Upload (Greg Daniels Afterlife Show)

[Small Man Big Horse]

This is the latest comedy/drama (or Mardycom, as I call them) from Greg "King of the Hill / The Office / Parks and Recs / A US version of Friday Night Dinner which didn't get past the pilot stage" Daniels, in which Robbie Amell is killed in a car accident and ends up in a virtual reality style heaven that's paid for by his girlfriend. I've only seen the first episode so far and it's not got that much laugh out loud material in it but I'm liking the world building, and I'm looking forward to seeing how everything pans out.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I'm three episodes in now and still enjoying it, and the following two episodes were definitely funnier than the first as we saw more of Nathan's life in the afterlife, and his funeral was a grim delight too.

[lankyguy95]

I'll give it a go solely on the basis of Greg Daniels.

[Mister Six]

The thought of a capitalist afterlife stresses me out so much I don't want to watch this. Is that a bad reason to not bother?

[olliebean]

The thought of a capitalist afterlife stresses me out so much I don't want to watch this. Is that a bad reason to not bother?

It doesn't go unaddressed.

[phes]

Cheers for this. Lots of influences and ideas in that first episode to reflect on with a rewatch but most importantly I properly laughed on several occasions. Good start!

[phes]

On episode 6 now. This is excellent. Funny, clever, layered. Greg Daniels is brilliant, isn't he

[Small Man Big Horse]

On episode 6 now. This is excellent. Funny, clever, layered. Greg Daniels is brilliant, isn't he

I'm only up to episode 5 but I agree completely, I love how inventive, smart and funny it is, all the while having characters I really, really like too.

I only skimmed it but the AV Club review was a bit mixed which I'm really surprised by, it was of the complete series but unless they tank the ending I think they'll definitely have got it wrong this time around.

[dissolute ocelot]

Just to add that in the UK it's on Amazon Prime, the sort of evil mega corporation that is doubtless planning to upload our souls to the cloud. Not watched yet, but intend to.

[peanutbutter]

Been enjoying this, it's often not very funny but it's got the characters down to a tee almost from the get go.

They do a very good job walking a tightrope with Ingrid throughout the season, I feel like a lot of the plot reveals and advancements are handled a lot better than more serious attempts at a similar premise would do too tbh.

[StewartLeehaslethimselfgo]

One comparison I'll make to The Good Place is the CGI is fantastic in this, not sure what the budget difference is

[Small Man Big Horse]

I was really enjoying this until the final episode, which had quite the tonal shift and was a little too plot heavy for my liking. The decision to (Major Spoilers Ahead)

Spoiler alert

make Nathan a cold blooded vicious murderer isn't one I'm happy with either, okay, he thought he was protecting Nora's life but he could have just trapped the attempted killer in the lift, or knocked him unconscious, but to dispatch him in the way he did was far too brutal and after doing such a thing I'm not even sure I want him to end up with her. If it comes back for a second season they may of course address this, but if it is cancelled after one season it's a pretty bloody bleak ending to the show

[close]

as well.

[Tony Tony Tony]

Dipped into this, and currently half way through, after a recommendation from a US colleague of mine, pretty much agree with the posts above in that it is worth a watch and raises a smile or two if not too many guffaws.

I thought a lot of the laughs came from the interaction with the A.I. guy played by Owen Daniels. It felt like his

Spoiler alert

pisspoor Irish accent when golf caddying

[close]

was very much deliberate and his look up at Nathan when

Spoiler alert

lint brushing his trousers

[close]

was priceless.

I looked Daniels up on IMDB and saw he will appear in the upcoming Greg Daniels offering Space Force, alongside CaB fave Steve Carell, which looks promising if in the same vein as Upload. 

EDIT: Just noticed that Owen Daniels looks to be Greg Daniels son, how did I miss that?

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Also, Paul Lieberstein is Greg Daniels' brother-in-law, and, for a while, Angela Kinsey was married to The Office writer Warren Lieberstein, making her his sister-in-law.

[Tony Tony Tony]

Also, Paul Lieberstein is Greg Daniels' brother-in-law, and, for a while, Angela Kinsey was married to The Office writer Warren Lieberstein, making her his sister-in-law.

Indeed, a more cynical type might accuse of nepotism were it not for their work being well up to scratch.

[peanutbutter]

I was really enjoying this until the final episode, which had quite the tonal shift and was a little too plot heavy for my liking. The decision to (Major Spoilers Ahead)

Spoiler alert

make Nathan a cold blooded vicious murderer isn't one I'm happy with either, okay, he thought he was protecting Nora's life but he could have just trapped the attempted killer in the lift, or knocked him unconscious, but to dispatch him in the way he did was far too brutal and after doing such a thing I'm not even sure I want him to end up with her. If it comes back for a second season they may of course address this, but if it is cancelled after one season it's a pretty bloody bleak ending to the show

[close]

as well.

Isn't the underlying thing here that he isn't necessarily a very nice guy? The 2gig limit excused a good bit of this for me though, like, if you're working to solve a thing under very limited resources you'll just go with the most certain way you can. There's a decent bit of mileage in that as a personality trait actually, like, the code he wrote for the cheaper option might have some deeply inhumane shit in it.

Tbh my biggest concern with the series is that it gets overly caught up on the narrative around the concept. I'm surprised with how engaging I found it but he's so fucking good at writing characters that I'd rather it focused more on that side of things that get lost in drama.



Anyways, despite the very meh critical reception (which I really don't get at all) I'd say a second season is a lock. The initial IMDb response (8.3 from 5.3k votes) is really strong by Amazon standards.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Isn't the underlying thing here that he isn't necessarily a very nice guy? The 2gig limit excused a good bit of this for me though, like, if you're working to solve a thing under very limited resources you'll just go with the most certain way you can. There's a decent bit of mileage in that as a personality trait actually, like, the code he wrote for the cheaper option might have some deeply inhumane shit in it.

Tbh my biggest concern with the series is that it gets overly caught up on the narrative around the concept. I'm surprised with how engaging I found it but he's so fucking good at writing characters that I'd rather it focused more on that side of things that get lost in drama.

You're not wrong

Spoiler alert

and him being a bit of a shit is definitely a big part of the reveal, but the killing was so brutal that it's made me really change how I feel about the character

[close]

.

Anyways, despite the very meh critical reception (which I really don't get at all) I'd say a second season is a lock. The initial IMDb response (8.3 from 5.3k votes) is really strong by Amazon standards.

I hope you're right as I do want to see more of the show, and just hope they address the concerns I have if they do.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

They started writing the second season a few weeks ago.

[phes]

Excellent. C'mon guys, Ricky would have this nailed by now!

[StewartLeehaslethimselfgo]

Someone said Nora's boss is the spit of Jess Phillips with the same demeanour and now this show is ruined forever

[peanutbutter]

Someone said Nora's boss is the spit of Jess Phillips with the same demeanour and now this show is ruined forever

Thought the exact same thing throughout the show.

[olliebean]

Someone said Nora's boss is the spit of Jess Phillips with the same demeanour and now this show is ruined forever

Fuck you. Now I have a mental image of Jess Phillips going around a party in a horrible red dress trying to make everyone eat her pigs in blankets.

[Small Man Big Horse]

They started writing the second season a few weeks ago.

Ah, I didn't know that, and it's been announced that it'll definitely be going ahead today so that pleases. https://news.avclub.com/amazon-grants-upload-a-second-shot-at-life-1843351411

[samadriel]

I'm up to episode 8 or so, and it's a pretty damn good show, but boy is it light on the yuks! I would, in fact, say it's more of a Picture Box show than Comedy Chat, I am just not laughing at it. The bellboy is sometimes funny, and there's the odd chuckle at aspects of the afterlife and Whatsisname's bitchy girlfriend, but really this show's flat out drama. And, again, it's a pretty good one, I just might be starting to feel like it's a bit dry, probably 'cos I was maybe expecting something closer to The Good Place, which is more fun than Upload. Ee well, I'm looking forward to finishing it.

[steveh]

The fact that it was half-hour-ish episodes that sped along at comedy speed was what made me like it more, even if it was short on big laughs. I'm about done with flabby dramas that take two hours for a single plot point. Did think it pushed most of the ideas into the early episodes then sagged a little at the two thirds point but that's a minor quibble in what was a good series.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Indeed, a more cynical type might accuse of nepotism were it not for their work being well up to scratch.

I've finished the season. Owen Daniels isn't just an actor (he's also in Space Force), he's a staff writer and he's even credited for writing the Take Your Father to Work Day episode.

[steveh]

Season 2 finally starts on 11 March. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OtfjPCJpU0.

[RFT]

Second Season Thoughts

Spoiler alert

I enjoyed it a lot, but it just seemed to stop an episode early?

Nathan and Nora meet in the real world and It's all lovely and dramatic and they go off to thwart the bad guy with limited time before his scheme goes into action / nathan's head explodes and and then it cuts away.

Ingrid deciding to clone Nathan and there now going to be a second one in lakeview is a nice setup for a third season but the main thread doesn;t even get to a neat cliffhanger, it's like the episode before the dramatic season finale.

[close]

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

And there are a few characters that are introduced without any reason, like the Asian cop.

Otherwise, the metaphors for technology, business and tracking were less on the nose and more effective than during the first season. Opposite to Greg Daniels' other show (Space Force), this one definitely deserves one more season.

[Twilkes]

I only know Greg Daniels from Seinfeld but surprised he only (co-)wrote one episode, although it was a goodie, The Parking Space.

I've often wondered about what a timeline of the work that all the Seinfeld writers subsequently produced would look like, most if not all of them seemed to go onto successful movies or TV shows.