Avenue 5 - Iannucci, HBO

[Mobius]

Iannucci's written a comedy set in space for HBO called Avenue 5.

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Emu0I2hNfUk

Looks shit but hopefully that's just because all trailers are shit. Hugh Laurie Rebecca Front and a load of people from Thick Of It/Veep world am guessing it's going to be satire in space. That trailer makes it look pretty crap but surely it won't be crap?

[Twit 2]

It's just Veep. No need for it to be in space, is there? The dialogue would be the same if it were set in a sewage works. Bet it's got loads of shakey cam and random zooms, like it's the year 2000, cos he can't direct to save his life. Why do AI and Chris Morris think they're directors? Fucksake...

[Jumblegraws]

Zach Woods looks much better with that hairdo

[rasta-spouse]

Looks expensive. Hope the comedy doesn't suffer as production gets bigger.

Also hope Will Smith isn't on the writing team.

[Shaky]

Oof, not a good trailer. Hopefully they've just focused on some of the baser, more obvious jokes there. And I still can't wrap my ears around Hugh's American accent. He always sounds like he's doing a Fry & Laurie bit.

[Jim Bob]

Oh no, not another vision of the future where everyone wears bright primary colours!  Bloody sick of it, mate.

I quite liked the last gag of the trailer, but other than that, if it was this trailer's job to make me not want to watch the show itself, then fair play because it was a resounding success on that front.

[phantom_power]

I thought it looked pretty good. Sort of Veep meets Upstairs Downstairs with maybe some interesting sci-fi ideas thrown in as well. Gives a flavour of the show without chucking away all the good jokes (hopefully). Iannucci is a pretty safe bet and the cast is great

[dissolute ocelot]

This does not make it seem promising either: https://www.hbo.com/hbo-news/avenue-5-comedy-series

While there does seem to be a touch of Zapp Brannigan in the description of Laurie's character (good), I also get visions of the space future satires from Wall-E and Doctor Who from the trailer (bad). But it's Hugh Laurie in space, FFS.

[rasta-spouse]

Why do AI and Chris Morris think they're directors? Fucksake...

I always felt that TTOI's dogme-on-steroids was mostly overcompensation for Iannucci's fear of making directorial choices. Luckily the "throwing as much shit as possible at the wall" style really worked with the content of the show. But I think this same style really weakened the Stalin film. And there was no need for Morris to continue the Veep style for The Day Shall Come, not only was the film blanderoo but it also really suffered from the improvisational elements (elements which really work for Apatow).

One would think after a decade these guys would switch it up a bit and be bolder, but no. No growth. Also, Iannucci seems to be the king of delegating and as time goes on the more his sense of humour (the main reason why I watch his stuff) is removed from the final product. Blander and blander.

But I'm still hoping that HBO trailer was edited by (or even aimed at) some frat boy fresh out of USC with a shelf full of Seth Rogen films.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I thought it looked pretty good. Sort of Veep meets Upstairs Downstairs with maybe some interesting sci-fi ideas thrown in as well. Gives a flavour of the show without chucking away all the good jokes (hopefully). Iannucci is a pretty safe bet and the cast is great

I thought that too, sure the trailer wasn't in any way hilarious but it gives you the set up and I'm sure Iannucci will build on all of the ideas he sets up over the course of the series.

[phantom_power]

It's just Veep. No need for it to be in space, is there? The dialogue would be the same if it were set in a sewage works. Bet it's got loads of shakey cam and random zooms, like it's the year 2000, cos he can't direct to save his life. Why do AI and Chris Morris think they're directors? Fucksake...

I would say a lot of directing comedy is about getting performances from the actors and editing the jokes to get the timing right. The shot compositions are a bit by-the-by really, unless you are doing visual comedy

[up_the_hampipe]

Hugh Laurie's American accent sounds a bit ropey in this. Still, I love almost all things Armando so I have faith. Zach Woods and Rebecca Front being in the trailer is promising enough.

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

Hugh Laurie + Rebecca Front are enough to get me to check it out but as already said i hope there's a lot more to it than the trailer lets on. Veep In Space doesn't exactly leap off the page.

[Twit 2]

I would say a lot of directing comedy is about getting performances from the actors and editing the jokes to get the timing right. The shot compositions are a bit by-the-by really, unless you are doing visual comedy

I find their lack of composition and pre-meditated camera movement distracts from the comedy performances. If anything, ditching the shaky cam style and just going for basic static shots would serve it better.

Also, it's perfectly possible to make well directed non-visual comedy, for example Woody Allen's stuff is always beautifully shot by some famous cinematographer.

[Norton Canes]

Love the Judd/Trump gag!

[littlefoot]

It's Iannucci. It's got Laurie and Front in it. It's on HBO.

Only a fool wouldn't at least check out episode one.

(Trailer's shit, though.)

[shh]

Not looking good is it. Event Front's American? I think I read Finnemore was involved, and Kerry from this country has a role of some sort I think, so worth a watch.

[Malcy]

Another trailer. Out Jan 19th.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=w8Zr3f-_Ft8

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

Hmm.

[Jumblegraws]

It has a real pandering feel about it but that's probably the work of the marketing team. I distinctly remember one of the trailers for Veep having more in common tonally with a preview for Sex and the City 2 than the actual show.

[alan nagsworth]

Wow, they really used the "is this the figure or a phone number" joke. Fucking hell, atrocious gag.

I was trying very hard to view this as I would hope it to be: A bad trailer with a load of zany cuts with WHUMP sound effects on all the "shit haha that guy dead!" bits that they want people to fall over themselves laughing at, when in reality the show will have a lot more smart nuance to the catastrophe. You know, like the stuff that makes all other Iannucci stuff so good. But it's hard, because it doesn't look like it's going to be that. It looks like Iannucci was asked to write a catastrophe comedy with a load of zany cuts with WHUMP sound effects on all the "shit haha that guy dead!" bits.

[jimboslice]

Josh Gad is in it so it's inevitably going to be shit.

[Dewt]

Trailer is the absolute epitome of this: https://twitter.com/nsilverberg/status/1140300647922831361

And you can't blame it on just being a bad trailer, because this content is in it. The trailer isn't inventing content. Somebody sat down and wrote the bad jokes that are in it.

[BlodwynPig]

The trailer music is awful too. Bland.

Is that the girl from Sugar Rush - big name now?

Not funny. Gloss on a developing shit stain of his twilight career

[Bazooka]

The trailer music is awful too. Bland.

Is that the girl from Sugar Rush - big name now?

Not funny. Gloss on a developing shit stain of his twilight career

There was a trailer?  I just close my eyes and cry these days, as I hear the same trailer song again again again again etc etc. There is some meta human out there that has created the perfect  trailer sound, so perfect that you have no interest in even researching what God created it.

[samadriel]

The meta human is... a god?

[olliebean]

A couple more trailers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU4RVIMbCPU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD66KWwFBNA

The second one is mostly bits we've seen in the previous trailers, but the first one is entirely new.

[Zetetic]

What exactly is the bar for stripping someone of an OBE?

[Dewt]

Fuck. Is this Iannucci trying to write something that aims low, for that sweet syndication cash?

[Jim Bob]

What exactly is the bar for stripping someone of an OBE?

The Queen's Corkers - a royalty themed strip bar down in Soho.