A Man. And His Blog.

Season 1, Episode 10 (10)
Date of airing: Nov 23, 2011 (NBC)
Watched for review: Jan 11, 2012
Number of review in January/2012: 58/58

Another good episode. Maybe a bit boring, because there wasn’t much of comedy; maybe even more interesting than I wanna tell to myself, because the singing story between Ava (Maya Rudolph) and McKenna (Chloe Csengery) was interesting. I haven’t expected that the relationship between Ava and Kevin (Jason Lee) would be developed so fast, and in the direction depicted here. And I’m welcoming that little development, because it makes the show shine more sophisticated. As if the writers don’t care whether to write a comedy or a half-hour light dramedy. If they want the latter though, they kinda have to write off Missy though. Just so you know.

As always, I liked that Chris (Will Arnett) tried to go back to his old life, trying to find the fun again and succeeding with it. Not that I expected Chris to return to work (though it would have made an excellent story for the next couple of episodes), but I liked where it was going here. What a shame the writers cut short in the middle of the episode, made the story something more of Reagan (Christina Applegate) and how she sees herself in her own house after not being the housewife for a long time. It was funny to see her doing stuff, cleaning up, cutting the weed. The sock bombing was hilarious, especially since Reagan and Chris were arguing in a so non-arguing way, and I was almost pissing my pants, when she started to cut the weeds and was almost beaten at by the old guy. I think the whole neighbor thing, and how Chris and Reagan don’t really know their neighbors, could be a running gag, when the writers don’t forget it every time. Also, the reconciliation scene looked like as if the writers were laughing about themselves here: “that metaphor with the garden” and “The way you came over there and just dropped the documents down on the table” – hilarious. That’s probably how every writer thinks while creating a scene, but not having the chance to bring the feeling into the script.

Ava’s story was cool, as I have mentioned already. Her “mother”/stardom instincts towards McKenna were cool, and I loved how the two connected while watching Ava’s worst performance. That’s how the writers keep themselves serious while writing: building those kind of moments into the script, where you can’t do anything but smile and accept that it’s a sweet storyline. Okay, it got a whole more pathetic near the end, when McKenna really sung like the worst Idol contestant in the history of reality TV, but again, the message was nice. And I love Ava and Kevin as a couple. And I wish more scenes with the two. 7/10

Chris tries for Dracula in this episode

And Reagan tries to be helpful, only fails miserably

Season 1, Episode 9 (9)
Date of airing: Nov 16, 2011 (NBC)
Watched for review: Jan 11, 2012
Number of review in January/2012: 50/50

Another good episode. It’s official now and I like the show. I will have it on my permanent watch list now, and maybe it’ll help me to get back to RUNNING WILDE in the near future, just to fully understand what critics and fans have with Will Arnett. I never paid attention to the show, and gave up after half a season or so, so it wouldn’t hurt to get back. Maybe together with ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, which I haven’t even seen yet. At least I can say I like him here, which wasn’t the case in RUNNING WILDE. In addition, UP ALL NIGHT succeeds, because the stories are still indigenous, even though I’m noticing the over-the-top comedy again. Remember me saying I like the show because it doesn’t try to make anything funny? Well, situational comedy is given here, but it’s still not like haha-funny, instead just WTF-funny.

The duel Ava (Maya Rudolph) vs. Reagan (Christina Applegate) was interesting. It could have been more of a duel though, figuring that the two really were battling it out in the office. Instead of going full-frontal with the war, the whole story was basically just about Ava trying to experience the job Reagan is doing. The thing is just that it didn’t work as much as I wanted it to. The only scene able to show the internal war between Ava and Reagan was only the interview with Michael (Asif Ali), while the fight right after that was just that: a fight. And before the war was developed enough to make an episode out of it, the two women were back to BFFs and Nancy was fired again.

Nancy (Molly Shannon) was cool though. Loved her “shy” reactions to her mistake and how she circled around all the time. I also love that she might return on a regular basis, now that she’s a babysitter. You don’t cast Molly Shannon for an open role like this, when she only has a contract for one single episode. So I hope she’s gonna return (the same thing I hoped with Jason Lee, and he didn’t come back here). I also loved how Missy (Jennifer Hall) found herself in the battlefield. Dumb as she is, she confused everything. I was laughing when she smashed the smoothies on the window, and Reagan and Ava were just watching, wondering what’s up with that crazy bitch. I know that Missy was written as the crazy, never-learning character, but when the writers attempt to give her the comedy moments, they should be much stronger. And they should count. Here, they didn’t count much, but I hope it’s getting better.

And Chris back to being a guy for once… Okay-ish story. After the night-out story in the last episode, it seemed obvious this kind of story would come. The episode could have had some moments with Chris in freedom though. The credits scene at the end was hilarious enough for me to believe that he wants to play the Rambo outside of his father duties, just because he’s on the ice and because he can. Please more of that. 7/10

Oooh, Nancy does trouble...

Big group hug

Season 1, Episode 8 (8)
Date of airing: Nov 9, 2011 (NBC)
Watched for review: Jan 10, 2012
Number of review in January/2012: 47/47

The episode was pretty good. Still liking how it doesn’t become a crazed-up comedy and is instead just charming and sweet and funny without the lough-out-loud moments. You don’t always need those kinds of comedies, which is why UP ALL NIGHT is such a welcomed change in the field of TV comedies. You never have stupid one-liners and gags, you never have stereotypical comedic situations. Instead everything plays with the charm of the characters and how they react to certain situations I their environment.

Example in this episode: The high-school prom in the hotel. It was a nice little sweet story for Reagan (Christina Applegate), to find her love again during the prom, to find the reasons again why she fell in love with Chris (Will Arnett) in the first place. Okay, there was just one sentence of a mention of it, but it was enough for me to imagine a whole past for the two, of how they’ve met, fell in love with each other, married, had their first kid. I don’t know why it is so cool for me, but it’s just a cool way to realize all of it, and see the chemistry between Christina and Will basically rock the show.

In addition, their love-night out was a good story. A bit generic for a story like this, new parents and all, who try to get it done after all the long nights and even longer days. But I liked it, because the writers brought Ava (Maya Rudolph) into it, and not let her stand alone with one of her network stories. I loved how she wanted to babysit for Amy – after all, Ava is part for Amy’s life, and I was missing a few more moments between the two, after Reagan brought Amy to the workplace once, and Ava didn’t know how to handle her. I loved how she was super happy to be with Amy, and how she never went crazy, because she had problems. That what I was expecting at first, but then again the writers had a better idea. And Jason Lee. Damn, was I surprised to see him here. And damn, would I fall in love with him when I would be gay. Great chemistry with Ava, great little romance between the two, and even a great little story shining, when I think about Kevin’s daughter McKenna (Chloe Csengery). Kind of lets me remind of the one THE EX LIST episode, where Bella tried to like the daughter of her current relationship, just because she had to. Could be similar here. Just better.

The little Julien (Chris Diamantopoulos) side plot was just idiotic. First I didn’t know what to make of it, because it didn’t have any reason to be in the episode. Second, it wasn’t even charming-funny. Sure, Julien was a dick, but was that the joke of the episode? 8/10

Flirt attack!

Confused panic attack!

Season 1, Episode 7 (7)
Date of airing: Nov 2, 2011 (NBC)
Watched for review: Jan 9, 2012
Number of review in January/2012: 44/44

It was a good episode. I liked the multitude of different storylines for the show itself and the characters; I liked that the writers deliver more comedy and try anything to not go overboard with them; and I’m starting to feel with the characters, to understand their emotions. Pretty good to have this after seven episodes. Some shows out there need a whole year to let me make a connection – too late for them and me.

Nice that Reagan (Christina Applegate) asked herself how she sees herself as a mother, and how that could turn out for her daughter. When Reagan’s parents walked in and she didn’t really wanna have anything to do with them, I was expecting this story to happen for Reagan, but even with this predictability, it was a nice little move by the writers there. Only the book party could have been cut out, since I would never think for Reagan to go ape-shit on Angie (Blythe Danner), when she’s drunk. That was one of those scenes, which wanted to go overboard, but didn’t, since it had a message and therefore had a reason to be in the story. Doesn’t mean I liked the scene though, especially the nerd part, which looked very much out of character for Reagan.

In addition, the writers could have given some more attention to Chris (Will Arnett) and Dean (Richard Schiff). I noticed there were some efforts from Chris to understand his father-in-law, and it was definitely an interesting story there, but I barely noticed it here. Sure, it could have been a generic storyline, where Dean doesn’t think much of Chris and so on, which is why I was happy that it was missing from the episode, but when you tease something like this, but don’t bring much of anything, then it comes over as a bit empty. But at the end, I liked Reagan’s parents for be there and actually loving their daughter and her family for once. Not all shows are like that and have to create artificial emotions here every time.

The story with Ava (Maya Rudolph) and the death of her sound guy was boring though. Sure, funny, but it was a bit awkward to laugh about the death of someone, who was considered a friend. A little black comedy here, but I don’t know, if it can be considered good enough for the show, since it always wants to take itself seriously at times. What a shame the writers didn’t do anything with Ava and her crew though – nice story of hers to learn more about her colleagues, but at the end it was only used for the comedy. Pretty generic in my opinion. 7/10

Hiding behind the couch is out

Spying on your parents taking care of your daughter is cool

Season 1, Episode 6 (6)
Date of airing: Oct 19, 2011 (NBC)
Watched for review: 2011
Number of review in January/2012: 41/41

Pretty interesting episode for one single fact: It could have been the pilot episode. Then again it never could have been the pilot episode, because it told the story from a complete different point of view. The writers wanted you to know what the direction of the show is before. The writers wanted you to know how the characters tick and how the comedy is working. The writers wanted you to know everything about the show, before it goes to the birth. Kinda interesting writing, and definitely with balls. Because I can’t remember a show, which delivered an episode outside of the current timeline, and jumps back to a “flashback” episode just for fun. It wasn’t necessary for the writers to do it, but they obviously wanted to.

And it was working. The drama of the birth, the craziness coming from Reagan (Christina Applegate), the coolness in Chris (Will Arnett), even though he’s also about to break. In addition, I loved Ava’s (Maya Rudolph) point of view, which kinda explained her “bossness” in the pilot: She just didn’t want to be left alone and doing the show by herself. That also brought some attention to the friendship between Reagan and Ava – making it a bit more realistic besides it being a completely crazy friendship (as established in the first episodes). And luckily, I like Ava even more after this episode because of it. She just shines a bit more as a “real” woman (real in terms of how “real” is seen in this comedy).

But the episode was mostly working, because it didn’t try to be a comedy. It was just a birth episode. A mother-to-be completely devastated, because her birth plan is fucked, a father realizing he will end his job right now, because becoming a father is much cooler. And the scenes in the hospital were just strong on every level. Especially when the baby was finally delivered and the episode went out with the cuteness factor. Here I have to say that Christina and Will have a great chemistry together – which also means I like Will Arnett way more in here than I did when he was on RUNNING WILDE. Similar to how Ava was developed as a character into a direction I wanted to see, Chris is way too normal for a “crazy” show like this. And I like it. Playing with the clichés of comedy shows like UP ALL NIGHT. Keeping it all above the line, not going into crazy mode.

Then again I wonder what the real reason behind this episode was. Was it the original pilot pitch? Was it a “just for fun” episode? Did the producers realize the great chemistry between the characters and decided it was time for such an episode (otherwise they would have wasted the storyline in two-minute flashbacks in various episodes)? Anyway, it was a great idea to do such an episode, and it was a really good one. Maybe that’ll bring another flashback episode in the future? 8/10

Chris becomes a father. Party time!

Happy pain. Definitely happy pain

The episode was alright. Like I mentioned in last episode’s review, the writers need to know what stories they want to tell: parenting related stories, or is UP ALL NIGHT just supposed to be a random comedy? This episode felt much like a parenting episode than the previous ones. And it could have worked better because of it, when it wouldn’t have been so over the top with the toddlers group.

Meaning: The bitchiness between Reagan (Christina Applegate) and Kaley’s mom (Missi Pyle). Again, there could have been much more humor in this situation, and it could have been funnier because of it, but I was seeing an unbalance here I can’t describe. Except: In some scenes the series tries to be the realistic comedy about new parents, and in other scenes it tries to be the over the top comedy like other NBC comedies, maybe even try to get some of the cash RAISING HOPE is bringing in. Maybe this show would have done better, if the writers would have clearly thought about their stories before. The whole story with Mr. Bob (Michael Hitchcock) and the other toddlers was wasted because of it. And the message (Reagan still thinking that her baby is a genius, even though she can’t crawl yet) was lost in it as well, though the final moments of it – seeing Reagan with Amy, trying to be the mom, and succeeding while doing it – was cute. But it wasn’t much I could deal with.

Ava’s (Maya Rudolph) story was meh again. Somehow it feels like her stories are forced, because Maya Rudolph needs something to do. First off: Great that Missy (Jennifer Hall) is in the main cast now. I wondered why she wasn’t earlier on, but maybe the producers just needed to test the character before. But then: I didn’t like the conflict between Ava and Reagan, because it was so childish. But as long as some story leads to Missy having more screentime, behaving like an actual assistant and showing her flaws (I loved her scene in front of the board while Ava was talking about fashion), I’ll take it. The ending was a lame cop-out though. Reagan still wrote the speech, even though she shouldn’t have cared at all. As if the episode needed a besties hug at the end, just because the episode doesn’t have much time to resolve the storyline. 6/10

Missy has a problem here...

Ready for some war, bitches?

Another good episode. Seems like the show has gotten itself to the level it needs to be after the crappy pilot. And it is on a level, where I want to watch every episode, as soon as they are available. The only thing is: UP ALL NIGHT isn’t quite there yet. The show still seems unimportant and not fixed, and the writers still need to find a groove for their characters.

Because after four episodes I don’t really have the feeling that this show is all about the comedic version of parenting. I thought this show would be all about the difficulties and annoyance of parenting, including staying up all night (hence the series title); having problems with other parents, because they are in so much of an ease raising their kids; or just the simplicity of being good parents, because Reagan (Christina Applegate) and Chris (Will Arnett) are always thinking they are bad parents. But I don’t see anything of it in this show. Instead it’s just a normal comedy about a couple which has a kid. Nothing special here. The writers need to find a reason why their show is important, or otherwise I will throw it away after ten episodes or so, because it never manages to get out of the boredom of not knowing what it wants.

The car story was okay. I would have expected some more hilarity, when Chris and Reagan were looking at the DeLorean and the A Team van. But nothing funny came out of it and instead I wondered if the two are alcoholics. They are pretty much drinking in every episode, that doesn’t look good. But when the van actually landed in front of their house, the story turned out to be interesting. It was not just about looking for a family friendly car for Amy, but instead looking for a new status symbol for the young family. The scene with their neighbors in the same car was hilarious. But then again: it could have been even more funny and/or awkward, when the writers actually knew what they wanted to tell with this scene.

Ava’s (Maya Rudolph) story was meh. Yeah yeah, another piece of background information from her, and the fact that she can’t read herself through a book doesn’t make her character more interesting, when she doesn’t get some development on another stage. At least I’m remembering Missy (Jennifer Hall) now, and she should clearly get some more scenes. Her partying with a scared face and a drink in her hand in Vegas… I really wanted to see more of that. But the talk round with the genius was hilarious – on an awkward note, when Ava was talking about bullying all of a sudden. What the fuck? 6.5/10

What are you thinking now?

Missy is not ready to party hard

Wonderful episode. Seems like I’m into the show now, and the pilot was just a way of bringing the cast, crew and audience fast into the series without delivering much of a great episode. But this episode showed me that UP ALL NIGHT wants to be the comedy RAISING HOPE can’t and won’t be, because it wants to be crazy.

The “body beauty” storyline was alright. Not really much to talk about, except it’s so American that a married couple talks about wearing top-notch dresses at home, just so they can look sexy. Either in front of the camera, or just for themselves, so they can fuck themselves more easily. It wasn’t really a story which showed me the true American life (though, maybe it is, how should I know? I mostly run in shirts and underwear left, right, up and down in my room), and it wasn’t much of a funny thing, when both Reagan (Christina Applegate) and Chris (Will Arnett) were together. I loved the “pants down” scene with Chris and Reed (Will Forte) though. Especially when both took their pants down to look at their asses. In front of their kids! And I was a bit stunned, when Reagan cane dressed as Audrey Hepburn to breakfast.

Ava’s (Maya Rudolph) story was okay too. It’s nice that she got a little bit of a background story, a lost lover and soul mate, and a bit more craziness. Even more, I believe Maya Rudolph got some more tits and belly in this episode too. She looked as if she was pregnant. Not that I not like it, but it was a bit too obvious here. Maybe the dress department of the show should work on Ava’s clothes a bit better to make the audience not ask if the actress is pregnant. Some would think it’s part of the story. Especially in a show like this, where you raise a baby…

UP ALL NIGHT feat. The Lonely Island. “Basically” was really a shitty great song, as it should be with all Lonely Island songs, and I loved that B-Ro (Jorma Taccone, he is so not an actor) was totally getting back into being the bitch in their relationship. I was waiting for a bigger bitch slap, when Ava came with “Say whaat?!?” during the restaurant scene.

And finally: The “without you” moment was great. A big cliché, but very romantic. I’ll remember that. 7.5/10

Pants down in front of the kids. THINK OF THE KIDS!!!

Some faces are being made here

And here you go. This episode was far better than the pilot. The pilot weaknesses are over and dealt with, and now the writers can go into the story. And this time the mixture of awkwardness, parenting, and drama worked a lot better than it did in the pilot. As expected. Otherwise, this show would have been really crappy, when the second episode kept the weaknesses of the pilot.

I loved the new neighbor story, and how Reagan (Christina Applegate) and Chris (Will Arnett) tried to stay cool and tried to convince Brent (Adam Campbell) and his girlfriend that they are cool neighbors. The scene behind the window, doing crazy things, was hilarious, and those really awkward moments, like when the cops came and called the neighbors always work with me. I just would have hoped to see a bit more of this awkwardness in this episode, since I’m believing that this part of the characterization is part of the show itself. New parents being awkward in front of everybody, because they don’t know how to live without a baby daughter in their mind, or because they don’t know how to live with a baby daughter in their mind? It could be a great element of the show, if continued.

Ava’s (Maya Rudolph) story was a bit lame though. Her stardom looks like as if it was included to make Maya shine as a comedian, but it doesn’t work for me yet. Instead, I found her reaction to Amy hilarious, and how she tried to win the baby’s love, since she loves everybody but Ava. The scene between the two near the end was great. First Ava succeeded in winning Amy’s love, and then she wants to get rid of her, because she succeeded, and that was all she wanted. If the writers would focus more on her character, the show might get better. After all, now I can understand why the critics love Maya, and can’t get over the fact that the new parents are lame characters. So, let’s see what the writers have planned in this season.

But at the end, I’m still not convinced that UP ALL NIGHT will be a superior show. There has to happen a lot more to get that title, and I have to laugh a lot more often to make it a great comedy. 7/10

Ava wants YOU to love her

Awkward moment right here

I love Maya Rudolph. I like Christina Applegate. I don’t have much to say about Will Arnett. I never expected that UP ALL NIGHT will be one of my favorite comedies out there. So, my expectations for this show were so low, I was expecting that it will be cancelled alongside FREE AGENTS after four, five weeks. Well, FREE AGENTS got cancelled, but UP ALL NIGHTS got a back-9. Which lets me wonder if this show is actually good. Judging from the pilot, it is pure average. It wasn’t much of a comedy, it was too quiet to be funny, the characters were to generic to be awesome, and Emily Spivey did everything to not make this show relatable to RAISING HOPE. The thing is just: I feel that in every scene – which makes the whole experience forced and is not entertaining at all.

Meaning: I didn’t like the pilot. I wanted to like it, but the only thing I was liking about it was Maya Rudolph – and that only because I liked her in SNL already, I adored her in AWAY WE GO, and I always wanted to either see her back on SNL, or having her own show. Now I think that this show might not be what I wanted to see her in, but it could work in the long run. After all, Ava is supposed to be the comic relief of the show, the crazy character, who does all the crazy stuff, and who brings home all the laughs. But why are always the characters behind the characters the ones, who are supposed to be funny? Especially in comedy shows, which try to be realistic in their stories and authentic in their character work. And I’m almost pretty sure that UP ALL NIGHT will be a show like this, but because of not wanting to be recognized with RAISING HOPE, the pilot failed to deliver a more unique story, and let their characters be heard.

So, what did actually work? Well, I kinda liked Will Arnett here. It seems like this is the first thing I’ve seen him in, where he doesn’t play the crazed character, who does everything to crack a joke (a reason why I hated RUNNING WILDE). The scenes with Amy were pretty cute, because I could see here that the new parents really try to give it their best. Especially the scene at the end, when Reagan was telling her daughter about “I’ll be there”, it reminded me that not every half-hour comedy show must deliver comedy in every scene. This scene showed me that UP ALL NIGHT is all about the drama as well – which is why this show could be a win after a while.

But the rest? Reagan’s work didn’t interest me, the party night in the club was somewhat over the top, and I wasn’t laughing one single time. Not even Maya Rudolph brought me to laugh, which should have been the case with her in it. Maybe the future episodes will work better, when the writers have found the groove. But when they haven’t found the groove in the pilot already, what’s there to come in the next episodes?

I really hope I’m going to like this show. It wouldn’t hurt to have another comedy I could regularly watch – after all, the current season only delivered one comedy I’m gonna watch until the end. And I’m still looking for my new FRIENDS and ENTOURAGE, which is going to entertain me over the next couple of years. 4/10

That bird on her head. THAT BIRD ON HER HEAD!!!

Last chance for the new parents to party hard