10-07-2014, 10:39 AM
Quote:BBT in its early seasons isn't a sketch comedy but there was a feeling of the absurd as the group could be doing anything from secret agent laser chess to bouncing a laser off the moon. Nothing needed to be justified. They did it because it was f-u-n and that's what made it fun for the viewer. Anything was possible.
Exactly. This is why I like S1 so much. It feels sort of leisurely and relaxed and unhurried. It's sort of loose and open, for lack of a better description. As you said, anything could happen, and does.
The guys have some mishaps but it's nothing super-upsetting or game-changing; the problems and conflicts are kind of low-grade.
I enjoy things that are low-key, like that. I don't need "story arcs" or big dramatic events. I like that feeling of being a fly on the wall and getting a glimpse of what the characters are up to. The early seasons provide that.
To me, in S1 & s2, the Lenny stuff feels like an interruption and a distraction from the other fun stuff that's going on. It's like you're watching two different shows, almost. This is why I say that the best parts of this show were unrelated to the ostensible premise, and S1/S2 were good almost by accident.
Then S3/S4 rolls around, and it's like TPTB woke up one morning and went "Oh, shit, we forgot to make things *happen*!" So, you start getting these attempts at a more formal, traditional style of storytelling.
I guess what I meant, in my previous post, is that there's just *no* internal consistency anymore, especially with characterization. I don't mind things that are sort of plotless and directionless; but I mind them f*cking around with the characters...
ETA: the absurdism is what I like; you nailed that.