The first season is incredible.
It rolls beautifully from the hand held prototype that got the show its spot in the first place. The humor’s on point, everything feels organic. It just works. Maybe some shows should stop after that. You know, after you don’t have the idea anymore, let it go. Do something else, like the BBC Office. Now I can’t say this with complete confidence because I haven’t finished the 2nd season or even begun the 3rd season but halfway through this second season I’m losing faith. In every scene where the gang is drinking somewhere besides Paddy’s they’re holding a Coors or Coors Light. Every shot inside of Paddy’s displays some sort of Coors paraphernalia. I’ve even noticed several of the episodes in a row either being completely about taking down ‘the man’ or at least some lines that take shots at ‘the man.’ Is this going to be like Arrested Development? I mean the last time I saw this kind of blatant irony was with Arrested Development. They knew the show was tanking and wasn’t going any further so they started being conspicuously ironic during the last season. Just go back and watch it, you’ll see.
The other thing I noticed in the first season is that the bar seems to be a little dirtier. It has a more homely feel. I understand Frank comes in and makes em clean up but the second season sees the bar with a little less natural character. Things seem more plotted and less organic. In the first season I saw Thrice stickers in several different shots. Thrice is a post-hardcore/hardcore/experimental band from California. Obviously someone on the show likes them and that’s why the stickers were there. Season 2, those stickers are gone. I did see Mac wearing a Bleeding Through shirt which I took as him saying in a way, “screw off Coors!” Does Coors know who Bleeding Through is? Probably not. Does it matter? Probably not. I just hope I’m not witnessing the demise of a great show.
Maybe I’m making all of this up and it’s a fabrication of how I feel about ‘the man’ and big time corporations.
At any rate, I’m hoping the second half of season 2 picks up or that season 3 is incredible.