caught up with louie now. so good, loved s3. interesting how he cut out near all the standup stuff in the second half of that season - but also the amazing louieeeeeeee opening (and even the even more amazing jazz in that one late show episode) which is less cool.
favourite episodes (spoilers)
bully (s1) - maybe a bit too on the nose but i loved the very sympathetic exploration of how far the rabbit hole different problems go, from the son, to the father, all having issues tat makes them that way, and the scene in the diner was very well done.
night out (s1) - oh god i related too much to that awkward nightclub scene with louie being utterly clueless and the journey into feeling out of place into realizing he has solace with his kids is so beautiful
eddie (s2) - so sad and i love that the show was willing to criticize louie's perspective. stanhope is great and it does suicide in such a real, honest way instead of blaring emotional music and having dramatic speeches.
duckling (s2) - obvious one but amazing. the ending made me smile so fucking much and was so beautiful but i also thought it was real powerful how louie and the other entertainers tried to help to the soldiers deal with the situation and relate to them through art, despite the difficulties of distance.
miami (s3) - perfect example of how great this show is at self-contained storytelling. single episode of twenty minutes perfectly establishing his alienation in a miami full of beautiful people, showing the power of a great connection and his desire to be valued, then then pulling back and using it to comment on the nature of relationships these days in a hilarious scene. so well shot and acted.
daddy's girlfriend pt.2 (s3) - super sad but great look at the highs and lows of a certain kind of personality as well as hilariously exposing louie's anxiety at this kind of experience leading him to awkwardly put on a dress and accept the tape recorder. i love how it just takes you through a single night too, big fan of that kind of storytelling.
that list makes it sound like i only care when it's emotional but not really, it's just what stands out most. there's so many amazing jokes like that fucking never kid in his shit bath and ranting about a rug and screaming whoooo are you to his bemused children and his kids joke about the gorilla and the opera and everything between him and pam adlon and the worlds longest bailout.gif.
now i look up when it's returning and it's not till 2014 which sucks
glad you're enjoying Louie! I will say: the stand-up portions in his episodes aren't his best bits ever. not even close. I still think they're great. however, stand-up in general benefits greatly from a long-form presentation, where a performer gets a real rhythm going. The stand-up in Louie has always appeared to simply serve as an entry into a short film, but Louie CK's stand-up is a work of its own. if that distinction makes sense.
yeah i'm not going to write off his standup completely based on louie, don't worry. i haven't given it a chance and i definitely appreciate the greatness of a standup performance building upon itself over the course of the show from the very few i've seen. plus it grew on me as i watched it and got used to his character and style.
i was just a bit surprised as he's normally talked about as this super smart comedian yet his stuff is really vulgar. i mean not that you have to talk about social problems and politics all the time to be smart - though i actually liked his rants about "white people/first world/entitled kids problems" most - but lots of masturbation or gross out jokes and children suck from an adults perspective isn't really my thing however well he presents them. especially when he'll do a bit about how annoying children are if you think about it then in the dramatic portions he'll capture the same emotion so much better and with more nuance or wit.