I was very excited when I heard about this show. Matt LeBlanc is one of my favorite TV show actors, and mixed with smart British humor can bring very interesting results. But, then I saw pilot...
Pilot wasn't able to stand up to my expectations. Many jokes weren't funny, main characters were too new for us to enjoy their fighting and whole plot was messed up. Beginning kinda spoiled us that trip of our protagonists, British couple, authors of successful show in England, isn't going to be very pleasant. Mainly because other episodes are in tone "It isn't what we wanted, but hopefully, it will work", giving us hope there will be happy ending. Flashbacking of pilot was cheap and I was afraid, it's going to be another mediocre show.
Then second episode came and with it, Matt LeBlanc. Matt is portraying his ultimate character, called Matt LeBlanc as well. But this Matt is different. It draws from legacy of Friends far better then Joey ever did, creating not true LeBlanc, but rather actor, who acts the way audience would think "Joey" acts like. He is great. But it's not just Matt who gets better with second episode. Every other character gets more and more interesting too. Merc, the puppet master of television, is more, then just "guy who wants to have sex with stuff". His humor is usually cruel, yet there is deeper, fragile part of his soul. He loves his wife, yet he makes fun of her charity activities. He manipulates everyone around, yet he is afraid of someone cutting his string. His wife is his hero, yet he cheats on her. That brings us to Carla, who is as interesting as Merc, with angel and devil fighting each other, while sitting on her shoulders. She cheats, but she hates herself for it. She is Mercs right hand of manipulations, yet it makes her feel bad.
And, same goes for the British couple. In first episode, they looked like one simple character split between two actors, but now, they are getting more alive, more real and more different. And that's what I like about them. They are acting like normal people set in crazy sit-com world, surprised and confused, it is literally driving them crazy (ending of second episode is one of the most hilarious moments in history of television shows). It almost looks like they didn't crossed just Atlantic, but also dimensions and are lost in fictional world of show called "EPISODES" and that's what sets it apart from anything else you can see in television right now.
I highly recommend this show to anyone who's looking for some quality time with just a little bit of smarter humor.
Pilot wasn't able to stand up to my expectations. Many jokes weren't funny, main characters were too new for us to enjoy their fighting and whole plot was messed up. Beginning kinda spoiled us that trip of our protagonists, British couple, authors of successful show in England, isn't going to be very pleasant. Mainly because other episodes are in tone "It isn't what we wanted, but hopefully, it will work", giving us hope there will be happy ending. Flashbacking of pilot was cheap and I was afraid, it's going to be another mediocre show.
Then second episode came and with it, Matt LeBlanc. Matt is portraying his ultimate character, called Matt LeBlanc as well. But this Matt is different. It draws from legacy of Friends far better then Joey ever did, creating not true LeBlanc, but rather actor, who acts the way audience would think "Joey" acts like. He is great. But it's not just Matt who gets better with second episode. Every other character gets more and more interesting too. Merc, the puppet master of television, is more, then just "guy who wants to have sex with stuff". His humor is usually cruel, yet there is deeper, fragile part of his soul. He loves his wife, yet he makes fun of her charity activities. He manipulates everyone around, yet he is afraid of someone cutting his string. His wife is his hero, yet he cheats on her. That brings us to Carla, who is as interesting as Merc, with angel and devil fighting each other, while sitting on her shoulders. She cheats, but she hates herself for it. She is Mercs right hand of manipulations, yet it makes her feel bad.
And, same goes for the British couple. In first episode, they looked like one simple character split between two actors, but now, they are getting more alive, more real and more different. And that's what I like about them. They are acting like normal people set in crazy sit-com world, surprised and confused, it is literally driving them crazy (ending of second episode is one of the most hilarious moments in history of television shows). It almost looks like they didn't crossed just Atlantic, but also dimensions and are lost in fictional world of show called "EPISODES" and that's what sets it apart from anything else you can see in television right now.
I highly recommend this show to anyone who's looking for some quality time with just a little bit of smarter humor.