2016 fantasy comedy, 14 episodes. Eleanor dies, and goes to the
afterlife. Not Heaven, exactly, but… The Good Place. Only problem is,
she's pretty sure she's not meant to be there, but admitting it would
surely make things worse.
This is that rare thing for comedies, one that has a continuing
plot. And it's one that I think is worth discovering as it develops,
so – in common with every review I've read – I'm not going to go into
any more details about it, except to say that Eleanor attempts to
learn to fit in. Not only do these characters not start off straight
out of stock, they aren't fixed roles for comedic things to happen to:
they change, they grow, they develop.
And in spite of that, the show still manages to be funny. Much of the
humour takes the form of one-liners, but it still works. Without the
humour, the drama would be too heavy-handed, and without the drama the
humour would have no characters to hang from; as it stands, they're
well blended, and each embarrassing situation (a staple of the kind of
comedy I don't like) also serves a dramatic purpose.
I haven't noticed any of the cast before except for Ted Danson, and
his casting is an excellent decision given the last part I saw him in:
as the slightly patronising but thoroughly competent father-figure to
the team in the last few seasons of CSI. Here he turns that up a few
notches, and carries off a role where he has to act both superior and
sympathetic.
The series was renewed for a second season (beginning in September),
and the story continues… in an entirely unconventional way. I'm
fascinated to see where this series goes next.
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