TV REVUE – Louie: Duckling

 

As a viewer I appreciate the different approaches Louis C.K. takes to filming, pacing, and story structure. As a reviewer/critic, this unique style can be a source of frustration when it comes to evaluation and enjoyment. “Duckling” opens promisingly enough with Louie picking up his daughters from school, when who should pop out escorting her own child? None other than Delores, Louie’s old attempt at a casual sexual relationship way back in episode 2, entitled “Bummer/Blueberries” that ended in awkward disaster. She casts him a very knowing glance, but says nothing. It’s a great moment magnified by Louie’s standard expression, the uncomfortable grimace. This entire sequence lasts perhaps 30 seconds, before doing a complete 180, even among unclassifiable Louie standards.

TV NEWS: FX Scores with Emmy Acting Nomination​s

 

 

 

The Network That Kicked Down the Door for Ad-Supported Cable TV in 2002 Continues to Thrive in Emmy Acting Categories

TV REVUE – Louie: Moving

This week’s episode is far less stinging than last week’s, but I’m okay with that because time is definitely needed to recover from what transpired there. As the title suggest, “Moving” focuses on Louie’s living situation and how he wants to get a bigger place for he and his daughters. Unlike the previous episodes that were more character-based and reflective, here the comedy presented is broader. Much of the humor is derived from situations that you hope to see on HGTV outtakes in which Louie goes to see some different apartments including one unit which features a toilet in the kitchen.

Louie also has some interactions with other comics, including a dinner scene in which the spoken dialogue should not be heard while eating. In his search for a better apartment, Louie explores how his financial situation limits the preferred housing he is after. Again, it’s the kind of stuff you’d love to see that probably ends up on the cutting room floor of HGTV studios. There seems to be a stronger focus on incorporating Louie’s daughters more this season, which Louis C.K. himself has stated he hoped to give the show a more human component. And it works well, there are a number of great scenes with them that give Louie fodder for the standup segments on parenting and divorce and life in general as a single, divorced parent both on and off screen. You laugh not only because the material funny, but soberingly relatable.

Final Grade: A-

TRR TV Revue by Jacob Aquino

TV REVUE – Louie: Bummer/Blueberries

Oh man. “Bummer/Blueberries” is seriously funny stuff. But in a disturbingly profound way. The first segment, “Bummer” follows Louie as he navigates his way to a meet up with a girl for what he hopes to upgrade to a date, unsure of what to make of her flatly-delivered acceptance of his invitation. Pondering the parameters of their scheduled date along the way, Louie has a bizarre and tragic encounter with a raving homeless man that takes his mind off the girl he’s going to see, and instead is now managing an existential crisis. Even more a downer than usual, Louie makes a strong impression on her, until he reveals exactly what happened to the homeless man.

The Ratings Are In for Wilfred and Louie

 

New Comedy Wilfred Posts Highest Ever Premiere Ratings for a Comedy Series on FX Premiere and universally acclaimed comedy series Louie increases its viewership

TV REVUE – Louie: Pregnant

 

I’ll be honest; this is not an easy show to review. While I appreciate the creative freedom Louis C.K. has been granted by FX, it is a stylistic departure from nearly anything else American television has to offer. In fact Mr. C.K. himself has stated in past interviews that the he developed the show from the ground up, focusing on presenting the show as a series of vignettes rather than the traditional episodic format. Perhaps it was this pitch (or lack of) that attracted so many notable personalities from the stand-up world to appear on Louie.