Another Period

I almost didn't watch Another Period because I do not care for Natasha Leggero's humor (it's too catty and mean for me). But I find her character, Lilian, to be so hilarious and intriguing that I think I may now be a fan.

I've watched the first four episodes of Another Period more than once and I laugh out loud each time. My favorite so far has been episode four, "Pageant," simply because of how hard I laughed.

I'm a big fan of many shows on Comedy Central, but this one stands out for me. Not only is the humor historically accurate, but it's dark. It reminds me of how I laughed at Django Unchained for its portrayal of the pre-Civil War south. There are many moments in Another Period when I think, "That shouldn't be funny, but it is," as I laugh way too hard at the blatant, over-the-top classism, racism, and sexism that was prevalent at the time. In our PC culture, it's refreshing to finally see a show like this one. I hope we see many more; they're necessary. It's good to be reminded of where you came from. And it's even better that we can now find the humor in it.

I laugh at this show from start to finish, then I watch it again because I missed so much while I was busy laughing the first time. There's a whole lot of story and character development packed into each episode. I find myself paying close attention and being rewarded for it. That says a lot about a show. I find the writing witty, consistent, detailed, and intelligent.

The acting is excellent and the characters become more complex as the episodes continue. I'm so interested in some of these characters that I feel like I could watch a spin-off about each of them and never get bored.

I appreciate that the humor hasn't been too "gross out" as of yet. I don't know if anyone involved with the show will ever see this, but on the off chance they do, I have a request: please don't get grosser. Episode four had a few scenes involving buckets that went right up to the "eww!" line for me but didn't make me recoil in disgust.

I've said here that the writing is historically accurate, but I'm no historian so I don't know how accurate it actually is. I haven't seen anything that I would consider to be inaccurate, though. I already knew about the "rule of thumb," which was mentioned in one of the episodes, so my hunch is that much of it is grounded in truth.

*added later, regarding historical accuracy*

I've read several interviews with the show's creators (and stars) Riki Lindhome and Natasha Leggero. I hate that this is one of those shows that make a person think, "that's silly, none of this really happened, these plots are too ridiculous to be true" - if you think that, you are wrong.

The show's creators took tours of mansions in Newport, RI (I now want to go there and take those tours) and used some of their real, ridiculous history in the writing of this show. So far, it takes place in 1902 (during "the Gilded Age," as Mark Twain called it) when the vast majority of America's wealth was concentrated in Newport, RI There was no income tax and no business regulation. Rich people did whatever they felt like doing, and poor European immigrants were still headed to the U.S. by the thousands, resulting in outrageous class disparity between the wealthy and the poor working class.

I hate that some call this a Downton Abbey spoof. I love both Downton Abbey and Another Period for different reasons, and that description would not have enticed me to watch. The Lords and Ladies of the post-Edwardian era in England were not like the nouveau riche on the other side of the pond.

By the early 1900s, some of these American families had only been wealthy for a generation or two. These families were eccentric, with no limits, behaving how they assumed "royalty" would behave.

For example, on Downton Abbey, servants are treated with respect, kindness, and human decency. On Another Period, servants are treated like furniture, cattle, or worse, because these Americans had way too much new money -- which naturally accompanied increased industrialization -- and no "proper" examples of how to use it.

I see this show described as "Downton Abbey meets the Kardashians," but that would've turned me off, because I've never watched more than five minutes of the Kardashians, and also because I think Downton has enough naturally occurring humor. Why would I need to watch a silly spoof of it?

Another Period is not a Downton Abbey spoof. It's an original comedy that's rooted in some lesser known (and arguably shameful) American history.

I'm really enjoying this. It's dark champagne. It doesn't deserve comparison, but this is Julia Davis Lite, which works. It's reminiscent of Hunderby (a comedic satire of Jane Austen). Having a little of this with American nuance is exactly where I want to see things headed in Broadcast Comedy. If you like dark and irreverent British comedy, watch this.

Another Period is filled with fantastic guest stars to play against a very talented ensemble cast. It has consistent and funny writing, which I think will hold up to time. That's not easy with comedy. It's daring, satirical and driven by two very talented and funny women, whose comedy style is right up my alley. They are unforgiving, smart and fearless. I love that.

This isn't the best show to come out in a while, but it is surprisingly funny. The gags are pretty hit or miss, but when they hit, they hit hard, and when they miss, it isn't too bad. In many ways this reminds me of Children's Hospital - in that they've taken a genre (Edith Wharton/Downton Abbey/Victorian) and totally lampooned it. There's plenty of absurdist WTF humor as well as send up's of victorian society as a whole.

If you like Portlandia, where every single joke is DOA and is just pure garbage, then I'd stay away from this. It's got some mean spirited humor which I personally find funny. Whereas Portlandia is all simple safe and tired over trod material and unfunny jokes that (much like SNL) go on for way too long. God I hate Portlandia.

"Another Period" takes place in Newport in the early 1900s, centering around the obscenely rich Bellacourt family, in particular the sisters Lillian and Beatrice who desperately want to become famous - it is basically a reality TV show set in a time in which being famous was much more difficult. Shot in mockumentary style, the series makes fun of both contemporary reality TV stars as well as the realities of early 20th century and the way these are usually portrayed in dramas.

While the show centers around Beatrice and Lillian, there is an ensemble cast consisting of both the self-centered Bellacourts and their subjugated servants, who have, in large parts, painfully internalized their subservient status. The characters are all funny in their own way, and the actors do a great job. Standing out for me are Paget Brewster as the morphine-addled mother Dodo and Michael Ian Black as the butler Mr. Peepers who are just so hilarious.

The characters are mostly terrible - which makes it so funny. It is just so much fun seeing those terrible people being stupid and tripping over their own feet. The humour is generally pitch-black and often reveals the terrible social conditions of women, the poor, and colored people of the time. The jokes deal with subject matters like rape, misogyny, racism, abuse. If you're a fan of black humour you will find this series hilarious, if not the show is probably not for you.

"Another Period" is a strange reality show-like creation for The Comedy Channel. And, while I really enjoy it, I think it's a hard sell for its audience...which surprises me since normally developing a large audience is a must for television shows. The only way it would make sense is that someone in charge there loves the show and doesn't mind that it isn't all that popular. Considering they also make "Drunk History", this would make sense.

As for the show, it's a faux reality show that follows the most worthless mega-rich family of the Edwardian era...the Bellacourts. They are the embodiment of everything rotten in the worst of the worst wealthy plutocrats. Every vice, every possible instance of selfishness and every chance the show can take to expose them for the worthless human beings they are...that's pretty much the show. And, it does this with a nice attention to historical details...something that history lovers, like myself, can appreciate. Well worth seeing and there is certainly nothing like it.

FYI--The show is EXTREMELY adult at times. Many crude moments...too many for the kids.