The Good Place- Forking Brilliant
Before I begin, I would completely recommend going into this show completely blind, I am going to discuss a lot of spoilers!
Michael Schur is a massive name in comedy, writing and creating Brooklyn Nine Nine as well as Parks and Recreation and writing some of the best Office episodes. All of these sitcoms are classic and hilarious sitcoms that take place in quite simplistic and naturalistic situations. So, you can imagine a lot of people were very surprised by the concept of The Good Place, an NBC sitcom taking place in heaven with Ted Danson as an angel. I was immediately invested, Schur had secured a bigger budget with an interesting cast and some big-name directors. And I was equally pleasantly surprised with some elements and disappointed with others.
There is a difficult balance in the show with the interesting narrative fighting against typical sitcom comedic writing. A lot of the comedy doesn’t quite land, that was my major disappointment, as it seems to be really quite basic and unambitious. There are some clever jokes based upon some quite niche references to religion and philosophy, but this is sometimes overshadowed about consistent quips that aren’t as fun. The characters of Eleanor and Tahani are my major complaints, Schur seemed to have written them into a corner with their characters, so it becomes quite repetitive. There are comedic sub-plots and diversions that really distract from the excellent and captivating main plotline. The comedy excels with the concept, jokes such as Janet’s deactivation and the frozen yoghurt are really clever and funny. Weirdly for such a prolific comedic creative team, the narrative structuring and writing are amazing. Each episode ends with a cliff-hanger that propels the narrative through each story beat. And an idea in the main narrative never outstays its welcome, the pacing is fantastic. Take Jason unveiling himself, Eleanor confessing or the arrival of real Eleanor, each event is short and focused with excellent setup and progression.
The production design is gorgeous, the vibrant set and costumes are just genuinely beautiful. Accompanied by really nice direction and cinematography, especially in the opening episode. It is so refreshing to see a sitcom have such a colourful aesthetic, which it had to be because it is meant to be heaven, obviously. The score has some really nice moments, it maintains this whimsical positivity no matter what happens, which is the aesthetic of the show. Positivity and vibrancy in contrast with the constant threat and danger of being found out.
The main cast serves their parts well. Kristen Bell is fine, I’ve never been much of a fan of her, she’s very one note and generic but she does her shtick very well. That’s all there is to say, all four of the main characters work well with their admittedly one-note characters, for the most part, Manny Jacinto is the weakest link as he just becomes irritating. However, the standout by far is Ted Danson, every scene he is in is elevated massively, he’s charismatic and fun whilst occasionally playing with being just the right amount of over the top. The guest and smaller parts really stand out, Marc Evan Johnson, Maya Rudolph and Adam Scott clearly have ridiculous amounts of fun playing these otherworldly beings, Scott in particular, his idea of evil is hilarious.
But of course, the twist is where the whole show gets a lot more exciting, it is interesting to watch the season knowing the twist, very rarely does a narrative twist allow a completely new perspective on the season. Ted Danson’s formidable performance is a delight to behold, his comedic delivery as he tries to keep control of the neighbourhood is fantastic because it works two-fold. That’s the delight, imagine finding a way to see the inner workings of each of Michael’s ideas, we see it briefly in the finale and it creates a new experience when watching season one. You don’t even realise that the events of season one in The Good Place, can’t possibly make it heaven. You can tell Schur approached the season with the twist in mind, with characterisations and plots having this tongue in cheek wit to them.
Season 2 is an oddball, after the excellent twist, the first two episodes are incredible. Seeing Michael and his team of demons forking with the characters we love is sadistic fun, each event plays out slightly differently with hilarious failures from The Bad Place team. Then witnessing ridiculous situations as Michael keeps resetting, Danson falling apart is one of the most fun parts of the series. However, for some bizarre reason, the show falls back into type as we repeat the ‘learning to be better’ plotline and bogging down the show with love triangles and boring sub plots. Thankfully, this doesn’t last long, and they manage to throw in some interesting lines and nice moments, especially The Trolley Problem. Then season 2 takes a crazy turn and the plot accelerates to a crazy place, with an exciting and compelling narrative that jolted everything back into place. The ending in particular showed a surprising amount of heart and emotional ambition that has been missing in the rest of the series.
We are only a few episodes into season 3 but it seems to be taking a whole new direction. Returning to earth and exploring a whole new plot primarily from Michael’s perspective. I am genuinely excited and curious to how it will go, I hope it manages to keep fresh and attempt new things. Overall this is one of the most ambitious typical sitcoms in recent memory, it has consistently kept me on my feet and surprised me with its writing and presentation.
Thanks for reading!