I don't know how they sold the pilot to the network.

The mini-heaven setting, even without the misplaced soul causing chaos, is pretty much a cross between the Island of the original The Prisoner and a Fro-Yo filled purgatory. They went to extremes to get a diverse set of characters. They spent heavily on costumes and set design. They hired a lot of actors. Considering this weak show, I can't imagine why. Score F+

Comments

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I caught first fifteen-twenty minutes of it, before I bailed and went to bed. (Decided it wasn't worth staying up late for, especially considering I was DVRing it, and I'd rather read instead.)

I don't know, it screamed "satire" to me. And it really "screamed" it, as if the writers were concerned that we wouldn't get it. I felt that they were trying too hard in places.
There were a few funny bits, but I already knew about them before tuning in. "They can't curse, so fuck is replaced with fork." And, for some reason everyone loves frozen yogurt. Also, Florence Nightengal, who created nursing and saved millions of lives, couldn't get into The Good Place but Eleanor, a lawyer who got people off death row and loves clowns, did. (You have to appreciate the absurdity).

But, for it to work as a series, there has to be something more to it than the satire. Sitcoms that work have loveable characters that the audience identifies with or can relate to on some level. (See Big Bang Theory, Cheers, Murphy Brown, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, I LOVE LUCY, etc.) Sitcoms that don't work, are all about the joke and have characters that irritate the audience on some level (See The Crazy Ones). In situation comedies, the characters should come first, the situation second, or you'll lose your audience right quick.

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

Kristen Bell and Ted Danson do all they can. The material is just not there. Eleanor is a bit like the main character of Wonderfalls (if you remember it and remember how short that was on the air) without being as endearing.

Group-wise I think Big Bang Theory is a good comparison. BBT makes fun of smart people and gets away with it. The Good Place makes fun of compassionate people, and I have a hard time thinking it will work, for other reasons.

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

It worked okay enough for me. Perhaps, I'm giving Michael Schur extra rope because of Fire Joe Morgan. Parks and Rec stunk in it's first season too. I expect this show to work for me.

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

You just liked everyone dressed up in Michigan colors! ;o)