Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 12: “Kim Moves Out”
Written by Louie C.K.
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on August 27th, 2006 on HBO
“Kim Moves Out” is the final episode of Lucky Louie aired by HBO during the show’s initial run (there’s an unaired episode released with the DVD set which I’ll review next week), and it was a fitting way for the sitcom to go out. Lucky Louie had a remarkably inconsistent first and only season, and “Kim Moves Out” comes across as the perfect ending due to the light it sheds on both what made the show so good and what made it so bad. As harsh as I’ve been on Lucky Louie, it’s hard not to see any potential in its concept, and this episode features some perfect examples of the style realized at its finest. On the other hand, Lucky Louie...
Written by Louie C.K.
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on August 27th, 2006 on HBO
“Kim Moves Out” is the final episode of Lucky Louie aired by HBO during the show’s initial run (there’s an unaired episode released with the DVD set which I’ll review next week), and it was a fitting way for the sitcom to go out. Lucky Louie had a remarkably inconsistent first and only season, and “Kim Moves Out” comes across as the perfect ending due to the light it sheds on both what made the show so good and what made it so bad. As harsh as I’ve been on Lucky Louie, it’s hard not to see any potential in its concept, and this episode features some perfect examples of the style realized at its finest. On the other hand, Lucky Louie...
- 9/2/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 11: “Louie Quits”
Written by Dan Mintz
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on August 20th, 2006 on HBO
Too often, Lucky Louie has come across as a great concept with poor execution. The idea of one of the funniest living comedians showing the contemporary relevance of a seemingly dated storytelling style by featuring modern language and topics of conversation is the sort of of thing which, hypothetically, I’d be very much on board with. Unfortunately, Louis C.K. too often forgets to update the attitudes associated with the form, leaving Lucky Louie often feeling like an ugly excuse to retread perspectives that television should’ve left behind long ago.
This is brought up as a way to discuss the cold open of “Louie Quits,” which has a promising start but eventually succumbs to the same problems which have been dragging down the series from the first episode.
Written by Dan Mintz
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on August 20th, 2006 on HBO
Too often, Lucky Louie has come across as a great concept with poor execution. The idea of one of the funniest living comedians showing the contemporary relevance of a seemingly dated storytelling style by featuring modern language and topics of conversation is the sort of of thing which, hypothetically, I’d be very much on board with. Unfortunately, Louis C.K. too often forgets to update the attitudes associated with the form, leaving Lucky Louie often feeling like an ugly excuse to retread perspectives that television should’ve left behind long ago.
This is brought up as a way to discuss the cold open of “Louie Quits,” which has a promising start but eventually succumbs to the same problems which have been dragging down the series from the first episode.
- 8/26/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 10: “Confession”
Written by Mary Fitzgerald and Aaron Shure
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on August 13th, 2006 on HBO
Maybe Lucky Louie has just been searching for the right material for its jokes. Over the past few weeks, these reviews have derided the show for being racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and using subjects such as rape and alcoholism for comedic material. For too much of the season, Lucky Louie has come across as a way for a white man to crack jokes at the expense of those less fortunate than him. In Louie, Louis C.K. reveals an overwhelming amount of empathy, but his earlier series often feels burdened by his failure to understand anyone’s perspective other than his own.
“Confession” doesn’t find C.K. being any more empathetic, but it does show him aiming his humor in a more suitable (and funnier) direction. Rather...
Written by Mary Fitzgerald and Aaron Shure
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on August 13th, 2006 on HBO
Maybe Lucky Louie has just been searching for the right material for its jokes. Over the past few weeks, these reviews have derided the show for being racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and using subjects such as rape and alcoholism for comedic material. For too much of the season, Lucky Louie has come across as a way for a white man to crack jokes at the expense of those less fortunate than him. In Louie, Louis C.K. reveals an overwhelming amount of empathy, but his earlier series often feels burdened by his failure to understand anyone’s perspective other than his own.
“Confession” doesn’t find C.K. being any more empathetic, but it does show him aiming his humor in a more suitable (and funnier) direction. Rather...
- 8/19/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 9: “Drinking”
Written by Kit Boss
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on August 6th, 2006 on HBO
Welcome to the latest in the series of weekly complaints about offensive jokes in Louis C.K.’s oeuvre, or as Sound on Sight calls them, reviews of the first and only season of Lucky Louie. In all seriousness, just when it seems like the show’s humor can’t get any more tasteless, it finds subjects now (ten years after Lucky Louie premiered, but still) universally considered to be taboo to mock (and probably weren’t looked upon all that much better at the time). In last week’s “Get Out,” it was statutory rape, and this week’s “Drinking” pokes fun at, you guessed it, alcoholism. (It laughs at rape as well, but one gripe at a time.)
It’s too bad writer Kit Boss feels the need...
Written by Kit Boss
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on August 6th, 2006 on HBO
Welcome to the latest in the series of weekly complaints about offensive jokes in Louis C.K.’s oeuvre, or as Sound on Sight calls them, reviews of the first and only season of Lucky Louie. In all seriousness, just when it seems like the show’s humor can’t get any more tasteless, it finds subjects now (ten years after Lucky Louie premiered, but still) universally considered to be taboo to mock (and probably weren’t looked upon all that much better at the time). In last week’s “Get Out,” it was statutory rape, and this week’s “Drinking” pokes fun at, you guessed it, alcoholism. (It laughs at rape as well, but one gripe at a time.)
It’s too bad writer Kit Boss feels the need...
- 8/5/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 8: “Get Out”
Written by Mike Royce
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on July 31st, 2006 on HBO
Lucky Louie tackles some fairly dark subjects in its first season. Racism, misogyny, and homophobia are just a few topics the show uses as sources of humor (and which these reviews have called out for poorly handling). That being said, it’s at least had the decency to avoid rape, an issue which it was hard to imagine the series being any more deft at discussing. Avoided, that is, until this week’s “Get Out,” and the results are as uninspiring and potentially pernicious as Rich’s stale and offensive jokes throughout the season.
Before the episode gets to the rape plot, though, it starts off with a teaser which showcases yet another one of said jokes. In the scene, Rich wants free pizza, and he’s not...
Written by Mike Royce
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on July 31st, 2006 on HBO
Lucky Louie tackles some fairly dark subjects in its first season. Racism, misogyny, and homophobia are just a few topics the show uses as sources of humor (and which these reviews have called out for poorly handling). That being said, it’s at least had the decency to avoid rape, an issue which it was hard to imagine the series being any more deft at discussing. Avoided, that is, until this week’s “Get Out,” and the results are as uninspiring and potentially pernicious as Rich’s stale and offensive jokes throughout the season.
Before the episode gets to the rape plot, though, it starts off with a teaser which showcases yet another one of said jokes. In the scene, Rich wants free pizza, and he’s not...
- 7/29/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 7: “Discipline”
Written by Louis C.K.
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on July 24th, 2006 on HBO
After all of the story arcs focusing on issues of gender, race, and sexuality, most of which haven’t been well handled, it’s refreshing to see Lucky Louie focus on an topic Louis C.K. understands better: parenting. While the attempts to tackle these other subjects have tended to reek of misplaced white male intentions, C.K. uses his experience as a parent to deliver a clever and touching take on parent-child power dynamics in the age of contemporary parenting techniques. This experience made for some of the best material in his stand-up work from the period (some of which is adapted directly into “Discipline”), and seeing it play out in the sitcom format makes it work even better.
Even with the improvement, “Discipline” isn’t entirely free from...
Written by Louis C.K.
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on July 24th, 2006 on HBO
After all of the story arcs focusing on issues of gender, race, and sexuality, most of which haven’t been well handled, it’s refreshing to see Lucky Louie focus on an topic Louis C.K. understands better: parenting. While the attempts to tackle these other subjects have tended to reek of misplaced white male intentions, C.K. uses his experience as a parent to deliver a clever and touching take on parent-child power dynamics in the age of contemporary parenting techniques. This experience made for some of the best material in his stand-up work from the period (some of which is adapted directly into “Discipline”), and seeing it play out in the sitcom format makes it work even better.
Even with the improvement, “Discipline” isn’t entirely free from...
- 7/22/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 6: “Flowers for Kim”
Written by Jon Ross
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on July 17th, 2006 on HBO
Throughout Lucky Louie’s prior episodes, the show has struggled to toe the line between using a dated style to express contemporary ideas and genuinely espousing a retrograde attitude. Although some moments, like Rich’s misogynistic jokes, have at least had the awareness not to directly align the viewer with the sentiments being conveyed, others, like the racist caricature in “A Mugging Story,” have seemed flat-out backwards. Louis C.K.’s conception for the show doesn’t seem inherently misguided, but the missteps of the early episodes have made the approach feel questionable.
It’s refreshing then, to see a half hour which finally works as C.K. intends. From the beginning of the cold open, writer Jon Ross puts the freedom from censorship allowed by HBO to good use,...
Written by Jon Ross
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on July 17th, 2006 on HBO
Throughout Lucky Louie’s prior episodes, the show has struggled to toe the line between using a dated style to express contemporary ideas and genuinely espousing a retrograde attitude. Although some moments, like Rich’s misogynistic jokes, have at least had the awareness not to directly align the viewer with the sentiments being conveyed, others, like the racist caricature in “A Mugging Story,” have seemed flat-out backwards. Louis C.K.’s conception for the show doesn’t seem inherently misguided, but the missteps of the early episodes have made the approach feel questionable.
It’s refreshing then, to see a half hour which finally works as C.K. intends. From the beginning of the cold open, writer Jon Ross puts the freedom from censorship allowed by HBO to good use,...
- 7/15/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 5: “Long Weekend”
Written by Dino Stamatopoulos
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on July 10th, 2006 on HBO
If nothing else, “Control” makes for a very focused episode of Lucky Louie. In a series crammed full of B plots and skits that feel forced in because Louis C.K. didn’t know where to put them (i.e. the “Why” sketch from the cold open in “Pilot”), it’s refreshing to see an episode which clearly develops a single idea. Whereas other half-hours have felt trapped between half-baked gags, there’s something enjoyable about seeing an episode which devotes its running time to exploring a specific concept and how it affects various members of the ensemble.
It’s too bad, though, that writer Dino Stamatopoulos doesn’t use the focus of the episode to examine a fresher topic. By looking at dieting, and specifically Louie’s desire...
Written by Dino Stamatopoulos
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on July 10th, 2006 on HBO
If nothing else, “Control” makes for a very focused episode of Lucky Louie. In a series crammed full of B plots and skits that feel forced in because Louis C.K. didn’t know where to put them (i.e. the “Why” sketch from the cold open in “Pilot”), it’s refreshing to see an episode which clearly develops a single idea. Whereas other half-hours have felt trapped between half-baked gags, there’s something enjoyable about seeing an episode which devotes its running time to exploring a specific concept and how it affects various members of the ensemble.
It’s too bad, though, that writer Dino Stamatopoulos doesn’t use the focus of the episode to examine a fresher topic. By looking at dieting, and specifically Louie’s desire...
- 7/8/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 4: “Long Weekend”
Written by Louis C.K.
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on July 3rd, 2006 on HBO
Throughout Louis C.K.’s career, although he often bears a strong resemblance to the characters he plays (including in his stand-up persona), he almost never seems to intend for the audience to wholly identify with them. Outside of his self-righteous late-night rants, as heavily as C.K. plays his regular guy shtick (particularly when he positions himself as the relatable foil to an off-the-rails sad sack, such as in “Cop Story” from the most recent season of Louie), there’s almost always something to keep the viewer from unambiguously rooting for him.
Sometimes that “something” is quite a bit more pronounced, like in “Long Weekend.” Although there are often conceivable loopholes for those who wish to defend C.K.’s characters, there’s not much of a possible...
Written by Louis C.K.
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on July 3rd, 2006 on HBO
Throughout Louis C.K.’s career, although he often bears a strong resemblance to the characters he plays (including in his stand-up persona), he almost never seems to intend for the audience to wholly identify with them. Outside of his self-righteous late-night rants, as heavily as C.K. plays his regular guy shtick (particularly when he positions himself as the relatable foil to an off-the-rails sad sack, such as in “Cop Story” from the most recent season of Louie), there’s almost always something to keep the viewer from unambiguously rooting for him.
Sometimes that “something” is quite a bit more pronounced, like in “Long Weekend.” Although there are often conceivable loopholes for those who wish to defend C.K.’s characters, there’s not much of a possible...
- 7/1/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 3: “A Mugging Story”
Written by Patricia Breen
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on June 18, 2006 on HBO
From the beginning of Lucky Louie, the main impetus behind the project has always seemed to be to address issues which its stylistic progenitors couldn’t discuss. In the first two episodes, that meant issues of female sexual desire and pregnancy. As prior reviews have discussed, Louis C.K.’s results in these episodes were mixed, as he often teetered between laughing at the atavistic views of his male characters and endorsing them. The same inconsistency continues in “A Mugging Story,” but on a different subject: racism.
Before that though, the episode kicks off with a humorous cold open in which Louie plays a failed game of hide and seek with Lucy. The scene serves to illustrate Kim’s parenting superiority over Louie, as her willingness to play along...
Written by Patricia Breen
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on June 18, 2006 on HBO
From the beginning of Lucky Louie, the main impetus behind the project has always seemed to be to address issues which its stylistic progenitors couldn’t discuss. In the first two episodes, that meant issues of female sexual desire and pregnancy. As prior reviews have discussed, Louis C.K.’s results in these episodes were mixed, as he often teetered between laughing at the atavistic views of his male characters and endorsing them. The same inconsistency continues in “A Mugging Story,” but on a different subject: racism.
Before that though, the episode kicks off with a humorous cold open in which Louie plays a failed game of hide and seek with Lucy. The scene serves to illustrate Kim’s parenting superiority over Louie, as her willingness to play along...
- 6/24/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 2: “Kim’s O”
Written by Dan Mintz & Aaron Shure
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on June 18, 2006 on HBO
Two episodes in, sexual politics have been a clear theme of Lucky Louie, and “Kim’s O” plays no small part in that. Like last week’s “Pilot,” the episode centers on the dysfunctional sexual relationship between Louie and Kim, and how it burdens their entire lives. But whereas “Pilot” suffered for being too focused on the boorishness of Louie and his friends (even if it mocked their perspective), “Kim’s O” succeeds by making her unhappiness the episode’s focal point, rather than depicting her as unfortunate (but comical) collateral damage.
It’s not like “Kim’s O” completely leaves the boorishness aside, although it’s used more sparingly and effectively here. It begins in the teaser, with Louie and Kim laughing at the loud,...
Written by Dan Mintz & Aaron Shure
Directed by Andrew D. Weyman
Aired on June 18, 2006 on HBO
Two episodes in, sexual politics have been a clear theme of Lucky Louie, and “Kim’s O” plays no small part in that. Like last week’s “Pilot,” the episode centers on the dysfunctional sexual relationship between Louie and Kim, and how it burdens their entire lives. But whereas “Pilot” suffered for being too focused on the boorishness of Louie and his friends (even if it mocked their perspective), “Kim’s O” succeeds by making her unhappiness the episode’s focal point, rather than depicting her as unfortunate (but comical) collateral damage.
It’s not like “Kim’s O” completely leaves the boorishness aside, although it’s used more sparingly and effectively here. It begins in the teaser, with Louie and Kim laughing at the loud,...
- 6/17/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
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