Oh really?
Oh yeah, Larry Gelbart would be humbled by great jokes like:
"What is so unusual about a Lesbian and a fighter pilot having a baby?"
"He is not a fighter pilot."
And then a cock joke. This is the TRAILER.
Now let's look at some of the reviews:
Telling a blended family tale that I feel like we’ve heard many times before, and in far better ways, One Big Happy delivers stereotypes galore where a script should be. With frat-boy-level pee jokes and unfunny quips about lesbians, straight guys and Brits all over the place, it creaks along like the worst aspects of Three’s Company – and that’s just in the first few minutes.
-- Deadline Hollywood
One Big Happy, an amateurish bungle of a comedy, has a single idea that's impossible to miss: the script hammers it home so strenuously, the writers must think we're as dimwitted as their creations.
-- USA TODAY
One Big Happy is a loud, frantic sitcom so eager to please, you may want to avert your eyes. That’s assuming you continue watching past an early punchline, which I will now quote in full: “Vagina, right on the chair!”
-- Yahoo TV
As a sitcom, it’s as retrograde as it gets—a Three’s Company retread where instead of getting starkly different personalities, the characters get different sexualities. (Or, in Prudence’s case, an accent.) Hijinks barely even ensue, replaced instead by broad lesbian clichés and stereotypes that are only recognized as jokes when the unsettling, maniacal laugh track kicks in.
-- The Daily Beast
It’s no longer unusual to find nontraditional families on television and for people in those families to be having babies. Apparently the makers of "One Big Happy" an intelligence-insulting sitcom that begins Tuesday night on NBC, haven’t noticed, because every minute of their show screams: “Hey! We’ve got a pregnant lesbian! Bet you’ve never seen that before!”
-- NY Times
Basically every punchline involving
Cuthbert's character revolves around her being a lesbian and having
lesbian footwear and clothes and interests.
--HitFlix
--HitFlix
I think the best you could say is that she meant the line as a joke. Y'know, she was trying to be Ellen but funny.
77 comments :
That really HAD to be a joke, since it's absolutely nothing like MASH and, of course, MASH was funny.
Sorry, "M*A*S*H".
Harry Connick Jr became a judge on American Idol, when he was initially a musical guest and said 'You have three good judges, and Ellen.'
Oh boy, this show goes down in history as one of the worst.
Friday question:
Do you think sitcoms benefit more from the consistency of having a single director or the variety of using multiple directors? When I watch many episodes of, say, Will & Grace or The Big Bang Theory back to back, I start to see very predictable patterns in shot selection and staging. I imagine this is easier (and more efficient) for the actors and gives the audience exactly what they’ve come to expect. Yet when I watch a show that uses many directors, I see episodes from time to time that are shot quite differently from the others. Frasier is a good example of this. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on this.
My *only* defense of Ellen's "joke" is that there is a perception from some people (especially younger people) that M*A*S*H wasn't funny (or at least "ha! ha" funny). There was death and strangled chickens/kids and so on. And in a generation raised on SEINFELD or even FRIENDS, M*A*S*H is a drama in comparison.
But that defense only makes the joke uninformed rather than overtly malicious. The first three seasons of M*A*S*H were hilarious -- I laugh out loud during those episodes more than I do the sitcoms I mentioned above.
And the next four (up until Radar left) were the perfect balance of humor and a dramatic tone appropriate for the setting.
I will say that in honor of Ellen's "joke," I will watch a M*A*S*H episode on Netflix when her new sitcom is airing.
I am a huge Ellen DeGeneres fan. I remember being impressed by her when she was an unknown actress doing commercials and even more impressed when she had the courage to come out of the closet. But sometimes it seems she's the prisoner of yes-people as well as her own ego. I'm sure when she tried out that stupid MASH joke to Portia and her entourage everybody howled and no one criticized any aspect of the show when it was shown to them. This, unfortunately, is why many a great talent has, to quote Shakespeare, hoist[ed] on [their] own petard. I think she should consider doing what Jerry Seinfeld did: Go back to her roots and start performing in comedy clubs again to regain her perspective.
I thought ONE BIG HAPPY's concept was retrograde when it was called THE NEXT BEST THING. What bothers me is that it's always the homosexual parent who is the "odd person out" when the heterosexual parent marries someone else. Lesbians are in functional relationships and they do adopt and/or have their own biological children. C'mon, MODERN FAMILY is already ahead of the curve in this regard but Ellen Degeneres gives us *this*?
And I actually stopped watching the trailer when the fiancee character spoke. "Oh, she has an English accent. That's going to be her thing."
Jesus, dude, it was a stupid joke made in promotion of a lame new sitcom nobody will remember in a year. I don't think MASH's reputation is now endangered because of what Ellen said. Is that really what you're pissed about?
This morning I was completely unaware of this show.
Now I'm not.
There's no such thing as bad press.
I agree with the first comment by Jason that Ellen was making a joke, since M*A*S*H was one of the most acclaimed sitcoms of all time, and obviously she is trying to show you that "she knows nothing" about sitcoms to have said that. That was the joke, I think. She could have said "Seinfeld", and it would have been the same joke.
Remember, Ellen's act often had jokes that were "misdirects", i.e., that you thought she was going one way with a comment, then she would undercut the line with a statement that said the obvious.
Her show sounds like another example of a minority group being able to do the stereotypical joke, since they're in the minority group.
Instead of "obvious, it should read "opposite"
FRIDAY FEEDBACK
I'm starting to see "P.G.A" after credits saying "Produced by" which I gather means "Producer's Guild of America" This seems a little loony. Are producers jumping on the initial bandwagon because others like cinematographers, that are highly honored have have A.S.C. after their names? And editors have A.C.E. after their titles? Directors don't have "D.G.A." when their credit rolls up (as far as I know). What's next? Written by Ellen DeGeneres, W.G.A.? Grateful for your take.
I had my hand on the DVR 'delete' button after the first minute. I was tempted to use it several times. But once the busty British girl stood naked in the kitchen and asked if there were any big cups around, I decided that if she answers 'I think you've already found them,' that would be it. Suffice to say...
Shouldn't NBC be looking for the next Seinfeld instead of the next 2 Broke Girls?
From a lady who proved that when it came to her own sitcom, she was no Jerry Seinfeld (and in terms of producing sitcoms, no Chuck Lorre, not by a long shot). I'm happy for Ellen she found her niche in addition to standup with a daytime talk show, but...
I'm 100% certain Ellen meant that this show was in every way superior to M*A*S*H, as Ellen has never been known to joke about anything.
Maybe the headline should be "Ken Levine should lighten the f*** up."
Given that Ellen was on her own sitcom for many years and is currently on a successful show with comedic elements, I suspect she realizes the show is not great. Dare I even suggest that she realizes it shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as M*A*S*H?
If they really want to be compared with MASH, maybe they need to set it in North Korea with cameo appearances by Kim Jong Un. Is Jamie Farr available? In a role twist for him, he could be the straight man - jokes and wardrobe. How much does this say about NBC's desperation to fill time slots?
Can't speak for the rest of the message board but I'm liking this jet-lagged, tired, ornery, Ken Levine!
I do like Ellen (think she's a good person compared to some other these other Hollywoods) As someone wrote earlier Ellen needs to get back to her roots of comedy. She's suffering from too much success, too much money, too much fame, too many people kissing your ass. You lose yourself. It happens.
But I do like this guns blazin' post Ken, --LL
i have seen the promotion & it screamed at me, don't watch this crap.
i've always thought ellen's talent was knowing how to appeal to a large swath, which is & isn't talent.
Serious over-reaction to what was obviously intended as a joke.
For Friday: Ken, do you think vagina/pee/cock jokes are inherently lame? If not, could you give us an example or two of good ones?
The best lines to come out of this disaster are in the reviews. Best line in the whole trailer was the nurse', "I'm just gonna push this pencil around so you think I'm writin' this all down. I give the whole thing "Five Gacks!"
Yeah, Ken, you shouldn't feel your feelings. And you definitely shouldn't express them on your blog.
Expect Ken to be reported as a homophobe within a few hours. Better hope there are no pictures of him wearing Dolce and Gabbana.
Eeek!
The NYT said it well.
Just a bad show.
"Like MASH only funny?" That's just a bad line. "Like Kareem Abdul Jabbar, only tall." ?? Another bad line.
...now a good line was,
"Y'know, she was trying to be Ellen but funny."
:)
Pregnant lesbians? That's so 2004. (Am I right, ALL MY CHILDREN fans?)
To Igor: Here is a good one, from "Fawlty Towers":
Basil Fawlty has hired a cheap builder, O'Riley, despite the warnings of his wife Sybil. He is trying to hide this fact from her.
Sybil: If you've hired O'Riley, you know what I'm going to do to you.
Basil: You'd have to sew 'em back on first!
Doctor, Doctor: Mike is dating a woman named Rose and is not performing well in bed.
Mike: (apologetically) Rose, Rose...
Rose: If only you had.
Strangers With Candy: Jerri Blank, a former drug addict and libertine goes back to high school WELL after high school years. Her class is given an assignment to illustrate freedom. She takes a naked selfie from the feet up and the resulting photograph is described as looking "...like two longshoreman wrestling a squirrel".
I find the above funny. If you don't, we have different senses of humor and that's OK, but I think that good writing ALWAYS wins. Yes, it is an easy laugh, but the skilled can get good, honest laughs from all situations, even the sensitive ones.
Also, to those who feel that defending something that someone has worked on for many days and many nights, at the risk of one's health and relationships and winning awards while doing this should go unnoticed or Ken Levine should lighten up, I would recommend they do the same and see how they feel. I'm surprised that folks feel he is being hypersensitive. He pokes fun at AfterMASH every so often, so he shouldn't be accused of needing to lighten up. Ellen DeGeneres is very funny, but this was a bad joke.
I suppose LGBT is the "New Black" and it will take time for culture to get past the bludgeon-over-the-head style of acceptance. Click my .sig, I wrote a blog post about it.
As for the show, here is what I glean from the clips. Here are the ingredients:
I Married Dora - One character marries another to keep them from being deported.
Will & Grace: ...in reverse. This time it's two straights and a homosexual.
Dharma and Greg: Two characters get married quickly, but turn out to be very much in love.
From what I see, the writing tries to be edgy, but ends up being derivative and worse, just not very funny (the nurse joke is about as funny as it got for me).
Also, the "Granny's Cock" joke could have been funnier had they just shown the look of relief, as opposed to telling the audience, "SHE MEANT ROOSTER!". I didn't say it would be funny, just funnier.
"Frasier" and "M*A*S*H" did a lot by assuming the audience could connect the dots. This show seems to assume that the audience is dumb and I don't care for that. Perhaps Liz Feldman spent too much time working on "2 Broke Girls".
I do think you might have over-reacted a little, Ken. I mean, look, you've got Harry agreeing with you.
NBC really has problems when this is what they pick up while not having a place for the far superior Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
I do clearly acknowledge in the post that Ellen said the line most probably as a joke. And tried to point out how absurd that was considering the nature and response to her show.
It's not that my feelings were hurt. I found it amusing.
Ellen's remark was a joke. Much like many of Ken's, frankly.
NBC ordered six episodes of One Big Happy. That's it. If the ratings are horrible, NBC may pull the plug early. At this point, given the atrocious reviews, it seems unlikely NBC will order a second season of any size, even if it actually broadcasts all six episodes.
I thought it was better than I anticipated, but I had very low expectations. Still, it's pretty lame. Surprisingly, my wife liked it enough that she wants to stick with it for now. That's rare (for her) for these kinds of sitcoms.
With all due respect, Ken, your post did not convey to me that you found anything funny about it. It came across as cranky indignation. I figured, "Oh well, he's still jet-lagged."
Ellen as a stand up gave us chuckles. Her own sitcom was labored. I do not watch her daytime show because well, you know, I have a job.
What if a current baseball player were to say, hey, I'm like Willie Mays, if Willie Mays was actually good. Or, our band is like Guns N Roses, except our band actually plays hard rock.
If a ballplayer said that, the manager would find a local reporter and explain that the current ballplayer is an idiot who should just shut the hell up.
In this context, I understand the purpose of today's blog. Respect those who came before you, especially those who were in the top echelon of their fields. And Ken is the team's manager. Perhaps like Buck Showalter, Ken can make Ellen do an essay on the history of great TV sitcoms. But I fear humbleness is not a trait Ellen actually has.
Those who need to attack what came before them obviously have insecurities -- and I am sure Ellen has too many to even consider.
Tried to watch it, made it thru about 5 min., then watched MASH, instead.
Thanks for clarifying, Ken. I was perplexed reading this post, wondering where your sense of humor had gone. Especially toward a one-liner that read to me as tongue-in-cheek.
If you have to explain that what you said was a joke, then the joke you made wasn't a very successful one.
Im pretty sure that she meant "like MASH..." as in runs as long as MASH.
Come on now people, you know what she meant.
Not defending Ellen here, the show is terrible but its pretty obvious she was wishing her first show would be a hit and run forever...
It's a scripted show on NBC. It'll be gone in six weeks.
It was a throw away line, nothing more. And her new show sucked.
@Brian_Phillips
Thanks. And I agree on the Fawlty Towers (and Doctor, Doctor). If there's a lesson from those, about this: To discern the body part(s) from the punchline, your brain has to take a few steps beyond what's said. And, they are set up perfectly. The Basil setup is certainly not, "... I'll cut off your balls." (Of course, the Brits just seem to have a way of doing that sort of subtlety all-around.)
Anyway, while I always do love a callback to a John Cleese moment...
I asked really to get a calibration of Ken's POV on this. Ken...?
Actually she didn't say, "I think the show IS like MASH, but funny." She said, obviously "I hope this is the BEGINNING of like MASH." Meaning, I hope my show is going to be enormously successful, well-done, beloved, and long-lived. And then clearly with tongue-in-cheek, she added, "but funny." It sounded like she was talking about the show before it aired and thus before she had seen
the response to the show.
Irony is usually worshipped on this blog (and rightly so). It's surprising that so many didn't seem to recognize it.
I have to agree with Kerry that you did not seem at all amused. You seemed very offended, and I'm puzzled why you would be, over what seemed a fairly innocuous joke.
Wow. No wonder I don't watch new TV shows any more. I think it's terrible for that kind of vulgarity to be on for kids to see at night. I'll probably get skewered for saying it, but I think it's true. Bring back some comedy that's not just a string of dirty jokes.
Someone mentioned "2 BROKE GIRLS," Didja hear it's already been renewed for next season? It may be swill, but apparently it's successful swill.
Ken - no offense for the following. I respect you, and think you are hilarious, and love your blog. Frasier is one of my favorite sitcoms of all time, I loved Cheers until Diane left, and I enjoyed Wings.
I also love Ellen, and think she is hilarious. She's also usually respectful in her humor, so I kind of assume she was joking. However (and I know fire will probably rain down on me for saying this), while I acknowledge that MASH is considered one of the great sitcoms of all time, so it must be funny - I, personally, don't think it's funny, it's just not my particular cup of comedy tea. So maybe she wasn't joking.
That being said, I don't think Ellen's new sitcom is funny, either. On top of the bad reviews you posted, that I agree with, I don't want to watch a sitcom that revolves around anyone having a baby, again.
Also, any negative comments about Ellen made by Harry Connick Jr. I would assume were probably meant in fun, since they are actually close friends.
Come on Ken it's funny that a non-traditional family show gets compared to a non-traditional war show.
I'm going to Japan next week perhaps I'll see the cherry blossoms.
Angry Gamer
Someone mentioned "2 BROKE GIRLS," Didja hear it's already been renewed for next season? It may be swill, but apparently it's successful swill.
Renewed for a fifth season. Wow. Who'da ever expected that?
Hey, Ken, what's it like to have a show you've created renewed for a fifth season? That must be pretty cool, right?
Oh...wait...
"2 Broke Girls" is filmed on a soundstage at Warners adjacent to the one used for "Mom," and I understand Anna Faris and Allison Janney drop by their set every now and then for a friendly visit. Some may suggest they should bring some "Mom" scripts along for study.
That was kinda rude.
Okay, she didn't say, "...but funnIER," so maybe she'd seen the pilot and was wishing HER show was funny. Like MASH. Just formed her sentence sideways.
Most lesbians in entertainment are written horribly and portrayed by heterosexuals - ONE BIG HAPPY is no different. Feldman and DeGeneneres wasted a great opportunity
cshel, it was also the truth. I'm convinced that without that comment, Harry doesn't get on the show as a Simon Cowell replacement.
Ellen is not funny period. The line about Mash even if she was trying to be funny (?) was NOT funny period. Why did people laugh?
Janice B.
If you're going to reverse expectations, follow the style of the line Monty Python used for the Holy Grail film.
Makes Ben-Hur look like an epic!
Ellen's big coming out two decades back was an important milestone in Gay Rights Progress in this benighted country, and for that and her courage, I thank her. That said, I have never found her funny, just tepid at best, and have never understood her popularity. Dame Edna she is not.
Perhaps she meant to say: "It's like M*A*S*H, only lousy.
Hey Eric J,
You mentioned how Ellen comes across as a sweetheart.
Not in real life, so say numerous writers who worked for her on her first sitcom...on her second sitcom...on her current talk show....
Just plain rude; I'm more pissed off with her enablers.
I was curious to see how long it would take to hear the word lesbian in the dialogue. I counted 8 words.
I also wonder why she would mention a movie from the 70's and a TV show that went off the air in 1983. What age group is she trying to reach with this series? My 25 year old has never heard of MASH and is just starting to watch Friends on Netflix. I guess she is going for the over 50 crowd?
Ellen is a no-talent bitch who ought to die. She owes Ken an apology.
For the most part, I don't find MASH funny either. Particularly as it went along it spent too much time making statements.
At any rate, there is nothing that is "objectively" funny. You can disagree with Ellen (assuming she wasn't just making a joke), but that doesn't make her wrong and you right. It certainly doesn't merit this kind of passion.
I saw the title today and thought, I agree, then started to move on. Then I noticed the post underneath. Just compounding the obvious. Edit Ken, edit.
Aloha
Putting other people/shows down is not Ellen's usual M.O. - being tongue-in-cheek ("He's like Jack Benny, only funny") is - which makes me think that's what she was going for. That said, if you have to explain it, it's a misfire.
With the exception of her self-titled sitcom, Ellen can be very funny (e.g., HBO's 'Here and Now').
Maybe she meant AfterM*A*S*H?
In honor of last night's "Archer" episode, how did you feel about the diversity hiring on "M*A*S*H"?
Don't you think she was making a joke, implying that we are all in universal agreement that MASH is hilarious? That's why she picked MASH. In other words, saying
"like MASH but funny"
is like saying "like the sun but bright."
That's Ellen's style. She was actually honoring you.
Zzzz.
"Ellen is a no-talent bitch who ought to die"
Well, that seems like a well thought out proportional response to something someone said about a teevee show that you don't agree with. Kudos!
I respect her dog food. That's about it.
"THIS CONTENT IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE."
Oh, well then.
Who the hell are the dimwits at NBC that green light crap like this?
Here is a question I would love an answer to, who names their kid Anonymous?
One of the early episodes of M*A*S*H involved a gurney race with the nurses sitting on the gurneys and the men pushing them. Colonel Blake called the race and enthusiastically updated us on the progress of Bouncing Betty.
My late husband was a hard core gamer and the name of his main character in any game from World of Warcraft to Elder Scrolls Online was always Bouncing Betty.
Last year, before he passed, we got a new, very enthusiastic puppy. Her name? Bouncing Betty.
That is the impact of a show that ran from 1972 to 1983. I don't think Ellen's new show will have that kind of staying power.
The thread reminded me one star's actual putdown of another show. Dick Cavett supposedly said on Johnny Carson that he was working on a "comedy version of 'Gilligan's Island.'"
I had a vomiting episode after watching this show. Sure it could have been the cumulative effect of having a burrito for lunch and pizza for dinner, but I'd like to think otherwise.
"Charles H. Bryan said...
Maybe she meant AfterM*A*S*H?"
Possibly the funniest comment in the entire thread.
"Henry said...
Why is Ken always attacking lesbians and their allies? Does he feel threatened by women that don't want to fuck him? I bet he is such a sex maniac that is why he went to Asia to buy cheap young prostitutes."
Henry, Ken is not a homophobe. He's got nothing against Lesbians, no matter how hard he's tried to press up against them. I would note that on that Asian trip he was traveling with a his wife and with a famously-gay man, one who does not tolerate homophobic companions.
I never said he was a homophobe. I think he's taken in the ass more than once, especially in the army. He just doesn't like lesbians. And not just the big surly dykes, but any of them that aren't willing to fuck him.
The thread reminded me one star's actual putdown of another show. Dick Cavett supposedly said on Johnny Carson that he was working on a "comedy version of 'Gilligan's Island.'"
Nothing against Cavett, but I'm pretty certain he was adapting Woody Allen's standup line where he says, "I was working on a non-fiction version of the Warren Report."
I see a lot of folks trying to defend Ellen by saying she was trying to be funny. I ain't buying it. Ellen used to be one of the funniest people in the world when she was doing standup, and she's still pretty funny today.
"It was just a joke," is the oldest and stupidest defense in the world. If it were a joke, it would have been funny. That's the definition of a joke. That particular one was exactly as funny as the joke in the trailer that Ken pointed out, "He's not a fighter pilot." That is to say, not funny at all.
She said something stupid. And she figured it out, which is why the content is no longer available.
Not a huge deal, but yeah, she said it and it was stupid.
Niles: [yawns] Forgive me. Olga and I were up till all hours at a party for the "Royal Shakespeare Company." I'm rubbing pretty impressive shoulder these days. And to think it's all because I have a small column.
Frasier: [keeping his eyes on his newspaper] That would certainly be the Freudian interpretation!
- FRASIER [7.04] "Everyone's a Critic" (written by Joe Keenan)
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