Television Ted Lasso (Apple TV Football Comedy)

El B

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I like Ted Lasso.
But people have been saying this about shows for well over a decade now. It was the whole appeal of Parks and Recreation. This is almost as old as anti-heroes!

I see this said a lot about Parks and Rec. But they aren't nice people. April, Ron, Donna, Tommy, etc are all selfish, horrible people. They bully Jerry mercilessly and consistently. And in the end they ride in the back of Leslies successes. At first. I didn't notice it but anytime I catch an episode on TV now its all I see.

Compare it to The Detectorists or Mortimer and Whitehouse Fishing for example. Two shows about nice people, no cynicism, no bullying, both hilarious.
 

Iker Quesadillas

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Yes, but it doesn't matter. Jerry doesn't care, and he has a ridiculously good life, and somehow they actually like him in the end. That's the wholesome fantasy: that no conflict ultimately matters.

In the real world, Ron Swanson would have stormed the Capitol and committed a hate crime against Tom.
 

El B

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Yes, but it doesn't matter. Jerry doesn't care, and he has a ridiculously good life, and somehow they actually like him in the end. That's the wholesome fantasy: that no conflict ultimately matters.
So it's not about nice people at all. It's shitty people being shitty and being rewarded with dream jobs and a fairytale ending.

Going back to Ted Lasso - I thought maybe I was being too harsh, tried s2 again. Its just boring. It's not even bad. It's just aggressively dull. S1 had Rebecca scheming, Todd was an underdog, Roy, Kelly, etc all had their own arcs and everyone grew as people. S2 is just nice people being nice because they all secretly are nice people with hearts of gold who are secretly nice, rinse and repeat. It's not bad, just flat. The discourse might be completely overblown but that feels like an overreaction to the overrating of the 1st series. The truth is somewhere in the middle but that doesn't make for a very interesting debate. Same as the show really - less cynicism and more kindness is welcome, but not to the extent where your left with a bland, saccharine void.

The Detectorists is a perfect example. Most of the characters are lovely people and are friends. They all come out and help each other when needed. But it always has a rough edge or bit of conflict to push against. And it's incredibly funny.
 

Wibble

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I really enjoyed season 1 against expectations. Season 2 isn't quite as good largely due to that odd Christmas episode but it now seems to be going along fine and I look forward to the next episode.
 

Rooney in Paris

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I really enjoyed season 1 against expectations. Season 2 isn't quite as good largely due to that odd Christmas episode but it now seems to be going along fine and I look forward to the next episode.
You're so weird. You dislike some genuinely great stuff and then you go and like this shite. It's very disconcerting.
 

KM

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It's been shit in the 2nd season. Quite boring too.
 

reelworld

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It's been shit in the 2nd season. Quite boring too.
I'm the opposite, I think this season is actually better than the first. Season 2 actually fleshed out Ted, Jamie, and Nathan story a lot more and made it more interesting.
There's only so much you can do about being an ultra positive person. The revelation at eps 8 about Ted's father was heartbreaking and great.
 

anant

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Loved how realistic the latest episode was from footballing perspective.

City getting the easiest SF draw, Mike Dean giving a card for no reason and then a pen as well :wenger:
 

Massive Spanner

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Haven't been mad on this season but I did enjoy the new episode.
Was a nice little shock to see them get absolutely hammered after everything being so positive until now :lol:

The Sam & Rebecca story is stupid though.
 

Amir

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Season two hasn't been bad for me, just inconsistent. Bound to happen with them trying to expand to new storylines (plus the addition of two episodes and the ocassional longer episode, like today).

Maybe it's because I'm a football fan, but I enjoy the show the most when the football is at the center of things and the other stories surround it. At time this season it felt like football was an afterthought.
 

Green_Red

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Roy Kent makes the prawn cocktail reference in semi final episode. Ted Lasso has some serious demons, reckon he self flagellates.
 

mu4c_20le

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I thought season 2 was great up until the episode about the sponsor, then it sort of left us hanging and jumped to the Christmas special, and never really got back the momentum. The romance is also a bit odd as I thought it was just a random joke in the first season, but I guess they'd been building on it for awhile.

Maybe it's because I'm a football fan, but I enjoy the show the most when the football is at the center of things and the other stories surround it. At time this season it felt like football was an afterthought.
I think that's how most people feel, but the show was always more about the humanity and relationships, with football being secondary. It just happens that Sudeikis is a fan, so those parts are good.
 

JohnZSmith27

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Season 2 is a bit of a downgrade but it's still enjoyable.

Nate though. I started off liking him but he just gets more punchable as the show goes on.
 

crappycraperson

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It is mystifying that people are taking this so seriously. Is it just because of the social media hype? All the backlash seems highly odd to me.

S2 after slow start has been perfectly fine. It is not a top 10 comedy of all time, but very enjoyable one to watch most of the time.
 

diarm

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They showed more City fans in 6 seconds of a fictional tv crowd than have ever been inside the Etihad. Combined.
 

Wibble

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Season 2 wobbled a bit due to the Christmas episode but it has been building since and the last episode was great.
 

MuFc_1992

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Do they have some sort of deal with city, I wanted to puke at the crowd and atmosphere they showed. At least Jamie Tart's dad fits my image of a stereotypical city fan.
 
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utdalltheway

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We’re most of the way through season 2. Just finished the episode featuring the 1/4 final FA Cup game v Spurs
It’s mostly predictable stuff, like a lot of comedies but overall, for me anyway, worth the watch.
 

utdalltheway

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So who is everyone?

Roy Kent is obviously Keano. Dani Rojas is bits of Ronaldo and Evra. Jamie Tartt is a hybrid of Beckham and Ronaldo. Keeley Jones is Cheryl Cole. Rebecca is Karen Brady. Nathan is Solskjaer. Who else?
I was thinking Tart is Vardy. But I know nothing of Vardy’s reputation off the pitch.
 

LawCharltonBest

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Watched episode 1 and thought it was interesting

Am I right in thinking this is by the same people who did Scrubs?
 

Stevondo8

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Watched episode 1 and thought it was interesting

Am I right in thinking this is by the same people who did Scrubs?
Same producer (Bill Lawrence), and Zach Braff directs an episode in season 1. Not sure if there’s any more cross over than that.
 

Mockney

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Grealish wasn’t a remotely prominent or well known enough player when the first season of this came out, let alone when it was being developed - massive stretch to claim Tart is based on him. They also dont share any personality quirks beyond an alice band. He’s just a generic arrogant footballer with a few surface allusions to Beckham and maybe early Ronaldo. He’s more likely to be based on David Bentley FFS.

Also I’m finding S2 a real struggle to get through.
 

Solius

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That blue moon in the sky the whole time :lol: the city love-in is so cringe.
 

Solius

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Also no idea wtf that episode was. I think I’ll stop watching after S2 ends.
 

JoaquinJoaquin

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That was such a bizarre episode. I went from hating the first half and checking my phone constantly, to actually really liking the second half of it?
 

mu4c_20le

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This must be the second of the extra two episodes for this season. I liked it, and the twist with the Bautista lookalike made me laugh.
 

Andersons Dietician

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Did seem like a really weird episode. Not sure if I hated it or really liked it. Last weeks episode wasn’t that great either.
 

Dante

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Overall, it was a nothing episode especially in terms of comedy. And none of the bigger narrative arcs were touched upon, so I'm not sure what the point was.

The only thing it gave us was a bit of characterisation. But even that I thought was a bit shit in the first half before pulling me back in in the second.

It was the definition of a filler episode in a series that's as substantial as candy floss at the best of times. Not sure the writers can get away with that in a show like Ted Lasso. Hoping for a bit more next week.
 

b82REZ

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Normally a lot of the criticism of the show in this thread is unwarranted considering it's just a feel good comedy drama.

However that last episode was fecking woeful. Last episode ends on Ted finally opening up and then we're treated to 45 minutes of a nonsensical night out with Coach Beard and the three annoying pricks from the pub.

Probably didn't help that is was full of nauseating blue moon references throughout.
 

Solius

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Normally a lot of the criticism of the show in this thread is unwarranted considering it's just a feel good comedy drama.

However that last episode was fecking woeful. Last episode ends on Ted finally opening up and then we're treated to 45 minutes of a nonsensical night out with Coach Beard and the three annoying pricks from the pub.

Probably didn't help that is was full of nauseating blue moon references throughout.
If done right, those kinds of side characters could be done well but they’re so bad. Even the woman who runs the pub is phenomenally unfunny. Also that old woman on the bus calling Beard a scrounger was just so weird. That bit was clearly set up to be a funny joke but it’s just crap. You can tell it’s written by Americans who think this is what British people will find funny because some of the characters say wanker and other hilarious UKisms.