Portlandia New IFC series

There's been a few previews of this already, but for those who are unaware of this project Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein have put together a mini-series mocking/celebrating the hipster culture. Locally there's been a mixed reaction to this, but as a life long Portlander I have found this funny, true and a bit endearing. The following is a sample.

The first episode is available online on IFC's channel. It's a mixed bag but I like it.

How is this thread not longer?
Great show.

I have a hard time getting past that video. I just get all day-dreamy.

Just found this thread, and coincidentally I'm visiting Portland again in a few days.:)
I liked the show, though it was a bit hit-or-miss, and got more so towards the end of the season. It's been renewed for a second season airing next January, so maybe they'll be able to iron out some of the problems.

All the good bits went into the trailers so far (put a bird on it!), but that first video is comedic gold.

Second season starts tomorrow.
Also, the second season of The Increasingly Poor Choices of Todd Margaret, which I did not know about until I saw the recap after the Portlandia recap.
It looks absolutely hilarious, I shall try to see if I can find the first series.
It has David Cross.

I watched Todd Margaret when it initially aired... it's a bit rough around the edges, but good. The formula is fairly similar to Curb Your Enthusiasm, where most of the comedy derives from Cross' titular character getting himself into trouble through his own personality flaws, and then stubbornly digging himself deeper and deeper.

EDIT: we can pickle that!

RolandofGilead wrote:

Second season starts tomorrow.
Also, the second season of The Increasingly Poor Choices of Todd Margaret, which I did not know about until I saw the recap after the Portlandia recap.
It looks absolutely hilarious, I shall try to see if I can find the first series.
It has David Cross.

It's on Netflix's IA.

Just hit the DVR, previews for season 2 look hilarious. Reviews incoming!

garion333 wrote:

It's on Netflix's IA.

Hurray and thank you good sir!
Almost every time I look for something on Netflix it isn't there, but now I see that it's actually a couple of years old, which explains how it finally came to Netflix.

Tonight's episode of Portlandia was probably the best they've done yet, I loved the Battlestar Galactica plotline and I didn't even like Battlestar Galactica all that much. Edward James Olmos' quiet discomfort was hilarious.

ruhk wrote:

Tonight's episode of Portlandia was probably the best they've done yet, I loved the Battlestar Galactica plotline and I didn't even like Battlestar Galactica all that much. Edward James Olmos' quiet discomfort was hilarious.

The fact Ronald D Moore played the local actor had me in stitches! That whole bit was fantastic. The only recurring characters I am not a fan of is the women's bookstore duo. I just hate them.

New clip from Episode 5 nails it.

Try to get a cup of coffee here, and you're suddenly surrounded by Deadwood extras.

I miss having satellite specifically because I don't have IFC anymore. I like Portlandia much more than I thought I would and it saddens me that I probably won't see season 2 for a very long time. The Mayor is so great to me.

Even though I've never met a Fixie Rider like in Portlandia I've heard many tales of them.

BIKE RIGHTS!

Season 2 wrapped up last week with a great episode. Breaking their mold of unrelated five-minute sketches, they actually did a contiguous story about two couples braving the line for brunch at a trendy restaurant. It wasn't too far off from my experiences doing the same, though the lawless post-apocalyptic savages that I encountered were slightly more hospitable.

It hasn't been officially announced by IFC yet, but in a recent interview Brownstein confirmed that Portlandia has already been renewed for a third season.

The Increasingly Poor Choices of Todd Margaret wrapped up several weeks ago, also on a strong note. The last three or four episodes were probably the best of the series, with an obvious but unforeseen twist and a very definitive and dark ending. If anyone is interest in Todd Margaret who hasn't watched it yet, I would suggest just skipping everything but the first episode of the first season, and then going straight to the second season.

ruhk wrote:

Season 2 wrapped up last week with a great episode. Breaking their mold of unrelated five-minute sketches, they actually did a contiguous story about two couples braving the line for brunch at a trendy restaurant. It wasn't too far off from my experiences doing the same, though the lawless post-apocalyptic savages that I encountered were slightly more hospitable.

With some nice cameos too.

Put a bird on it!

That's so last year. We pickle things, now. Maybe you've just never heard of it. :p

No, ruhk.

The 1890s.

Season 3 is three episodes deep so far. Good, but there hasn't really been any breakout pieces yet.
Compared to previous seasons, there's a lot more callbacks to previous episodes and a slightly higher reliance on multi-scene stories over brief sketches. A lot more celebrity cameos, as well.

That's pretty amusing and unfortunately true. However like most Portlandia skits it's a good 20 second idea stretched beyond being funny. Too bad.

I'm still not done with season 2, which just went on Netflix if anyone was waiting for it to show up there.

That's really like an advert that was in TV in the UK that was on a year or so ago. I can imagine the idea being developed indepedently, but I wonder which came first.

Fred & Carrie guest starred on Simpsons a couple weeks back, as Portland refugees, with Patton Oswald playing their son T-Rex.

Last year, they filmed a scene for the new season at the house next door to ours. Big crew, they took up the entire block!

DSGamer wrote:

That's pretty amusing and unfortunately true. However like most Portlandia skits it's a good 20 second idea stretched beyond being funny. Too bad.

It's stretched out beyond funny because it's doing sketch "comedy" ironically. It's OK, not everyone gets it. *adjusts glasses*

The two most recent episodes featured a story arc that had The Mayor retiring in disgrace for not being "green" enough, with the city hiring a temp worker (Roseanne Barr) to run the city until the next election. Despite Roseanne's best attempts at ruining te show, it's probably the best the show has offered so far.

ruhk wrote:

The two most recent episodes featured a story arc that had The Mayor retiring in disgrace for not being "green" enough, with the city hiring a temp worker (Roseanne Barr) to run the city until the next election. Despite Roseanne's best attempts at ruining te show, it's probably the best the show has offered so far.

Especially the stuff about being a real city. I love Portland, but I've had that thought on many occasions.