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Ted Lasso (Apple+)

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By MillerEP
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DonkeyCigars

DonkeyCigars 144

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7 minutes ago, yoladu said:

pretty brutal.. but we are not the only ones taking issue with Episode 4.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/apple-tv-plus/ted-lasso-season-2-episodes-4-christmas-review/

i mean just reading bland triteness of the plot recap.. this was not a good episode.

 

From your link, they summed up basically what I was trying to say here:

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What were they going for here? A warm fuzzy Christmas feeling [in August], I guess, and in pursuit of that nobody thought it was necessary to tell a legible story. This was the worst of Season 2, but not an isolated example. When you give up on storytelling in pursuit of an emotion—when you forget that you arrive at emotions by way of storytelling—this is what you get. It’s sad, and it’s a shame, but the road to TV hell is paved with lazy shortcut

 

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RamjetFDO
RamjetFDO

Jesus. Some of you are just miserably unhappy bastards with no joy in your lives. You must be a treat at parties. Spend less time being miserable.

ChickenSandwich
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NSIAP  

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shadow_operative

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58 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

That the best thing about this episode was a “little girl’s breath is so bad it makes adults make funny faces” joke proves my point. That’s Full House level comedy.Ted Lasso is better than that. (Or should be.)

 

jesus christ dude, SPOILERS. some of us haven't seen full house. 

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henrygandorf

henrygandorf 29189

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3 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

It was obvious her breath was going to be the worst thing they ever. Something obvious is never funny. Or did you not figure out the scene as it unfolded?

it wasn't my favorite gag by any stretch, but i think they executed it about as well as can be expected.  what was obvious was that her breath was going to be bad, and the viewer would assume that roy and keeley would sugarcoat it best they could, then maybe talk about it in private.  it was so bad that they couldn't even find the will to lie to a child in real time.  that was the joke.

and obvious things are funny all the time.  there are only about 9 different base jokes, so most adults are sophisticated enough to recognize them when they're being set up.  most writers will tell you that funny scenes don't come from jokes, they come from characters.  this show is a perfect example of this.

this episode wasn't hilarious, it was clearly not going for that.  i agree that they could've (maybe even should've) waited and released it as a one-off special like other brit-shows have done in a few months when people needed that lasso fix.  season 1 was awesome and everyone counted the days until s2 was released.  episode 1 was a disappointment, and this was released when the story momentum was getting going.  if this was a netflix/prime show, nobody would've cared.

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Baboontyme

Baboontyme 2810

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Y'know, I've spent roughly 50 hours in a minivan over the course of the past 10 days with my kids, and my wife decided to burn some DVDs of old sitcoms and their reboots. I can tell you unequivocally that the Christmas episode was NOT Full/Fuller House level comedy. I mean cut. it. out. with that bullshit. I've got terrible Kimmy Gibler and Danny Tanner quips cemented in my brain. It was fine, it was not worthy of critical acclaim. But it was not Full House bad. 

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TexEx15

TexEx15 17510

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7 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

It was obvious her breath was going to be the worst thing they ever. Something obvious is never funny. Or did you not figure out the scene as it unfolded?

I mean if you can’t laugh at that then that’s a you problem.  Of course obvious things can be funny.

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thepop

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What’s wrong with you people? Rhetorical, no need to answer.

 

Watched a nice little Christmas episode that put me in a good mood. Leave for a few days then then check this thread, and it sounds like you are discussing season 8 of game of thrones or something. Probably not going to check this thread again and will just enjoy the show. 

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Js1

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1 hour ago, thepop said:

What’s wrong with you people? Rhetorical, no need to answer.

 

Watched a nice little Christmas episode that put me in a good mood. Leave for a few days then then check this thread, and it sounds like you are discussing season 8 of game of thrones or something. Probably not going to check this thread again and will just enjoy the show. 

This is 1 of 2 standalone episodes that don't advance the plot, per that LA Times article, because Apple TV upped the show from 10 to 12 episodes AFTER they wrote out the 10 episode storyline.

So, this is just round 1. 

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boilerhorn

boilerhorn 1375

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9 hours ago, yoladu said:

pretty brutal.. but we are not the only ones taking issue with Episode 4.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/apple-tv-plus/ted-lasso-season-2-episodes-4-christmas-review/

i mean just reading bland triteness of the plot recap.. this was not a good episode.

Well, crap. 

Now that PASTE magazine has chimed in, I am going to have to stop watching.  I was waiting...  with...  bated...  breath...  for their input.   Now my mind is made up.

My trite response: it is what it is.  Citizen Kane?  It is not.  Comparing it to Full House is intellectual laziness.  Hell, the Phoebe/breath scenes and Keeley chocolate scenes are better than any Full House scene.  Yes, even ones with Aunt Becky.  :)

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Surly Bevo

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2 minutes ago, mr. sunshine said:

Look I think the most recent episode was lacking but I also cried when Old Yeller died. Everybody happy?

As Mr Sunshine you should have realized he was no longer going to have to suffer from the awful scourge of rabies...turn that frown upside down.

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mr. sunshine

mr. sunshine 2824

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4 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

As Mr Sunshine you should have realized he was no longer going to have to suffer from the awful scourge of rabies...turn that frown upside down.

Actually after a couple of pages of discussion of this episode, which I originally didn’t like, but after reading the comments it will undoubtedly be encapsuled in the TV hall of fame as the bestest episode of anything ever, I understand that Old Yeller probably enjoyed sweet, sweet relief 

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DDD Dad

DDD Dad 14335

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Some have referenced Love Actually in describing the episode. I’ve never seen it. Perhaps that is why I thought the episode was blah.
And to the question on Rebecca and Ted ultimately getting together, the answer is 90% yes. I give a 10% chance that Ted gets back with Rebeccas friend.


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DDD Dad

DDD Dad 14335

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I thought this week's episode had its moments.
 
20210813_201622.thumb.jpg.de28695aa0c2650d1efd426f6dabe11f.jpg

That had me laughing out loud. Back when our kids were little we did a family weekend at the Gaylord in Grapevine with a few other families. On the last morning one of the daughters of our friends went up to a chocolate fountain and did basically what Keeley was doing.

Someone asked me to make her stop and I was like, “it’s not my kid” (RIP Peter Sellers)

I’ve promised her parents we are gonna get her a chocolate fountain for her wedding.

So you know, hits close to home.
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C-Man

C-Man 27217

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This show is basically a modern day Scrubs…I can’t imagine several media outlets reviewing and dissecting every Scrubs episode.  This was predictable given it’s success last year.
 
 

I’ve almost mentioned this a couple of times. Scrubs had moments when it swung and missed badly.
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Deej

Deej 76759

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2 hours ago, htown85 said:

This show is basically a modern day Scrubs…I can’t imagine several media outlets reviewing and dissecting every Scrubs episode.  This was predictable given it’s success last year.

 

 

At least this show doesn't have Zach Braff.

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henrygandorf

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4 hours ago, mr. sunshine said:

Actually after a couple of pages of discussion of this episode, which I originally didn’t like, but after reading the comments it will undoubtedly be encapsuled in the TV hall of fame as the bestest episode of anything ever, I understand that Old Yeller probably enjoyed sweet, sweet relief 

the grammar in this thread gives me anxiety. 

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C-Man

C-Man 27217

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LA Times on how the Xmas episode came about.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-08-13/ted-lasso-christmas-episode-apple-tv?fbclid=IwAR0xYBBU9FAzQKCXObukN9kp91Z5b_F3UUYG7R6vlHo1oQEnhDvlptvB-rM

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A stop-motion opening credit sequence. A “Love Actually” reenactment. A rousing cover of a Darlene Love classic.

“Ted Lasso‘s” mid-August Christmas episode might be the most earnest half-hour in a series already unabashed in its optimism and joy. And if, like the promotional gag that inspired Jason Sudeikis’ soccer coach, the holiday episode sounds like it can’t possibly work, trust that “Ted Lasso” once again pulls it off: With precise writing and a carefully calibrated tone, “Carol of the Bells” is one of the best entries in its acclaimed second season.

“It’s such a dangerous area, when you’re on the edge of schmaltz the entire time,” admits the episode’s director, Declan Lowney.

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The installment was a late addition to the season, which Apple expanded to 12 episodes after the writers room had finished breaking its planned 10. They seized the opportunity to revel in two standalone episodes, with “Carol of the Bells” positioned between “when s— goes down and is about to go down,” said the episode’s writer, Joe Kelly.

The episode begins with a scene at the soccer club, where the team’s players and administrators are exchanging gifts and discussing their holiday plans. Ted plans to spend the day opening presents with his son in America via FaceTime — a minutes-long activity that instead leaves him drinking alone at home and watching a rerun of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Filming takes place on the set of “Ted Lasso’s” Christmas episode, featuring Hannah Waddingham, who, as Rebecca, is trying to brighten Ted’s holiday. 

(Apple)

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Thankfully, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) invites him to pose as Santa’s helper with her and distribute gifts to local children — a tradition she kept up while married and had since abandoned. “I know all too well how stunningly s— your first Christmas after you get divorced can be, so I just wanted to make sure you’re OK,” she tells him afterward.

“Writing for ‘Ted Lasso’ means writing conflict without one-dimensional villains who show up to do horrible things because they’re evil and want to rule the world or whatever,” said Kelly. “The only ‘villain’ in this episode is depression, which really is a powerful villain in real life. The idea that Rebecca swoops in and helps defeat that for Ted for a moment is so sweet, especially after everything that happened between them in Season 1.”

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July 18, 2021

Meanwhile, Roy (Brett Goldstein) and Keeley (Juno Temple) forgo their “sexy Christmas” plans to help Roy’s young niece Phoebe (Elodie Blomfield) with a problem that a “Ted Lasso” writer experienced in real life: a kid embarrassed about her mysteriously bad breath.

They go on a door-to-door search of a dentist, who confirms the symptom is caused by Phoebe’s new antihistamine. (As a Christmas surprise for his family, Kelly named Phoebe’s cat Dauphine, after his mother-in-law, and the episode is called “Carol of the Bells” as a shoutout to his own mother — “because if I did one without the other, I never would’ve heard the end of it.”)

Brett Goldstein, Elodie Blomfield, center, and Juno Temple pay tribute to “Love Actually” in the holiday episode of “Ted Lasso.”

(Apple)

Another gift: The dentist onscreen is played by Claire Skinner, the real-life mother of the series’ “ussie” requestor, Bill Skinner, who asks Keeley for a signature photo. Roy, Keeley and Phoebe then stand outside a classmate’s home for a comical tribute to “Love Actually,” in which Phoebe kindly scolds him for making fun of her bad breath. “Unless you make thoughtful amends, you will stink forever,” read her cue cards.

Elsewhere, Higgins (Jeremy Swift) opens his home for team members who don’t have family in town — an evening usually spent with only a couple players. This year, though, nearly the entire team ends up in attendance. “They don’t have enough room to fit all the people who came to this party, which is such a sweet, lovely problem to have,” said Kelly.

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They make do with a surfboard and a billiards table, covered in dishes from each player‘s home country: Sam’s (Toheeb Jimoh) Nigerian classic jollof rice; Dani Rojas’ (Cristo Fernández) traditional Mexican ponche; Richard’s (Stephen Manas) French specialties, foie gras and champagne. It’s captured in a lengthy tracking shot inspired by the 1927 silent movie “Wings” and specifically requested by Sudeikis. “It was only difficult to get because the team loves being together, so when you put them all around the table for a scene, it’s hard to get them to pay attention,” said Lowney.

At the end of the meal, Higgins makes a brief speech, listing the players’ hometowns — the actual cities the actors are from. “I know you’d prefer to have been with them, but it was truly an honor to have you with us to share our traditions and help make a few new ones,” he tells them. “To the family we’re born with, and to the family we make along the way.”

The series’ Christmas episode sees Higgins (Jeremy Swift) saluting the varied hometowns of the diverse football team.

The episode ends with Rebecca passing up Elton John’s annual bash to sing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” with Ted and a band of buskers outside Higgins’ home. “That was just me wanting to hear Hannah sing again,” said Kelly in reference to Waddingham’s “Frozen” cover in Season 1. “She said, ‘Remember, I’m a professional singer, but Rebecca’s not.’ I find it amazing that the singing she does on the show is her bringing it down a few notches from what she can really do, in order to stay in character.”

On the day of the shoot, Waddingham abandoned her prerecorded vocals and instead requested to perform live. “It was the first time we had extras and cast in such big numbers together,” said Lowney of filming the episode amid the pandemic. “That was also why the atmosphere was so lovely — everyone was so happy they got to be together and see each other’s smiling faces.”

The episode was written just before the holiday season thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic. So the fact that the holiday treat is dropping in the middle of August can be “another chance at Christmas cheer, since we all maybe missed it last year,” said Lowney.

Added Kelley, “It might be a good thing; we’re getting at it early, when there aren’t already a hundred Christmas commercials and episodes. I hope people don’t think it’s too early for a Christmas episode, and I hope they’ll rewatch it at Christmas and enjoy it again.”

 

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BrickHorn

BrickHorn 18219

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1 hour ago, C-Man said:

“Ted Lasso‘s” mid-August Christmas episode might be the most earnest half-hour in a series already unabashed in its optimism and joy.

Tell me you don’t understand what made Season 1 great without telling me you don’t understand what made Season 1 great, LA Times.

Hint: it wasn’t “unabashed … optimism and joy.” It was the perseverance of an outwardly optimistic protagonist through real hardships that challenged his rosy outlook and, in a few cases, taught him that there are circumstances where unconditional optimism is actually harmful. Ted struggled last season. His perspective was challenged. And although he generally prevailed, he sometimes had to adjust to do so. 

This season is all happiness and sunshine and carefree, cult-like euphoria that fails to even notice — much less interact with — any hardships along the way. It often feels like a Valium infomercial. It certainly has far less depth than the first season, so far.

Like Ted going into the Man City game, I’m still optimistic that the last episode was an aberration and this show can redeem itself. Hopefully it plays out differently.

Edited by BrickHorn
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C-Man

C-Man 27217

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14 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

Tell me you don’t understand what made Season 1 great without telling me you don’t understand what made Season 1 great, LA Times.

Hint: it wasn’t “unabashed … optimism and joy.” It was the perseverance of an outwardly optimistic protagonist through real hardships that challenged his rosy outlook and, in a few cases, taught him that there are circumstances where unconditional optimism is actually harmful. Ted struggled last season. His perspective was challenged. And although he generally prevailed, he sometimes had to adjust to do so. 

This season is all happiness and sunshine and carefree, cult-like euphoria that fails to even notice — much less interact with — any hardships along the way. It often feels like a Valium infomercial. It certainly has far less depth than the first season, so far.

Like Ted going into the Man City game, I’m still optimistic that the last episode was an aberration and this show can redeem itself. Hopefully it plays out differently.

I tend to agree with some of the points the episode "4" haters have made. Love Actually is practically unbearable and I remembered liking the first time or two I saw it. But the third episode was fantastic after a bit of a slow start in the first two. This one was shoe-horned in after the fact so we'll see how the rest of proper Season 2 goes. I agree that it isn't nearly as powerful as the first season was -- yet.

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DDD Dad

DDD Dad 14335

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Jesus it's like y'all turned into Derka.

I guess I'm just a softie.  I loved the last episode and have enjoyed each episode of Season 2 (or is it really 3?) so far, with multiple literal laugh out loud moments each week.

Edited by DDD Dad
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