My wife and I blew through the whole series over the last few weeks. I had absolutely zero interest in watching it, although people have been telling me for years that it's good. My wife and I alternate picking shows to watch, and this was her pick so I had no choice. I'm glad she did, because I ended up really enjoying it.
A few thoughts:
- Susie really steals the show for me. The actress is amazing. She does a fantastic job bouncing between drama and comedy.
- That said, Lenny is my favorite character overall. The actor is fan-fucking-tastic. It's almost eerie comparing his performance to videos of the real Lenny Bruce. He's used in the show just the perfect amount; he shows up when appropriate, and is gone before he wears out his welcome.
- If you've ever watched Gilmore Girls, you can really see the similarities and, I assume, limitations of the creator of both shows. Midge is basically Lorelai Gilmore. The witty, fast-talking conversations get old quickly.
- The magician and his whole storyline is dumb. Obviously the show is fiction, but it's always been based in the real world. Then this magician pops up who is literally doing magic, as in Harry Potter style magic. What the fuck is that?
- I'm torn on the development of the side characters. Joel and Rose have both been developed really well in believable ways. Both were unlikeable at the start (especially Joel) without much depth (especially Rose), but they've both been turned into deep, more likeable characters. On the other hand, Abe went from a brilliant-yet-socially-awkward professor to a cartoon of a man who runs away from old women and is confused by a communion wafer. I got a chuckle out of the whole thing, but it's really ridiculous to think that the Abe from season 1 would be wondering and worrying so much about a communion wafer.
- Midge is a little too perfect. Again, it gets a bit annoying. I understand she's supposed to be a great comic, but by season 3 and 4 she can apparently just get in front of any audience at any moment and deliver an off-the-cuff hilarious routine. The few times she's shown as not succeeding on stage in season 3 and 4, it's not because her comedy is bad, but because it's too good (e.g., making Jackie Kennedy cry, outing Shy Baldwin). She'd be a much more believable, developed, and less annoying character if there were a bit more focus on her struggles with the actual comedy. I just don't think Palladino can write characters like that, though.
