The Comedians

One of the funniest shows ever. Original; clever; surprising. In an interview, Billy C. quoted his late dear friend Robin Williams as asking if he would bring out the Dark Billy. He has. The sketch parody of "Orange is the New Black" was genius. There are so many throw away laughs that would be belabored in a network comedy. It's as if there is such an abundance of good writing that the show can afford to toss out lines that the audience may or may not catch. All kinds of allusions across the pop culture landscape: the premise of old/young gives the script leeway to go anywhere. Please leave in minority jokes, in both senses. When Billy tells his wife he has the Clippers schedule tattoo on h. is arm and that's why he can't be buried in a Jewish cemetery, only a small group of viewers will get that. Bravo for leaving it in. The conceit of rotating directors will let a new character appear smoothly. Steve Weir looked like he was having fun playing the former hunk, now a transvestite. Lots of minor great motifs.

The legendary Billy Crystal and the always funny Josh Gad come together in this fine new FX Comedy about fictionalized versions of themselves in a Faux-Documentary style - ala Parks and Recreation or The Office.

It's a bit like Curb Your Enthusiasm in terms of style and delivery, but the Mockumentary outfit gives them lots to play with and despite the fact that the story is about these two actors forced to work with each other on a Sketch-Comedy show, who clearly hate each other in the beginning, it's not hard to see that they have a nice chemistry and overall dynamic.

Billy plays himself in a grounded, but arrogant kind of way, which beautifully plays off of Josh Gad's overly friendly, but very awkward character. The dialog is well written and the delivery by Crystal and Gad is pretty flawless, it definitely suits the material.

The Comedians is by no means a masterpiece and certainly not for everyone, but it's funny and interesting enough to keep your attention if you give it an honest chance. I watched all episodes so far and I really enjoy it, I highly recommend the show to all fans of the Mockumentary genre and/or the actors!

Billy Crystal is certainly an asset for the world of comedians. Josh Gad was the least interesting part of 1600 Penn which I was watching because of the great Bill Pullman.

So how about a TV-show with these two? This is supposed to be a crossing between a mockumentary and a sketch based show.

Well, if you have Billy Crystal you obviously can expect some "old school" staff. Jokes that are based on recipes and forms. Searching for the laugh in the words or the sounding of the words. Talk about the acting method. How to deliver them. Also lots of self-mocking. And "funny" stories about their grandma and their uncle.

In the end of the day, is how funny it actual is, and ...sorry..this not funny enough. Don't know where the "recipe" failed but you can get good laughs with this material.

At least it doesn't have fake laugh track.

I heard about this show from Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast because he describes it as the closest thing to reality, showing what its like for comedians to try and get a show on the air. Its only appropriate that this shows is paired with Louie on FX as they both stretch the bounds between funny and uncomfortable. Although it isn't on par with the brilliance that Louie brings, it carries its own very well and has made me long for new episodes as badly as Louie, It's Always Sunny, and Archer. It is still in it's initial stages and obviously hasn't found it's audience judging by the low rating it has accumulated so far. Let me say this though, I have never felt the need to sign up for an online account due to unjust reviews until now. Billy Crystal is in his finest form in years, and although Josh Gadd plays an understandably irritating character, the shows writers have done a fantastic job building the character into someone that you can feel empathy for. Great Show!

This show can be fairly formulaic at times, it does seem to skate a thin line between "we're just filming ourselves talking" and "It just looks like that due to skill and subtlety". I don't believe this show should be viewed too negatively, It doesn't always have me in stitches, but it's at least a wonderful standard in its type of Television program. The Comedians COULD have been edgier, less apologetic and sharply exploratory of more serious or obscure issues and themes, but so early on I don't think that would really suit the format.

I imagine the interesting blending of different perspectives, comedic styles, would have confused much or some of the general television watching population, a confusing blur between parody/satire and "earnest" human interaction.

It really could have grow into something very beautiful, I personally believe clear enough audience feedback and articulation was an issue contributing to its demise.