Avenue 5 (HBO, 2020-22)

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shevek
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Anyone checked out Avenue 5?
I saw it listed on the same place where I was checking out some other sci-fi stuff, noticed it starred Hugh Laurie (House) so I figured
why not give it a shot. I binged both seasons in two days, except for the Season 2 finale which comes out this Wednesday.

Turns out that the Hugh Laurie character in this series is not the strong standout I thought he would be (i.e. not exactly a Kirk or Picard)
but there's so much hilarity throughout the ensemble cast that the whole makes up for it.

(The clear downside is Josh Gad, who plays a huckster millionaire based on Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes and Fyre's Billy McFarland. Josh Gad is an annoying ****, there's no other way to put it.)

At least, the quirky hilarity is maximized in the first season, where the grand plot stays very much on course (even if the cruise spaceship doesn't). Lord of the Flies as a black comedy in space, maybe?

In the second season, the plot seems to unravel a bit as the writers keep going for "crisis of the week" and little snide woke asides,
until there's a bit too much presentism involved, in terms of things like electing a dictator for life who happens to wear a toupee....

It seems as if this show is ending at its second season, which means there's only one episode left.
Guess we'll see if it's a satisfying resolution.
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Damselbinder

Looks a bit


shit
helstar
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There are many flaws in this show (especially in the second season where for example the laws of physic are completly ignored, compared to the first one), but I watch it anyway because there aren't many comedy shows left, all my fav ones have been shut down or ended in the last 5 years...
Last edited by helstar 1 year ago, edited 1 time in total.
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tallyho
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It's patchy but watchable . It is very much one joke stretched but there are the odd good bits
How strange are the ways of the gods ...........and how cruel.

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Dogfish
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I usually like a lot of Ianucci's stuff but his problem is that as a contemporary satirist he's often quite far behind the curve of where reality is. Saw this most notably with Veep and The Thick Of It, which were both intended as satire and became instead rosy visions of a more competent and less venal world. I mean Veep looks like the West Wing now.

That being said, The Death Of Stalin is a very funny political comedy horror. Although even that seems slightly sanitised when you consider just how bad Beria was in real life.

I guess I'll see if this sticks the landing before giving it a look.
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