# Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - anyone else watching? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457 "2015-03-07T17:35:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/21 "2015-03-10T14:35:24Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I’ve seen two episodes. It’s funny sometimes, but it’s generally a bit too broad for my taste. The characters are too caricatured to really care about. I’m not an SNL fan, and this seems to me like an extended SNL skit in a lot of ways. To each his own but this show is nothing like an extended SNL skit at all, imho. Can’t think of why you would have that opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/22 "2015-03-10T14:41:00Z")
We’ve been watching it and it’s been pretty funny. I agree that the characters are a little broad but Ellie Kemper is just so perky and cute in it. Carol Kane is a national comedic treasure and I cherish seeing her in anything. They keep throwing “Hey those guys” into the show Horatio Sanz, Rachel Dratch (that was Rachel Dratch in the wheelchair right?), and Mark Harelik . ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/23 "2015-03-10T15:14:46Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > “2090 called! You’re dead and you wasted your time on Earth!” is the best line of the series for me. Paraphrasing (because it has been a few days): “Is that meant to be funny, because like a Woody Allen film, no one is laughing”. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/24 "2015-03-10T18:16:07Z")
I like the crazy positivity of it “You can do anything for 10 seconds!” ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/25 "2015-03-10T21:22:07Z")
I really LOLed when they finally found out what the Mystery Crank was for. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/26 "2015-03-11T03:05:14Z")
I watched the first 3 episodes because of this thread and I really enjoyed it. I think Ellie Kemper is awesome in the role. Looking forward to watching the rest of the available episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/27 "2015-03-11T03:24:41Z")
I’ve binged the first few episodes and my reaction is similar to how I felt about _30 Rock_ and _Arrested Development_ - a lot of chuckles with three or four major laughs per show… that’s pretty good, I’ll keep watching. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/28 "2015-03-11T03:35:37Z")
I’m on episode 7. I like it! Of course the supporting actors (Carol Kane and Titus Burgess) make the show but I think the writing is good all around. Kimmy is just unpredictable enough to make it all feel very smart. I kind of think Jane Krakowski’s “rich and clueless” thing is a bit played out. She is basically playing her 30 Rock role here. But I read that the role was specifically created for her (duh) and I don’t like to second guess Tina. I do feel a touch of weirdness with the kidnapping premise, having recently read Michelle Knight’s book (one of the Cleveland victims) but they do present it as a cult so that does separate the two a bit. Oh and I absolutely love love love how they did the theme song. Super clever! I think this is a lot like “Blast from the Past” too but It’s also sort of a classic premise. You can’t just let “Blast from the Past” take and keep the credit. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/29 "2015-03-11T04:44:58Z")
I finished it last night. I recommended it to a couple friends I think will like it, too. Not many sitcoms are that funny to me, but this one had me LOL enough to keep going. There’s a line with me and absurd stuff, which is nebulous to me (Flight of the Conchords - hilarious; Arrested Development - not so much, and I’m not sure why) but this was funny. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/30 "2015-03-11T11:15:18Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’m on episode 7. I like it! Of course the supporting actors (Carol Kane and Titus Burgess) make the show but I think the writing is good all around. Kimmy is just unpredictable enough to make it all feel very smart. > > I kind of think Jane Krakowski’s “rich and clueless” thing is a bit played out. Oddly enough, I like the Ellie Kemper and Jane Krakowski “A” stories better than the Carol Kane and Titus Burgess “B” stories which, while funny, sometimes seem kind of like filler. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/31 "2015-03-11T12:22:28Z")
I’m just amazed that NBC let it go. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2015, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/32 "2015-03-11T12:27:30Z")
I love Carol Kane’s story of how her husband(who was black) died. Kane: “My husband was shot and killed, you know that!” Titus: “Yeah…by you.” Kane: “Well, a black man was approaching me in the dark! It was the 70’s!” ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/33 "2015-03-11T16:57:32Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Interesting side note, every person without fail who I tried to get to try the show, when asking about the premise, immediately asked how old was Kimmy supposed to be and when I explained she was in her late 20s (I hadn’t gotten to the episode that revealed her specific age yet, but I was pretty much right) they got grossed out and sad at the implication that the preacher abused a teen. I tried to explain they gloss over that but all three were turned off by that alone. When I first heard about it, this was the first thought I had, like HOW can you make light of kidnapped women, especially when things like the Cleveland story are so recent. (I wasn’t particularly thinking about the age thing, it seems pretty horrific no matter how old the victims are). I’m about half way through the season, and I’m impressed that this aspect is handled so deftly. It’s a comedy show, but it doesn’t feel like it’s being unfair or crossing a line. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/34 "2015-03-11T17:59:34Z")
Those references to the Montreal Expos stung a little, I admit. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/35 "2015-03-11T23:58:03Z")
[Daddy’s Boy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiBbtrSI83c) ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/36 "2015-03-12T01:10:18Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > [Daddy’s Boy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiBbtrSI83c) Loved the commitment to that joke. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/37 "2015-03-12T02:34:39Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > When I first heard about it, this was the first thought I had, like HOW can you make light of kidnapped women, especially when things like the Cleveland story are so recent. (I wasn’t particularly thinking about the age thing, it seems pretty horrific no matter how old the victims are). > > I’m about half way through the season, and I’m impressed that this aspect is handled so deftly. It’s a comedy show, but it doesn’t feel like it’s being unfair or crossing a line. It might also help people accept this show to remind them that there are plenty of other sitcoms that managed to make humor out of terrible situations (like Hogan’s Heroes and M_A_S\*H for example). I think that a truly skilled comedian can make just about any topic funny, because sometimes humor is the best way to cope with a painful topic. Personally, I didn’t make the connection to the Cleveland kidnappings at all, because unfortunately wacko religious cults being involved in abuse/deceit is not at all an unusual situation. I found the premise appealing because unfortunately I have family stuck in the Jehovah’s Witness cult (which is in fact currently in major legal trouble over a bunch of sex abuse cases they tried to hide from authorities). I would love it if this show ends up causing the light bulb to go off for a few people out there who are part of a controlling religion. ---
**Author:** ![Premislaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f0a364/32.png) [@Premislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Premislaus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/38 "2015-03-12T06:16:57Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > immediately asked how old was Kimmy supposed to be and when I explained she was in her late 20s (I hadn’t gotten to the episode that revealed her specific age yet, but I was pretty much right) they got grossed out and sad at the implication that the preacher abused a teen. Oh, so it would be a-okay if he abused an adult? That’s a weird line of thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/39 "2015-03-12T17:37:37Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I really LOLed when they finally found out what the Mystery Crank was for. I missed it. Could someone spoil it for me? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457/40 "2015-03-12T17:46:32Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > I missed it. Could someone spoil it for me? It generated the electricity for all the gadgets in the preacher’s “man-cave”, which was off limits to the women. He had a big screen TV, movie-style popcorn maker, a pinball machine, tacky neon-lighted decorations etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-anyone-else-watching/714457.md?page=3)