Summary: BoJack is a washed up celebrity struggling to find purpose in his life. He tries to write a book but procrastinates heavily. He is recommended to get a ghostwriter, Diane, but is nervous. Following a break-up with his girlfriend/agent Princess Carolyn, BoJack decides to throw a party where he will speak with Diane. They connect at the party and BoJack learns that she is dating Mr. Peanutbutter, a rival who he hates.
The Good: The concept of this show is fun. The world that this show is set in is the same as ours, with the twist that there are animals living as humans. It's such an odd concept, but it's creative and there are some fun uses of that idea in this episode with a few animal puns. The main character BoJack is decent enough. He's a funny and sarcastic guy, but also one who is in the midst of a midlife crisis and makes some poor decisions. The opening and ending scenes of the episode do an effective job of telling us who he is and endearing us to him a little bit. This show is primarily a comedy and thankfully it has a few funny bits. Pinky's struggles with money are amusing, and I liked a few of the cut-away gags with the baby and cereal ones being the highlights of the episode. I also got a laugh out of the show's portrayal of anxiety attacks. The final scene between Diane and BoJack is pretty good. Diane is likeable and endearing in her social awkwardness, which makes her a nice parallel to BoJack who is another person who has a habit of making a fool of himself in front of others. BoJack comes off as surprisingly honest in this first scene with Diane after being distant for the entire rest of the episode, so they will clearly have some sort of a connection. The twist that Diane is dating Mr. Peanutbutter came as a surprise, and BoJack's reaction to this was funny (that penis has been inside that vagina... but in a sexual way). I imagine that this is setting up a sort of love triangle story. The Bad: While some little things were done well, the broad strokes of this show were poor. The biggest problem I had was that this first episode was nowhere near funny enough to hook me. It had a few good jokes, but for a 25 minute comedy, I need to be laughing a lot more than just 3-4 times each episode. Most of the jokes just weren't funny, and if this show isn't funny, then it does not have much going for it. I was disappointed by how edgy a lot of the humour was. I've seen many animated adult comedies that dive into edgy humour, so this show doing the same is nothing special and it fails to distinguish itself from its competition. I did not like how reliant this show was on cut-away gags. They can be funny if used sparingly, but this episode has way too many of them, and some of them last for far too long. It's problematic when there's a cut-away gag and by the time the scene is done, I've forgotten that it was even a cut-away. This completely befuddled the pacing of the episode, and this first episode's flow felt really awkward as a result. It was jarring with all of the random cut-aways, and I hope that the show can abandon this trend. This is not "Family Guy", and considering the main idea of the show that has been presented, I do not think that this show needs cut-away gags. Lastly, I'm not feeling the characters just yet. BoJack is amusing and Diane is endearing, but I don't particularly like them yet. Todd and Princess Carolyn have also been uninspiring so far, and simplistic in their character. Though the episode's choppy structure and unfunny jokes could be partially to blame for my dislike of these too characters so far. The Unknown: Does Todd have a secret second life? What's this shady business that he has? Will BoJack and Diane's relationship turn into a romantic one? Best Moment: The best laugh of the episode comes from Princess Carolyn getting upset at BoJack for not respecting her enough to have a baby with her. BoJack denies it and the episode cuts to one of the most absurdly over-the-top moments as Princess Carolyn commenting on a baby is enough to send BoJack spiraling. His subsequent confession to a cop that he doesn't respect Princess Carolyn enough to have a baby with her is the cherry on top. Character of the Episode: BoJack. Conclusion: This show has a cool premise, and there were a few genuinely funny moments. But the poor joke quality, over-reliance on cut-away gags, and poorly introduced characters make this a very forgettable first episode. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come. Score: 52
1 Comment
Joe Y
8/6/2022 03:25:28 pm
This show does have a bit of a problem. It's the problem that "Halt and Catch Fire" and "Person of Interest" faced as well. The opening run of episodes is the show at its absolute worst. You wouldn't predict this show producing episodes like "Fish Out of Water" or "The View From Halfway Down" based on this pilot, just as you wouldn't imagine an episode like "If-Then-Else" coming out of the same show as the Person of Interest pilot. It's much too reminiscent of Family Guy, and the joke quality/emotional engagement is severely lacking. As of now, it seems like a C+ adult animated comedy. As of now, that is.
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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