I started season one a few days ago--love it! It's a nice diversion from my usual crime/serial killer/psychologically disturbing programs.
Agreed. I love that there isn't much in the way of "manufactured" crises. The drama feels very real-to-life.
Lenny Bruce performing on Steve Allen in 1959, replicated in the season finale. I really appreciate Luke Kirby's ability to nail Bruce's delivery after watching this - and the show's attention to detail, as well.
We watched episode 5 last night and I can’t remember the last time we laughed that hard. One of the funniest episodes by far. There was also one of those mind blowing tracking shots that this show does so well, this time in a vintage bowling alley in the Catskills. dan c
DP David Mullen reports that almost all of the Catskills resorts are gone now, so they had to recreate the one in the show with sets at the Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in NYC, plus exteriors shot around the pieces of resort that are still around.
Nice nods to To Kill a Mockingbird with the opening sequence then Joel standing up for her. I mostly paid attention and am fluent enough in listening. She was impossibly close but not ahead. Maybe a syllable behind at most at times. It was done as a joke for sure since she translated what was said.
Wow, the bowling alley set felt so real right down to the perfectly worn wood lanes. Sad this Catskills doesn’t exist anymore. My wife isn’t one to be nostalgic but while watching these episodes she said she’d love living in this era...if we’re white and affluent of course. dan c
I'm in the middle of Season 1 right now and I like the show, but don't LOVE it. I like the snappy dialogs especially between Midge and Susie and the costumes are great. Cinematography is outstanding and the sets are superb. Rachel Brosnahan is terrific in her role as Midge, even if she sometimes seems like a carbon copy of Laura Petrie. Nice to see Tony Shalhoub and Kevin Pollak on TV again. Now for the criticisms. I find Joel extremely repugnant even when he was a good guy. His character is too wishy-washy - he hates his life, he misses his old life, he wants to reconcile, he just got a new apartment with Penny. I am also a bit taken aback with the anacrhonisms. For example, Joel steals a Bob Newhart routine from an album issued in 1960 even though the episode is supposed to happen in 1956. There's a lot of these especially in the language (using the word "nerd" for example). And they pay a lot of attention to the period costumes and the women's hair, but the men's haircuts are way too modern. I realize this isn't a documentary but if you're going to mix reality with fiction, you should at least pay attention to these details. (I also spotted a modern Cheerios box in one scene.)
i'm pretty sure this is how you're "supposed" to feel about him. he's a dick, no question. i'm usually bothered by stuff like this, but man can it be hard to get everything perfect. i'll watch mad men for almost clinical accuracy with this stuff. this show is so much fun that it doesn't need to be "exact".
Finished season 2 this evening. The show really picked up steam the second half of this season. Last three episodes were real good.
Exactly. What I love is how well fleshed-out these characters are (except for some of the supporting characters, like Joel's parents, who are more cookie-cutter stereotypes of the era). Most people in real life are "wishy washy" and frequently self-sabotage their better intentions. Joel is closer to real life people than most TV characters in that regard. Even Midge isn't above making dumb decisions and hurting people. Spoiler I suspect things are going to fall apart with the doctor next season, when she decides to focus pretty much entirely on her comedy, as seems to be the decision she makes at the end of the season.
I finished season 1 and just started season 2 where Midge’s mother has taken off to live in Paris. I may give up on this show. The cinematography is gorgeous but I feel like it’s kind of like Vittorio Storaro being asked to work on Sex In The City. The dialogue tries so hard to be clever and the acting really is not that great, IMO. Brosnahan is very good but her character just isn’t very deep and I feel like I don’t really know what kind of person she is inside. She may be the about the most uninvolved mother I’ve ever seen on a tv series. Not sure what this means. Is it an oversight? The f-bombs are way over the top between Brosnahan and Borstein and detract from the 50’s vibe, IMO. A few is one thing, but they are way overdoing it. And I guess that is one thing about the show in general I am not crazy about. Nearly everything is overdone and nothing ever gets a chance to breath. The conversations are a mile a minute. The pace is often frantic..... And yet, there is something about it that makes me want to watch. Several times over the past month or so I have found the show quite literally annoying and just turned it off, but here I am now on season 2.
The writing for her fast stream of thought dialogue is intentional for the actor and character. It’s all about her drive. On her own more or less. The second season is very good.
I think it's fairly accurate. I was raised in an upper-middle class home in the '50s and I was largely raised by my grandmother and the housekeeper...just like Mrs. Maisel's children. My babysitter was the TV that got only four channels in fuzzy black-and-white.
Love this show. Watched both seasons now that Comcast offers Amazon Prime viewing (I don't have a clue about how to use a firestick, etc.). I think the chemistry between Midge and Susie is terrific -- wonderful performances from both! Hard to believe Alex started on MADTv (thought she was excellent on there). Also love the soundtrack -- excellent song selections. I hated the last scene of Season 2 -- SPOILER ALERT: I do not want her with him, not even for one night!
On her own? The woman has a maid who takes care of her kids, prepares meals, etc. She lives with her parents with presumably zero rent or bills to pay. She has a bartender/agent who pushes her potential career as a comedian. One who was able to pull a favor from a well established comic like Lenny Bruce when she got herself into trouble. I mean, I’m just not seeing it. I’ve no doubt the pace is intentional.
I meant on her own within herself. Wanting to do something that she loves. Something she needs to do to prove herself. Yes she does have all the family and home support. That’s sort of her inner fight I think. She’s pretty much. hidden it all until this mid season.
Ok, I see what you meant. Well, I don’t know, this review doesn’t perfectly describe how I view the show thus far, but it comes pretty darned close..... How The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Lost One of Amy Sherman-Palladino's Biggest Fans
Funny, “smarmy” would be a very good way to describe this show for me so far. Anyway, even if you scratch a few of her points off that review’s list, you have some direct hits on why this show is only slightly above average at best, IMO.
slightly above average is still above average . . . being a writer, I can tell when there is effort put into the writing and when it just becomes overcooked filler. Mrs. Maisel is great writing. That being said, I'm not a fan of Joel or his parents, they are annoying to a tee, but that could be just good writing, good acting, or both.
Yeah, I do think it is above average. The writing is very good. The sets are insanely good, etc. But that review’s comment about the acting really hits home for me. It feels some of the cast are too often playing to the back of a hall. It just tries way too hard. Something about is just so damned saccharine and yet I want to like it because of the writing and so on. And the Joel thing back to the extent it is really drags things down, IMO. I figured they would pretty much write him out of the show with maybe the occasional appearance for the exchange of the kids, etc., but now he is back in a big way.
