What I’m Watching: Avenue 5 (Season Finale)

Avenue 5: Season 2, Episode 8 “That's Why They Call It a Missile” (B+)

I’m assuming that this is the series finale since even fans of the show I know weren’t aware it had come back, and having such a long gap between seasons is never a good sign anyway since cast members may have moved on to other projects long ago. If this is the end, I will continue appreciating the humor, like the message they couldn’t quite hear that started with “You are being sent this message to save you” and then ultimately ended with “any doubt that this missile will eradicate you in twenty minutes.” Spike declaring that he was dying and could sacrifice himself to save everyone else was quite convenient, and though Ryan made an honest effort to give him a proper eulogy before they jettisoned him off to die, Billie had no such interest in even humoring him. His discovery that he was in fact in great cardiac health forced him to panic and as a result have the missile destroy the asteroid, saving the ship but taking out nearly all the lithium as a result. Spike being told that he was qualified to sit in an escape pod just like a potato was ranked among my favorite lines of the episode, which also included Iris pointing out to Judd that him saying something was true added doubt that wasn’t there and her assertion that sitting was weak. Matt officiating the wedding of different “potential spouses” and Karen mouthing along so that somehow she and Ryan were married made no sense, but what else can you expect from a show like this? It’s been a fun ride, and I can only hope that there’s a chance we get to experience a little more of its absurdity.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Suzy Nakamura as Iris

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 2, Episode 7 “I Love Judging People” (B+)

I’m bracing myself for the fact that this is likely the penultimate episode of this show, even though I’ve been very much enjoying this season and would happily order more if I was the one in charge of such decisions. Finding out that the ship can split in two because Judd was able to get a huge tax write-off to design it that way was just the latest absurd revelation that changes everything, though as usual nothing can be simple and the way in which it was decided which passengers would be in the front and in the back was predictably flawed. You’d think that a system designed by Judd would be stupid and ineffective, but it did do a remarkable job of gauging when people were not telling the truth, like Ryan saying he didn’t hate Karen and Iris telling Judd she missed him too. I enjoyed the hacks that people were using to get points, like Spike’s comedy routine, Iris’ camera smile trick, and how Mads was ranked number one because the system couldn’t understand his confident nonsense. Matt encouraging Rav to score points with a grand gesture did result in her trying to hopelessly give the Heimlich to someone having a heart attack, and I appreciated Judd’s honesty when he asked if he would be able to solve this problem with money or aggressive legal action. Whether half the ship dies now is still a question, but of course Judd had to go and throw the entire thing off so that it’s actually the tail that will likely survive while the front of the ship with the top-rated people gets hit by the missile.

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 2, Episode 6 “Intoxicating Clarity” (B+)

This show has always been over the top but this episode took it to an entirely new level, and given that a third season feels unlikely, I’m starting to imagine that this show might end with Avenue 5 getting destroyed. That does seem to be a distinct possibility given that it just happened to the ship on the show-within-a-show, though Ryan does appear to have quite a bit of power considering how one of the show’s cast members happened to die just after Ryan expressed his opinion about her. The presence of a meteor with lithium does change things, but of course the missile can’t be stopped now that it’s already been launched. Iris represents the best course of defense given that she assembled a secret police even though Ryan told her not to, and she’s managed to keep order in some way even as it all descends into absolute chaos. Matt’s crossbow rebellion didn’t last too long, and I enjoyed the ridiculousness of him ending up in the sickbay after being injured in cuddle club. Billie forgetting that she was only supposed to be insulting Ryan to pretend that she wasn’t on his side was entertaining, as was Ryan’s reaction to that, but Judd wins the award for the best lines of the episode. Suggesting the invention of a compass that tells you where you are was among his less intelligent ideas, and his determination to leave but not to stand was a humorous setup that made absolutely no sense yet he wanted to be true to his word.

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 2, Episode 5 “Let’s Play with Matches” (B+)

I feel like this show has reached a new level of absurdity, but it’s so fun to watch that I’m all for it. Ryan quickly surrendered himself rather than have Karen used as a battering ram, and Isaac was a reasonable person to take charge, even if he leaned a bit too much on the number of “i”s in citizen. The establishment of different committees, that, for instance, wouldn’t let Billie be part of the one on engineering, was a troublesome development, and I thought Iris was going to take charge as a “benign dictator,” a job that warped almost immediately into the “supreme leader.” The list of candidates was hilarious, and I like that Nathan pulled ahead thanks mostly to his legitimately good ideas and his cannibal-related humor. Propping up first Billie and then Frank didn’t work, and somehow Ryan got himself reelected right away since they dressed him up to look like TV Ryan, who the living, breathing captain had first suggested would be the most ideal candidate. Rav failing to achieve basic conversation, Billie managing to threaten to kill everyone just as soon as she opened her mouth, and Matt running on a platform of radical honesty that included showing off his homemade crossbow were highlights of the frenzy. The unholy Bezos-Zuckerberg-Musk spawn alliance on Earth is probably right to launch a missile to destroy the ship, but something tells me it will merely knock it back on course and effect a speedier return to the passengers’ dying home planet.

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 2, Episode 4 “How It Ends: As a Starter and a Main” (B+)

As usual, the level of incompetence is just jarring, and every time Ryan has the opportunity to handle something in the right way, he absolutely does not take it. The most humorous misunderstanding was Rav’s belief that red meant clear, and as a result that red meant not recording, hence her inability to turn the broadcast off when she checked in with Ryan to let him know that everyone was not aware of the presence of the cannibal. The way in which mob mentality can quickly take over was fully on display as they frantically searched for the cannibal, and Karen didn’t help matters at all by neglecting to share the important details she knew about his true identity. Frank had enough trouble convincing everyone that he was the host of his popular cooking show, and, as Rav put it, he was more willing to let a cannibal live than admit to being casually racist. Nathan ended up having a very therapeutic session with his group once he finally convinced them that he was telling the truth, an entertaining interaction that also featured Mia repeatedly apologizing to young Paloma for cursing. Doug didn’t have a much better time when he got his leg caught trying to run out of the airlock, and the man he was trapped with got mistakenly detained when they felt like he met the description of the cannibal. Ryan quickly realized he too could have been a suspect save for the important fact that he was the captain. Having Iris and Judd work together doesn’t result in good decisions either, like Judd voicing his TV character and spilling the beans on the lithium shortage in a way that, like on the ship, is sure to create a lot of panic.

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 2, Episode 3 “Is It a Good Dot?” (B+)

Featuring so many scenes from the show-within-a-show is entertaining, but it’s also true the regular goings-on out in space are so absurd they don’t need parodying. Hailing the Storm Falcon was an interesting opportunity to get a much-needed new perspective, but it probably would have been smart for someone - theoretically Iris, if she had been up there - to do at least a little bit of research into what the ship was that turned out to be quite easy to dig up. The way in which they did find out was of course quite entertaining, with Ryan’s laugh-when-I-tell-you approach failing pretty miserably. Other great moments from that interaction were Matt trying to coach Rav on small talk, Matt inciting a rebellion by pointing out how Johanna controlled everyone, and Judd trying to stay relevant from the other end of the table. Billie’s softness around dogs also became something horrible as she realized what it was that Johanna loved so much about the animals. Using Lyle in a ball to fix the eel tanks was successful, but what a messy process that was. And though he almost convinced Judd but not Frank of the ways of cannibalism, Nathan did manage to stay on board, which is going to be an issue even if he seems like a nice guy. I love that the episode ended with Iris’ return and the tools for the eel tank that she had brought. Now she’s the one who will have to keep the secret about the Earth running out of lithium and Avenue 5 actually being a much safer place to be than the home planet they all desperately want to see again.

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 2, Episode 2 “What an Unseasonal Delight” (B+)

It didn’t seem likely that half of the passengers were just going to burn up as the ship went far too close to the sun, but the fact that everyone survived suggests that things are going to be very uncomfortable as the division between those who had the chance to be saved and those who didn’t will surely become clear. Ryan thinking that magnets could repel the sun was nearly as idiotic as Judd, who expressed his intent to outlive the sun and boasted about having blocked it out with very standard means. This crew really does need to figure out how to make plans and just all get on the same page before announcing anything to the passengers, because the system of sorting out those 300 was quite chaotic. I appreciate that Matt, who stood and spoke throughout the entire close call, was content having peaked in high school and ready to give Rav a spot, while Ryan’s haphazard efforts to choose one of Eleanor’s children to come in with him somehow resulted in her husband joining him instead. At least the eels got saved, which is good news since these surviving passengers are sure to be hungry for whatever food they can get and that Frank hasn’t already cooked up with a toothbrush or something else inedible. I’m a big fan of Iris and glad to see her misadventures on land, where she’s constantly going on that ridiculous show and now managing the TV show about the ship so that she can try to get the government to do something to help.

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5 (Season Premiere)

Avenue 5: Season 2, Episode 1 “No One Wants an Argument About Reality” (B+)

I’m very happy that this show is finally back since I had worried that it was a casualty of the pandemic despite being renewed, and I only knew that it was definitely returning when I had the chance to speak with actor Josh Gad a few months ago. I had forgotten just how fantastically written this show was, with all its characters rattling off lines that get taken by others in the absolute wrong way, and how that doesn’t stop them from continuing to do that, no matter the potential impact of letting slip that the ship was, for instance, of course by nearly a decade. Those feigning ignorance aren’t helping matters at all, particularly Judd, who continues to insist that he knows nothing so that he won’t be complicit despite being the owner of the ship. Frank, whose cooking show is quite absurd, was also trying to keep Karen from leaving even though no one knew the truth just yet, and of course it was the suddenly-improved comms that had Iris spilling the beans loudly to Judd since she didn’t bother to ask if he was alone when she blurted out just how off-course they were. Ryan was too busy flirting with his apparently married female friend to get to the business of taking accountability for fear of becoming the main course of the next buffet, as he put it, and Rav isn’t doing a great job of staying sane now that she’s officially on board the ship. The takeover back on Earth is ominous, though maybe someone who knows what they’re doing can actually get them back earlier, provided there aren’t further mishaps deep in space.

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5 (Season Finale)

Avenue 5: Season 1, Episode 9 “Eight Arms But No Hands” (B+)

This was a rather chaotic way to end this season, fittingly out of control to ensure that there is plenty more of this show as its characters are now stuck in space for much longer than they were before. That said, it was awfully easy for Rav and the pilot to dock and meet them, and you’d think they could have sent a bigger ship to take all of the passengers home instead. But alas, it was a sequence of musical chairs with different people frantically running into and pushing each other out of the passenger seat, with Ryan nearly taking off before Billie issued a harsh reminder that his hand was very much needed. It will be sad not to have Iris on board, but I look forward to seeing how she steps into Rav’s place as the public relations face of this disaster on Earth. Rav is also going to bring some more negative energy to the ship, and she’s going to keep Judd in line in a different way. Matt changing the airlock codes and then disappearing, potentially to kill himself, was worrisome, but I enjoyed the ensuing subgroups Ryan split everyone into to search for him. Doug and Spike were a fun couple, and Mia got plenty sick of Mads while he was describing his very attractive physical appearance. The big misstep of the episode came from a surprising person – Karen – as she took her made-up passenger liaison role a bit too seriously and made an executive decision to change the airlock that more than doubled their journey time instead of shortening it. I can’t wait for season two, and I hope that some of the actors earn some Emmy attention for their great work here.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Hugh Laurie as Ryan

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 1, Episode 8 “This Is Physically Hurting Me” (B+)

Watching this episode, I hadn’t processed that there’s just one more installment left this season, but fortunately there will be more craziness when this show returns for its second season sometime in the future. It was hard to imagine things getting worse on the ship, but Judd firing Ryan so that he could have a very public meltdown where he freely used his British accent and showed off his (lack of) real hair managed to get the passengers to that point. Decrying that it was all a simulation and that they could just walk out of the airlock since none of it was real created a pretty wild horror show, one that included multiple installments of people walking outside, being immediately killed, and then explained away as VFX to the other passengers. That’s one small victory for Judd that his nemesis Harrison is gone, but it’s going to be hard to put a positive spin on this ill-advised passenger suicide trend. I like that Doug and Mia almost reconciled but then saw it all go to hell when she was mad that he was making him wanting her to live all about him again. Rav didn’t think too hard about what would happen to her when she went to get Judd and bring him back, and I imagine there’s going to be a ferocious battle for that one prized seat back to Earth, which may make the pilot’s very necessary presence a question that means no one will end up getting home.

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 1, Episode 7 “Are You a Spider, Matt?” (B+)

I don’t think I’ve taken the time to fully appreciate the totally absurd and completely inappropriate video messages that often pop up on screen from Matt, most of which appear to have been prerecorded and therefore all the more ridiculous. The ones that clearly reference new events and still made it onto the screen are even funnier, and I continue to be impressed with the fact that there was no one else who could have been as perfect for this role as Zach Woods. I was also very excited to see Paterson Joseph, who was on “Timeless” and “Babylon,” as Harrison, the very litigious passenger who made Judd incredibly nervous and who constantly made fun of him. Iris’ job sucking up to her boss isn’t easy, and complimenting his regrettable comebacks is among the hardest parts of it. Rav being blamed for trying to kill the passengers and responding by saying that she was just following orders didn’t go well, and I love that she decided to rectify the situation by hopping aboard the rendezvous ship so that she could bring Judd home herself, screaming as she lifted off into space. The obsession with the pope’s face in the illuminated circle of feces was odd, and Frank just wanted to have something that no one seemed to want to give him. I’m intrigued by the notion that Billie and the lackluster comedian might be a thing, though she seems too focused and serious to let romance distract her at all. The mention of Tobey Maguire having his throat slit in a prison shower was definitely irreverent, but that is the best way to describe this show.

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 1, Episode 6 “Was It Your Ears?” (B+)

There are so many things that could possibly go wrong on this show, and everybody keeps jumping to conclusions before bothering to check all of the possibilities first. They also took a spectacularly terrible job of keeping things secret, and the warring couple managed to share different information only they were supposed to know with each other and then with other people. Karen’s suggestion of using shortened words to save breath was absurd, though Judd definitely wins for most of his terrible ideas. Determining that overweight people shouldn’t use stairs or exert themselves, qualified by being heavier than Judd, was a ridiculous policy, as was still having comedy shows where laughter was not allowed. Somehow, Judd’s sparkle and glitter show turned out to be exactly what was needed in the moment after Billie burst in with the great news that it was just the ship beeping to tell them that they had to recalibrate for the new baby and everyone was freaking out about the five hundred NEPs that they were considering getting rid of following Rav’s unproductive second presidential meeting. I don’t even know what to make of the guards standing around the talking computer which seemed to be nothing more than a robot but is apparently governing the country. I enjoyed the antics leading up to the news that things weren’t as bad as they could have been, including Karen, Ryan, and Billie meeting to talk about sedating Judd and not being able to remember even simple words.

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 1, Episode 5 “He's Only There to Stop His Skeleton from Falling Over” (B)

It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that HBO has renewed this show for a second season, exciting news that assures more wackiness in space to come for a while. This episode wasn’t nearly as funny as the previous installment, but it did show the danger of the mob mentality that is only going to get worse as time goes on and these people are trapped in close quarters. There are many things that the senior staff can’t control, like being knocked off-course, but it seems absurd that they should continue to have events programmed like the halfway home party when they’re actually only 1/46th of the way home, sure to anger anyone who has momentarily forgotten the extreme extension of their trajectory. The comedian bombed in a big way, and that whole situation got way out of control when everyone wanted to shoot poor Frank out the airlock as punishment for pushing the button that they believe caused a good deal of their misery. Sarah is acting a bit too much, discussing a romantic history with Ryan and trying to distract from other conversation, and it’s a good thing that Ryan was able to take charge again and convince the mob not to jettison the innocent Frank, who of course believes that Ryan is trying to take his wife from him. Billie feeling like she’s too much out of the spotlight isn’t good for anyone since she’s one of the only people who actually knows how to do anything, and hopefully her jealousy won’t get the best of her. Mia and Doug really are desperate to make each other miserable, and their antics in this episode were vicious.

What I’m Watching: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 1, Episode 4 “Wait a Minute, Then Who Was That on the Ladder?” (B+)

This episode had me laughing out loud quite a few times, and, even if the plot is a bit out of control, it’s very entertaining. I love that Ryan was learning from a kid about space since he knew absolutely nothing, though there’s no denying that he knows what to say and sound like he knows what he’s talking about when the moment demands it. The bridge crew, on the other hand, was not nearly as impressive, wanting coaching on their lines and what their characters are supposed to know, and thinking that they were supposed to leave when calls for non-essential personnel to leave the bridge were made. Ryan’s response to Billie’s proclamation of “code not good, code bad” was fantastic, and who would have thought that Sarah-Sarah could come through at exactly the right moment with an improvised speech to distract from what was really going on? Now, Ryan’s going to have to do something he never expected, and we’ll see how that works out for him. Judd is absurdly over-the-top, suggesting that anyone who makes a fuss should be banned from future cruises, which they’d surely welcome, and giving people three-second hugs while refusing to answer questions. Asking the widow about her husband and then referencing her as such was typically callous, and I don’t even know what to say about the fact that he autographed Beatles skulls himself, which definitely don’t all belong to the Beatles. Doug and Mia’s arguments continue to be ferocious and entertaining, with another man spelling cuckold for him and their fight over the last tiramisu standing out in this half-hour.

Take Three: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 1, Episode 3 “I’m a Hand Model” (B)

Overall, I think this show is working, though it’s definitely a bit wilder and more out-of-control than past Armando Iannucci efforts due to the scope of its disastrous events. Of course Cyrus would have forgotten to account for every single person on board the ship, which meant that his six-month calculation had to be added to the three years that the actually intelligent Billie had already confirmed was the correct estimate. Ryan freaked out when he was told that everyone on the bridge was actually just an actor, something that shouldn’t have surprised him all that much given that he was one and the same! At least there is a crew of real scientists who just weren’t attractive enough to meet Judd’s standards, and maybe they’ll be able to help defray some of the total chaos that’s reigning at the moment. I was happy for one victory in the form of Ryan’s successful manipulation and enlistment of Karen to be the passenger liaison after he accidentally revealed his British accent and shared more with her than he meant. Taking the brunt of the heat for the new delay by suggesting five years as the reported timeframe was smart, though there are too many other passengers like her who aren’t going to easily accept that. Rav is having a tough time holding down the fort, and the videos that Matt sent her didn’t alleviate that stress at all. He really is capable of turning anything bad into something good, but also the opposite, which doesn’t always serve as productive in the moment.

Round Two: Avenue 5

Avenue 5: Season 1, Episode 2 “And Then He’s Gonna Shoot Off…” (B)

This second installment was definitely entertaining, if a tiny bit unsophisticated. I like the premise of this show and I think it can run successfully for a while, but it’s going to take some getting used to regarding some of its more outrageous elements. What’s clearest is that no one aboard the ship in a leadership role of any sort has a clue what they’re doing, and they’re actively making decisions which are worsening the situation. Neil Casey is everywhere on HBO after appearing on “Silicon Valley” and “Mrs. Fletcher,” and his engineer Cyrus has an awfully positive idea about how long the delay would be, which Ryan of course opted to share with the chattiest and most troublesome passenger, thereby ensuring that it would be passed along to everyone else in no time. The lengthy delay between transmissions is irritating, and that time allows Judd to come up with even more terrible ideas than he already had. Having funerals aboard the ship was problematic enough, and now having dead bodies stuck in space orbiting the ship for their entire journey home is a true nightmare. I saw Zach Woods in a more normative role in the upcoming film “Downhill” at Sundance this week, and he really is such a natural here at playing a certain part, which in this case finds him haplessly trying to provide customer satisfaction while failing miserably, just like everyone and everything else on this doomed space cruise. Let’s see what’s in store for episode three.

Pilot Review: Avenue 5

Check out my one-minute take on every new pilot, which is embedded below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.