I do my weekly DVR Purges, but let's be frank: they are crap. I don't proofread them at all most weeks. They're collections of scattered thoughts that barely even make sense a week later. What I've decided to do is, with most of these shows I watch taking a break, reflect on where I stand with them, assessing what is in the show's favor (assets) and what could get it in trouble (liabilities).
Now, not every show I watch will be included. In general, I'm sticking to shows that I've kept notes (be them from Purges or otherwise) as I've watched. That means, shows like The Bridge, Looking, Sherlock, and Dexter will not be included. To get my thoughts on those, ask me. This project, supposing I stay on schedule should take all month and I hope it does a good job summing up where these shows stand. In some cases, I'm hoping to convince you to start watching. Other times, it'll be nothing more than a postmortem for a show that's gone.
I hope you enjoy.
Favorite Episode(s): "Les Lucioles"
Dalia: It makes no sense that Dalia works as a character. Carly Chaikin is asked to play so deadpan that Nick Offerman and Andre Braugher look animated by comparison. Somehow, she's pulled it off. Three seasons in, she's still funny doing it. The show is happy to bring out her weird side (twerking lawyers, anyone?). I don't even know how she can pull off what she did in "I'm Just Not That Into Me", being both horrified by Dallas de-glamorizing herself while still looking wholly indifferent about it. Then, she's able to be kind to her mother and talk her back up later in the episode. I have no idea what kind of actual range Chaikin has as an actress but she is marvelous as Dalia.
Victor-Ha: Parker Young leaves the show to go do Enlisted, so of course, to replace him, they bring in a small Asian-American child. Bryson Barretto is a fine child actor, but his real value came in the ability to do new things with the Shays. Fred and Sheila found whole new ways to show favoritism for Victor Ha over poor Lisa. There's certainly a Cousin Oliver element to him. I didn't mind that that much, as he blended into this crazy town easily and quickly proved he was every bit a Shay as those born into the family.
Deep Roster: This is a blessing and a curse (more on that later). Emily Kapnek and company have always been invested in world-building, so Chatswin is full of familiar faces after three seasons. As a result, there's a big variety of characters to choose from each week. One episode may have Noah, another the Shays. Malik could be there, or not. Dalia could disappear completely of be all over the episode. Any episode can go in any number of directions and that's not something a lot of shows can do. Beyond George, Tessa, and maybe Dallas, we don't have to see any other characters in a given week.
(Warning: These are all shades of the same issue)
Tessa as the Lead: Jane Levy is great. That's never been a question. With each season though, she was less and less of the lead. I'm pretty sure that if she wasn't the narrator, she wouldn't have top billing. In season two she at least had everything with Ryan. By season three, the writers were far more interested in Victor Ha joining the Shays, Lisa and Malik getting married, and Dalia doing strange things in funny ways. This wouldn't be such a cause for concern if Levy was bad. She's not and it's a waste to have no idea what to do with her. It's not surprising that her best episodes were when they dipped back into the Ryan well in the final two episodes.
What's It About?: The premise of the show wasn't sustainable. After a couple years, the Altmans were too deeply rooted in Chatswin to believably pull off the "fish out of water" thing. Even by season two, it was clear the creative team on the show wasn't sure what the show was about if not Tessa vs. the Stepford wives. There were times in the series when I though Malik had been written off entirely. Tessa still being in school felt like a formality more than anything. I'm sure the writers are relieved to not have another season because how would it work with Tessa in college? She's not staying in Chatswin, and if she does, that would be a cop out.* Having Dallas around only makes sense in the context of her and George being together, regardless of how great Cheryl Hines is. The show was always a mess and I don't think there was a way out of that. Is is a family comedy? a school comedy? a friend comedy? The closest I can identify, it's a community comedy but with a very specific vantage point (Tessa and her narration).
*Part of me would be curious to see a version of the show done Arrested Development style with Tessa back only as the narrator. Again, that goes back to them wasting her though.
Deep Roster: As I said, this is a blessing (more on that above) and a curse. There were simply too many unconnected characters. There's the school. There's the Shays. There's Dalia and Dallas. There's Malik's family. There's Noah. Not to mention that the backbone of the show is Tessa and George who are normally too busy involving the rest of the cast into the episode to ever do anything together. It's great that Subrugatory is so rich with talent that Ana Gasteyer doesn't have to be in every episode, for example. I don't know if I'd call that a good thing though. I want to see Gasteyer in an episode if I'm watching Suburgatory. Malik constantly went missing despite he and Lisa being the strongest duo on the show. I wish Kapnek and co. would've made a few tough cuts along the way. I doubt anyone needed to see Noah again. Or Evan. Really? We got an episode about hurting Evan's feelings? Why?
Each season, it became harder for me to come back to Suburgatory. It is a fine show. Always was. It covered all four quadrants in the casting: young and unproven (Levy, Chaikin), young and proven (Allie Grant, Maestro Harrell), old and unproven (Jeremy Sisto), and old and proven (Hines, Alan Tudyk, Gasteyer, Chris Parnell). On any given week, it could make me laugh, and for a show that looked like a traditional comedy, it went in some unexpected directions ("Les Lucioles" comes to mind with the weird, dream-like state I haven't seen in another show). It had a coveted and compatible lead-in for most of its run on Wednesdays. The fact the it still failed and won't be back for a fourth season is a testament to the value of having a direction for a series.
Previously this Offseason...
Community
Brooklyn Nine Nine
New Girl
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