(S01E01) I still stand behind the early look of Sit Down, Shut Up I did a few days ago: the pilot was underwhelming. For everything that works about it, there seem to be at least two things that don't. However, before I did this review, I decided to watch the pilot again, so it would be fresh in my mind. What I found is that the show definitely grows on you.
While I didn't really laugh at all the first time through, re-watching it allowed me to pick up on some of the more subtle things that I missed. That, combined with the fact that I've seen the second episode, which is much better, really made me appreciate this episode more.
One of the things that's going to make Sit Down, Shut Up great is creator Mitch Hurwitz's propensity for callbacks and subtle jokes going on in the background. There were few things that I noticed the second time through that I missed the first that completely cracked me up, like the way Larry massaged Stuart's throat when he was giving him the pills, or when baby Merch snatched the bottle away from Miracle so he could feed himself after she said something particularly stupid.
Even Happy and Andrew, who were my two least favorite parts of the pilot when I first watched it, didn't bother me nearly as much the second time around. Even Sue Sezno, who was another character I wasn't particularly thrilled with, made me chuckle a few times ("well you can't fire someone who's a fan of Salman Rushdie").
In all, I think the first time you watch Sit Down, Shut Up, it's really easy to blow it off as another animated show that's trying too hard. However, it's actually worth sticking around and watching a couple of episodes. A lot of great sitcoms start off rough and then grow on you; just because this one happens to be animated (mostly) doesn't change that fact.
Other items of note and some of my favorite lines from this episode:
- Ennis Hoftard's "little nutsack" that is mentioned several times throughout the episode.
- The entire scene with Larry and Sue talking about Miracle coming out of a fuzzy monkey is probably my favorite scene in the whole episode. I also like the fact that the Larry (and I'm sure, others) use it as an excuse to see her naked.
- The names of Deutschebog's Filthies: "Actually, Pacific Rim is a cooking magazine!"
- The fact that they call his porno mags "filthies" in the first place also made me giggle, as did Hofftard's realization that he was not looking at a meal, but at a three-way.
- The fact that baby Merch is smarter than his mother. He may not be old enough to talk, but he's old enough to distance himself from her dippy ideas.
Stuart: "Isn't it true they cause birth Defects?"
Larry: "Only in babies."
"Science class should be the first one to go: Everyone knows it's just a bunch of Voodoo the Jews came up with so they can charge us for medicine and stuff." - Miracle
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-19-2009 @ 9:44PM
bruce said...
oh my god that was horrible. Cheap, crappy animation and unfunny cliches (I have nothing against cliches so long as they're funny). Even the voiceover work was bad.
I simply can't believe this is from the same guy who gave us the amazing Arrested Development. The fact that this crap is on the air and AD is not is a crime against humanity. No need to worry, though, Fox will cancel this pretty quickly. Not only did i not even laugh once, I didn't even crack a smile - it was singularly unfunny.
Then again, the fact that I hated it means most people were dumb enough that they were able to laugh their asses off at this show. Even so, animation is always going to cost more and involve more work than a reality show. Fox can just add another 30 minutes of American Idol to its weekly schedule for less money than this crap. And crap is crap. Anyone who actually liked this is the same type of person who is capable of being entertained by American Idol.
I just can't believe how bad it was. Was Arrested Development just a fluke, and Mitchel Hurwitz is actually an unfunny moron? Hmm.
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4-19-2009 @ 10:31PM
Brandon said...
Let me go ahead and stop the hyperbole train in the comments section before it gains any more momentum...
I thought it was okay, not great, but something I'd be willing to watch again. There were a couple of moments where I detected the Mitch style of rapid-fire comedy.
The trademark callbacks of AD are great and all, but the problem with those was that it made the show less funny the less you watched it...which isn't helpful for ratings.
And I don't see how you can call the animation shoddy...they were clearly going for a particular style and I enjoyed the change of pace. They had a little fun with it, i.e. the cat in the time capsule and the moving background during the in-car scenes.
I think they're intentionally going for low-brow...AD ratings suggested that your average TV viewer can't appreciate good high-brow humor.
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4-19-2009 @ 10:47PM
Skapig said...
This is the second creator of a cancelled FOX show that became a cult hit to get another chance on the network this year. Amazingly both have churned out embarassingly bad shows. Perhaps their egos are so inflated that they thought that didn't have to try so hard. Even still, how did the pilots not bring the projects to a screeching halt? Perhaps the collaborated on a twisted and ellaborate way of getting back at the network by getting them to broadcast this stuff.
The laughs tonight were very few and far between. The whole introduction first act was grating. It tries way too hard with the cliches. School faculty is crazy enough. There's no reason to beat your audience over the head with the catchphrases and names.
After such a lousy pilot it's hard to believe that this got the greenlight.
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4-19-2009 @ 11:33PM
bruce said...
I have not seen any ads for this show, as I don't watch Fox all that much, but has Fox had the nerve to advertise this show as "from the creator of Arrested Development"? If so, that really takes balls - to associate it with a show you've already cancelled.
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4-19-2009 @ 11:51PM
HD said...
Meh. Could take it or leave it. The SNL heavy voice acting was good - writing and animation were acceptable - but disappointing. The entire episode I kept wondering how much money they were saving by using real world, fast dirty backgrounds instead of animating them. The sad thing is that the most compelling part of the episode was the mental image of animated "pink parts" - probably not a good sign of things to come.
If Fox wants me to watch every Sunday without fail - they should bring back Futurama.
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4-20-2009 @ 12:04AM
Zachary said...
Something was really wrong with the sound mixing. I could not understand half the dialogue over the scoring and sound effects. Many of those actors should never be voice actors.
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4-20-2009 @ 12:43AM
Steven said...
I can't believe this show made it as far as a pilot. Horrible. Just from the intro I knew it was going to be bad, and boy was I right. This show needs to be canned. Now.
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4-20-2009 @ 1:47AM
Argus said...
I disagree. I liked the humour alot, though not as much as I liked AD. Although... Arrested Development got awesome ratings in Canada, so maybe this type of humour (which is much the same) simply appeals to my people more. Or maybe I'm just weird. My main issue is that the plot was distracting, not that the jokes were bad. Also, not a fan of Kristen Chenowith as a voice actor, nor the librarian.
All I know, is that Will Forte doing voice acting again is awesome. Jason Bateman is consistent as always.
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4-20-2009 @ 3:42AM
Paul said...
Will Forte stole the show.
Unlike a lot of people here, I found it quite funny -- and I wouldn't consider myself someone who likes "low-brow" humour at all (unless you count John Hodgman's writing as "low-brow", which would be really stupid of you).
I can see why some people might not have LOVED it (and it certainly will need to get better), but the script was pretty funny, the animation was unique, and the voice acting was stellar.
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4-20-2009 @ 9:54AM
Mark Adams said...
Bruce has got it right.
Words cannot describe how BAD this was. Painful!
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4-20-2009 @ 12:13PM
svrkevi said...
It was funny...you really had to listen for the jokes...which is hard for some people...better than Simpsons, American Dad, and King of the Hill.
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4-20-2009 @ 4:46PM
ChrisG said...
Wow, this episode was terribly unfunny...
Well, I guess the good thing is that it can only get better...
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4-21-2009 @ 12:47AM
James said...
I don't understand all the hate for this show already. 'Sit Down' features the same sort of rapid-fire, blink-before-you-miss verbal and visual comedy as AD. If the jokes seemed a little amiss, that's probably because we don't know these characters all that well yet. And the pilot has the difficult task of trying to introduce us to all these weird and off-the-wall characters and their relationships, so it had that extra burden.
These ulta-clever comedies tend to need some time to find their footing before they reach their potential. 30 Rock took nearly a season to do it, but now it's probably the funniest thing on TV. Give it a little time before passing judgment, please.
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4-21-2009 @ 11:14AM
Drex said...
So this is how M.H. gets back at Fox for killing off A.D.?
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4-22-2009 @ 10:19AM
Galley said...
It was painful, but I managed to sit through the entire episode. I doubt I will attempt to watch a second episode (if one airs).
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4-27-2009 @ 12:05PM
Frank said...
It was horrible, It was like a train wreck. You didn't want watch but had too just to see how bad it could get.
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