I've heard a lot of praise for this show, and as a Portlander with a twisted sense of humor, I expected to like it. Tried an episode, though, and it delivered only about 30 seconds of smiles. The rest was tiresome and dumb. I'll take your word for it, though, and try another.
Anyone who resists animation is missing at least three of the best comedy series for adults now, in ARCHER (FX), THE VENTURE BROS. (Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network), and FUTURAMA (new episodes on Comedy Central, and widely syndicated in repeats). Though even THE SIMPSONS isn't quite as tired as SNL. PORTLANDIA (IFC) I can take or leave, and I like TODD MARGARET slightly better, though it definitely tends to run its primary joke into the ground. I'd like the ONION show a little better if it took a bit more of a stand, though it's solid in its mockery of how news is presented on television.
I've never liked Fred Armisen on SNL, so was not convinced that this would be the show for me--and a few minutes into the skit, I felt sure I was right. Both of them just seem so smug, like they know they're the smartest people in the room.
/Would much rather watch THE SIMPSONS in syndication--and their 500th episode next Sunday night.
I haven't seen Portlandia, but a radio spot I heard while commuting almost made me drive off the road. It had to do with the Allergy Pride Parade. "Here comes the Lactose Intolerant Caucus!"
That vignette reminded me of our dicussion of Woody Allen, whose comedies also get a lot of mileage out of people with small problems taking them way too seriously
Up here in Seattle we got so tired of seeing those incessant "Portlandia" birds everywhere that we decided to take action. Check out http://www.PutAPlaneOnIt.com and https://www.facebook.com/PutAPlaneOnIt. Go Jet City!
What's the Worst Thing That Can Happen, Al Tucher, A TWIST OF NOIR
The Good Doctor, Adam Haslett, YOU ARE NOT A STRANGER HERE
Clouds in A Bunker, David Cranmer, PULP INK
Burning End, Ruth Rendell, THE BEST OF THE BEST SHORT STORIES 1986-1995
Something is Out There, Richard Bausch, MURDERLAND
Uncle, Daniel Woodrell, A HELL OF A WOMAN
Dark Adapted Eye, Katherine Tomlinson, SHOTGUN HONEY
Whiteout on Van Buren, Don Winslow, PHOENIX NOIR
An Invisble Minus Sign, Denise Mina, DEADLY HOUSEWIVES
Everything I Want, Megan Abbott, SPEED CHRONICLES
The Garage Sale of the Three Lindas, Marly Swick, THE SUMMER BEFORE THE SUMMER OF LOVE
Everybody Loves Somebody, Sandra Scoppettone, A HELL OF A WOMAN
Harpooned, Sandra Seamans, MYSTERICAL-E
Burn Patterns, Michael C. White MARKED MEN
World of Gas, Bonnie Jo Campbell AMERICAN SALVAGE
Snakes in the Briar Patch, Chad Eagleton, Cathode Angel
Sea of Grass, Jim Wilsky, ROSE AND THORN
The Pool, Keith Taylor from LIFE SENTENCES
Locked Out, Art Taylor, PLOTS WITH GUNS
Giving Blood, John Updike from THE MAPLES
Two and Half Miles, W.D. County, SPINETINGLER
ReBecca, Vicki Hendricks, FLORIDA GOTHIC STORIES
What is Your Emergency, Chris Rhatigan, GRIFT MAGAZINE
Here We Are in Paradise, Tony Earley
2. 984, 000 Pounds of Pressure, Anonymous Nine. Crime Factory: The First Shift
You Boys Be Good, Antonya Nelson
A Blunderbuss for a Broken Heart, Chris LeTray Pulp Modern 2
Spending Light, John Stickney, NEEDLE, Issue 2
365- February
A New Life, Kyle Minor, DISCOUNT NOIR
A Composer and His Parakeets, Ha Jin GOOD FALL
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, Joyce Carol Oates
Girls in Their Summer Dresses, Irwin Shaw
The Last Spin, Evan Hunter
The Birthday Party, Graham Greene
Blue, Rachel Seiffert, FIELD STUDY
Tonto Woman, Elmore Leonard, THE COMPLETE WESTERN STORIES
Only Good Ones, Elmore Leonard, THE COMPLETE WESTERN STORIES OF ELMORE LEONARD
Super Trooper, Nigel Bird, OFF THE RECORD
The Incident at Owls' Creek Bridge, Ambrose Bierce
Food Man, Lisa Tuttle, BEST OF CRANK
The Babysitter's Code, Laura Lippman, PLOTS WITH GUNS
Graveyard Shift, James Reasoner, Hard-Boiled
Portrait of An American Family, Benoit Lelievre, SHOTGUN HONEY
Thanks for the Ride, Alice Munro, Dance of the Happy Shades
A MAtter of Principal, Max Allan Collins, FAVORITE KILLS
Cold Snap, Thom Jones COLD SNAP
Piano Man, Bill Crider, ON DANGEROUS GROUND
The Ladder, Adrian McKinty, CRIME FACTORY: FIRST SHIFT
THe Confessor, Lonni Lees, SHOTGUN HONEY
Plaything, Daniel Hatadi, DEADLY TREATS
Going to Shrewsbury, Sarah Orne Jewett, THE COUNTRY OF THE POINTED FIRS
Sunlight Nocturne, Bill Cameron, DEADLY TREATS
Escapes, Joy Williams, ESCAPES
Ugly Pictures, Terrie Moran, THE AWARENESS
Just Another Saturday Night, William Link, EQMM
Pride, P.J. Parrish, DETROIT NOIR
Bonus, Jim Ray Daniels, DETROIT TALES
Casanova Succumbs to Two-Ton Tina, Rob Kitchin, A TWIST OF NOIR
The Lost Child, Jean Thompson WHO DO YOU LOVE
365-March
365 March
Unfortunate Misfortunes of a Man Named Lud, John Weagly, FIRES ON THE PLAIN
Lamb to the Slaughter, Roal Dahl
The Navy Man, Kyle Minor, IN THE DEVIL'S TERRITORY
Cops and Robbers, Jean Stafford, MOTHERLOVE
Tort, Ken Bruen, EQMM
Melinda, Judy Doenges, O'HENRY AWARDS
Honeymoon, Arturo Vivante, SOLITUDE
Hard Rain, Katherine Tomlinson, NOHO NOIR
Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead, Joe Hill, THE LIVING DEAD
Death is Daily, Craig Garret , FIRES ON THE PLAIN
Ice, Lily Tuck, 2011 O'Henry Collection
The Basher, Jason Starr, Wall Street Noir
Your Fate Hurtles Down at You, Jim Shepard, 2011 O'Henry Collection
The Neglected Garden, Kathe Koja, WEIRD STORIES
Windeye, Brian Evenson, 2011 O'HENRY COLLECTION
Triangulation, Anonymous-9, THE BIG CLICK
The Genius, Frank O'Connor
Why I Live at the PO, Eudora Welty
How to Talk To Your Mother, Lorrie Moore, SELF HELP
Jungle Bob, Ron Scheer, FIRES ON THE PLAIN
Last Song of Antietam, Patrick Lambe, ON DANGEROUS GROUND
On the Gull's Road, Willa Cather
Leaf in the Wind, Gene Wolfe, STORIES
Pack of Cards, Penelope Lively
Ember Days, Nick Ripatrazone, PLOTS WITH GUNS
The Chrysanthemums, John Steinbeck
Stay Awake, Dan Chaon, STAY AWAKE
Smantha's Diary, Diana Wynne Jones, STORIES
Unwell, Carolyn Parkhurst, STORIES, (Gaiman and Sarrantonio)
Naked Angel, Joe Lansdale, L.A. NOIRE
The Bees, Dan Chaon, STAY AWAKE
Blue Rose, Peter Straub
365 -April
Land of the Lost, Stewart O'Nan, STORIES Push Comes to Shove, B.V. Lawson, NEEDLE What He Was Like, William Maxwell, Running Hard, R. Thomas Brown, ALL DUE RESPECT Mr. & Mrs. Dove, Katherine Mansfield (online) The Beginning of Grief, Adam Haslett Family Ties, Craig McDonald, GRIFT Rosie's Chicken & Biscuits, Axel Howerton, FIRE ON THE PLAINS Not Quite Final, Richard Bausch, Who Has Seen the Wind, Carson McCullers, Confession, Stella Pope Duarte, PHOENIX NOIR Bonanza, Jo Ann Beard, THE BOYS OF MY YOUTH Flying Solo, Ed Gorman, DAMN NEAR DEAD 2 Triage, Alice Elliott Dark She Don't Eat No Meat, Kurt Gowran, NEEDLE No Rest for the Weary, Sandra Seamans, FOTP The Traveler, Wallace Stegner, THE COLLECTED STORIES Mortals, Tobias Wolff, THE NIGHT IN QUESTION Here Comes Santa Claus, Bill Pronzini Titanic Victim Speaks Through Waterbed, Robert Olen Butler, He Loved Her So Much, Sandra Scoppettone, LOVE KILLS How to Become a Writer, Lorrie Moore, SELF HELP I Danced with the Prettiest Girl, Dagoberto Gilb, Zolaria, Caitlin Horrocks, THIS IS NOT YOUR CITY The Squatter, Andy Henion, PLOTS WITH GUNS Romero's Shirt, Dagoberto Gilb, THE MAGIC OF BLOOD Pie Dance, Molly Giles, YOU'VE GOTTA READ THIS. Greatness Strikes Where it Pleases, Lars Gustaffson The Infamous Bengal Ming, Rajesh Parameswaran, A Hand on the Shoulder, Ian McEwan, THE NEW YORKER A Good Man is Hard to Find, Flannery O'Connor Hard Times, Ron Rash, BURNING BRIGHT Peconic Nightmares, R. Thomas Brown, BEAT TO A PULP The Best of Everything, Richard Yates
14 comments:
I've heard a lot of praise for this show, and as a Portlander with a twisted sense of humor, I expected to like it. Tried an episode, though, and it delivered only about 30 seconds of smiles. The rest was tiresome and dumb. I'll take your word for it, though, and try another.
Haven't watched it yet. Carrie used to be in the band Sleater-Kinney and now is in Wild Flag-a very good all female band.
Much like SNL, it is uneven. And maybe living in Portland would dilute the humor. But laughs are getting harder to come by on TV so I persevere.
Thanks, Patti. I admit; this isn't a show I was familiar with before! There are a few really funny bits here.
Haven't been able to get into this one. The few shows I've seen pale in comparision to The Onion News Network just preceding it.
Ohhhh, I love this show. And this sketch started it all for me. So deadly accurate.
For me at least, it's riskier and weirder than SNL.
Anyone who resists animation is missing at least three of the best comedy series for adults now, in ARCHER (FX), THE VENTURE BROS. (Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network), and FUTURAMA (new episodes on Comedy Central, and widely syndicated in repeats). Though even THE SIMPSONS isn't quite as tired as SNL. PORTLANDIA (IFC) I can take or leave, and I like TODD MARGARET slightly better, though it definitely tends to run its primary joke into the ground. I'd like the ONION show a little better if it took a bit more of a stand, though it's solid in its mockery of how news is presented on television.
I've never liked Fred Armisen on SNL, so was not convinced that this would be the show for me--and a few minutes into the skit, I felt sure I was right. Both of them just seem so smug, like they know they're the smartest people in the room.
/Would much rather watch THE SIMPSONS in syndication--and their 500th episode next Sunday night.
Yes, there is some of that.
I haven't seen Portlandia, but a radio spot I heard while commuting almost made me drive off the road. It had to do with the Allergy Pride Parade. "Here comes the Lactose Intolerant Caucus!"
That vignette reminded me of our dicussion of Woody Allen, whose comedies also get a lot of mileage out of people with small problems taking them way too seriously
That was a particularly good skit.
Up here in Seattle we got so tired of seeing those incessant "Portlandia" birds everywhere that we decided to take action. Check out http://www.PutAPlaneOnIt.com and https://www.facebook.com/PutAPlaneOnIt. Go Jet City!
That is hysterical. Living in Detroit, I would suggest you put a car on it.
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