I just caught the latest episode of Louie. For those who are already fans, if you do a search on youtube for “Opie and Anthony – discuss Louie” you will find an audio clip from the Opie and Anthony Radio show where Louie discusses the show. He details about how he muscled his way into having nearly autonomous control over the series by outright refusing any type of concession with FX. He discussed the theme music, how difficult it was to get the proper licensing to use it and how he screwed a no name musician out of thousands of dollars by circumventing the record labels. He also explained how the show’s intro was filmed and recounts the specific moment that he knew that the show would get picked up.
For those of you who have not watched the show, I recommend it. It is very different from his previous TV project “Lucky Louie” and I suggest that you try to go into it without any expectations. The show is not pure comedy, and frankly, a lot of it won’t make you laugh at all. But it does a fantastic job of taking life’s most awkward moments, all of which are unusual but relatable, and showing how funny they actually are. It’s kind of like Seinfeld, but without the incessant laugh track and overacting characters.
The most recent episode chronicled a story about Louie and Joan Rivers. Joan was playing Atlantic City at the same time as Louie and they ended up shooting the breeze one night after doing their acts. This episode is notable because it was the first time that I ever foresaw what was going to happen. I knew from the moment that Joan showed up in the episode that they were going to hook up.
The show is highly unusual and exceedingly difficult to predict; making it a rarity among the TV minutia. I typically spend most of the episode trying to figure out what parts of the show are actually true – stories from Louie’s past – and which ones he has written for the show. This was an easy one to figure out, and for the first time I am actually somewhat disappointed. Fortunately for Louie (and he has specifically stated this), he is happy that I don’t like part of the show. In fact, if he could he probably would tell me to go sit and spin, while in the next sentence admitting that it was sort of a cop out ending.
And as much as I am enjoying the show, I am starting to see what may be the end of things. He revealed on O&A that he has a rather slapdash method of filming the show; often filming small pieces of stories and bits that are incomplete or don’t have a place in a particular episode. This lack of structure is starting to manifest itself in the show and it may confuse viewers. In the most recent episode, the first scene is him doing standup on stage at The Cellar, followed by the into featuring him walking into The Cellar, and the next scene he is in Atlantic City. This won’t alienate the Louie CK fan or the show’s faithful, but it may hinder its ability to gain new viewers. Its not that the show is sloppily filmed or edited, but viewers are used to much more structure out of their televison shows and this could become an issue eventually.
This criticism aside, the show has been smart, edgy and astonishingly untamed. One softball episode isn’t going to stifle my excitement for the next episode or my support for the series, since the show has been so phenomenal that the smallest hint of mediocrity sticks out like a sore thumb. I suppose that my criticisms are actually quite a compliment when fully considered.
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