Louie, The Best Show of 2010
By Pinworm45 31 Comments
In a time where TV shows generally cater to the lowest common denominator, and a massive excess of channels and genres is vying for your attention, it's very rare that a show can be unique, and if it's unique, it's generally not successful (Firefly, for example).
Considering that, it's really a treat to watch a TV show that takes risks, is unique and different, and surprisingly Intelligent.
If you couldn't guess from the title, the show I'm talking about is Louie.
I was a big fan of Lucky Louie when it aired on HBO. It was a sitcom in the vein of shows we've all seen a million times, typical down-on-their-lucky family. However, the show managed to be funny and watchable thanks to HBO allowing it to be slightly dirtier than say, Everybody Loves Raymond.
Given that I loved the show (which was, to no surprise, a failure), I was ecstatic when I heard that Louis CK had another show with a different network in the works. It was announced, by the way, with this hilarious video:
If you asked me to describe Louie, I wouldn't know what to say. It's similiar.. kind of.. in structure to Seinfeld. It can be about the silly 'non-issues' things, and segments are split up (sometimes) between story and Louie giving stand up comedy. However, some clever twists are done on this and in the end, it's really not all that similiar to Seinfeld
Louie's greatest strength in my mind is that it changes every week. It's always refreshing and you never know what to expect. One episode might be tons of different, unrelated segments mixing between story and stand up. Next weeks might be drama, which is surprisingly well executed, especially given that this is a comedy show - I think? It definitely made me laugh more than anything else I've seen in years but in a strange way, It's not entirely a comedy. In fact, the fact that this show pulls off the balance is a testament to it's execution.
The show is also just plain weird. And weird in..a good way. Without spoiling anything, the shows first episode starts by staying very, very realistic in gritty, in the small details of things that can go wrong (to give a small example, opening a door for his date, and having her get stuck behind the door making it pointless and awkward) but having the show end with a completely over-the-top, unrealistic, completely unexpected and yet oddly understated moment. You never know what to expect with this show. It's a complete mess, and yet the mess is so well executed and calculated that Louie surely deserves the title of Best Show of 2010 (so far), and it should be checked out by everyone in the mood for something new, a comedy, a drama, and have a pallete that doesn't mind completely-offensive and yet not-offensive for the sake of being offensive.
This is also a show not a lot of people will get. And I don't mean that in a "you aren't smart enough" way.. It's just not something everyone will get.
Check it out.