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American Vandal Season 2 - "The Turd Burglar"

Started by Ja'moke, August 21, 2018, 04:27:38 PM

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Ja'moke

The first trailer for American Vandal Season 2 is out: https://youtu.be/jwrr6aIWeus

Full season is out September 14 on Netflix.

When I first heard about this show I thought it seemed like quite a funny idea for a one-off sketch, and I expected the series to run out of jokes after the first episode, but I ended up really enjoying the entirety of the first season. I think it helped that they actually made the mystery in itself compelling, despite being about a kid drawing dicks, and so it wasn't just a well-written spoof of true crime docs, but also a show you could invest in the story and characters.

Whether they can pull it off again for a second season? We shall soon find out!

BeardFaceMan

I enjoyed the first season but it could have done with being a few epsiodes shorter, the idea had juuuust about worn its welcome by the end. Looking forward to the new series.

Quick question regarding season 1 as I dont watch any true crime docs - was it part of the spoof that you dont find out who did it at the end because thats whats happens with true crime docs? I imagine most true crime docs are just going over details and not really revealing anything?

Utter Shit

Perhaps I'm misremembering it but I thought it was made explicit that the main bloke did it? Fantastic show anyway, incredibly well done.

Ja'moke

Nah, it was one of the av club girls that did it. But the main dude ended up fucking up again after he had his name cleared because he went back and graffitied a cock on one of his teacher's driveways or something... I think.

chveik

Quote from: Ja'moke on August 21, 2018, 05:19:33 PM
Nah, it was one of the av club girls that did it. But the main dude ended up fucking up again after he had his name cleared because he went back and graffitied a cock on one of his teacher's driveways or something... I think.

Yes, that's it.
This is great news, the first season was really entertaining.

Utter Shit

Quote from: Ja'moke on August 21, 2018, 05:19:33 PM
Nah, it was one of the av club girls that did it. But the main dude ended up fucking up again after he had his name cleared because he went back and graffitied a cock on one of his teacher's driveways or something... I think.

Oh yeah I remember now. I knew it ended with him getting caught drawing dicks

up_the_hampipe

I was really impressed about how they managed to turn what could have just been an SNL sketch into a gripping story. I'll definitely give the second season a go.

I realise I've just reiterated what Ja'moke said in less words, but that's all there is to say.

QDRPHNC

Did I imagine it or does the choir type singing at the end of the trailer go "shiiiiii-iiiii-it"?

First series was great, although this one looks slicker and more self aware. We shall see.

Quote from: QDRPHNC on August 21, 2018, 09:41:56 PM
Did I imagine it or does the choir type singing at the end of the trailer go "shiiiiii-iiiii-it"?

Haha, I replayed the clip as I heard the same thing

chveik


Pseudopath

Quote from: chveik on September 15, 2018, 05:28:54 AM
Great season. It's truly depressing though.

Blimey...you weren't exaggerating, were you? It's certainly a lot lighter on laughs than Season 1, but still beautifully put together, utterly convincing and binge-watch perfection.

Without the jokes and subversion of the genre, it really does make you question the whole point of the exercise though.

Noodle Lizard

Shit-related stuff kind of turns my stomach.  The idea of shitting yourself is funny in theory, but I really don't like looking at it.  Even that trailer didn't make me very happy.  Loved the first season though, think I could pull through?

Pseudopath

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on September 15, 2018, 10:37:27 PM
Shit-related stuff kind of turns my stomach.  The idea of shitting yourself is funny in theory, but I really don't like looking at it.  Even that trailer didn't make me very happy.  Loved the first season though, think I could pull through?

I'd imagine you might struggle with some of the diarrhoea scenes, which are fairly graphic. However, they're so over-the-top you might quickly become desensitised.

Moribunderast

Man, this show is so good. Just a perfect parody of the glut of true crime docs and podcasts that we've had over the past few years, with sly references that fans of the genre will pick up along the way. I'd have to go back and re-watch the first season to say which I liked better - this one felt less funny but I think the ending had a bigger impact. That last episode was really compelling, not just for the storytelling but for how it included enough realism in an otherwise ludicrous premise. I often think about how horrible it must be to go to school nowadays with social media the way it is and this show is excellent at picking that apart, mostly for jokes but obviously in that last episode as a nod of empathy too.

The cast are pretty much uniformly excellent, even just the kids who sporadically turn up as talking heads. The fella that played DeMarcus was hilarious.

I feel like this show is very underrated - maybe a victim of how much content Netflix puts out. I never heard anybody talking about the first season and I've heard nothing about this season leading in. It's fucking great and my friends are going to have to deal with me hounding them until they give it a go.

Pseudopath

Quote from: Moribunderast on September 16, 2018, 09:19:48 AM
The cast are pretty much uniformly excellent, even just the kids who sporadically turn up as talking heads.

You've just reminded me of the 10-year old Jewish kid who Kevin drafts into the Horsehead Collective. His awkward glances to camera were glorious.

Ferris

Really enjoyed the first season, this one was just as good. Moved away from the true crime/gags per minute and did something a bit deeper (while still being full of turd jokes).

Recommend.

c

Agree this is excellent. Almost gave up after the first 20 mins because it looked like they had reverted to toilet humour but that's not the case. The graphic images of crap aren't forever replayed, so the grossness passes quickly.

Only (non) complaint is that I wish they'd used that Maximum Christian character more. He has so much potential as a comic character, partly because the actor played him with such conviction.   

Ja'moke

Pretty much agree with everyone else. Less funny than the first season, and after the first couple of episodes I thought it was going to be a case of disappointing returns. But the story became really engaging and kinda grim. Excellent performances again too.

Noodle Lizard

Hmm.  I dunno about this one.  I was okay with it being less funny (although it had a few bits early on which were nearly as good as anything from S1), and for a while in the middle it was genuinely intriguing.  By the end, though, it felt more like I was watching some kind of PSA for long stretches, and the finale itself felt incredibly po-faced and preachy, and a bit embarrassingly corny by the very end.  With the conceit of it being a high school production largely absent, that kind of thing is far less forgivable.

So, not bad, but significantly less enjoyable than the first one.

c

Quote from: Noodle Lizard on September 18, 2018, 11:15:13 PM
Hmm.  I dunno about this one.  I was okay with it being less funny (although it had a few bits early on which were nearly as good as anything from S1), and for a while in the middle it was genuinely intriguing.  By the end, though, it felt more like I was watching some kind of PSA for long stretches, and the finale itself felt incredibly po-faced and preachy, and a bit embarrassingly corny by the very end.  With the conceit of it being a high school production largely absent, that kind of thing is far less forgivable.

So, not bad, but significantly less enjoyable than the first one.

Yeah the preachy ending was a shame. Felt like filler.

I don't know what a PSA is.

Ferris

Quote from: c on September 19, 2018, 07:56:21 AM
Yeah the preachy ending was a shame. Felt like filler.

I don't know what a PSA is.

Public Service Announcement. Think "government short film", but the message is saccharine and over the top preachy.

c

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on September 19, 2018, 05:34:51 PM
Public Service Announcement. Think "government short film", but the message is saccharine and over the top preachy.

I thank you.

Yes it was exactly that. It was quite jarring in tone, what with the whole premise of the show being a knowing and somewhat cynical pastiche.


notjosh

I've not been keeping up with true crime docs - was this series a parody of anything specific? I'm rewatching the first series now and though it parodies a lot of true crime tropes it's very explicitly based on Serial, especially Peter's narration. The second series felt like it was much more focused on the mystery and there weren't many jokes based on style.

Plus, though it was a very engaging, well-told story, the crime at the centre of it is pretty horrible and nowhere near as pointlessly childish as the dicks, so the juxtaposition between stupid crime and serious storytelling didn't work anywhere near as well. It felt like we were supposed to find people saying "Turd Burglar" funny in the same way that "ball hairs" was funny in the first series, which I didn't. There weren't any big twists as good as: "He claimed he got a hand job from Sarah Pearson" "Wait... what?"

Noodle Lizard

Yes, I agree with that.  In the first season, there was a lot of humor derived from people somberly talking about "who did the dicks", and how deep the rabbit hole went while investigating such a puerile prank which didn't seriously affect anyone.  There really isn't much humor to be derived from The Brownout unless you really do just think poop is funny.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

I just finished it this evening. I don't really have anything to add to what's already been said. It was well made and gripping, but tripped itself up by making the crime genuinely quite horrible. It seems in character for the hosts to investigate something bigger and more serious, but it's just not that funny.

Also, I found it distracting that Lou was Lionel from Dear White People

BritishHobo

Caned season one of this in the last couple of days. I couldn't believe how genuinely engrossing it was. I was open-mouthed at how far Peter went while giving an objective look at Sam, and a bit devastated by the ending.

Anyway, rwo episodes in on this, and it already feels absolutely brutal. What it's already starting to say about being a nice kid who stands by for years while another kid has all feeling bullied out of them feels like nothing I've seen before.

Z

Season 2 isn't as good, is it? More than the topic of the crime I think it's missing any properly standout performances like that Jimmy Tatro guy in season one.


Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: Z on October 14, 2018, 06:21:53 PM
I think it's missing any properly standout performances like that Jimmy Tatro guy in season one.
I wouldn't say that. The main suspect bloke was as memorable as his first series counterpart (particularly with his overly mannered pronunciation of 'horchata') while being almost completely different.

cliggg

I really liked the first season of this but can't bring myself to watch the second season as the trailer I saw on Netflix had a close up of poo and that makes me gag always. I love some good gore in horror movies but show me some fake poo and I'm on the verge of puking. Can someone tell me do they show much poo or people pooing?