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We need to talk about Bojack Horseman
- Thread starter Ocarina_117
- Start date
First few episodes are alittle rough.
OT, but when the wife and I watched Sneaky Pete and she appeared on screen I'd always describe her as "Beloved Character Actress Margo Martindale" which confused the hell out of my Mrs as she's never seen BoJack.
Same here, but I've heard a lot of people can relate to a broken, self-destructive horse person which is what makes the show special to us. It's how you do convincing character building. I mean, I never thought I'd be able to say that I can relate to an actor (fictional or otherwise) but here we are.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
The first season was rocky at the start, but became very good like halfway through. Seasons 2 and 3 were fantastic. Season 4 was almost entirely mediocre though (only two good-all-the-way-through episodes - 9 and 11), and I don't see it having enough steam to go on for much longer. Hopefully the writers have the sense to end it after next season.
T.v
Member
Watched all of it. Call me a robot if you want but I can not take the struggles these characters put themselves in seriously. Because to me, none of their behavior is anything resembling "human".
I do not think it's a bad show though, I enjoyed it for what it was but I cannot fathom feeling empathy, or worse, relating for and to any of these characters.
Ya
Its more man than a horse tough
"Cartoon" is such a weird term to use. Yeah, technically it's true, but this is a full-on comedy/drama. Cartoon makes me think about light children's shows.
Romars202129
Member
Edit
eople are down on season 4? I thought it was the most solid season so far
I took the humor as light fluff that exists just to get your guard down so when they hit you with the feels it hits so much harder. Opposite effect.
eople are down on season 4? I thought it was the most solid season so farI took the humor as light fluff that exists just to get your guard down so when they hit you with the feels it hits so much harder. Opposite effect.
disillusion386
Member
I would say this show is more drama than anything. And in most dramas, people do make bad decisions for said drama.
Edit
It's either it or S3 for me, so damn good
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
I like the show but it's not doing anything special for me. I find it very hard to care about the individual characters above a superficial "oh no, something bad happened. Oh well" level
T.v
Member
Like I said, I do enjoy the show to some degree. It's when people say how human and relatable these characters are when the show loses me. Besides, I get the feeling Bojack Horseman is intended more as a drama than a straight up comedy.
Take It's always sunny in Philadelphia for example. These are some of the most fucked up characters you'll meet in comedy, yet it is my favorite. It does not try to paint their characters as anything other than a bunch of massive idiots, and it is great. Bojack has a cast of idiots it tries to paint as "human" and relatable; and, while that might work for some, that is where it loses me.
I mean, it's heightened, sure, because it's a cartoon set in a world full of anthropomorphic animals. And I don't really think the idea is to take the struggles seriously, exactly. But the characters' emotional reactions to the absurd situations they're in are incredibly human and that's what speaks to most of the people who really love the show.
Can I relate to Bojack as an overall person? Not really, he's basically a self-pitying monster. But can I relate to specific reactions he has and thoughts he has about himself? Absolutely. And that's part of the catharsis, is seeing yourself reflected in these ridiculous and, yes, sometimes stupid characters, because at our worst we are in fact often ridiculous and stupid. While you may never have to carry a newborn baby on a trek across a foreign land involving numerous slapstick hijinks, everyone knows what it's like when an important personal experience isn't seen to be as monumental to anyone else, including people who lived it with you. When you become the guardian of that memory or that moment, and you know that when you're gone, it's gone. One of the most famous speeches in modern cinema is about just that experience, using the simile of tears in rain to express it, and so is the Bojack episode
Fish Out of Water.
That's not all that episode is about, of course, but that's one facet of it that can make Bojack relatable for just a moment. And the fact that the show not only does that on a regular basis but the inventive way it does it, almost always cleverly integrating it with its absurdist premise in the process makes it one of the most extraordinary things I've seen in the last 10 years.
That's interesting, because I find Always Sunny to be one-note and the characters needlessly cruel, and thus uninteresting as a result. It has nothing to say about itself or its characters, and simply uses idiots being terrible as a vehicle for (what I would consider) cheap laughs. You're right that Bojack is more of a drama, especially in comparison. That may be the disconnect, and maybe it works both ways depending on what one is looking for in a show.
RespectThySole
Member
Definitely top 3
Prophet Steve
Member
The show is intended way more as a drama than a comedy and I do think the characters have very relatable traits.
I don't think calling them idiots is the right term, although some of them genuinely are, but for many characters that is inaccurate. They feel like some very flawed people. They know they are doing wrong, they also regret doing some of the things they do which to me stops them from being idiots.
There are traits and mental issues in the show that keeps them from always doing the right thing, and that is very human. It is very relatable for many people to wish to be different and to do different things while being unable to do so. This does not make them idiots.
Always Sunny in Philadelphia features idiots, unable of any reflection or wish to do different. I love the show, but they can't be compared.
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
That bridge to Hawaii pay off had me rolling.
Discotheque
Banned
i kinda hate a lot of the humor in here (mostly from aaron paul, one of the wackest voice actors on a cartoon in a minute, fuck todd) and the pacing.
but the nihilistic main character and the way the show handles stagnating careers and depression is pretty damn good. i haven't seen season 3 and 4 yet. it's kind of a slow burn for me, but when I eventually get back to it I'm sure I'll like it.
but the nihilistic main character and the way the show handles stagnating careers and depression is pretty damn good. i haven't seen season 3 and 4 yet. it's kind of a slow burn for me, but when I eventually get back to it I'm sure I'll like it.
Boozeroony
Member
Just finished S01 and loved it. This topic makes me happy.
sixteen-bit
Member
every time someone says "what are you doing here?" i think of bojack
i think of phelous and can't help but wonder if someone was a fan of his or if there was a common thing they're both referencing because the inflection is the same.
I really enjoyed the first two seasons. Since then it seems to have crawled up its own ass. I tried watching the first episode of season 4 and it was just a chore to stay engaged.
That said, I also get why something like season 3 would appeal to people and the way it handled topics was remarkable, I just didn't remotely enjoy it.
That said, I also get why something like season 3 would appeal to people and the way it handled topics was remarkable, I just didn't remotely enjoy it.
Zepp Twofist
Member
It's the best show on Netflix, and it's not even close.
T.v
Member
Different strokes for different people then. I like Sunny for it's absurdity, I dislike Bojack for it's seriousness because it falls flat to me. Sounds like your opinion is the complete opposite.
That's precisely why I brought it up, the shows take two completely different directions.
I am at S3, but I think that Diane is an hypocrite. And she married the wrong person
I'm only on season two but I just want to chime in and say Mr. Peanut Butter is the perfect character for Paul F. Tompkins. Whoever decided to cast him there is brilliant. He can go from serious to sweet to stupid all in one scene.
That episode in season one where he's obsessed with naming his show Peasant Butter and Jelly? Or the birthday party for Diane? SO GOOD
That episode in season one where he's obsessed with naming his show Peasant Butter and Jelly? Or the birthday party for Diane? SO GOOD
Adam Sadler
Member
The woman mass shooting episode was flawless
I will say as much as I disliked season 3, that episode was one of the best thing I've ever seen.
Schucky Ducky
Banned
Get through the first season. It completely transforms into something really special by the end of the first season.
Adam Sadler
Member
Can't remember if it was Season 3 but you didn't care for the underwater episode either?
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
Really? Make sure your kid watches all of it then.
I feel like the episode maybe could have been powerful if it depicted them as miserable for longer than like 30 seconds instead of them having a great time for 19 minutes and 30 seconds and then 30 seconds of "oh no, drugs are actually bad".
I don't really understand how this episode was powerful at all.
MWS Natural
Member
Just started watching it last week, already in the middle of season 2..it's a really great show.
Wait, they weren't miserable for the whole 19 minutes and 30 seconds?
17 Seconds
Banned
lol
17 Seconds
Banned
by "tremendous lengths" you mean simply waiting until the show gets good. i mean, the first season was pretty poorly received, so this is a weird post. you haven't even watched the part of the show that people say is good.
NeoGold123
Member
Giving it a total re-watch before I start up season 4, since I only half paid attention to season 3. The episode that really stood out to me was the jogging one. I mean, I know it's supposed to, but that little analogy describes chronic clinical depression to a tee and that's such a difficult thing to describe to someone that's never been there.
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
I mean, not for me I guess. Looked like they had a goofy drug episode.
Then again, I have a hard time emphasizing with any of the characters of the show, so maybe that's why.
I still like the show mind you, but that's because I like the humor.
Baron von Loathsome
Member
For those put off by the earlier episodes, I'll quote Princess Carolyn in a more recent episode:
"Sometimes, life is like the second season of Friday Night Lights - you gotta push through and hope there's better stuff ahead."
"Sometimes, life is like the second season of Friday Night Lights - you gotta push through and hope there's better stuff ahead."
17 Seconds
Banned
what? you don't understand the value of realism and honesty? it's not a D.A.R.E. commercial. people generally start abusing drugs because they find them fun.
if you watched the episode and feel like the "fun" part outweighed the darkness, then i question your humanity.
17 Seconds
Banned
"goofy drug episode". even before the final scene, it was clear that they were both miserable.
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
Well, guess you'll have to question my humanity then
Why do you not emphatize with the characters?
I guess the episode can look goofy to someone who doesn't pay attention to the characters (or who perceives crippling alcoholism and damaging drug abuse as fun and okay.)