# Louie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797 "2010-07-15T16:55:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/1 "2010-07-15T16:55:32Z")
I don’t expect this thread to get a lot of response, but has anyone been watching Louis CK’s new show _Louie_? Louis CK is absolutely my favorite stand-up comedian, but I haven’t gotten a chance to see his new show lately. For what it’s worth, I saw a few episodes of _Lucky Louie_ and got a few chuckles, though it was nowhere near as funny as his stand-up. _[Aside: I had a chance to see him perform his stand-up at the Reicher Theater in Towson, MD last year, but didn’t go because I couldn’t find anyone to go with me. Huge regret.]_ ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/2 "2010-07-15T17:09:17Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > I don’t expect this thread to get a lot of response, but has anyone been watching Louis CK’s new show _Louie_? Louis CK is absolutely my favorite stand-up comedian, but I haven’t gotten a chance to see his new show lately. > > For what it’s worth, I saw a few episodes of _Lucky Louie_ and got a few chuckles, though it was nowhere near as funny as his stand-up. > > _[Aside: I had a chance to see him perform his stand-up at the Reicher Theater in Towson, MD last year, but didn’t go because I couldn’t find anyone to go with me. Huge regret.]_ He’s my favorite too. I didn’t know about the show, but I’ll look for it now. How are you? ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/3 "2010-07-15T17:25:13Z")
> [@jali](#): > > How are you? How are _you_? I hardly see ya posting anymore. Agent, I haven’t seen his show, but if it is anywhere close to as funny as his standup, then I’m sold. His routines about his kids had me and my 11 year old daughter laughing to tears last night. So funny. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/4 "2010-07-15T17:40:13Z")
I don’t have cable TV, but I saw one episode at a friend’s house. I thought it was funny and a bit – a tiny bit – touching. Superficially, it resembles early-seasons “Seinfeld” – a lot. Guy’s a stand-up comic, with bits of his act interspersed with real-life parallels. Some of the humor is cruel, and the lead character looks like a jerk sometimes. But in other ways, the shows couldn’t be more different. Where S was slickly produced and – with only a few exceptions – made no attempt to look like anything but a studio-bound sitcom, L looks like a documentary, with cramped, dingy interiors, sometimes harsh lighting and awkward camera angles. (Thankfully free of shaky-cam, random zooming and sudden intentional loss of focus, at least in the episode I saw.) The characters look like real people (i.e., slobs) rather than carefully made-up and coiffed actors. Whereas Jerry was usually portrayed as smug, shallow, and successful, Louis seems to be self-loathing, socially and political aware, and struggling. Whereas S was reveling in perpetual adolescence, L dwells in morbidity and mortality. Although both shows clearly have elements of autobiography, “Louie” seems to deal more with real people and their frailties. Behind the scenes, “Seinfeld” was largely the creation of Larry David. “Louie” is written, directed, and even edited by Louis C.K. Edit: What it wasn’t was a 30-minute yuk-fest. It certainly had humor, but if you’re expecting a laugh riot you’ll probably be disappointed. (Of course, for all I know the one episode I’ve seen wasn’t typical.) ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/5 "2010-07-15T17:47:44Z")
> [@jali](#): > > He’s my favorite too. I didn’t know about the show, but I’ll look for it now. > How are you? Can’t complain! How are you? When are you heading back to Ballmer for some more brewskis? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/6 "2010-07-15T17:49:27Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > How are _you_? I hardly see ya posting anymore. > > Agent, I haven’t seen his show, but if it is anywhere close to as funny as his standup, then I’m sold. His routines about his kids had me and my 11 year old daughter laughing to tears last night. So funny. I imagine you’re referring to the routine about coming home to find his daughter stretching open her vagina? That had me hyperventilating the first time I heard it, and I still listen to it for a quick grin when I need one. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/7 "2010-07-15T17:51:42Z")
I thought the pilot was brilliant, but didn’t enjoy episodes 2 and 3 much at all. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/8 "2010-07-15T20:44:57Z")
I like Louis CK and enjoy the show to a degree. And while I do like dark humor, this show is a little different. Bleak humor. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/9 "2010-07-15T20:50:31Z")
If anyone’s really curious about it, three episodes are available on Hulu. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/10 "2010-07-15T20:51:15Z")
I like it a great deal, but I greatly prefer _Lucky Louie_. I’m apparently the only one though. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/11 "2010-07-15T21:41:41Z")
I really liked Lucky Louie, too. I’ve set this show in the DVR but haven’t watched it yet. The descriptions here make it sound very similar to Lucky Louie, which to me is a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/12 "2010-07-15T21:44:25Z")
There’s an excellent interview with Louis CK up on [The Onion AV Club](http://www.avclub.com/articles/louis-ck,42621/) that talks about the development of the show and Louis as a comedian. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/13 "2010-07-16T03:04:27Z")
I think Louie is the best comedy I’ve seen in years. I think it’s much better than Lucky Louie, if only because it’s a bit more original and gives his standup a chance to shine. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/14 "2010-07-16T03:38:43Z")
I am loving the fourth episode, by the way. The parents trying to critique the school was brilliant. As a teacher, you have no idea how many parents have vague, idealistic, “out there”, ideas about education that no practical or realistic applications. I like the one Dad. “When do they start the dancing???” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/15 "2010-07-16T04:03:34Z")
I’ve been watching it - nicely surprised to see a thread here! I’m a regular at the Comedy Cellar, so I’ve seen him (along with Nick Dipalo, who really DOES start shit with the audience when they think he’s gone too far – he got attacked one night I was there when he accused a dad who was bringing his young son into the men’s room–which really is shared with the Middle Eastern restaurant upstairs–of running a child prostitution racket in the sub-cellar) perform plenty of times, so the show relates very close to me. Lucky Louie was an awesome show, and this is a nice follow up to see what happened to him after getting divorced. I totally called it on the “you can’t have a bus on the West Side Highway”. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/16 "2010-07-16T09:03:19Z")
I’m absolutely loving this show. It’s gut-bustingly funny, then can instantly make you feel touched, or sad, or shocked. It’s a show that kind of lays your emotions out and kicks them around a bit. The fourth episode was just brilliant - especially the depiction of the relationship of the two adults on a ‘play-date’. Great acting, and I think it really captured the single life of a 40-something. You think it’s going to turn into romance one minute, then someone says something embarrassing, or reveals a little too much of himself or herself, and both people back away. Then they try again. There’s baggage everywhere you look, and in the middle two lonely yet wary people tentatively trying to reconnect with someone else - and not doing a very good job of it. As sometimes happens in life. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/17 "2010-07-16T13:10:52Z")
I’ve seen (I believe) 3 eps, and enjoyed them enough to keep recording/watching. Each one had at least a couple of extremely funny bits. I really like the supporting cast of weirdos, and he sure seems to have a bunch of “name” comics stopping by for cameos. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/18 "2010-07-16T14:25:41Z")
Damn, I didn’t know Louis C.K. had a new show! Thanks for the thread, or I would have totally missed it! Louis is one of the best comics working today (him and Patton Oswalt; can’t decide which is my favorite), I’m glad he’s getting another shot. ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/19 "2010-07-16T15:15:44Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I’m absolutely loving this show. It’s gut-bustingly funny, then can instantly make you feel touched, or sad, or shocked. It’s a show that kind of lays your emotions out and kicks them around a bit. Me too, exactly. The opening scene around the poker table (ep.2?) was a perfect example of this. Absolutely hilarious, then somber and poignant, then right back to hilarious again. ---
**Author:** ![jrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@jrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrepka)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797/20 "2010-07-16T19:29:53Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > The parents trying to critique the school was brilliant. As a teacher, you have no idea how many parents have vague, idealistic, “out there”, ideas about education that no practical or realistic applications. [paraphrasing] “I skimmed an article on some obscure experimental teaching style being used in some rural Swiss Canton; I think you should scrap everything you’re doing and change to that.” [/paraphrasing] 😃 That was great, but the introspective stuff just blows me away – I still can’t get over that poker scene and the exposition on the word ‘faggot.’ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louie/546797.md?page=2)