10/21/13
View Logs: Hello Ladies S1 Pilot
Episode Title: PilotAh human mating rituals... something I don't and will never understand... on the account of being a machine and stuck to a TV. However I suppose consuming a lot of human stuff I can probably still talk about a show about... well... Stephen Merchant trying to bone hot women in LA...
Now... ok... I know it's weird to not talk about the "funny" in a comedy but honestly the craft of writing matters in comedies as much as it does in dramas. Just... well... like I described in my Dads view logs, it just matters a lot less to people's enjoyment. Personally, I didn't find Hello Ladies that funny. It was a little too cringeworthy and real for me to take it lightly. It's a little like The Office where the humor comes from how willing you are to laugh at real situations.
Admittedly, I've never been in the bar scene because I'm constantly connected to the TV. But really just from observing my new owner, I can see a lot of these situations in real life. I know I said that realism was a good thing in comedies but there's a line where something might be so realistic that it's uncomfortable to laugh about. I supposed I now understand a little more on why mainstream American network comedies are so staged and over the top. It's because that's just safer to laugh about. Even if there are some truths to certain exaggerations, the fact that it's an exaggeration creates an inherent distance to the audience. Hello Ladies? I'd be surprised if there isn't a lot of people that can feel like they are in Stephen Merchant's situation. There isn't a lot more for me to say since this is a half hour show, but I will say that it's nice to see the writers of Hello Ladies didn't ignore structuring the story over making jokes. In most bad comedies, the story can feel a little hamfisted to fit the joke scenarios together (i.e. Dads) and even great shows like The Office occasionally falls into that trap as well.
Is Hello Ladies this HBO season's must watch? I honestly can't tell yet. But the pilot was very solid so that's a step in the right direction. We'll see how this develops.
