A thread for Armando Iannucci's VEEP

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HBO's pay-cable (you have to pay specifically for it, as opposed to getting it with a basic cable package) status means it can show movies unedited and make tv series with no restrictions as to content as opposed to Broadcast (heavily regulated by the FCC) and basic cable (which is more self-regulated than anything, but is dependent on advertisers and cable companies paying subscriptions), because you don't specifically choose those channels.

stay in school if you want to kiw (Gukbe), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 18:18 (twelve years ago) link

also having no advertisers means it's not dependent on ratings, and as it's paid for monthly it has a lot more money than anyone else.

stay in school if you want to kiw (Gukbe), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 18:19 (twelve years ago) link

aha it all makes sense. thanks. i wish Mad Men was made by HBO.

piscesx, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 18:48 (twelve years ago) link

have not seen this but am suspicious of the choice to make it vague what party anyone belongs to. or is it not vague, upon viewing?

goole, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 18:56 (twelve years ago) link

oh it's vague. I get the motivation but it kind of devolved things to "Looks like those clowns in government did it again. What a bunch of clowns."

da croupier, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 18:59 (twelve years ago) link

JL-D's character is trying to push for "green jobs" in this ep so i'd guess dem but they don't really explicitly state it, no (/notreallyaspoiler)

y'tulip, y'pea-brained earwig (donna rouge), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:00 (twelve years ago) link

i imagine they felt it would distract you from what the show is about and i think they're probably right; maybe they'll spill the beans after a couple more shows though?

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:01 (twelve years ago) link

"Looks like those clowns in government did it again. What a bunch of clowns."

yeah this meme is thoroughly owned by the right wing in america; i'm wondering if iannucci realizes how his schtick plays into that?

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:03 (twelve years ago) link

'in the loop' drew much of its power from blairite hardasses inescapably seeing what it was they'd muscled into, right?

i've never been satisfied by political drama of any kind tho, really. no show like the real thing imo.

goole, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:03 (twelve years ago) link

political comedy even less

goole, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:04 (twelve years ago) link

if the sense of individual characters and their relative intelligence/engagement increases, i could see the lack of political content being irrelevant, esp since the veep is such an irrelevant position.

da croupier, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:06 (twelve years ago) link

it hasn't been for our adult life!

goole, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:07 (twelve years ago) link

i think you can get away with a show that implies it is within a fantasy administration, with more jokes and a reason to get invested in the characters' dilemmas.

da croupier, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:08 (twelve years ago) link

okay okay, i'll get of my hobbyhorse until i see the show

goole, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:09 (twelve years ago) link

It's never mattered less what party anyone belongs to.

World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:25 (twelve years ago) link

'in the loop' drew much of its power from blairite hardasses inescapably seeing what it was they'd muscled into, right?

not sure what you mean

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:29 (twelve years ago) link

essentially comedic characters having to look at war, basically.

goole, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:32 (twelve years ago) link

some VPs (Cheney) obv more important than others (Quayle)

Mordy, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 19:34 (twelve years ago) link

First episode streaming free at hbo.com and probably YouTube btw.

caro's johnson (Eazy), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 22:29 (twelve years ago) link

first episode not very funny : (

caek, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 22:56 (twelve years ago) link

i just watched and thought it was pretty good though i wonder how it'll work without any truly frightening characters. interesting that the veep herself is the audience proxy and not some chris addison type staffer

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 24 April 2012 23:40 (twelve years ago) link

i didn't think the entire episode of sarah palin, but i have to admit that i occasionally was reminded of palin

Mordy, Tuesday, 24 April 2012 23:43 (twelve years ago) link

i don't think that's a problem or anything the show necessarily has to run from.

some dude, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 00:27 (twelve years ago) link

for sure. i didn't mind it.

Mordy, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 00:29 (twelve years ago) link

was annoyed at the production designers for not matching the wapo typefaces on the fake style section. Pretty glaringly obvious on screen I'd think even if you aren't familiar with the paper.

raw feel vegan (silby), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 00:37 (twelve years ago) link

JLD looks great. This has promise and i'll keep watching but i only laughed once at JLD referring to glasses as "wheelchairs for the eyes". the gary character is bound to get super annoying. i know he's supposed to be but still...

jed_, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 00:40 (twelve years ago) link

"oh look, it's the guy from my left foot"

caek, Wednesday, 25 April 2012 10:13 (twelve years ago) link

this show rules. between this and Girls i was starting to feel like a criminal so i ordered hbo.

horseshoe, Monday, 30 April 2012 13:31 (twelve years ago) link

I enjoyed the first episode of this a lot

I'M THAT POSTA, AAAAAAAAAH (DJP), Monday, 30 April 2012 13:35 (twelve years ago) link

def wanna see this

surm, Monday, 30 April 2012 14:06 (twelve years ago) link

was annoyed at the production designers for not matching the wapo typefaces on the fake style section. Pretty glaringly obvious

Generally, no one in the biz cares about this kind of detail. Even if they actually said "Post."

(maybe there's even some weird un/written rule not to duplicate it)

World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Monday, 30 April 2012 14:32 (twelve years ago) link

renewed

GoT SPOILER ALERT (Gukbe), Monday, 30 April 2012 19:56 (twelve years ago) link

I'm kind of surprised that I like this as much as I do.

L'ennui, cette maladie de tous les (Michael White), Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:09 (twelve years ago) link

i. do they keep up the 'did the president call?' 'no' 'no' and the 'did you know i have my own flag' bits
ii. do they get funny and how many repetitions does it take for them to get funny

― thomp, Monday, April 23, 2012 10:16 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yes
and no, not by the end of the first three episodes at least

max, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:15 (twelve years ago) link

have not seen this but am suspicious of the choice to make it vague what party anyone belongs to. or is it not vague, upon viewing?

― goole, Tuesday, April 24, 2012 2:56 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this annoys the hell out of me

max, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:17 (twelve years ago) link

first 2 eps strike me as a lil boring? at least v conventional sitcom-y plots/pacing/beats idk i might'ev been hoping this'd be more ambitious

johnny crunch, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:19 (twelve years ago) link

i liked the pilot a lot--i think mostly because i love the mike character? but yeah the second one seemed a little aimless. i'm not sure vice-presidents have no real power is enough to hang a show on.

horseshoe, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:25 (twelve years ago) link

oh, i quite enjoyed 'did the president call' in the second episode

i'm interested how they'll work the parties in the third season of 'the thick of it' because it's been quite clear all along which parties they belong to, and if they're doing a coalition govt. with peter mannion as an MP (which i read somewhere or other) they either need to churn their cast massively, or deal mainly with the opposition, or get quite stuck into doing ... actual alternate history

thomp, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:25 (twelve years ago) link

Is US politics more polarised and partisan than in the UK? Maybe AI thought that making the party explicit would stop the show being about politics and start being about the party.

give me back my 200 dollars (NotEnough), Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:26 (twelve years ago) link

theres some widely cited intvw where iannucci said he was glad to have delayed the 3rd season of TTOI because the election happened and he was excited about the prospect of a coalition govt

max, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:26 (twelve years ago) link

yeh, kinda rubbing my hands at what he'll do with the coalition, esp. since political communication is a big theme running through the series.

give me back my 200 dollars (NotEnough), Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:28 (twelve years ago) link

What do we make of JLD's costuming? Is it too much to quibble over the fact that I can't imagine a VP wearing a lbd in the middle of the day not to mention when it's supposedly that hot?

L'ennui, cette maladie de tous les (Michael White), Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:30 (twelve years ago) link

i noticed that. she seems to wear cocktail dresses a lot.

caek, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:30 (twelve years ago) link

they're not really cocktail dresses. more like extremely well-tailored/form-fitting/high-end career-wear.

horseshoe, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:31 (twelve years ago) link

how i feel is mostly julia louis-dreyfus looks so great! but surely that wasn't what you were getting at.

horseshoe, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:32 (twelve years ago) link

she looks incredible, yes!

caek, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:34 (twelve years ago) link

her wardrobe is not the main problem with the show

caek, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:35 (twelve years ago) link

I am not denying that she looks fab, I just think the costuming is a little off somehow.

L'ennui, cette maladie de tous les (Michael White), Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:36 (twelve years ago) link

id like to engage in some presidential vice with her, if you catch my drift

max, Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:36 (twelve years ago) link

theres some widely cited intvw where iannucci said he was glad to have delayed the 3rd season of TTOI because the election happened and he was excited about the prospect of a coalition govt

third series was 2008, coalition one will be 4th

┗|∵|┓ (sic), Tuesday, 1 May 2012 14:43 (twelve years ago) link


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