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Mulaney S1 |OT| He's not gonna kill you, he's a little boy - Fox Sundays

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Sundays on Fox, 9:30/8:30c

John Mulaney as John Mulaney
Nasim Pedrad as Jane
Seaton Smith as Motif
Zack Pearlman as Andre
Elliott Gould as Oscar
Martin Short as Lou Cannon

Reviews:

Features:

What did people think?
 
thought I'd put this outside the OP:

I sadly think Sepinwall was spot-on. actually, not even spot-on—he wasn't quite negative enough. I don't buy the reviews like the NYT one that say it's bad based solely on its similarity to S**nf*ld. But as a huge fan of John's standup and his writing in general, this is not at all good. The ensemble is messy and introduced badly. Jane would seem like an SNL sketch character even if she weren't played by Pedrad, she just doesn't feel real. Andre is tacked-on, so is Oscar (though he's a bit more interesting in how weirdly soothing he is, true). Short is wasted and Motif is annoying already.

oh if only it stopped there. Every good joke in the premiere is from his standup so I've heard it before (dozens of times). Fair, that isn't a problem for a part of the intended audience. but beyond being old material, it's wedged into the episode horribly. Mulaney's not translating the material for the sitcom format, he's just performing it within a visually sitcom world. It's disconcerting. Seinfeld the show or Louie the show might have the comedian act out standup/standup-inspired material, but it'll be retooled. And the way the character plays it will be different. This is just Mulaney doing the material the exact same way he does it on stage.

It could get a lot better. It could just be finding its footing. But if I'm being completely honest: were I not a big fan of Mulaney, I probably would not keep watching this show.
The Lamonster said:
meh. I thought it was too seinfeldy.

Just makes me more sad that Pedrad left SNL for this.
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Eh. it's more generally a throwback multicam. In terms of narrative structure and comedic tone it's not much like Seinfeld. very little dovetailing, and definitely Mulaney's humor not Seinfeld's.
 
Soo watching his standup special on Netflix yesterday probably wasn't a great idea haha

So many jokes from that, love the throwback feel though and he seems like a nice guy and he is funny so I'll stick with it for a while at least
 
It has room for improvement, its biggest problem is the dialogue. With Seinfeld you could see yourself having similar conversations, the ones on the show were just a little punchier and wittier but still realistic. In the Pilot episode of Mulaney every conversation felt so ungrounded and the conflicts these people were having were either unrelatable (oh no working for a superstar isn't all you thought it would be) or exaggerated to a point where it became unbelievable (why would anyone not intervene on this crazy girl getting over her ex).

It also didn't help that 2 of the principal characters were introduced as neurotic and unlikable. Sure, we get it, the red head is your Newman, but why? Okay, he's annoying, what makes him annoying?


I'll watch a few more weeks, I like to give every show at least 3 or 4 episodes. The show would greatly benefit from dialing back the wacky a little bit and playing more real.
 
Looooove his standup, was excited for this and overall I'm..... Intrigued.

It wasn't great, but I think it has potential. The cast needs time to gel, but I like the actors so with good writing/chemistry I think they can grow into something funny.

People tend to forget the first season of Seinfeld, it wasn't a home run and took time for things to come together. Do I think this show could be the next Seinfeld? No. But I think it has a shot of being an entertaining sitcom.

One thing I will say is that Mulaney himself is kinda rough around the edges when acting. He needs to not be in standup mode/voice when he's delivering normal lines, comes across as cartoony.

I'll keep watching since I like Mulaney himself and want to see if this thing can become really good. For a pilot, I'll give it a 6.5/10
 
He is a smarmy, up tight dill weed who writes unfunny 'jokes'. His terrible 'jokes' are made even less funny while spitting over-anunciated syllables through a face plastered with that cocksure grin.
 
I think my biggest problem was he didn't seem to be acting so much as delivering.

Like he would stare off into space after delivering a line, and it seems so unnatural.
 
Watching this now on Fox.

Awful.

Never heard of John Mulaney before tonight, but this guy has absolutely no charisma.
 
Well at least there's some structure to this episode. I do like the kinds of clumsily clever jokes here, and Nasim improved a lot from the pilot. When they start having scenes with her and Short, it might actually seem not too bad of a show. However, if there was ever concrete evidence that JM's not fit to be a sitcom lead, his agreeing to go to the live birth was, uh... quite something to behold.
 
Haven't seen the second ep yet, but the pilot wasn't nearly as bad as everyone said it was. But it wasn't super great either. If it weren't mulaney and a bunch of super talented writers then I'd have written off the show, but I think it'll find its feet soon enough.
 
It's like they wanted a new Seinfeld without the fun characters or witty writing.

If it makes a second season, I'd be surprised.
 
I was laughing but the show felt SO off, really awkward, the conversations feel forced, no way this is going to get renewed if it stays like this.
 
This was better. still not even average. whiffs on so many jokes, ensemble is still catastrophically underdeveloped (why even have Andre, honestly. most useless in an ensemble of all blank slates). but a few jokes worth smirking over and a kinda amusing build.
cory64 said:
Well at least there's some structure to this episode. I do like the kinds of clumsily clever jokes here, and Nasim improved a lot from the pilot. When they start having scenes with her and Short, it might actually seem not too bad of a show. However, if there was ever concrete evidence that JM's not fit to be a sitcom lead, his agreeing to go to the live birth was, uh... quite something to behold.
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Aaaand I mildly liked this one. First episode to clear "average." Had a bit of quirk, didn't spend half its time peeling jokes from Mulaney's stand-up wholesale, had a balance of okay storylines. Ensemble still doesn't work and it's awkwardly paced, as if they're constantly cutting scenes short a line too early or letting them run 3 lines too far. But this is the first episode that could conceivably become a good show. Though with the season order cut down from 16 to 13 episodes and the terrible ratings, I doubt it'll ever get the chance. Can already picture the Mulaney comeback cover pieces that he'll have on The AV Club et al when his different new series premieres in 2017 where he'll talk about this show's failing.
 
Two episodes in. I don't think this show is any good. The humor isn't clicking - maybe too tame or generic. Mulaney delivers lines awkwardly, just reciting them. I feel like Martin Short can't deliver anymore, and his one roommate from SNL, Pedrad, is the only person who feels like they're genuinely funny.

I'll give it a few more episodes on Hulu+. According to some critics it picks up significantly after episode 3.
 
Apparently that was the 10th ep produced, and last week was the 7th, soooo it's gonna be rough as they fill in eps 2-6
 
cory64 said:
Apparently that was the 10th ep produced, and last week was the 7th, soooo it's gonna be rough as they fill in eps 2-6
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I looked it up and it seems like they're sort of alternating. Next week is 102, then I think 111, so on. maybe doling out awfulness in between okay-ness will make it easier to swallow. still a pill.
 
I stumbled upon this she last night, good god it was terrible. Everything fell flat. It felt like a rejected script from some Nickelodeon tween show. I felt bad for all involved since I've seen Pedrad and the Mulany guy be very funny elsewhere.
 
The more this shows goes, the more I like it. I'm hoping that Fox gives it a chance and a second season, base on the sole fact that I don't understand why it's not cancelled yet.

But I'm the only one right ?
 
Akibastman said:
The more this shows goes, the more I like it. I'm hoping that Fox gives it a chance and a second season, base on the sole fact that I don't understand why it's not cancelled yet.

But I'm the only one right ?
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Fox will do no such thing. And you're one of very few-- I know people who sorta like parts, but no matter my love for Mulaney I can't get with this. Everytime I notice something I kind of enjoy, like the Jane and Lou plot this past episode, I also notice a huge flaw. Like, Jane's core idea (that she hates comedians) could be funny if done a certain way. The execution here is plain energy-killing because they've made it so she hates comedy--she basically works against jokes.

Also I feel like the show isn't indulging in sitcom comfort. John made a big deal about wanting simple multicam familiarity to be a feature of the show. Instead it tries very hard to be hip.
 
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