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The Good Place — 42 Comments

1. Definitely liked the Good Place. Kristen Bell made the show.

   For another Netflix rec: try the Korean dramedy, Extraordinary Attorny Woo. Comes dubbed or with subtitles. I preferred the dubbing which was good. Great story about autistic attorney played superbly by noted actress Park eun bin. Great supporting cast, good scripts. Only 1 of the episodes fell just a bit flat.

2. Agreed. Wonderful show that makes you both think and laugh frequently.

3. Extraordinary Atty Woo is indeed a wonderful show. I watch everything subbed, I’ve never liked dubs, so I can’t speak to the quality of the dub or not, but I enjoyed the show, and heartily second physicsguy’s recommendation.

   There are actually rather a lot of “kdramas” that I recommend, but EAW is definitely a great one to start with. For all that Squid Game was so popular a year or so ago, I found it to be merely a bit above-average compared to so many other shows that Seoul’s pushing out. As one of the Korean directors noted when Parasite won an Oscar — if you can get past the 1-inch barrier of the subtitles, then whole new worlds open up.

4. The Good Place and Becker are two of my favorite Danson works. I was rather surprised that both (or either for that matter) made it as long as they did.

   I can see how a religious person would have problems grokking the humor but neither was anti-religious. I won’t spoil but the arc in TGP is quite deep.

5. I’m going to add 2¢ worth regarding Extraordinary Attorney Woo. FIVE STARS!

   My wife began watching K-dramas during the pandemic lockdown, and when she spotted one that she thought I’d like — I can be and am *very* picky when it comes to what entertainment I’ll consider (I’m game for entertainment but not for “entertainment”, if you get my drift) — I climbed aboard, and one of the stops was Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Excellent, excellent, excellent.

   My take on Hollywood entertainment now is “guilty until proven innocent”. After years of gamely going along with esteemed wife to whatever movie was considered by Those Who Decide Everything to be a good movie, I flat-out quit after enduring a particularly annoying one. (This was well before the pandemic.) I got tired of spending my time and money on garbage.

   But I have digressed. There’s something of a qualitative difference between, say, Korean dramas and Hollywood dramas. We took in an Israeli drama or two, and again, I noticed something of a qualitative difference. I’m way out of my depth on this sort of stuff, but I find that even I can notice it. I wish I knew enough about entertainment appraisal/criticism to be in a position to describe and discuss what I think I’m sensing.

   Carry on . . .

6. Greg Daniels makes pretty good shows. I liked Parks as Recreation too.

7. My Wife watched too and really liked it. When I am not around, or not allowed to watch TV she watches the Korean TV shows. They are not what I like though.

8. Along the lines of flicks dealing with afterlife -> Ink, The Frame and 11:59, all written and directed by Jamin Winans are marvelous. Ink is my favorite.

   Ink is currently available free for Prime, The Frame is cheap and 11:59 isn’t there, although that’s where I watched it.

   The man has complete mastery over story telling and cinematographic technique and in Ink it’s displayed in full. He tends to use actors repeatedly with Christopher Soren Kelly apparently his favorite (and rightfully so).

   Highly, highly recommend.

9. The only TV series I ever got interested in was “Northern Exposure.” My two office staff talked me into it and it was good until the last season or so when the writers ran out of ideas.

   Of course, I like Alaska and even considered moving there.

10. Off topic: I need a new home printer. Not expensive one. Any suggestions. Print/Copy/Fax

    Thanks

11. The only TV series I ever got interested in was “Northern Exposure.” My two office staff talked me into it and it was good until the last season or so when the writers ran out of ideas.
    ==
    You mean they saw themselves as Marilyn to your Dr. Fleischmann?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g85mGqB0dAc&t=27s

12. One of our sons talked me into watching Season 1 Episode 1 of The Good Place while I was there on an extended visit (we watched TV or a movie nearly every night, which I never do at home).
    Since I was leaving soon, and knew I wouldn’t continue watching later, we jumped to the end-of-season episode.
    Some of you know the plotline, but that’s all I will say here.
    Excellent. Totally agree with Neo & others.
    Still haven’t watched the intervening episodes, or later seasons.

    That same AesopSon also loves Korean shows, and Bollywood.
    And Japanese anime, like his brothers and father, but they are not into the K and B as much as he is.

13. Neo – maybe you could start a new thread with a SPOILER Warning, so that those who have seen the show can talk about it without ruining it for those who haven’t seen it.

14. I started this show on three separate occasions and couldn’t get past the 5th episode. Then i found myself in a funk and needed a distraction so I tried one last time and persevered.

    SO GLAD I did, because it became one of my favorite shows. I’ve watched it several times through.

    Spoilers
    One of my favorite parts is when Michael talks to Bad Janet about how it’s important that people try to be a little bit better today than they were yesterday. I know this show isn’t biblical, and I certainly don’t use this show as a replacement for church. But…that scene has helped me in times I’ve been consumed with anger or revenge or jealousy.

15. Black Mirror. Just superb and veerryy thought-provoking one.

16. If you want a thought-provoking but amusing show, I would recommend the Brit series “Coupling”, from the early 2000s.

    The creator, Steven Moffat, was approached by BBC execs to create an ensemble show like “Friends”. So he did.

    The main thrust of the show is about two people and their developing relationship. The ensemble is Him, Her, His Best Friend, Her Best Friend, His Ex GF and her Ex BF.

    It deals with concepts of (of course) sex in relationships, how two people maneuver through the slings and arrows of both the timing, accidents that happen, and other aspects of relationships. And yes, there is a brit attitude towards sexuality, so it’s more frank and open in much of its discussions, humor, and such. So: NSFW in case that was not obvious. The fourth ep, “Inferno”, which centers on discussions about a porn titled “Lesbian Spank Inferno” gives you a feel for the nature of things, but, mind you, it’s not crass or crude or anything. If you watch it through to that fourth ep, I will say that you should enjoy it by that point, and realize that, while it is frank about the topic, it’s never crude or unserious in terms of the discussions. I have yet to meet anyone who has seen it who did not appreciate it. It is remarkably intelligent for what is a combined comedy of manners as well as a comedy of errors. It consists of four ” brit” seasons which are 7-10 episodes each.

    One aspect of it centers around the main male characters’ BF, who is an odd but endearing guy who is a distinctly shy nebbish who often shoots himself in the foot with women. He also comes up with a lot of terms for things which you will then appreciate using at time, akin to the way Seinfeld invented terms that became common slang jargon at least for a while, such as “No Soup For You!”, “They are real and they are spectacular”, and “I’ve got hand!!”

17. }}} Black Mirror. Just superb and veerryy thought-provoking one.

    A modern Twilight Zone. Quite good.

    I would also recommend Love, Death, and Robots, a collection of different animated shorts about one or more of the three title topics. All three seasons have been excellent, and they are all relatively short, so you don’t have time to get bored with anything if you don’t like the art on one or don’t find the subject or characters interesting.

    Some other shows to consider are three by Bryan Fuller:
    Wonderfalls
    Dead Like Me
    Pushing Daisies

    Only Wonderfalls had a truly proper ending, but all have a great off-kilter sense of humor and unusual topic basis.

    Wonderfalls is about an Ivy-league graduate whose parents and siblings are all remarkably successful, but she is a slacker who works at a memorabilia shop at Niagara Falls. One day, she gets a whack in the head. When she gets up, various animal figures she encounters talk to her and tell her to do things. Which she knows is odd and often seems wrong, but when she ignores them, bad things happen (usually to other people) specifically because she ignored the instructions, and she recognizes that, had she done what the figures (for example, a lawn flamingo, a brass-monkey bookend, a stuffed fish on the wall) had told her to do, those bad things would not have befallen those people. It is short, only 10 episodes, but they were able to create a complete story arc.

    Dead Like Me is about a young girl, recently graduated from high school, and a slacker. Her mother forces her to go out and get a job. On her first day of work, while at lunch, she is killed by a piece from a de-orbiting satellite. She’s dead, but she finds out that there are, apparently, people referred to as “reapers”, whose job it is it to help people who have died to “move on”. The reaper who would have done so for her had “passed their allotted time”, and so she, instead of “moving on”, takes on that reaper’s role.

    Several things:
    1 — She is not forced to do anything, but if she does not, bad things happen to those she isn’t helping to move on (yes, sounds familiar, but it’s still different). So guilt piles up until she complies.
    2 — She still has to “make a living”, e.g., find a place to sleep, money to pay for things, eat, and so forth. If she looks in a mirror, she sees how others see her, even though if she looks down, say, at her hands or legs, she still sees “herself”.
    3 — She gets instructions on who she is supposed to help from Rube, a more experienced Reaper who is her “boss”. He does get his instructions each day from “higher up”.
    4 — George is continually dealing with homesickness and her own guilt about how badly she dissed her mother when alive, and longs for some kind of connection, despite warning from Rube about how it can only end in unhappiness for all, as she is no longer “herself”.

    Pushing Daisies is about a pie maker who found, when very young, that he had an unusual talent: He could bring dead things back to life by touching them. Unfortunately (and he did not realize this at first) if he touches them again, their lives end. And if he does not touch them again within 60 seconds, something else with a similar “life value” (e.g., human-human, animal-animal, plant-plant) nearby dies in its place. And even after that, if he touches the revived thing a second time, it still dies.

    His secret was found out by a private detective, whom he works with by solving murders… they get to “be alone” with the body for a brief time, and he brings the person back to life, they ask them who killed them, and then “solve” the crime with the inside information.

    The pie maker finds out that is long-lost childhood sweetheart has been killed. So he goes to see her, and brings her back to life… and she confesses her long-denied love for him. And he does not touch her. So they now try and get through their relationship while they can never touch each other, lest she die a second time. Meanwhile they continue to solve murders with the PI, also while they try and figure out who it was killed her in the first place. And learn different people’s strange back stories as things happen.

    This show is unusual for several reason, not the least of which is that it has a strong musical influence, and the characters do sometimes break out in song. The second is that it has some very quirky, and sometimes macabre, situations for the central cast to be in, interacting with other characters to match.

18. Cynthia Geary was the reason to watch “Northern Exposure.” Also, us old guys appreciated the sight gag of her preferring a much older man.

    But I hate shows that make me think. I want submersion and mindlessness. “Stranger Things” is more my speed.

19. I loved the first season of The Good Place because of the way it ended. I actually figured it out, which is rare for me! The second season was fun, too.

20. I’d like to second OBloodyHell’s recommendation of Bryan Fuller’s television series. “Wonderfalls” and “Dead Like Me” are two of my favorite comedies.

    I’m not as fond of “Pushing Daises.” Maybe it’s time for another look.

21. Have you watched Afterlife, with Ricky Gervais? Excellent show. No one does bathos and pathos better than Ricky.

22. I like Kristen Bell, but I didn’t think I’d like “The Good Place,” so I didn’t watch it. I did like Ted Danson as “Mr. Mayor.” It did hit a few satirical targets, but it was mostly mindless entertainment.

    I enjoyed the three Bryan Fuller comedies. “Dead Like Me” looked like a more interesting picture of an afterlife. As for “Pushing Daisies,” I like Anna Friel in moderate doses, but Lee Pace can be kind of a drag.

    Kelsey Grammar’s more serious Chicago mayor in “Boss” was great. Comparable to, but better than than “House of Cards” IMHO. I wondered why the cable network cancelled “Boss” and “Magic City” and kept “Power” running and running.

    All these years I thought “Cold Feet” was the British “Friends.” They even brought one of the stars over to the states to play Ross’s fiancée. I’m not tempted to watch “Coupling,” though. I haven’t yet recovered from ten seasons of “Friends.” That the top quote on IMDB is an arse joke doesn’t help either.

23. We watched The Good Place on recommendation from our daughter and it ended up being extraordinary. Almost gave up on it during the first season; it seemed to me that it was turning cynical and nihilistic but amazingly the show progresses far beyond that, in a very positive direction. And often it’s laugh out loud funny.

24. It’s been well over a year since I last turned my TV on, (Then off again after less than ten minutes.).

    None the less I’m delighted rational folks are finding at least a few things there that they can enjoy.

25. I’ve been a fan of Kristen Bell for some time, so I put “The Good Place” on my list years ago but never watched it. My thoughts were like Abraxas’. I just couldn’t see it as being appealing. So I’ll have to check it out now.

    Even though it is cheesy teen-to-mid-twenties fare, I liked the series Veronica Mars (2004). Small California beach town, teen angst, combined with private detective and film noir elements. The first two seasons were good, but when they graduated high school and moved on to college in season 3, it fell apart somewhat.

26. I’m actually on my 4th or 5th viewing of the Good Place. There are things that get missed (or at least by me). Such as Jason played Acid Cat the DJ when alive. He was frustrated that he was hiding who he was. As punishment, when he died, he became Jianyu, the silent monk, again not Jason. Hilarious. I laugh but I also enjoy the philosophy, though that comes in small bite sized pieces.

    I thought season 1 was pretty good. the last two seasons were meh.

    The theology is something I think is embraced today by people who think they are spiritual or fringe Christian sects. That is, if I’m good enough why wouldn’t i go to heaven. But then, theology is hard for even devout Christians.

27. I watched the first season of The Good Place. Decided to give it up after one or two episodes mainly because I thought the whole concept uninteresting, starting with the childish and superficial view of heaven and associated ideas. At the prodding of a friend, pushed on, and, assisted by some quite funny bits here and there, in the end (keeping this vague to avoid spoilers) had somewhat more respect. But really didn’t have any interest in seeing more. So I’m intrigued by what Neo and others are saying about subsequent seasons.

28. I’m with Jim in AK.
    Don’t turn my TV on except to watch DVDs, and I seldom do that also. I have seldom had the lethargic patience to sit through a movie. Books are my thing, all non-fiction or religious in recent years. I really appreciate the learnedness and philosophies in encyclicals by St. Pope John Paul II and Benedict. Heavy going, but so worthwhile!

29. Ditto on veronica mars first two seasons miss fishers mysteries set in 20s australia is interesting

30. I’m with Mac in re: The Good Place. Daughter’s recc and I enjoyed it at first but near the end of the second season was bored. IMO it got repetitive and lacking forward momentum. Bailed out after the Streetcar episode. Maybe give it another go? Were there three seasons or four?
    The only current tv to hold my attention is ‘reality’ based Clarkson’s Farm. Hilarious and an illuminating look into modern – but not corporate – farming.
    Highly recommend – but only if you are practised at tuning out the f word!

31. Molly Brown, thanks for mentioning Clarkson’s Farm! It is so great. You do have to “tune out” the f word, though. Sometimes I can hardly blame the people in the show for using it.

32. }}} I’d like to second OBloodyHell’s recommendation of Bryan Fuller’s television series. “Wonderfalls” and “Dead Like Me” are two of my favorite comedies.

    I’m not as fond of “Pushing Daises.” Maybe it’s time for another look.

    To each their own. Curious what did not appeal — not argumentative, just trying to understand differences of position.

    He was also behind Hannibal, American Gods, and Legion.

    Have not watched the first, but the second is excellent. And the first season or so of Legion is awesome. Both of the latter are somewhat surreal, for a number of reasons, so they do need patience for understanding WtF is going on.

    He also did the initial work on Star Trek: Discovery, but left midway through the first season, because I think he disagreed with where the show was being taken, which is why it’s nowhere near as good as most other things he’s worked on.

33. I didn’t get “American Gods.” A whole season of driving around to get the gods together without them really doing anything. Maybe it picked up in Season 2, if there was one. “Legion” also got too complicated and strange as it went on.

    I did like “Babylon Berlin” and “The Optimists,” a Russian series, and now I’m watching “Yellowstone,” like most of the country is, according to some accounts. French TV also has some great shows: “Spiral,” “The Bureau,” “A French Village.” I watch a lot of Scandinavian crime shows, but they all seem to meld together (or maybe freeze together would be more appropriate). And we’ll always have “Narcos” and “Narcos: Mexico.”

34. Molly Brown:

    I suppose the show is repetitious in the sense that a theme and variations is repetitious. But as it goes on past the point you stopped, I think the variations become more and more thoughtful. By the time it was over, I was very glad I watched it.

35. I’m with Jim in AK and Cicero: TV is for baseball games and that’s it. The rest of the time I read books or watch history or science documentaries online (in French or German as well as English, to keep up my foreign-language skills and find an occasional item that huxley might like). I’ve never been interested in any TV series of any genre– maybe it’s my contrarian streak showing.

36. I just binge watched this miniseries about a Soviet fighter regiment in WWII. In the last episode everyone in this scene except the three pilots being awarded plus one other is killed when higher command stupidly forces them to defend their airfield as infantry. Everyone dies. The command element, the political officers, the medics, the mechanics.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS_aJUfK_jE&t=2068s

37. @ Chases Eagles > “..when higher command stupidly forces them to defend their airfield as infantry. Everyone dies.”

    This kind of thinking sounds similar to some recent examples in Ukraine.

38. I’m with Jim in AK, Cicero and PA Cat,

    I know I’m an outlier, and there is some human quality I appear to lack, but talk of watching TV shows or movies on TV is so odd to me. When people say, “Well, the first season is not very good, but stick with it, season two and parts of season seventeen are decent…” I instantly start thinking of all the time I’d have to invest. In all honesty I’d rather read a synopsis, or Cliff’s Notes.

    And that’s where I understand I’m odd, because most people like spending time with the characters, but I’m typically just interested in the information. Like Cicero, most all of my reading is fact based. I feel a bit guilty watching fictional television; “if I’ve got an hour a week to spend with Ted Danson perhaps I should spend an hour on the phone with my father, instead,” is sort-of how my mind works. Like I don’t have the right to be entertained.

    Another odd twist; if it’s something performed or viewed at an entertainment facility, then I’m on-board. I almost exclusively watch movies in movie theaters. I love going to live plays. I rarely watch sports on television, but enjoy going to live games.

    It seems very natural to me, but I know, from hearing so many others talk about TV in their lives that there is something “wrong” with me. It’s nice to learn here on neo’s blog that there are others who are similar.

39. Rufus-
    Using even a second of one’s life to comment upon something aired on TV is a second that is lost forever, can never be recovered. The media controllers, who subtly and constantly dispense left-wing propaganda, are a danger to us all.
    Like you, I am glad to learn here that I am not alone!

40. @ Rufus > “Another odd twist; if it’s something performed or viewed at an entertainment facility, then I’m on-board.”

    You’re only odd if you are out-numbered.
    I much prefer watching movies at home on the small screen (except for high-action blockbusters, or when going with my family); I prefer concerts on CD to live; and in general dislike being in clouds.
    I don’t watch sports at all (thus I am really, truly odd).

    “Like I don’t have the right to be entertained.”
    Wholesome entertainment is a necessary refreshment for both mental and physical health.
    The adjective is important.

    “most people like spending time with the characters”
    Some of our sons and their wives are of that ilk; not sure where they came from, other than as a genetic inheritance from their great-grandmothers (As the World Turns).

    “but I’m typically just interested in the information”
    That’s why I read non-fiction. I sometimes watch documentaries, but unless they are really well done, I’d rather peruse the printed pages.

    If you want to watch movies AND get information AND like to know how things and people work, I highly recommend this website:

    https://thecinematherapy.com/
    “Cinema Therapy was started in 2020 when two friends, a licensed therapist and a professional filmmaker, teamed up to share mental health and relationship skills while geeking out about movies.”

    Best if you’ve seen the films first, but not absolutely necessary.

41. AesopFan,

    I much prefer small, live venues to large. I’d rather see a band I’ve never heard of in a small bar than see my favorite band at a thousand+ concert venue. I’d rather see a High School basketball game in a gym that holds a few hundred fans than a pro game in an arena that holds tens of thousands.

42. }}} I’m not tempted to watch “Coupling,” though. I haven’t yet recovered from ten seasons of “Friends.” That the top quote on IMDB is an arse joke doesn’t help either.

    Well, if an arse joke offends you, then yes, Coupling is almost certainly not your cuppa tea. Not judging there, just agreeing.

    Coupling is “like Friends” only in the sense that it is the interaction of six people, as two of them meet and grow together. Started with a similar premise, but went a very very different direction. No dispute it is much more open and suggestive about sex in general, so not for everyone. Not really crude, I’d assert, but “intellectually aware” about sex and other “adult” things, and able to do brit high-brow humor about such subjects. Akin to “Are You Being Served” or “Yes, Minister”, but a bit further along the spectrum.

    BTW, I’ll point out, there were episodes of Monty Python in the late 60s/early 70s that had bare breasts and bare butts. Brit TV has always been less uptight about such things than American TV.

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