What I’m Watching: Reboot

Reboot: Season 1, Episode 7 “Baskets” (B+)

Now that I’m paying attention to this show’s titles, I very much appreciate them, particularly this one. For all the hijinks that these characters get themselves into, Reed always seems to dive headfirst into unfortunate situations. Pretending to be good at basketball was a lie from the start, but then it was Zack who hadn’t clarified that his “boys” were just that, even though, in the first of many humorous Jewish jokes throughout the episode, all but one were technically men since they had already been Bar Mitzvahed. Reed got too boastful about being taller than the rest of them before they were taunting him with bizarrely accurate references to sitcoms much older than them, and then he had to go ahead and claim to be Goliath and elbow one of them in the face. Zack had a clever solution to get him out of trouble with the two girls who were filming him, and, for someone who doesn’t always seem so bright, was smart enough to make sure that they clear out the Recently Deleted folder also. Whoever comes up with the titles for Zack’s films deserves a prize - “Sabbath Night Fever” was just the latest and greatest one. Gordon and Hannah should really communicate more and not try to trap each other in miserable situations. Clay’s inability to loop his lines was quite frustrating, and it was nice to see Gordon try something uncharacteristically comforting to get him to finally deliver. Bree’s involvement in the writers’ room was definitely disruptive, though it did lead to a worthwhile dramatic moment between her and Selma. My favorite takeaway from this episode is that Alan does announcer work, something actor Fred Melamed definitely has done in the past and which he portrayed very well in “In a World.”

Emmy Episodes: Baskets

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the third year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Baskets: Season 3, Episode 6 “Thanksgiving” (B)

Every year when I watch this show, I always think that there is something to it. It’s unapologetically strange, and the fact that Louie Anderson plays a woman is just something that happens. Anderson won this award on his first try two years ago and then lost to Alec Baldwin last year. He continues to be excellent even if his casting is bizarre and unexplained, and this episode provides quite the platform for him. Evidently much has transpired since I last checked into this show with the rodeo, and I honestly can’t remember what Christine’s involvement used to be. She still maintains connections to the people in her life even if she’s not with them for Thanksgiving, and video-chatting with those far away was one of her most poignant moments. I love that she called the police on Chip’s French clown friends thinking that they were there to try to sell her something. She instantly lapped up all of the attention, before experiencing a moment of sadness when she saw her late mother on the video. Ending with a celebratory trip to Arby’s was really sweet, and it’s hard not to feel sympathetic for Christine and to see how much she enjoyed introducing these people to something held dear. I enjoyed Chip showing up to Martha’s house when she clearly didn’t remember him and his comment about her needing to be more welcoming, hardly something I’ve ever found her to be in my limited experience with her on this show.

Emmy Episodes: Baskets

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the second year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Baskets: Season 2, Episode 7 “Denver” (B)

If the tone of the season premiere is individualistic and bizarre, this second episode certainly is as well. Louie Anderson took home the Emmy last year for his portrayal of Christine Baskets in an episode that found her trying to get Chip to come to church. In this installment, Christine was mostly on her own, planning a trip to Denver just so that she might take a man she met named Ken up on his offer to call him up if she was ever in town. Arriving to find that she was the guest of the day didn’t come with all the fanfare it should have, and her enthusiasm about having a Denver omelette in Denver was equally shot down by the assertion that it was actually invented in New York. Just as she decided to check out early, she got that call and had a sincerely wonderful time with Ken, making up a few lies in the process but ending up having an extremely sweet and worthwhile experience. Back at home, Chip was eager to please his mother and agreed to take Mee-Maw to the doctor only to have her push Martha out of the front seat, drive for the first time in a decade, and take them straight to the casino. I was not at all prepared for her to get up, dance, and then promptly drop dead, something that just happened in a flash and brought Christine’s blissful visit to a swift end. I still don’t know what to make of this show, but it is strangely watchable.

Emmy Episodes: Baskets

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the second year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Baskets: Season 2, Episode 1 “Freaks” (B)

I watched two episodes of this show last year - the pilot and the fourth installment, which was Louie Anderson’s winning selection - and didn’t particularly love it. It’s not that it’s a bad show, but rather than it’s an odd and gloomy show defined more by its peculiarity than anything else. Plus, you have Zach Galifianakis playing twin brothers named Chip and Dale and Anderson playing their mother. I obviously missed a lot throughout season one, since now Chip has run away from home, leaving his mother and brother behind, though they barely appeared in this episode aside from the first scene. After experiencing some misery shaking coins out of his shoes and struggling to enjoy a can without an opener, Chip got adopted by a group of kindly homeless wanderers who, as luck would have it, were in the market for a clown. I couldn’t figure out where I knew Mary Wiseman, who played Trinity, from, and I think that it may be “Longmire,” though she’ll obviously become much more high-profile with her forthcoming role in “Star Trek: Discovery.” The best part of this episode was Trinity’s reaction to Chip telling her that she was the straight man: “I’m a bisexual woman.” As if the tensions between the two of them, laid out in an honest confrontation from her, weren’t bad enough, having them all do heroin while squatting in a random house was a sure sign that this wasn’t the place for Chip to be. I’m already skipping episodes ahead to Anderson’s submission, so I’m not sure what will happen after Chip opened the door to find the police there to greet him. This is a good submission for Galifianakis, but there’s no denying this is a strange show.

Emmy Episodes: Baskets

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. This year, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Baskets: Season 1, Episode 4 “Easter in Bakersfield” (B-)
Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Louie Anderson)

This has to be oddest nomination of the year, or at least the oddest casting recognized for an Emmy. Louie Anderson has two Daytime Emmys to his name, for his performance in the animated program “Life with Louie” almost twenty years ago. Other than that, one of the top things that pops up on his IMDB page is a link to a list of the 29 Worst Actors of All Time, something that hardly recommends Anderson’s acting abilities. Yet the former “Family Feud” host managed to get cast as the mother of Zach Galifianakis’ twin brothers on FX’s dark comedy. It’s a truly strange but intriguing performance, since there’s no mention of the fact that he’s a man playing a woman. He actually does a pretty solid job, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he ended up taking home the Emmy for this role. His episode submission will only serve to further propel him towards that potential eventuality. It’s Easter, and Christine Baskets wants her clown son Chip to come with her to church. She has to contend with his incessantly disruptive behavior yet still maintains her composure, quietly insulting the woman who tries to say that Chip isn’t doing well and then socializing with Chip’s friend Martha’s parents during lunch afterwards. She even finds out that her son is married and her only question is “French – Canadian?” It’s a peculiar but immensely watchable portrayal, and I really do think that, in a crowded category, Anderson is very likely to hear his name called. I wouldn’t be too disappointed – it’s a committed performance.

Pilot Review: Baskets

Baskets (FX)
Premiered January 21 at 10pm

I nearly forgot to watch this show, which I had only known about in the first place because of the advertisements all over the place with Zach Galifianakis’ melancholy blue face looking up hopefully at the sky. I’m a fan of Zach’s, and I highly enjoyed him in his last TV role on “Bored to Death.” This show I’m not quite as optimistic about, and there are a few reasons for that. It falls into the FX category of comedy that has been most defined by “Louie,” which features depressing plotlines on a regular basis that sometimes are made to be funny and sometimes left as serious and hopeless. This first installment doesn’t inspire much potential for the aptly-named Chip Baskets, who failed out of French clowning college for the very simple reason that he didn’t speak French and couldn’t understand a single thing, and now lives back in California in a motel while his wife, who married him just for a green card and the chance to find someone more attractive, lives in an actual apartment building and calls to demand forty dollars for HBO. When he’s not being pummeled by bulls at his day job, Chip finds himself humiliated in nearly every situation, save for his interactions with poor Martha, an insurance agent who, despite being a terrible driver, offers to drive Chip around and do whatever he wants despite his not being at all interested in her as a person. This show is slow and deliberately uncomfortable, and I’m just not sure that’s what I’m looking for in a new comedy. The casting of Louie Anderson as Chip’s mother is strange, and I think I much prefer Zach playing his twin brother, Dale Baskets, who is a dean, student, and the janitor at his own college. I don’t think I’ll check back in for another installment of this show, and I’ll return to it only if it receives some serious critical or awards acclaim down the road.

How will it work as a series? Despite his offer to his unappreciative wife, it seems that Chip is only interested in being a clown, and with Martha as the sole affirming person in his life and someone who is not trying to motivate him to do anything else with his life, he shouldn’t go far. It will surely be awkward and uncomfortable, and there will be a few laughs and smiles along the way, but I doubt enough to make this show worth it.
How long will it last? The ratings report I read said it did better than “Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll,” which FX renewed, and “The Comedians,” which it cancelled. I think Zach is a comedic investment that the network wants to make, and relatively strong reviews for the show should point them in favor of wanting to keep him around as one of their flagship subversive efforts.

Pilot grade: C+