Louie

[LQ]

Here's the first part of a 4-part AV Club interview with Louis CK about the 2nd season.

I really love reading about his creative process, and am looking forward to the dish on "Tickets" and the two episodes that Foam pointed out above in particular. For me, "Duckling" replaced last season's "God" as the best Louie has offered so far. Its one of the most deeply moving episodes of television I've ever seen.

Part 2.
Part 3.
Part 4.

The whole interview is up now, I linked to each part above. It is truly a remarkable read. The story behind "Duckling" is just as compelling as the episode itself.

[swo17]

With everything else that I write about people that are alien to me, it’s so much more interesting to write a real version about them and find out what I could learn about that mentality, instead of just making fun of it.

This season I had a real pleasure in who I got to put on camera. The people that I got to put on the show that weren’t people who are on stuff all the time, that meant a lot.

I think these are two keys to the show's success this season.

[Foam]

Tonight's ep with Maria Bamford is probably the best ever.

[mfunk9786]

It's up there. The Parker Posey stuff was the perfect translation of Louis' standup material into dramatic form. You're missing out if you just watched a coupla subpar Season 1 episodes a few years back and then gave up, this show is the closest thing to 70s Woody Allen that we've had since 70s Woody Allen

[Matt]

Parker Posey was so good in her scenes, especially the last one. It would be great is she became a semi-regular like Pamela Adlon last season.

[wattsup32]

We (my wife and I) have been with this show since episode 1 because we were both big fans of Lucky Louie. Our appreciation for Lucky Louie kept us from abandoning Louie in the first season as some fans did. That was largely because, even if a few episodes weren't great, they were without a doubt better than almost every Lucky Louie episode and we loved that, so why leave?

We now feel grateful that we have had the chance to see the whole thing unfold because it as been a glorious site to behold. We joke that it is either the funniest drama or the least funny comedy on tv. But, our joking aside, Louie seems to occupy a space in television that nothing has the ability to.

It is a show dependent on CK's talent for sure, but the real driving force is his sense of wonder at himself and those around him. There is confidence in his vulnerability. He is simply unafraid to show us that he doesn't know it all. That lack of self righteousness provides the material both an authenticity and, more importantly, an authority that no other show has.

[Matt]

Next week's preview shows Louie and Posey's character out on a date.

[Foam]

...and it was unbelievably great. How anyone could watch those two episodes and dispute the show's excellence is beyond me.

Spoiler

Best ever iteration of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl?

[wattsup32]

...and it was unbelievably great. How anyone could watch those two episodes and dispute the show's excellence is beyond me.

Spoiler

Best ever iteration of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl?

We had a similar observation. We thought it was Manic Pixie Dream Girl when she got too old. Or, alternatively, Manic-Depressive Pixie Dream Girl given

Spoiler

how she turned on a dime in the last 90 seconds.

[LQ]

It was hard for me to shake this intense episode. Posey was definitely molded in the form of the "Manic-Depressive Pixie Dream Girl" to use wattsup's phrase, but like anything Louie does, was rendered such a real and complex person, totally different from the pop-cultural cliche of the MPDG that exists as a male wish-fulfillment fantasy.

Spoiler

I think we're definitely supposed to take away from this episode that Liz, although electrically charismatic, has a genuine mental illness and isn't on medication (most likely is self-medicating with alcohol). The come-down from her manic episode after she uttered "I'm having too good of a time" was heartbreaking, Louie finally, unequivocally saw the wells of pain burgeoning over the edges of the high. And how fitting that it comes after reaching the highest high, literally, of the night.

How anyone could watch those two episodes and dispute the show's excellence is beyond me.

It goes without saying that the show is perfectly directed and edited, but this past episode was especially perfect, all the elements of filmmaking were utilized to heighten the action to something near-transcendent. Louis CK is just operating on an entirely different plane of creativity, and it is downright awe-inspiring to watch this season unfold.

As a side note, this episode made me madly yearn for another taste of Russ & Daughters, which is just as incredible as that orgiastic scene made it out to be.

[Foam]

Is any other director on air using style with as much sophistication as C.K. did in that scene where he's looking for his daughter in the gym? This wipes the floor with anything I've seen on Mad Men or Breaking Bad or Six Feet Under or any other show I've heard listed off as having Great Cinema-quality directing.

[Aside: Chloe has not looked that good since Kids, seventeen years ago. I think short blonde hair is her thing.]

[Foam]

David Lynch! Basically playing one of the mysterious-absurd studio execs of Mulholland Drive. Perfect.

[jorencain]

Yeah - it was great. As soon as Louie walked into the lobby, I thought, "this looks like something out of David Lynch." It completely set up the next scene in the office, and I was expecting to see Lynch behind the office desk. I can't wait to see how next week's episode wraps this up.

Louis CK needs to direct a film....OK, wait. It turns out he directed "Pootie Tang." Well, he needs to direct a new one, ASAP.

[dx23]

Louis C.K. to delay show's 4th season until 2014

[Cold Bishop]

Returning unexpectedly May 5

[domino harvey]

Going from Blu-rays of the first two seasons to a MOD DVD-r only release for the third

[mfunk9786]

I'll still buy it for the commentary tracks, but that sure is disappointing, as it's perhaps the best season of any show in the last decade.

[DarkImbecile]

Between this and several smaller (yet excellent) movies getting DVD-only releases, I'm seriously concerned about the future of physical media for quality products without an enormous audience. Is blu-ray really so much more of an investment than DVD that distribution of quality versions of anything not featuring superheroes or animated talking animals is doomed to an inferior presentation? If anything, the audience for those ultra-popular movies are less likely to care about the quality of the image than the people who'd pay for Louie or Enemy on blu-ray.

I get that streaming is the way of the future, but until Netflix et. al. can stream at the level of quality the people who actually care about these films and shows would appreciate, this is going to be a grim period if only the films with widest releases get any quality distribution. Until then, why not license these films to boutique distributors who have the built-in audience to give some of these the exposure they deserve?

/grumblegrumblegetoffmylawn

[wattsup32]

Are people here still watching?

[swo17]

Yes, though I haven't caught this week's episodes yet. Last week's were great. And Charles Grodin!

[LQ]

Absolutely, I'm so glad to have it back. It's a bit odd to just nonchalantly expect consistent excellence and freshness (and hilarity) from a show, but Louie has put me in that exact position. Each episode so far has been fantastic - laugh-out-loud funny, thoughtful, exquisitely shot, perfectly written. Looking forward to seeing how the Elevator series plays out.

Spoiler

I assume there's no greater fear for a parent than losing your kid (even briefly); I'm not a parent but that sequence in the Elevator episode was terribly distressing!

Here's a little interview with Sarah Baker about her role in "So Did the Fat Lady", which she knocked out of the park in spectacular fashion.

[salad]

I enjoyed seeing Eszter Balint again. The first part of that episode was harrowing.

[Murdoch]

Just been catching up with the new season and this has cemented itself as by far, like a significant stretch, the best comedy on television. The combination of absurdism (the garbage men invading Louie's apartment, for example) and brutal honesty (the "fat girl" rant, as it's being called) put this in its own category. I struggled with the first two seasons honestly, however I loved the third season. After the brilliant "New Year's Eve," which made me shake my head in disbelief over the emotional and comedic backflips it pulled off, I was hooked and this season has just continued CK's reign of genius. Sorry for the hyperbole, but good TV comedies feel like they're in short supply right now outside of this and Broad City.

[mfunk9786]

I've been really enjoying the scenes when FX reminds us that the show is Viewer Discretion Advised

[manicsounds]

Was waiting around for some announcement for the third season of Louie on blu-ray and just noticed it was released but on DVD only.
Are there any extras on the DVD-R set, or is it barebones like most other MOD releases?