Episode 1 of the 8-episode fifth season premiered last night (9 April) on FX. As usual it’s written and directed by C.K., and is titled “Pot Luck.” Guest stars include Judy Gold and Celia Keenan-Bolger.
As some may not have seen it yet, I’ll say only that as usual he packs a hell of a lot of material into 22 minutes, and also that he’s amazingly impressive as a fried-chicken cook.
AV Club review: Louie: “Pot Luck”
IGN review: Louie: "Pot Luck" Review - IGN
Oh dear: typo in title. Apologies to moderator tasked with fixing it (and thanks).
Silly me. Misunderstood.
I love this show–you never know what we’re going to see each week.
So, the “wrong” potluck… what kind of group was that?
That Fried chicken looked incredibly yummy.
Shit! I didn’t know it was back!
That’s part of what sent me to the reviews: I hoped someone would know if those people were supposed to be explicitly Wiccan or Satanist or EST or…whatever.
Apparently it was just a made-up group, and their choral-response epigrams were also made up. (It was fairly convincingly-real, though, I thought.)
ps–Thanks to IvoryTowerDenizen for that title-typo correction.
Getting kind of tired of how every storyline involves him fucking some random woman. It’s pretty creepy at this point.
I’m probably going to get flack for this, and it’s not a word I throw around often…but this show is really starting to feel pretentious.
I couldn’t tell you exactly why though. Maybe it’s just me.
Disappointing.
When he joined the group going to the apartment building I knew right away he was going to end up at the wrong potluck dinner. The line and delivery was canonical setup for something like this. (And once there I knew he was going to leave the chicken.)
When he saw the pregnant woman I knew he was going to hook up her and that she was going to go into labor during sex. Again, just so easily foretold.
The few small bits that weren’t entirely predictable didn’t make up for this.
Seeing a joke coming can sometimes work. Especially if the anticipation is set up right, these were just too old-school to be remotely funny.
To have not just a regular episode of Louie but a season premier to be so stale is a double fail.
(Don’t bother with the Crystal/Gad show The Comedians. Watch Showtime’s Episodes instead. Similar concept, done fantastically better.)
Yes, it’s a standard plotline. I doubt that Louis C.K. thought ‘I’m really going to wow them with this astonishing plot twist!’…instead, I’m guessing, he’s interested in taking the old clichés and playing with them. (As with the “heroic rescue” episode last season.)
That said: I’m far from being crazy about this episode, and I agree with you that it wasn’t a strong season-opener.
I also agree about the Crystal/Gad show. It’s a shame because they’re both talented comic actors. But the writing is not impressive. (Really? Gad would continuously insult Crystal that way? Really?)
Was I the only one super creeped out by Louie this episode? Offering to help her out of the car and upstairs to her apartment. Then inviting himself inside to use the bathroom.
I mean, obviously she was fine with it, but it seemed super uncomfortable to me.
Oh, definitely. And also, giving his ‘I’m just telling you that you’re gorgeous while I’m on the way out (see me walking to the door!), so you won’t think I’m looking for sex’ while he was still in the apartment. (He could have delivered that message while actually outside the door, just before closing the door, after all.)
The opening scene in episode two was I think the funniest story I’ve seen on Louie.
I just started watching this show. Potluck was the second episode I watched. Completely underwhelmed.
Manhattan is a marvel of the globe and an unparalleled location for living, but it is short on poo-portunities.*
This show really is…different. Inevitably, some of the story-telling chances Louis C.K. takes don’t pan out as well as others. It’s worth giving a chance if you have the time to check out additional episodes.
*a term used on Miranda Hart’s BBC show Miranda.
A bit better than the season opener. But still too much disappointment.
In particular, the opening bit was incredibly immature, even for this show. Just squirmed with embarrasment watching it. The only good part of that was the “No Dumping” sign.
The thread about the horrible comic was just way too sitcom-y. Of course Louie was going to give bad advice, of course the guy was going to magically be a major success and on national TV by the end of the episode. Reality would disagree.
Pamela is a problem. She is just too flakey and can’t be relied upon. Why does Louie continue to see her? She didn’t have a good character on Lucky Louie and now this.
I noticed that Fallon was listed as himself in the credits but Wright only as the comedy club MC. He wasn’t playing himself?
I’m curious about the French film clip. Seemed strangely familiar but the actress is given her own credit with nothing to indicate it was a previous clip.
Given the events of the first episode and Louie dating Pamela in this one, I wonder if these episodes were shown out of order. (Which means that someone chose to air the Potluck episode first.)
Louie and Pamela aren’t dating, they’re both free to fuck anyone else they please. There was a scene in this episode where Louie tried to make it more than that but Pamela refused.
Louie C.K. chose to air the Potluck episode first. He has complete creative control of the series.
Sadly, I got way too much time on my hands. I watched 3 more episodes. Two points I’ll make: 1. I don’t like New York. Wouldn’t want to live there. 2. Pamela is a really annoying person. Louie putting up with her shit makes him look pretty pathetic.
Not feeling this show, but I’ll give it a few more views. It’s got some decent music sometimes.
Possibly an interesting fact: Louie wanted to take a year off and not do a season this year. This season is a bad idea he had while high.