Downward Dog

I have watched all but the season finale episode of Downward Dog and I have to say, that I think it is BRILLIANT! The writing is so refreshingly innovative and the casting, sheer perfection--especially Allison Tolman & "Ned", the dog! Martin is so endearing and the voice- over work of Samm Hodges so realistic, that I almost honestly believe it really IS Martin talking! ABC has, without a doubt,given us a GENUINE WINNER with this one! I am so disappointed to see Season 1 come to a close, and CAN HARDLY WAIT FOR SEASON 2!!! YAY, ABC!!!

If you love dogs (or animals in general) then I'm sure you want to give this show a chance. And if you read reviews first I'm sure there is a chance you'll decide to skip it. I was turned onto to this show by my brother. I wasn't sure I 'got it' at first. Last night I watched Ep 4. I was by myself and literally laughed out loud. I'm now completely hooked.

Our hero is Martin, the companion of Nan. The show is narrated in the first person by our hero. Martin is a millennial dog, so yes he uses the term 'like' a lot. It fits him. He gets very philosophical about his very narrow life. He certainly thinks he knows more than he does. At times he has a very high opinion of himself, at other times he is a furry ball of insecurity.

If you can make it to Ep 4 I promise you too will LOL. There is a scene in they backyard playground of a super dog named Hunter. If you get to line "and then I was shocked" and haven't laughed, then you can be sure the show is not for you and my promise was empty.

Just have to say, I could not agree more with aeasmmikey more!.....this is my new favorite show......of course I adore Martin, but love the whole cast. I loved it from the very first episode, a poignant sitcom, if it's considered to be a sitcom......always something to think about, and I LOVE that there is NO laugh track.......the reason I can't stand most sitcoms. The writers here are obviously VERY familiar with dogs and dog behavior.....and are fairly tuned in to humans as well. Don't understand negative reviews at all.....there's a gazillion crappy sitcoms out there to watch.....let us have at least one or two that have more going on than the standard dross.......

I am at a loss to understand the other reviews on this site.

I feel my taste is pretty main stream. I really strive to see others points of view when it comes to TV shows, movies, restaurants, etc .

But for the life of me, I do not get the negativity.

I was literally blown away by this show, and cannot wait for more. But if these reviews are any indication, this show is not hitting with mainstream TV watchers.

What am I seeing that no one else is? Things that others found irritating and unwatchable are the exact things I loved --the dog's manner of speaking, their relationship, etc. People​ are saying that the pilot was not funny; I don't think it was meant to be. I found it touching and sweet and a little sad -- but imminently watchable.

Loved it, but if these reviews are any indication, it doesn't stand a chance.

Addition, two weeks later.

I was so puzzled by some of the reviews on here, mostly negative, that I took the time to actually vet some of these posters. I find it very odd, and highly suspicious, that some people created accounts just to bad mouth this show. Others have never posted before, and their first post in 10 years is a slam against this show.

I am just astonished that this amazing show (check out rotten tomatoes and other respected media-rating sites for their very positive reviews) has brought out the trolls on my once-beloved IMDb.

Like Reviewer "aeasmmikey", I also don't understand all the negative reviews. I started reading the reviews expecting to see people, like me, really enjoying this terrific new show, and was surprised at all the negativity. This is my very first IMDb review and I'm doing it solely because I absolutely love this show and want it to have more positive reviews. This little gem actually makes me smile and I even sometimes laugh out loud. I saw Ned the Dog, along with the actress who plays the lead, on Good Morning America recently and loved the fact that "Ned" is a rescue that the people involved with this show found and thought he had wonderful eyes. He does have very expressive eyes and the person who voices for him is absolutely perfect! I can almost imagine that "Martin" is really speaking, I kid you not! I look forward to this show now every week and really hope that it catches on. It really is a sweet little show with a lot of very good lessons everyone can learn from, canine and human.