Louie (staring, wriitten by and directed by comedian Louie C.K.)

[Trekker4747]

Louis C.K. is currently one of my favorite comedians. His show on FX called "Louie" (the phonetic spelling of his first name) has been on for going on three seasons now and it's really a good, interesting, show.

I've got Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD (Season 3 is currently running, presently on a mild break mid-arc centering around Louis taking on the Late Show mantle pending the departure of Letterman) and just watched the episode "Duckling." A double-length episode featuring the Louis C.K. going on a USO tour in a Afghanistan and it's just a good, charming, episode that's not quite in tone with the rest of the series (usually featuring Louie truing to lead a regular, miserable, life as a divorced father of two making a living as a stand-up comedian in New York.)

If you've not seen the series I recommend it. It's not quite a "sit-com" but no a "Drama" either. It's a show that's hard to describe and it really only has Louis as a regular character (his daughters, friends and some family members are on-and-off parts.)

But I certainly recommend seeing the episode "Duckling" which I assume is available either through Netflix, Blip or some other online viewing method.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Didn't you start a thread on this a month ago?

 

[Locutus of Bored]

It's a great show that really defies classification. While it mostly goes for humor, there are numerous genuine moments of fright, awkwardness, sadness, anger, friendship, and unrequited love that are extremely poignant and insightful. While he's a well-to-do person in entertainment (since he's playing himself but in semi-fictionalized or completely made up but fairly realistic circumstances, for the most part), many of his experiences ring true and are things we can all relate to. You felt his frustration when he couldn't build a friendship with the guy in Florida because it had become weird. You felt his fear for his daughters when they were confronted by muggers (or worse) while out walking the streets. You felt his pain when the woman he loves didn't return that love and left to be with her ex-husband. You feel his anger and desire for punishment against a bully turning to sympathy for the kid once you see his homelife. You feel the constant mix of frustration, disappointment, pride, surprise, anger, and love he feels toward his daughters.

It's a surprisingly complex show for lasting just 22-minutes a week and often consisting of nothing more than unconnected vignettes. I think it captures the best aspects of his standup act: the candor, the willingness to embarrass himself and show the good along with the bad, and his every man qualities, even when he's doing things most people don't do.

I highly recommend the show to anyone who hasn't seen it and doesn't mind some pretty raunchy dialogue.

 

[T'Baio]

I really think it's one of the best half hours television has had in a very long time...and Louis C.K. is one of the best stand-ups we've had in just as long.

 

[Admiral2]

"Lucky Louie" was funnier and just as relatable.

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

I like the show a lot too. Although I'd suggest people at least get to halfway through the first season before deciding since the show seemed to be trying to find itself in the early episodes. By season two on it's solid and possibly the best live action comedy on tv. (Well dramedy maybe.)

 

[Trekker4747]

Yeah, I'd say the show tried to "find itself" a lot in the First Season but I don't think it really hit a stride until the Second Season where more "powerful" arcs started up.

New comers to the show should be prepared that, as Locutus said, it "defies classification." It's not strictly a comedy/sitcom, it's not strictly a drama, nor is it a "dramadey." It's more like a "reality show" following around comedian Louis C.K. only without the "being a reality show" thing. And, largely, based around Louis C.K.'s comedy. Whom I agree is the best comedian working today and in a long time. His humor certainly tends to be the every-day-life stuff only laced with a bit more vulgarity. Making it even funnier he's not ashamed to make jokes about raising his daughters and his daughters themselves. He obviously loves and cares for them very much but he's not afraid to make jokes about how much his kids can (sometimes) suck.

And I think since his divorce he only got funnier and more jaded as a middle-aged overweight single man. As he joked once being 40 is "too old for anyone to be impressed by the things you do but not old enough yet for people to care about helping you" he then mimics a young "helping the old" girl by saying, "No one ever says, "I helped a 40-year-old man today and it felt really good!"

But "Duckling" really is just a fantastic, fantastic episode. If there's one episode to watch that would be it.

It's important to note that continuity on this show? Doesn't exist. In one episode it seems implied that Louis is one of only two brothers, by the second season it seems more in tune with reality with how it is in reality with Louie being the only brother to two (or three?) sisters. In one episode his mother is presented as being a cold, unloving, woman who discovers she's a lesbian in her old age. In another episode (flashing back to past in another good episode with a young Louie being explained the horrors of Jesus' crucifixion) his mother (a younger version of her in the flashback) is much more nurturing and motherly -closer to the real-world Mrs. C.K.) Probably the biggest "continuity glitch" is with Louie's ex-wife. In the first season we only see glimpses of her and hear her voice and she's presented as a white woman, Louie's two young girls are blonde white girls. In the third season Louie's ex-wife finally makes a real appearance becoming something of a character portrayed by a black actress.

(Not saying that there's anything wrong with an inter-racial marriage, but it's very inconsistent with everything we see in the series.)

But it's just a great, great series.

 

[Yoda]

The ex-wife thing was weird... especially since it really hasn't gone anywhere... as far as I noticed she was in one scene... on the other side of the phone? Is she even coming back this season? Seems like a bizarre time to cast the character.

For me the show hardly 'defies genres', it's more of a sitcom that often forgets to be funny. I think he's done a pretty poor job of getting viewers emotionally invested in his character. I don't feel bad for him when things go poorly, I don't feel good when he gets a moment of joy... and he's the only real character on the show. I'm all for avoiding groan-worthy network sitcom conventions like incessant one-liners and canned laughter, but you still have to bring the funny.

Seems like a lot of episodes lately have been cutting out the Seinfeld-style stand-up segments, which I think is a mistake. His stand-up is good, and consistently the best thing about the show.

Lately, the endless parade of psychotic bitches is getting a little tedious as well. OK, we get it Louis, women in NYC be crazy...

It's been a pretty disappointing season. The Late Show arc has started out with potential so maybe it will finish strong.

 

[Guy Gardener]

But the parade of psychotic bitches are mostly actresses I've already had crushes on for years, and vicariously through Louie, I'm finally seeing them as tragic and flawed enough to pull their monuments down and seek out replacements in my little black heart.

Thank you Louie.

 

[Trekker4747]

My favorite "psychotic woman" he dated had to be the woman at his daughter's school who basically treated him like a husband. Her idea of getting ready for a night of sex is to put on a pretty "normal" looking nightgown, lathering herself with moisturizer and then sending Louis out on an errand to pick up the right kind of condoms, lubricant, Vagisil and blueberries. Before breaking down mid-coitus with some pretty big daddy issues.

 

[Roshi]

Jeeeeeeeez! I can tell you school has already resumed because I can't help noticing 3 (three) mistakes in the title's thread alone!

 

[Trekker4747]

Yeah, I see them too.

 

[the G-man]

I don't necessarily find this show consistently funny, but it is one of of the best-acted, best directed, most fascinating, series I've ever watched. Every week is a like a really brilliant half-hour independent film.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Yeah, I mean, there are whole episodes or large segments of episodes where he doesn't even try to really be funny at all, but rather just gives you a slice of life incident that you can relate to or sympathize with.

For instance, the episode where he was on a date and a bunch of high school punks were being disruptive in the diner, and he asked them to please keep it down a bit, so they got pissed and the largest of them (they were all jocks) confronted Louie and threatened to beat him up. Being reasonable and not wanting to fight or get arrested, he backed down, and then the date judged him negatively for not fighting. It was just a sad, no-win scenario that most people can understand even if they haven't experienced that exact situation (but they've likely experienced something similar or something that could have turned out that way).

Or the episode where he pours his heart out to his best friend and she --while thinking he's a great friend-- does not return his love in the slightest. That was more heartbreaking then funny, even though they occasionally said humorous things.

The show doesn't back away from being sad, vulnerable, awkward, and often brutal at times, and that's what makes it more honest and appealing in my mind than most shows on TV.

 

[Trekker4747]

Last night was penultimate episode of this season and the last episode of the three-episode "Late Show" arc. Very good episode and I felt for Louis' struggles through it. Despite how gruff Jack was being towards him it seemed Louis did get "something" from it. And like his buddy at the end said, he may not have gotten the show but he was good enough to take money out of Letterman's pocket.

The faux show Louis had was good too and I'd be interested to see an actual show like that for Louis C.K. (though I doubt it'd ever happen.) Loved his interview with Susan Sarandon where he admits that she was his "first time."

 

[Guy Gardener]

It's more about retention.

He saw the movie and the image of her stayed burned into his brain for hours enough to complete the deed after the movie finished.

 

[the G-man]

Still catching up on this season's episodes. Holy crap, Robin Williams got old. He looks like Burl Ives now.

 

[the G-man]

FX Delays Louie Until Spring 2014: Louie will go on extended hiatus to allow Louis C.K. to have more time to create the upcoming season.

 

[Yoda]

I thought the season finale was a mess.

This extended hiatus sounds like a perfect opportunity for the show to get even more full of itself

 

[Harvey]

I loved the finale. This show is funnier than most comedies, and has better drama than most...well, dramas. If CK needs a long break, so be it.