Folks, I’ve officially made it through all six stages of Lisa Kudrow’s low-rated HBO sitcom The Comeback.
1) Befuddlement. I thought this was supposed to be a sitcom, and yet I didn’t laugh once during the entire pilot episode. What’s going on here?
2) Revulsion. Puppy poo in her hair? Give me a break! How much degradation can one character take?
3) Anger. Why is everyone so mean to Valerie? I hate that stinkin’ Boyd Duzpauliegsuck!
4) Addiction. Note to self, I don’t need to see that! Note to self, I don’t need to see that! Note to self, I don’t need to see that! Note to self, I don’t need to see that!
5) Acceptance. I’ve got a lump in my throat because they scrapped the ”Aunt Sassy” episode of Room & Bored and that beaver coat shtick was actually kind of funny. I think I might be a little bit hooked.
6) Adulation. I’m a huge fan of The Comeback and I’m not ashamed to say it anymore! Anyone else out there with me? Anyone?
What stage of The Comeback are you in? And will you be watching Sunday night?
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I’m still in stage 1, and no, I won’t be watching Sunday. That pilot was so bad that my wife and I kept looking at each other during the episode with puzzled looks on our faces. You know, the looks we gave each other during last season’s Six Feet Under….
I totally agree.
The show had a rocky start, but has really found its stride. I’ve watched the Palm Springs episode three times now. The final sequence in the car is both hilarious and oddly moving. I hope Valerie, and the show, have begun to find their stronger selves.
As for the six stages, I went through all of them in the first episode. I’ve been throughly (albeit a little inexplicably at times) hooked since day one.
Glad to hear someone finally agrees!
I am in Stage 6, I went exactly through those stages myself, hated the pilot, but stood by the show. I think she will be a Golden Globe Nominee, come December for The Comeback!
I want a Second Season, better than Entourage!
Oh my damn! Take that back, Todd. It’s not as bad as SFU.
The Comeback is truly great work.
Special kudos to Kudrow and the actors who play Marky Mark and Micky, the men in her life. They are incredibly nuanced, wise, and ultimately hilarious portrayals.
This show is a much needed cold glass of Pellegrino to the face/counterpoint to the 24hr Hollywood circle jerk that is Entourage. Entourage, while amusing at moments, is sickening in its sycophantic adulation of the world it supposedly attempts to parody. U2 shoutouts? James Cameron playing himself? They all think they are the king of the world.
Give me Valerie over that any day.
She’s no Kathy Griffin.
I find myself defending how good this show is to others. The more I watch this show the more I realize how brillant Lisa Kudrow is as an actress/commediene. Her brillance is that she is so nuanced and multi-dimensional and not just Phoebe from friends. I laughed my ass off when she got a shout-out from Juna at the concert and she totally started dancing terrible. I never knew Kudrow is so talented.
I find myself defending how good this show is to others. The more I watch this show the more I realize how brillant Lisa Kudrow is as an actress/commediene. Her brillance is that she is so nuanced and multi-dimensional and not just Phoebe from friends. I laughed my ass off when she got a shout-out from Juna at the concert and she totally started dancing terrible. I never knew Kudrow is so talented.
The Comeback is the best show on television. Lisa Kudrow is amazing. I went through the same stages, as well.
The Comeback is the worst bag of trash on HBO. I had such expectations, because HBO’s original series are usually so terrific. But the Comeback is a GoBack. It doesn’t work because no one wants to see a nice person pushed around and abused by UNfunny jerks. Ari on Entourage is a FUNNY jerk, the supporting a-holes on The Comeback are just nasty.
CANCEL
I totally agree that the show has gotten much better. I didn’t care for the first several episodes, but it keeps improving. The biggest problem I’ve had is that it’s all Valerie all the time – and frankly, the character is a little too brittle and not quite believable. Note to Lisa: ENOUGH already with the “Yeah, no…”’s. It’s getting REAL old.
I thought it strange too at first that I didn’t laugh at this show, but it really is very good and very funny. The only problem I have with it is that it IS all Valerie all the time. I’d like to see some other characters mix with her on a constant basis, but that said, Kudrow is as I always thought, a really amazing and underrated actress. Funny and nuanced. I always look forward to this show. And yes, it is superior to the tries-too-hard Entourage.
OMG!!! I love the comeback! I recently wrote in my blog how I keep quoting it to empty looks by friends. Example: I DONT WANNA SEE THAT!! (see what?)…or “Jane, just flag it”
I recently had good friends of mine watch it on demand, and as a fan, it really IS BETTER the second time around it. Lisa Kudrow is the best actress on TV right now.
FINALLY! At least someone writes something good about this show. I absolutely love it, and have since the first–okay, well, since the second or third episode. The fact that I get to perturbed with Valerie and the things that happen to her show that this is indeed a compelling show. Afterall, why would I care so much if it wasn’t so well written and well-acted?
I don’t know why I decided to give this show a chance. I hated ‘friends’ and most of that annoying cast. However, HBO has a good track record with comedies and I gave ‘The Comeback’ one shot. The pilot was extremely funny and the show just keeps getting better. Some weeks I actually like it more than Entourage. Lisa Kudrow is hilarious. I hope the unique little show gets a second season. I have a feeling that most people who don’t like it, simply aren’t getting it.
You know something, I felt the same things! At first it was like they were trying to do too much. But now it seems to have found its groove and flow. I especially loved the last episode of The Comeback! But let’s hope this newly found backbone will be a permanent fixture coz that Boyd Duzpauliegsuk is a real pain in the tuchus and needs to come down a peg or eight. Perhaps she’ll become a diva’s diva? And maybe then all those cats will regret having spurned Valerie who just wanted to be young and hip and get some love.
It’s great that a critic has seen the light! It’s a different type of show. There are funny moments, but it’s poignant and, I’ll bet, more realistic than we non-Hollywood types know. Lisa Kudrow has created a person. I have so much respect for her as an actress. She definitely has way more chops than any of her “Friends”.
The first and second episodes really tried my patience and it was so painful to see Valerie degraded scene after scene. But now, I look forward to new episodes. The fact that she really does have some happiness in her life (Marky Mark) give me hope. And Lisa Kudrow is so very good, as Aunt Sassy–she is really funny. How could anyone but an expert make “I dont want to see THAT” ring so true. And I think they’ve really nailed that crappy sitcom experience–ego, fear, degradation, the meanness pecking order, and the celebration of mediocrity.
The stages are so spot-on! I’m definitely in stage 6 – the show gets better and better, the writing is tighter and I’m becoming more invested in Lisa Kudrow’s character. Definitely looking forward to seeing how the season shapes up.
omg… It is painful to watch but oh so addictive. Kudos to Kudrow. She is brilliant and so is this show. We all need to “See that”!
This show hits on something no other show I’ve seen does. It’s veeeerrry human in a way that’s sometimes uncomfortable and often very funny. What you can’t deny about this show is that it HOOKS you. I watch Six Feet Under and Entourage on Sundays but there’s something about The Comeback that grabbed me and hasn’t let go.
I’ll be watching Sunday! I love this show. It’s orginal, fun and showcases the talent of Lisa Kudrow. The humor reminds me a lot of what made – the UK version – of “The Office” so much fun. Valerie and David Brent are two characters that I don’t agree with what they are about to do, but when they do it, I just start laughing. Good stuff!
I’m in the “Canceling it from my Tivo schedule” stage. Sorry guys. I’m glad you all find it watchable. I am afraid I do not.
I have no idea why but i am addicted to this show. I watched just per chance during the first week it aired and i have been hooked ever since. Its the strangest thing. I don’t ever really laugh that hard and I’m hardly in love with Valerie Cherish or any of the characters for the matter (save Jane, the “Comeback” director). The sitcom (Room & Bored) is an undeniably, ridiculously general take on what appeals to to young adults in America (ie sex, sex, sex), and I spend halfthe time cringing at every humilation (and there are many) that befalls Ms. Cherish. But for some reason, I loved it and can’t stop watching and enjoy every minute of the show.
I went through the exact same process… I have absolutely no idea why I watch this show – it makes “Fat Actress” look like “Curb Your Enthusiasm” – but I can’t stop. I think the creators made a huge mistake in making Lisa Kudrow’s character so pathetic. The entire second episode (the up fronts episode), you just feel so incredibly awful for her, even though she is pretty ridiculous. I don’t know what they are exactly going for – are we supposed to hate her, so it’s funny that everyone else does? She’s delusional, though, not detestable, which is why everything that happens to her is just…so…cringeworthy.
this show, as much as i have tried, just isn’t funny.Actually its rather depressing.
YES my husband and i are big time fans too, and have been hunting for the same! As uncomfortable as it makes you feel, it reminds me of a really bad day at work, where you worry that you’ve embarrassed yourself at every meeting and the people you work with might not really like you after all … Like watching the public humiliation of The Apprentice. Hey, at least my job isn’t THAT bad! Or my husband that boring. Or my friends that shallow. Or my boss that dismissive …
YES my husband and i are big time fans too, and have been hunting for the same! As uncomfortable as it makes you feel, it reminds me of a really bad day at work, where you worry that you’ve embarrassed yourself at every meeting and the people you work with might not really like you after all … Like watching the public humiliation of The Apprentice. Hey, at least my job isn’t THAT bad! Or my husband that boring. Or my friends that shallow. Or my boss that dismissive …
Lisa Kudrow is absolutely brilliant in “The Comeback,” and the fact that she was not nominated for an Emmy–but was for dithering Pheobe on “Friends”–is a travesty. Example: the moment in last Sunday’s episode when she drunkenly called Boyd…who had failed to invite her to his party…giggled, pretended not to care, and then, in one hearbreaking moment, revealed how hurt she was at having been excluded. There are layers and levels to her performance that are breathtaking. Hope HBO renews!
reasons why i like the show:
1. the damn pose: she does that pose you see above with a little bod nod every time she gets applauded and when she leaves the writers room. part asian-like, part “im such a nice and respectful” actress, its annoying and funny at the same time.
2. “note to self: i dont wanna SEE that?”: catchy phrases. i love ‘em. i love ‘em more when theyre bad and repeated over and over again. i love the scene when valerie is rehearsing the line over and over again while having a snack, or two, or three, and then saying the line over and over again as she leaves the kitchen. classic.
3. valerie is no phoebe: not that i have anything against phoebe. who can hate phoebe “regina falangie” buffay but valerie cherish is a character all on her own. maybe its bc shes been outta the biz for a while. her naiveness mixed with her ego is just so entertaining. plus, seeing how far she’ll go just to be back – like adopting a puppy she doesnt even want – is sad and hilarious. man, i love these combo of emotions this show brings out.
4. room and bored writers HATE valerie: one of them still tries to be nice to her while the other cant stand ms cherish and her “i was a huge star” ego. so great. he blatantly ignores her comments and ideas when she is unhappy with a line she has to say. so the spiteful writer changes the line to something completely indecent just to see her squirm as she says it. i love mean people.