This is a good looking P Bass! 1976 was a good year. They don’t make them like they used to!
the season three ratings grew significantly from the first and second season. the shows june 28th premier in 2012 received 1.4 million viewers on FX. these views are also high considering the show was aired over the summer, which typically has less viewership. while it has a lower viewership than other FX shows, like it lead in “Wilfred,” louie is doing very well, especially considering its impressively low budget. It also has extremely high critical acclaim, which is also an important factor for FX to consider. HuffPost TV critic Maureen Ryan called it “the best comedy on television.” Another critic called it “a revelation.” The show received an impressive 93 Metascore. The show has also won 8 awards, including the emmys and writers guild awards. As far as viewership goes, men, tend to watch louie more, with 70% male viewership for the third season. The shows third season also grew 26% in the advertiser coveted 18-49 age range, which FX must like. With all of the rave critical reviews and the steadily increasing viewership, as well as the low budget, it is no wonder the series has been renewed for a fourth season, which will premiere in May 2014.
every episode of louie is amazingly real. each scene cuts to a basic truth of the human existence. even the hilarious or surreal segments have something undeniable about them. i imagine this is largely due to the fact that louie ck bases a lot of the show on his own life. he actually has two daughters and lives in new york in real life, and obviously is a comedian, like in the show.
but beyond the basic facts, louie is based on experiences that go beyond louie’s own situation. louie draws on universal experiences, emotions, or ideas, which is what puts the show so far beyond other sitcoms, or other shows in general on television. there is no hollywood glamor, no laugh tracks, no happy endings. louie isn’t a story about some amazing thing. its real life expressed in a unique and artistic way, which makes the show extremely entertaining and insightful, and in my opinion, one of the best shows ever made.
louie draws on a large number of comedy style to create his own original blend of humor. while varies the style from episode to episode, surreal humor is a common element through many of the episodes. surreal humor is a form of humor based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent, according to wikipedia. The situations in surreal humor are often irrational expressions of nonsense. this is definitely the case in many louie episodes. for example:
things get surreal around 1:30
but this situation, while surreal, is not totally nonsensical. there is a deeper underlying message that louie is trying to demonstrate in an abstract way, pointing out the surreal nature of our existence. here’s another example of louie’s surreal humor expressing a deeper message:
not only is this sequence extremely beautiful, but it points out a deeper meaning. louie makes jokes in his stand up about how he feels like a good person just for thinking of doing good deeds. this scene is a clear representation of that, and the gap between the people we are and the people we want to be, but are too lazy or afraid to become.
the surreal humor in louie goes deep. every shot in his show ties into a deeper message or aesop. generally surreal humor is used for shock value to weird out viewers and make them laugh, but louie takes a more artistic approach, and its clear that all of the surreal humor in his show comes from experiences in his life.
louie has a small cast of reoccurring characters. louie, however, is the only character that shows up in every episode. the reoccurring characters are Louie’s two daughters, Lilly (Hadley Delany) and Jane (Ursula Parker); his brother Robbie (played by Robert Kelly); his teenage-looking agent Doug (played by Edward Gelbinovich), Pamela, the playdate friend and potential love interest (Pamela Adlon); Ben Mitchell, Louie’s crude and inappropriate doctor (Ricky Gervais); Louie’s therapist (David Patrick Kelly); and his ex-wife, Janet (Susan Kelechi Watson). these characters are listed in order (roughly) by most frequent to least frequent occurrence in the show. louie’s daughters play a large role in the show, and while they are not in every episode, they are clearly the one thing that keeps him from falling apart. just about every other character has the opposite effect on louie, as they are brought in and out of the show seemingly just to torment louie. the show has an interesting dynamic for a sitcom because the camera is always on louie. this gives the show more of an epic feel, instead of jumping between various plots between multiple characters.
Interestingly some of the other reoccurring characters lack continuity between episodes. for example, louie’s childhood mom is played by the same actress as his date in another episode.
along with these reoccurring characters, louie has a lot of stars on his show, as cameos or fictional characters. the list includes chris rock, pamela adlon, sarah silverman, ricky gervais, matthew broderick, jay leno, amy poehler, paul rudd, bob saget, jerry seinfeld, and about 20 others! needless to say this adds a cool element to the show. the cameos give a cool look into what louie’s interactions with these kind of stars in real life might be like. its also fun to see these stars acting in both big and small roles in the show. seems like louie has friends in high places. i imagine the actors and actress come on the show more because they like louie and are into his show than for the money, as the budget is so low.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/louie-louis-ck-music-soundtrack-365657
the music in louie captures the emotion of each shot perfectly. almost all of the music is original, and Louie himself plays a large role in scoring each episode. Matt Kilmer is Louie’s musical director, and works with a core group of about 6 musicians, and of course Louie. The music ranges from straight ahead jazz to classical to rock, depending on the mood of the scene. Apparently Louie plays a very hands on role in the process, and is in the studio with Kilmer regularly. this is made obvious in the show by how well this music fits the mood louie is going for. instead of some stock hollywood production company, louie sticks with the hands on approach to his show, which seems to be largely what puts it leagues ahead of other sitcoms on tv. the music also has a more “live” feeling to it than most sitcoms. unlike the slap bass segways in Seinfeld which were actually made on a synthesizer, the music in louie uses primarily real instruments, giving it an organic feel. from the episodes in new york, where the music is inspired by jazz musicians like charles mingus and thelonious to the episode in miami where the music is inspired by latin music, like antonio carlos jobim, the music in louie is always right on point, adding depth of emotion and bringing life to the episodes.
read more about the music from louie here! http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/louie-louis-ck-music-soundtrack-365657
the season three finally wins the prize for darkest episode of louie. the episode also takes the surreal nature of the show to an all time high. louie runs into the girl of his dreams, who he has been on several great dates with but hasn’t been able to track down since on the bus. they are thrilled to see each other get up to greet each other. but suddenly the woman’s face turns to panic as blood starts running out of her nose. she collapses. the next shot she’s in the ICU with louie standing next to her bed. the doctors franticly try to help her as her health declines. she tells louie she is afraid to die, he tries to comfort her. then, with out any dramatic sequence or music, she is dead. the doctors try to revive her with a defribulator, but after one try, say okay lets call it. they mark her time of death. louie is in shock. it is new years eve, and moments after she dies, louie walks into the hallway to find other doctors and nurses running down the hallway for the ten second count down to “happy new year.” louie walks by them and leaves the hospital.
the surreal nature of this sequence is brilliant. louie takes an impressionistic approach to death, instead of the usual hollywood dramatic style. he demonstrates the suddenness. the fact that is new years eve and every one else is celebrating helps emphasize his aloneness. the fact that he just leaves, because he doesn’t really know the woman, further emphasizes the experience of death, the fact that she magically comes back into his life, and just as quickly is gone for ever. the woman’s death also makes an excellent end to the third season. as many of the episodes are devoted to her and louie growing closer, but just like that, louie is back to square one. 
louie episodes vary, but they are generally broken up into three vignettes with stand up segments in between. in some episodes each of the three sections represents an act, as one plot moves through the entire show. this generally acts as exposition, rising action, and then climax/resolution in the third scene. the resolutions in louie generally don’t involve much resolution for his character, but represent a realization or an end to a series of dramatic events. in other episodes the three vignettes are fairly unrelated, as far as the lot is concerned. While the vignettes are still connected by a common theme, each has a separate plot these plots generally have continuity through the episode, but each vignette has its own beginning, middle and end. The combination makes about 9 miniature scenes total, all tied together to develop different aspects of a single message. this structure is similar to having A, B, and C plots, but instead of having each plot weave together cutting back and forth through the show, the plots are separate. however, this still has the same effect of each subplot combining to form a story greater than the sum of its parts.
its hard to watch an episode of louie and feel like you have learned something about the world. each episode seems to have a sort of hidden moral, some more obvious than others. i couldn’t think of how to describe this feeling until recently when i discovered the word aesop. its exactly what that is. from my understanding aesop was a greek fabulist whose stories always ended with some sort of moral lesson. watch an episode of louie and see if you can point out or at least feel the underlying aesop. to me this is one of the factors that pushes louie beyond other sitcoms: deeper underlying observations and aesops that tie together the seemingly unrelated vignettes that make up each show.
try throwing around the term aesop next time you have a literary conversation, you’ll really empress your hipster friends!
i was blown away to find out that the child actresses playing louie’s daughters, Lilly (Hadley Delany) and Jane (Ursula Parker), perform all their dialogue exactly as its written. in an interview louie describes that he has very specific ideas in mind and puts a lot of time into writing the dialogue, so everything is done word for word. and the two girls nail it. even the most complex stops and starts, interruptions, everything is to a tee. i assumed until now that a lot of the dialogue with the young actresses was loose or improvised. wow.
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Posted: March 6, 2013 in Uncategorized
Louie 