John from Cincinnati Watch: Perfect Parallelism

James, as strange as JfC has been…..where is the Flight of the Conchords watch?! Between the “Pros v. Cons” list comparing Bret and a tape (The tape was more compact and would save on subway charges, but Bret was “alive”), the delightfully awkward scene with Mel in the car while her husband drove in the front seat(seriously, she’s the breakout star of this show), Bret’s career (as Jermaine noted, Bret was doing something “a light post could do”), and Murray’s instructions for safekeeping of the tape (“Don’t walk by any giant magnets” Jermaine – “When would I walk by a giant magnet?” Murray – “I don’t know what you do in your personal time”)…..this show delivered AGAIN. Winsome, hilarious, and charming in an innocent way….perfect sorbet after Entourage….

JfC is definitely keeping me interested; I’m actually a little angry that HBO isn’t putting the episodes OnDemand a week before they air, as they did with Episode 2. I loved the “animate or inanimate?” bit, even if I’m not sure how the events at the motel are related to anything else. I’m glad someone finally acknowledged that John acts like a special needs child. And was that Muse at the end covering Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good”? It definitely worked. And the “horn implants” somehow went right over my head; I had no idea what was going on there.

I agree with everything said about Conchords. Even the simplest jokes work, like Bret trying to tell a girl his name (but pronouncing it “Brit”), or hesitating before telling her that they have vikings in New Zealand. The songs didn’t do much for me this week, but it looks like the next episode features my favorite FotC song – “Think, think about it”

@chaddogg: I dunno… the thing is, I love FOTC, and there are bits in it that keep popping to mind and cracking me up weeks after I watched them, but it’s hard to do a regular Watch of a non-serial comedy. I feel like every post would be, Wasn’t this funny? And wasn’t this? But I’ll probably post more about it occasionally over the summer.

I totally understand….not necessarily watch worthy, but perhaps a combo watch with Entourage?

And BeerBaron, I’m just hoping they work “Hilarious Misunderstanding” into the show at some point….arguably FOTC’s greatest song (“If I recall it was something like but not necessarily Schindler’s List.”…”It was Police Academy 4.”)

It will be interesting to see what next week’s episode is like. For me this one was the weakest of the three [although I still liked it], but it’s easy to see why HBO sent you three episodes, James — the first three eps sort of have a mini-cycle of their own, with the arc of Seanie’s competition/injury/resurrection. Almost like the three eps were an extended pilot. I’m hoping for a bit of a reboot next week, and I wanna see more of John do things other than learn how to bone.

Regarding your third ‘note’ above:

This is a reference to the movie “Happiness”; a film which explores child molestation, among other things. One of its main characters is seduced by a con-man who then sings her ‘You Light Up My Life’ post-coitally in a voice that could be most definitely described as a “jovially croaking falsetto”. Watch the scene from “Happiness” and there’s no mistaking the reference.

Hi James, I have to say that I “think” I really like this show. One of the things that I actually like about it is the fact that I’m “not sure” that I really like it yet. I’m a professional film editor and also a surfer. I think it’s pretty daring to create a show, that by the end of the 3rd episode, still hasn’t taken more shape. I usually simply watch a series because I know that I “like” it (Soprano’s for example). This show however, gives me just enough to make me look forward to sitting on the “jury” for the next episode. It’s admittedly an odd anticipation but it definitely keeps itself in the forefront of my mind in a way that other show, for me, ever has. (for example, I’ve never visited a Soprano’s blog). I will go ahead and offer this judgment… On the surfing side, this series has, thus far, been fairly unsatisfying. It’s definitely weighted more towards a sleazy and pathetic side of this wonderful and sport/recreation. It’s an uphill battle for Shawny Yost to simply do his thing. Perhaps this is one of the reasons I keep coming back for more. Perhaps I’m awaiting some “redemption” here as well. Perhaps, I’m longing to share the emotional release that I know the waves offer. Although, as a surfer, I selfishly hope this series doesn’t pass the test. The waves are already much too crowded. :)