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Baskets: Zach Galifianakis plays a failing clown on a new FX show. And it's amazing.

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barik

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baskets-fx-series-zach-galifianakis.jpg


Baskets is created by Galifianakis, Louis C.K. and Jonathan Krisel (Tim & Eric, Portlandia), in which Zach plays a clown, who's series of bad decisions force him into becoming a rodeo clown. Very absurd and deadpan, but also very real and depressing at times, and beautifully shot. If you enjoy Galifianakis' standup, or Louie, you might like this.

There's only been two episodes so far, ten episodes for the first season (no word on a second season yet).

Check out a trailer here!

edit: thursdays on FX
 

HeySeuss

Member
Man I wondered why this show didn't have a thread. Was watching it last week and really enjoyed it. I missed the second episode though and I couldn't stay up for the replay.

The insurance chick is going to be an awesome character. Her deliver is great so far, especially the drive thru scene where she repeats everything pretty much verbatim back and forth.

And Louie Anderson as his mom is amazing.

SCHWEPPES!
 

barik

Member
And Louie Anderson as his mom is amazing.

I loved this. Such a bizarre choice, but it really works.

I don't know if I can watch it. I love Louie, but I feel this is going to be some serious cringe comedy.

Actually it's really not that awkward or cringe-based. There's a few uncomfortable moments but the overall feel is nowhere near British Office-levels, those scenes are often too silly and absurd to get too affected by how uncomfortable they would be in real life. I haven't had one of those reactions so far, and I'm really susceptible to them as well.
 

HeySeuss

Member
I loved this. Such a bizarre choice, but it really works.


Actually it's really not that awkward or cringe-based. There's a few uncomfortable moments but the overall feel is nowhere near British Office-levels, those scenes are often too silly and absurd to get too affected by how uncomfortable they would be in real life. I haven't had one of those reactions so far, and I'm really susceptible to them as well.


It was so random that I convinced myself that I was imagining things until the end credits confirmed my suspicions.

But I agree that it's not cringe comedy, which is surprising given that kinda Galifianakis' forte. We'll see how bad it gets but that doesn't really bother me. I certainly understand why it would put people off tho.
 
Oh my God, thank you for posting this thread. This sounds right up my alley! Especially a big fan of Louie, and this sounds like it's going to feel like it comes from the same "world".
 

barik

Member
Also, Zach plays his own twin brother on the show, which is a character he's used before (Seth Galifianakis), in his standup and as an extra feature on one of his DVDs. The compilation of outtakes from his interview is still one of the funniest things I've seen in my life. Terrible quality, but I can't find the Youtube version anymore.

Oh my God, thank you for posting this thread. This sounds right up my alley! Especially a big fan of Louie, and this sounds like it's going to feel like it comes from the same "world".

Thanks man! I really want this show to be a hit so the more viewers the better.
 

Slacker

Member
Zach told the story about Louie Anderson on the Marc Maron podcast. He said he and Louis CK were talking about who to cast as the mother, and Zach said in his head he pictured her sounding like Louie Anderson. Louis CK said something like "Well let's call Louie" and made it happen.
 

jph139

Member
First episode was alright, but the second really hit the mark for me. I think Martha is probably the funniest part of the show, though - she's just so bland and neutral and pleasant that it goes all the way around to ridiculous. Trying to sell a Costco membership in order to save her job so that her boss doesn't have to deal with the stress of firing her... like, holy shit, that's gold.
 
I read the thread title as "falling" and pictured 30 minutes nonstop of him falling in to a void like Woody's nightmare in Toy Story.
 

Couleurs

Member
I didn't hear about the show until seeing this thread, so this was a nice surprise since I love Zach's deadpan/awkward style of comedy. The first two episodes were decent, so I'm on board for the rest of the season.
 

Valhelm

contribute something
This show suffers from "Last Man on Earth" syndrome. A great premise, cast, and pilot are wasted on a traditional one-camera sitcom. Baskets would be a lot better and more compelling if it had a clearer plot, akin to the Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret or even Silicon Valley.

Right now, it just seems to be meandering and aimless. I like Baskets and Penelope, but the rest of the cast is either boring or one-note. The jokes are so good that it's a shame that the clearly talented writing staff have not taken the series in a more worthwhile direction.
 
yeah I liked the first episode.

The roller blading and crying was pretty funny. Reminded me of Kenny Powers on his jet ski and crying.
 

RobotVM

Member
Just watched the first two episodes. It is really good. I couldn't stop laughing when Chip's mom thought Martha was having a nervous breakdown in the bathroom.
 

barik

Member
Great episode. Some scenes leant a bit much on the parallels between characters (and just on the overall symbolism), but it still felt genuine and very melancholic without feeling forced.
 
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