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): "Alicia" & "Debate"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus: She is the reigning, two-time Emmy winner and I'll be damned if she's not about to take a third. She's that good. Selina Meyer is not a particularly likable character. In fact, she's self-involved, privileged, and often awful to those around her. Yet, we root for her. That's all Louis-Dreyfus. This is a fantastic cast and she is the focal point of it. She is Veep. There's no other way to say it.
Armando Ianucci: This man (the man in charge of the series) has an ear for dialogue that is unrivaled. I've recently started watching The Thick of It, which is basically British Veep. That show is very British, just as Veep is very American. The thing that ties them together is the beautiful swearing. Veep certainly doesn't have a Malcolm Tucker and that's its only weakness. Otherwise, this is a show of fast, tight, and incredibly funny dialogue. The only reason why I won't give any examples of the best lines from this season is that I'm not sure how many hundreds of words later it would be before I could stop myself.
The Campaign: Veep is a pathetic show in its design. Ianucci has a nihilistic view of government and is really able to play this up by focusing on the powerlessness of the Vice President. The result though is that Veep is often a listless show, so giving Selina the campaign story for the season gave season three a direction and purpose that was welcome and refreshing.
POTUS: There's fun to how powerless the Veep is. It's fairly unexplored territory. President is a job that's of more significance and has been more extensively covered. I'm not expecting much to change on the show, especially since Selina will still be campaigning, but I do worry about how actually being president could get in the way of the things I love about the show.
Characters too horrible?: I'll admit, I'm having a really hard time coming up with three liabilities because season three was so damn solid. I already covered my one big concern going forward in her being POTUS. At times, I do wonder if too many of these characters are soulless. Take Selina and Dan's talk when she first chooses him as campaign manager. I'm pretty sure Dan admitted to killing a dog. That's not cool. I'm better just forgetting that because that's number one on my character no-no list.
Out of Topics?: You do start to wonder how many ways the show can have the characters debate how to strategically confront a controversial issue (like abortion or guns) or be awful around "normals" or get quoted saying something inappropriate. At some point the well dries up. The only question is when.
I'm ok with calling this the best pure comedy this season. Louie is more experimental. Girls is more challenging. Park & Rec. tugs at the heart strings more effectively. I can't find a show right now with more laughs per minute. And I don't mean polite laughs. I mean a healthy dose of belly laughs. I've mentioned Louis-Drefus already and she is surrounded by Anna Chlumsky, Matt Walsh, Tony Hale, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons, Sufe Badshaw, and many others all bringing their own flavor of pathos to this hot mess of a team. Season three is the first time that I don't mind Veep being HBO's favorite child.
Previously this Offseason...
Community
Brooklyn Nine Nine
New Girl
Suburgatory
Modern Family
Parenthood
The Mindy Project
The Michael J Fox Show
The Big Bang Theory
Agents of SHIELD
The Crazy Ones
Back in the Game
Parks and Recreation
The Walking Dead
The Middle
Saturday Night Live
Cougar Town
House of Cards
Louie
How I Met Your Mother
The Americans
Archer
Silicon Valley
Hannibal
Girls
True Detective
Mad Men
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