I just finished watching The Letdown on Netflix, an Australian series about life after birth (for the parents). The miniscule chaos and the difficulties of the everyday really appealed to me. The best bit was the style of the comedy; often thrown away and unnoticed and all the more real for that. The same goes for the stakes and repercussions. Life goes on, just a bit more difficult than before.
The same is partly true for The Larry Sanders Show, that I am rewatching in full after seeing Judd Apatow’s 4 hour documentary The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling1. The Larry Sanders Show is a little more heightened, a lot more self-aware, but striving for the same realism as The Letdown.
The place I can’t stand realism is in crime procedural/mystery shows. Grim seriousness is always the order of the day, angsting angstily and clenching jaws in case something witty or leavening falls out. Surely even those wrongly accused of murder think of funny things to say or see people tripping on pavements and snigger? The serious only really engages me if it is presented with humour. If anyone can recommend a crime drama that is also funny, let me know.
1 The documentary is no longer available on Now TV where I saw it, but well worth seeking out. Despite my reservations the running time really is deserved to get to the heart of the subject. And as with the best documentaries, I was in tears by the end.
Context for this Post – A cup of Blueberry Cobbler New England coffee and, for some reason, I searched “Jaunty Piano Music” to listen to while typing this entry up. I ended up with this Saloon Music Compilation, so apologies if my sentences run on and on in the same rhythm for ages then end with an attempt at harmonious resolution.
Televigion 