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March 28, 2024, 04:04:27 PM

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Atlanta Season 3

Started by Ja'moke, March 25, 2022, 10:12:46 PM

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neveragain

Wonder if there was a practical reason for all the standalones. Busy cast?

amputeeporn

I've enjoyed the first three episodes, but the show feels adrift to me.

I can't quite recall how season 2 ended, but my sense was that they were leaving for this tour? It feels like years have gone by, though. Inevitable with rona, I guess, but it doesn't help that the scripts are then them all living these care-free lives, wandering around cool cities, no hurry or rush for tour stuff, really just on holiday. Both Earn and Van have conveniently forgotten their kid for the plot (wasn't the tension between them in S2 that she thought he needed to be more present? How's she paying for her flights and hotels? Isn't she an out of work teacher?) and I guess everyone just looks a little bit TOO successful and removed from reality.

I always enjoy it but I think from the way Glover talks down to the show Dave (which absolutely copied big elements of Atlanta, but very well), it could sometimes be better executed/more consistent.

With that said, I did think in S2 a large part of the pleasure of the show was its uncanniness, it just seems to be edging over the line a bit. Hopefully with s3 and 4 filmed back to back, the continuity at least between these seasons will be strong.

Noodle Lizard

I didn't like that last episode much (White Fashion). Just a bit too broad in every aspect, a bit like a spec script from an outsider. Repetitive an' all. It's clear there's a "black taking back from white" theme going on this season, so it fits into that, but I don't know if it really said anything the others hadn't already said. Moreover, I don't think it had one funny line, except maybe in Paper Boi's suspicion of that DeMarco bloke.

The one before with the missing phone was pretty good, though, even if I'm not quite sure what we were meant to take away from it.

up_the_hampipe

I've just about had enough of the standalone episodes this season, but I did end up enjoying this one as it went along. The cameo from
Spoiler alert
Chet Hanks
[close]
was very funny. Reminded me of that old stand-up bit by Donald Glover about Trinidadian babysitters (with the punchline censored by the geniuses at Comedy Central) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvwibDZy2D0

amputeeporn

Missing phone episode was great - wish we'd had a season of that.

The rest is always interesting, but has that 'fixed in post' feel of DC movies and the Netflix seasons of Arrested Development.

Like, I just want to see these people in a room together, and the more I don't, the more clear it is that they're all just too famous to schedule it, which is legitimate, but sadly leaking though into the feel of the show.

Vitalstatistix

Fans of elusive, futuristic electro rnb geniuses might have enjoyed the brief scene with

Spoiler alert
Jai Paul
[close]

in episode 3.

I'm still enjoying this a lot. I admire how slow and weird it is, and how detached and cold the main crew are to each other. We'd all love to see them together having a laugh but the creative team have bigger things they want to tackle which is fair enough. I do think there's still a lot of good lines. "pepsi - no racism" in the aforementioned scene, for example.

13 schoolyards

Quote from: amputeeporn on May 02, 2022, 03:12:33 AMLike, I just want to see these people in a room together, and the more I don't, the more clear it is that they're all just too famous to schedule it, which is legitimate, but sadly leaking though into the feel of the show.

To be fair, a big stretch of s2 was also solo adventures or two-handers with the core cast. They've rarely been shown as sitcom buddies hanging out for any extended stretch of time.

Noodle Lizard

I just watched the latest one (Trini 2 De Bone). I'm growing less convinced these standalones will tie together - other than the obvious broad thematic similarities - which is making me a bit annoyed considering it's constantly interrupting the flow of the actual storyline/characters. I'm starting to wonder if the mixing and matching may have been the result of something forced (actor availability, COVID etc.) rather than an intentional cohesive idea with a satisfying end, but we'll see.

SteveDave

Fuckinell!

Spoiler alert
"Derry Girls" and this in a calendar month
[close]

up_the_hampipe

Hah, that cameo was pretty good. I was hoping they'd get other celebs at the "club", but less is more I suppose, and it's probably a hard sell for some.

Vitalstatistix

The delivery of his final line was great:

Spoiler alert
"But I also learned that the best and worst part about being white is you don't have to learn anything if you don't want to."
[close]

Noodle Lizard

Liked the cameo because of how unexpected it was. The rest of the episode, though, went pretty much exactly as expected. The "dream episode" must be a TV trope of its own, and they almost invariably feature the character in an unfamiliar location and a mysterious female stranger who seems to have almost supernatural insight that reveals something of some minor influence on the main plot. Off the top of my head, Ted Lasso and Skins(!) have done very similar episodes, but I know there are plenty more.

Now I think of it, those examples also involve a scene where the character ends up in an unusual, exclusive nightclub at some point too, but I'm more willing to put that down to coincidence. Even still, it all just felt a bit "already done" at this point.

SteveDave

This episode made it blatant that Donald Glover wants the non-main character episodes to be "The Twilight Zone"

up_the_hampipe

George Wallace was great in this week's ep. I laughed at the ending too. I think these standalone episodes would be more enjoyable when it's not week-to-week airing.


kitsofan34

I like watching shows in one big chunk, so waited until yesterday to watch series 3. I've only watched the first 3 episodes, which I'm aware will hamper the discussion to an extent.

I'm really enjoying it, feels surreal after being gone for so long. I can't quite put my finger on why Darius isn't working for me this time. Have the writers forgotten how to write him? I feel it's a tad predictable. Or has Lakeith Stanfield forgotten how to play him, perhaps? My best bet is that the character doesn't really work now that Lakeith's this big film star.

Apologies if this has already been covered above.

up_the_hampipe

Was that the finale?! Truly bizarre. That last joke was probably the hardest I've laughed the whole season though.

By the way, the whole Tarrare thing is a reference to this apparently real person https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrare
I had no idea about this story and it's fucking wild.

amputeeporn

I thought this season was okay, but frequently crossed over from quirky to actively bad. I guess pretty cool that a show of this magnitude has the space to do that, and it was always nice to look at, but the writing felt thin in places, and overall I can't help but feel like it was a bit of a bungle.

Edit! Good grief, Tarrare! That's one of the worst things I've ever read! Every schoolboy should know about this.

Noodle Lizard

Quote from: kitsofan34 on May 20, 2022, 03:19:58 PMI'm really enjoying it, feels surreal after being gone for so long. I can't quite put my finger on why Darius isn't working for me this time. Have the writers forgotten how to write him? I feel it's a tad predictable. Or has Lakeith Stanfield forgotten how to play him, perhaps? My best bet is that the character doesn't really work now that Lakeith's this big film star.

Apologies if this has already been covered above.

I agree. At first I thought he might have always been that way and it had been too long since I saw the first two seasons, but I went back to some earlier episodes and it's a pretty stark difference. Might be a case of the newer writers not quite knowing what to do with him since it's a less narrative-heavy season overall.

Noodle Lizard

Quote from: up_the_hampipe on May 20, 2022, 08:09:05 PMBy the way, the whole Tarrare thing is a reference to this apparently real person https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrare
I had no idea about this story and it's fucking wild.

Holy fuck! Each line gets better and better! Surely some of that must be the stuff of urban legend?

Noodle Lizard

It's a shame that's what they settled on for the finale. Fine for what it was (although pretty far from the best), funny final gag, but I can't imagine they expected anyone to be any less than underwhelmed by it closing out the season.

I haven't loved this season overall. I was all on board for the first three episodes or so, but I lost that optimistic goodwill by the end. Seems like a bit of a mess. All I can hope is that it's basically a two-parter what with Season 4 being in the can already.

Moribunderast

Having just watched the back-end of the season today, I have mixed thoughts. I actually loved all the one-off episodes and am fine with the show doing that on a frequent basis but it did leave the main characters' stories with no real flow or direction. I only thought one episode was weak (the White Fashion episode) and everything worked well for me in a vacuum. As a complete season, however, it ended on a bit of a "Huh?" note and it didn't really feel like anything had happened with the main characters, except for Van in that final episode.

Maybe I was expecting more in terms of narrative than they care to actually do anymore but it feels, at least to my recollection, that the first two seasons had more to them with regards the main characters. I can't quibble too much because, as I say, I pretty much liked/loved every episode on their own terms and it's always interesting and unique but I guess I was hoping the finale might at least feature Earn, Paper Boi and Darius and lead to... something? It's interesting that the next (and final?) season is already in the can and I wonder if there's connecting tissue between that season and this one.

amputeeporn

Although I basically enjoyed the standalones, it felt a bit like that 'WTF?' energy was drained out of the main plot, somewhat, where previously it was more integrated.

My thought with the double-header season is that probably sans covid delays, it would have shaken out a little differently. I'm hoping they've kind of used this season to check in/put everyone where they need to be for a more considered final season (which might have been difficult to just jump into straight away, all these years on).

One thing that did feel weird was the significant bleed-through from the actors (or at least the writers' idea of the actors) into their characters. At times, it felt a bit like a Curb episode or something, where they were all playing themselves.

The commitment to keeping Van around, for example, is a good instinct, but I feel like them making her arc be 'oh shit, we don't know what to do with this person - and look, she doesn't know what to do, either...' was a tacit admission that they've never been that interested in her character.

Earn just sinking into the background seems to mirror Glover's newly-minted Great Thinker persona (he's offline, unreachable), Darius is for some reason like the professor out of disaster film, or something, filled with strange knowledge and tics, and Paper Boi just makes the success he's been pushing for all these years look boring and isolating.

None of that's bad or uninteresting, but it did feel different to what the show was before. In making it about rich people problems, it felt like a bit of a betrayal to me, but at the same time, I haven't really seen characters who look like this have these kinds of problems on-screen, before, so I can certainly see the utility.

A rapper, struggling to find inspiration having drifted from his roots. His manager, not fucking around or fucking him over, but taking care of business. A black woman, wrestling with the end of her youth and the constraints of motherhood, breaking down on-screen, etc.

I guess the fact that I keep circling round it, trying to work out where it's coming from is a good thing. I just wish I'd laughed a lot more and loved it.

mjwilson


niat


AsparagusTrevor


dothestrand

Quote from: mjwilson on June 29, 2022, 12:07:58 PMNow on Disney+.

Might have to subscribe - hope there's enough of interest if you dislike Marvel and Star Wars.

mjwilson

Quote from: dothestrand on June 29, 2022, 08:11:29 PMMight have to subscribe - hope there's enough of interest if you dislike Marvel and Star Wars.

There is more than you might expect, Only Murders in the Building, Malcolm in the Middle, Pam and Tommy, Aliens, Ready or Not, to pick a few things at random.

Hat FM

sorry for being slow but when were the chet hanks and jai paul cameos?

crazy the wait has been so long on disney plus. guess its a network thing.

up_the_hampipe

Quote from: Hat FM on June 30, 2022, 03:52:01 PMsorry for being slow but when were the chet hanks and jai paul cameos?

Chet Hanks was in Trini 2 De Bone at the funeral. One of the nanny's former kids.

Jai Paul was at the party in The Old Man and the Tree talking to Darius about Coke and racism.