Aziz Ansari's 'Master of None' on Netflix

A lot of interest in being the ____ Woody Allen lately, although maybe that's just a press cliche.

i could hear nothing but great things about Catastrophe and would still refuse to watch a show starring fucking Rob Delaney

Catastrophe was pretty good when I was watching it but completely unmemorable

first season of catastrophe was good, second season was a bit of a mess. pilot is one of the best I've ever seen, though.

I liked the second season - took some bigger risks that could have brought it down but it managed to stay afloat

and yeah I guess if you really hate rob delaney maybe don't bother with it, he and horgan are really great together though

huh, I didn't even realize that season 2 had come out.

it finished in the UK a couple of weeks ago. Dunno if it's available in the US yet

Delaney can be irritating (I was only tangentially aware of his Twitter fame prior to watching the show) but he kind of wins you over

I don't think s2 is "officially" available in the US yet

delaney and horgan have incredible chemistry. season 1 end fell really flat for me but i liked it a lot overall.

i had no idea who delaney was when i started it btw (and basically still don't)

I thought with season 2 none of the sub-plots involving anyone other than the couple really worked (especially not the one with his buddy going off the rails, which was so predictable and dramatically pointless), and I didn't buy the 'vengeful obsessed co-worker' twist, and there were numerous scenes where I was just like "hang on, who has the kids right now?".

But I am a grouch about sitcom. I take it too seriously.

wow this penultimate episode about the relationship (mornings) is so deathly dull

"wow, I love this!" / Nashville episode / "oh, I hate this"

yeah, last episode was pretty terrible as well. the grandma episode was ok tho, and the nashville ep itself would have been fine if they just sort of ended the relationship thereish.

can't relate at all to the "oh no i have choices in my life" preciousness

The Wareheim directed episodes are really good; lack of obvious acting chops therefore forgiven.

It's also kind of his comedic style to not take himself or his role seriously. The majority of the time Heidecker was always the one to get really into a character while Wareheim would essentially just be himself in costume.

Watched the first two episodes. It's amiable enough, but it's never more than just a little bit funny is it? And I felt both episodes were kind of working towards making a point which never materialised. Plus a lot of the line readings are very wooden. What am I missing?

watch more than 2, I guess? General feel remains but they vary in quality.

I'll watch a couple more but I suspect I'm just not into it. It's like Louie but stripped of insight and darkness.

i think you've got the measure of it. just wait until the one where aziz encounters sexism for the very first time ever. I LEARNED A LOT.

yeah i enjoyed this but it's not hugely funny and the acting is bad

^that seems fair. comparison to Louie doesn't make sense as it's intentionally low-key emotionally, and its raison d'être is basically the fact that it is not another show centered around a white man, though imo it has a pretty light touch in that regard.

Yeah it's very spotty and uneven and kinda didactic. But before giving up on it watch the Nashville episode then maybe skip straight to the finale. Both were really great half hours of TV. You don't need to watch the whole thing.

the best one was the one that focused on the parents imo

Reminded me of Chris Rock's Top Five as far as having a relaxed Annie Hall vibe, and is important by not striving to be Important and Symbolic.

man iirc the Nashville one and the finale were my least favorite.

the best one was the one that focused on the parents imo

^^^ this

yeah the finale felt like a different show, it was way too serious. Nashville one was kinda fun though. my fav by far was the Indians on TV one but I'm an Indian-American so I don't know if that ep hits others the same way it hit me

the running Short Circuit gag in that was great, I liked that episode a lot too

also

Chris Rock's Top Five

does not get enough love! great movie

indians on tv was easily the best episode, and the nashville one and the parents one were also stand-outs. I've heard the "not really that funny" critique a lot, and I get it given Ansari's pedigree as a stand-up and sitcom actor. But the whole thing is more like a loose, hang-out indie movie than a Parks&Rec-type thing. Not surprising to see folks like James Ponsoldt and Lynn Shelton directing episodes.

Make a whole episode in Italy in black and white :(

Second one made up for it though.

I bailed on this season halfway through. I got enough of interminable scenes of people eating, Wareheim's awful character, and AA's non-acting

I never picked it back up after the Nashville episode in S1. Many of my qualms are the same as Simon's, so I'm guessing it's safe to leave it at that.

yeah if anything it's worse, it segues into being all-out lifestyle pr0n this time

First ep good/great, 2nd ep gross lifestyle porn, 3rd ep enjoyable cuz parents

Just watched the Death Castle episode. First one that felt completely half-assed.

i like this season. it does seem like lifestyle porn a lot of the time, though. i liked the death castle episode!

i didn't finish the first season, fwiw. i thought this one was much better, but maybe i just experienced the bingewatch lowering of standards?

i also don't like wareheim's character! i felt like such a grinch about that bc i suspect he's supposed to be super-lovable.

if you quit before the denise episode, maybe watch the denise episode?

which one is that? of the first five, only the multi-first-date ep had any flair or laughs

Thanksgiving

Wareheim's character feels really forced and unnatural to me, compared to the naturalistic amiability of the rest of the cast. The first dates episode and the Bourdain parody were both p great imo, esp the former.

one thing I appreciate about this is that it's a comedy where the protagonist is not some mysanthrope w issues, it's a welcome reprieve from that angle

i feel like it goes well with aziz ansari's super-sunny face. that feels like a weird observation to make, but it's true.

loved the tinder episode
loved the pork/muslim parents episode, which is basically my life

thanksgiving episode is really moving and funny and complex