Anyone else watch The Good Place? I'm really enjoying it.
Actually, yes. I just watched the first season this week and will probably watch the second season within a week or so also.
I've been interested in this show from the beginning since Michael Schur was behind it and Parks and Recreation is one of my all-time favorite shows and he's responsible for a lot of that. As well, his work on the early years of The Office is also well done. I've continued watching Brooklyn Nine Nine and am a little behind in the current 5th season but slowly catching up however BNN has never won me over like P&R or The Office. It can have some really funny moments and yet it just never hooks me into wanting to watch it regularly like those past programs. I have to actively remind myself and sort of force myself to keep watching it. That said, even if BNN has been a bit of a lesser product compared to P&R and The Office, I've always been interested in seeing The Good Place and I kept seeing it get highly reviewed by critics doing Best in the Year of TV lists the last couple years or Best Shows on TV right now and that kind of thing.
Thus, Monday or Tuesday (I forget which) I finally started watching it and saw all 13 episodes over three days. From the first season, I'd say The Good Place sits between P&R and BNN. It definitely has a stronger beginning compared to P&R and has a lot more of the sunnier disposition that Parks has with the hook of the main character Eleanor trying to be a better person. Unlike BNN which can sometimes feel a bit clichéd in its storylines or set-ups, The Good Place has a more unique setting with a lot more potential to surprise and keep things interesting which is something it does throughout the first season with a lot of great last minute ending surprises / cliffhangers that make you want to see the next episode right away. I also like how the show is able to discuss different philosophies and ideas on morality but able to keep it light and comedic which isn't something you can find in most other shows.
Although P&R had some serial story over its run like filling in the pit, Leslie's election or various character romances, it was able to still balance it well with some standalone episodes and a lot of humour. BNN, on the other hand, has never really succeeded or tried too much with serial storytelling or having long arcs for characters mainly keeping things pretty self-contained per episode which is probably another reason why it's been harder to keep my interest in it even if it may have a lot of humour in an episode. The Good Place, on the other hand, really feels like P&R on serial telling steroids. It's got a lot of forward momentum as it keeps unfolding new developments which lead to another development and so on. Although episodes have their own title, on-air the show just calls them Chapter 3 or Chapter 8 depending on the episode which I think is fitting because it does feel more like a long unfolding story than a collection of humours stories like other comedy series.
However, I do think this results in a show that is pleasant but not necessarily laugh out loud funny and that the humour has been a bit muted compared to The Office, P&R and BNN. Those shows have all had episodes that I was laughing throughout and some killer jokes. I haven't really felt that way about the comedic moments from The Good Place yet although the leader of The Bad Place who stops by for a couple episodes was probably the closest to providing a lot of great and consistent jokes. Trying to think of standout comedy moments, I'm also reminded of a bit with a lie detector which is probably the funniest a lie detector has been since Moe on The Simpsons and they were even able to switch and get a bit of drama from it so there's a lot of cleverness this show can tap into already even though its early in its development. The focus on story first is probably my biggest knock on The Good Place in that I wish it had a better gelling of comedy and story yet the story and events unfolding have been so engaging that I've enjoyed it all so far. However, I have repeat watched a lot of The Office and P&R twice over because of the humour and jokes which still hold up and make me laugh and not so much for the serial storylines so the focus on forward plot momentum over humour makes me wonder how well the show may stand up to repeated viewing.
The only other gripe might be that I do find the cast a little bit imbalanced. There's a couple characters that are great and some that are so-so. I can't think of anything really funny relating to Tahani off the top of my head and Janet I find is a bit of mixed bag with some funny bits and some annoying / lame bits. Chidi is more a straight man but he's got some great reactions which is necessary for that kind of role and the writers have found a couple moments to create a bit of a laugh around him. Hopefully, they can round his character out a bit more like Ben Wyatt on P&R to give him more of his own funny quirks.
One other thing that I find interesting about this show is the flashbacks in the character's lives. Sometimes they can be pretty funny like Chidi trying to choose players for a soccer team or Jason Mendoza's life in Florida, sometimes they can be a bit dramatic and sometimes they just show Eleanor being horrible in a way that isn't really funny or dramatic and is the one part of the show I hope they can tweak a bit and fix up. That said, the flashbacks sort of offer the prospect of a second show within a show if they wanted to do more of a set-up between these characters past and present lives which isn't something you see a lot of in a comedy show. Again, it shows a lot of material this show has the potential to work with.
To sum up, I do highly recommend the show. Like UncleBob, I've really enjoyed the first season and will probably burn through the second season just as fast if it keeps up the story momentum it's currently on. I totally get the praise it has been receiving but my only warning is don't go into it expecting the first 4 seasons of The Office or the First 8 seasons of The Simpsons which had episodes packed filled with all manner of great gags and jokes. The show has more of a pleasant tone that will keep you happily satisfied as it moves from one seeming disaster to the next with a bit of humour. It's good. Compared to a lot of other shows, and comedies particularly, it's very good but it's not yet great. Now bring on Season 2 and let's see if it can reach that next level.
Topic: Rate the last TV show you've seen (Read 1193817 times)
