I really enjoyed this series, which was created and produced by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, the team behind Gilmore Girls and Bunheads.
The show follows Midge, a twenty-something housewife on the Upper West Side in 1958, who makes homemade brisket to help her husband Joel, an aspiring comedian, get a better time slot. At every show, she faithfully writes down in a notebook what goes well and what could be improved. One night while watching the Ed Sullivan Show, Midge realizes that Joel has copied Bob Newhart's act, line for line, and suggests he try some new material. After Joel bombs on stage, he announces that he's leaving Midge. Distraught, she gets drunk on Maneschevitz wine, takes a cab down to Joel's club in Greenwich Village, and proceeds to do a drunken impromptu set that kills.
That's the pilot. There are seven more episodes, and they are all well-written, well-acted and sumptuously designed, with gorgeous costumes that Aileen would love and the attention to music that the Palladinos are known for. I recommend it.
"Monogrammed butter pats."
Based on your recommendation I started watching this. What fun!!!
And now I must get back to the show.
Quote from: KathyB on Dec 26, 2017, 10:58 AM... the attention to music that the Palladinos are known for. I recommend it.
The songs are fantastic. I want a soundtrack CD!!!!
17 mins into Ep 2 and I've seen the BEST math lesson in my life and Mary Testa!!
Testa is so good -- in just a few brief scenes -- that you fear at first for Katrina Lenk,
who replaces her near the end of the season -- and manages the minor miracle of holding her own in the unenviable position of, well, following Mary Testa.
really is a delight. I binged-watched the first six episodes last weekend, and then somehow managed to wait a few days before finishing the last two. I'm already looking forward to Season Two.
Quote from: scenicdesign71 on Jan 20, 2018, 08:16 PMTesta is so good -- in just a few brief scenes -- that you fear at first for Katrina Lenk, who replaces her near the end of the season -- and manages the minor miracle of holding her own in the unenviable position of, well, following Mary Testa.
TMMM really is a delight. I binged-watched the first six episodes last weekend, and then somehow managed to wait a few days before finishing the last two. I'm already looking forward to Season Two.
Now I am extremely happy that Testa's character comes back and yet sad that Testa doesn't stay.
I have questions but I will wait until I have a chance to finish watching the series since some may be answered in future episodes.
Oh,
Lenk doesn't take over as Testa's character per se; they're different women in the same line of work, so it's Lenk's character taking over for Testa's (I forget what excuse they write in), perhaps temporarily.
Personally, I'd love to see the two of them join together as a sort of clairvoyant sister-act in Season Two, but
I guess we'll see...
Amazon renewed the show after it won a Peabody Award over the weekend:
Amazon wants more of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (https://news.avclub.com/amazon-wants-more-of-the-marvelous-mrs-maisel-1826179204)
It's also won two Golden Globes, two Critics' Choice Awards, and a Producers Guild award, so I guess Amy Sherman-Palladino has recovered from Bunheads.
I was going to try to hold off for just a bit longer, and binge-watch Season 2 with my mom over the holidays.
So far I've made it for what, almost a week since it dropped on Amazon?
But my break doesn't begin for almost two more weeks, and I'm not sure whether I can control myself much longer... :-[
We've got it on our binge list too, having enjoyed Season One. All of our regular weekly programs are on midseason break, except Outlander, so this seems like an ideal time to watch Mrs. Maisel (plus reruns of Alias and maybe the Netflix series Maniac, which I've heard is great but we still somehow haven't found time to watch).
Oh, well... so much for waiting until the holidays: I ended up watching the new season with my mom this weekend.
It's sometimes hard for me to sort out the show's flaws from its strengths, but broadly speaking I thought S2 went just a bit too heavy on the schlag. Spinning late-1950s fantasy for a 21st-century audience must be an interesting challenge for the writers, but their balance sometimes falters, and the anachronisms in the writing (http://montclairsoci.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-marvelous-mrs-anachronism.html) and music sometimes reach a point where they almost seem to be actively warring with the meticulous production (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/arts/television/the-marvelous-mrs-maisel-costumes-set-design.html) and costume (https://www.vulture.com/2018/12/mrs-maisel-season-2-best-outfits.html?utm_source=fb&fbclid=IwAR0cPsogArsbvrl98qjdtsL47zePSWJV1JjBsXaZ_16cirI0yUqmq_JBNUo) design. Still, it remains fun to watch and lovely to look at (and listen to: anachronisms notwithstanding, the plush soundtrack is a delight), and the cast is as engaging as ever.
Afterward, I got to talking with my mom about that time period -- she'd have been right in Midge's age cohort, though she remembers those years in far less rosy tones (granted, it's not like MMM was ever aiming for hard-hitting realism). And then a bit later I found myself thinking, not for the first time, that it's a shame that Amazon canceled Good Girls Revolt (https://www.amazon.com/Pilot/dp/B017AOXKR8) after just one season.
Off topic completely... Deadwood (https://www.hbo.com/deadwood) fans rejoice -- this announcement is over a month old, but I just saw it today:
https://deadline.com/2018/11/deadwood-movie-begins-production-hbo-david-milch-1202496154 (https://deadline.com/2018/11/deadwood-movie-begins-production-hbo-david-milch-1202496154)
I liked season two just as much as season one. I didn't think there was any drop-off in quality. Sure, there are some implausibilities (who takes care of the kids? Anyone?), but on the whole, I found the second season just as enjoyable to watch, and found myself saving episodes so I'd have something to look forward to (and in that respect, I'm now disappointed). I just might have to go back and rewatch seasons 1 and 2—even though I have plenty of things on my To Watch list.
@KathyB - Watch
Travelers. We've now watched the first two of the three seasons twice each and Amy, who isn't much into science fiction, wants to go back and watch the whole thing a third time. So do I.
Then again, have you watched
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend? Three seasons of musical comedy. How could you ask for more?
I finally watched season 3 and loved it just as much as the first two seasons (even though there weren't any divas in the roles of seers this season). Now I'm incredibly excited about season 4. Has anybody else seen the most recent season, so I have someone to discuss it with?
We've seen the latest season, so discuss away.
This topic is kind of broken in that the last two posts were not showing up in regular view, nor was the post reply section at the bottom. Hopefully, this post will fix it. And as Chris said, we would love to discuss the 3rd season.
I wanted to mention how much I enjoyed Susie's expanded role this season (we get to see her actually manage, and to attempt to manage other clients). However, she still uses the same packing technique, which made me laugh. I liked the Sophie Lennon subplot in general.
Stuff I didn't enjoy so much: the entire Beatnik subplot (or whatever the politicallly correct term is to refer to them) and Midge and Joel getting back together. I can understand maintaining a friendship with your ex, particularly if there are kids involved, but don't push that friendship out to two one-night stands and a quickie Vegas marriage.
The cliffhanger has me quite eager for the next season. I'll have to rewatch this season (and previous seasons) in the interim so I don't forget what happened. I had forgotten a few details, such as Midge originally meeting Shy in the women's bathroom.