BoJack Horseman

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flyonthewall2983
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#26 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Tue Jul 31, 2018 5:02 pm

For those very few of you who don't have Netflix, Comedy Central is going to start showing reruns in a few months.

Soothsayer
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#27 Post by Soothsayer » Tue Jul 31, 2018 5:12 pm

The ending of season 3 has one of the best music cues I've ever seen put to a moving image. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

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Murdoch
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#28 Post by Murdoch » Tue Jul 31, 2018 8:17 pm

I enjoy the show when it focuses on BoJack's depression and self-destruction since I think the writing excels in those ruminations on personal failure and regret. But I also am baffled when I read praise of its comedy as I find it the most unfunny comedy series to receive critical acclaim in recent memory. Aaron Paul's character is just tiresome for me and every gag falls flat. Comedy of course is subjective but the show's humor makes up such a large part of the runtime that the parts I find compelling are weighed down heavily by the attempts at being a comedy.

flyonthewall2983
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#29 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Wed Aug 01, 2018 5:39 pm

Even though there is comedic gold on the show that has nothing to do with him, I hear you on Aaron Paul's character. For maybe the first 2 or 3 seasons I felt like Todd was an important part of the story, even as things got more silly, but I grew tired of it by the 4th season.

I hesitate to say this as I've been pretty vocal here about my love for the show, but last year's season wasn't as good for me as what came before. I'm hopeful it can turn around this year though.

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Boosmahn
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#30 Post by Boosmahn » Tue Sep 04, 2018 1:25 pm


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Re: BoJack Horseman

#31 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Sat Sep 15, 2018 2:58 pm

S5 is a marked improvement for me, I'm happy to say. I feel like they went the extra mile in terms of stretching the form of a half-hour animated comedy, in ways last year's season didn't. It's extremely prescient and also keeps things moving along story-wise, with decent character development throughout.

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Boosmahn
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#32 Post by Boosmahn » Wed Sep 19, 2018 7:23 pm

Agreed, this was a great season. Some people might be mad that BoJack's development isn't linear, but I feel that it's necessary (not to mention it's one of the main themes of the show).

Also:

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Re: BoJack Horseman

#33 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Thu Sep 20, 2018 12:17 pm

They even managed to make Todd's arc more compelling than in previous seasons.

Soothsayer
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#34 Post by Soothsayer » Thu Sep 20, 2018 1:31 pm

SpoilerShow
The monologue episode is up there with the best this show's presented yet. Esp. with the intro as an indirect form of exposition.
Another quality of this show is how they have different levels/approaches to showing the flaws of major characters. With Bojack it's extreme, stark, and violent. However, esp in the last 2 seasons, there's an equally critical examination of Mr. Peanutbutter, but shown in a more "polite" way which reflects his character.


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Re: BoJack Horseman

#36 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Thu Dec 13, 2018 7:14 pm

That's great, especially if this signals a more general deal between Netflix and Shout.

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Boosmahn
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#37 Post by Boosmahn » Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:50 pm

This is excellent news! However, the "multiyear" part makes me think we won't see the fourth season on Blu-ray until at least 2020...


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therewillbeblus
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#39 Post by therewillbeblus » Fri Sep 27, 2019 10:22 pm

I thought season 5 was the best yet, expanding its themes to new psychosocial areas, but even the worst moments in the worst seasons are pretty good. I’m curious to see how they wrap it up, as the show really thrives on its maturity in understanding that many of the finalities we search for are mirages. The idea of ending a show like this is strange in and of itself, but I’m beyond excited and hope they do it justice.

For my money it’s the best show currently on tv, and one of the few I make sure to rewatch every year before the new season.

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Re: BoJack Horseman

#40 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:15 pm


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Re: BoJack Horseman

#41 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Wed Oct 30, 2019 2:00 pm

I watched the new episodes over the weekend. Hard to give it a more defined review than it being of the same quality it has maintained, since it is obviously 2/3rds of a season as opposed to a full one. At the end of last season I came away thinking one more could probably wrap this up pretty well, and I feel like that has come true in a sense, but obviously the picture is not complete.

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Boosmahn
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#42 Post by Boosmahn » Fri Nov 22, 2019 12:59 am

One of my favorite seasons so far, Surprise! being the highlight.
SpoilerShow
I'm conflicted about the developments in the last episode; on one hand, BoJack's past was bound to catch up with him, but on the other, doesn't he deserve happiness for once? It's a real shame since I just rewatched the series' very first episode, and BoJack has so clearly changed for the better. I do have one issue that isn't moral: Hollyhock meeting that college kid at the party is way too coincidental.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#43 Post by therewillbeblus » Fri Nov 22, 2019 1:16 am

Boosmahn wrote:
Fri Nov 22, 2019 12:59 am
One of my favorite seasons so far, Surprise! being the highlight.
SpoilerShow
I'm conflicted about the developments in the last episode; on one hand, BoJack's past was bound to catch up with him, but on the other, doesn't he deserve happiness for once? It's a real shame since I just rewatched the series' very first episode, and BoJack has so clearly changed for the better. I do have one issue that isn't moral: Hollyhock meeting that college kid at the party is way too coincidental.
SpoilerShow
I get that criticism, and felt the same way myself initially, but there’s something often cosmic about the push to a state of surrender in recovery. Many people who have ‘hit bottom’ and have made a commitment to be sober and work the steps will peel back their process of this change to strange, almost impossible coincidences that propelled them into sobriety. Sometimes when it rains it pours and the past always catches up in one way or another. I predict that this chain of events will build to a real surrender and commitment to a life in recovery that Bojack is still grappling with, but he doesn’t know it. The test will be this flood of pain and the people he’s harmed coming back to force this confrontation with himself. There will be a kind of authentic irony here where Bojack’s narcissistic fantasies will finally come to fruition, though instead of everyone singing his praises, all the people in his life will turn their attention towards his misdeeds and character defects.

I think Bojack will get a happy ending, but one that fits with the show’s message. Some people will turn their backs on him, some may forgive, but he cannot find absolution through atonement. He just has to do the next right thing in baby steps and show up for life one day at a time, with some hope he’ll get some people back in his life, less hope for others, but - through acceptance, and daily work on himself - maximum hope for future relationships.

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Boosmahn
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#44 Post by Boosmahn » Sat Nov 23, 2019 12:50 am

Thank you for the write-up; we'll have to wait and see. They certainly lit the fuse with that last episode, so I'm interested to find out when (and more importantly, how) everything will come to a head.

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Re: BoJack Horseman

#45 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Sat Nov 23, 2019 10:40 pm

therewillbeblus wrote:
Fri Nov 22, 2019 1:16 am
Boosmahn wrote:
Fri Nov 22, 2019 12:59 am
One of my favorite seasons so far, Surprise! being the highlight.
SpoilerShow
I'm conflicted about the developments in the last episode; on one hand, BoJack's past was bound to catch up with him, but on the other, doesn't he deserve happiness for once? It's a real shame since I just rewatched the series' very first episode, and BoJack has so clearly changed for the better. I do have one issue that isn't moral: Hollyhock meeting that college kid at the party is way too coincidental.
SpoilerShow
I get that criticism, and felt the same way myself initially, but there’s something often cosmic about the push to a state of surrender in recovery. Many people who have ‘hit bottom’ and have made a commitment to be sober and work the steps will peel back their process of this change to strange, almost impossible coincidences that propelled them into sobriety. Sometimes when it rains it pours and the past always catches up in one way or another. I predict that this chain of events will build to a real surrender and commitment to a life in recovery that Bojack is still grappling with, but he doesn’t know it. The test will be this flood of pain and the people he’s harmed coming back to force this confrontation with himself. There will be a kind of authentic irony here where Bojack’s narcissistic fantasies will finally come to fruition, though instead of everyone singing his praises, all the people in his life will turn their attention towards his misdeeds and character defects.

I think Bojack will get a happy ending, but one that fits with the show’s message. Some people will turn their backs on him, some may forgive, but he cannot find absolution through atonement. He just has to do the next right thing in baby steps and show up for life one day at a time, with some hope he’ll get some people back in his life, less hope for others, but - through acceptance, and daily work on himself - maximum hope for future relationships.
SpoilerShow
The real interesting thing to me is how this will both impede BoJack now that he's out of Hollywood and not just seen as a celebrity but as someone people can know on a deeper level since he's a teacher, and how it affects Diane's new existence in Chicago.

My favorite moment of the episode where he finds some sort of peace is when him and Mr. Peanut Butter do the "crossover" episode and PB is clearly both excited to have broken through a level in their friendship, and genuinely excited to live out a past glory, even if it's not being televised.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#46 Post by therewillbeblus » Sat Nov 23, 2019 11:00 pm

flyonthewall2983 wrote:
Sat Nov 23, 2019 10:40 pm
SpoilerShow
My favorite moment of the episode where he finds some sort of peace is when him and Mr. Peanut Butter do the "crossover" episode and PB is clearly both excited to have broken through a level in their friendship, and genuinely excited to live out a past glory, even if it's not being televised.
That was my favorite moment as well and exhibit A of BoJack understanding, and beginning to practice, the notion that small gestures of selfless kindness will do more good for others, and move him on the path towards self-respect and self-love, than all the futile “grand gestures” he’s been making throughout the show out of dishonesty and fear, that have been transparent as such and only resulted in more harm to others and emotional dysregulation for himself. It’s the kind of growth that’s been promised all along and even divorced from that vast context, a beautiful offering from one being to another, the kind that validates the dignity and worth in another specifically because BoJack initiates the situation based on a shared history and memory completely focused on Mr PB’s wishes.

It could even be read as the first action of his that is completely selfless. Even his other seemingly selfless acts thus far have had some self-interest behind them (playing the role of a leader, fatherly figure, expert, caregiver, partner, friend) but BoJack has made it clear that Mr PB is the one character he wants no connection with, and doesn’t seek friendship from, or at least he didn’t until now.

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Re: BoJack Horseman

#47 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Sat Feb 01, 2020 1:23 pm

Blew through the final episodes yesterday
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The more I think about it the more I see the resolutions a little more clearly, but overall I can't really say I was as moved emotionally as I was in prior episodes. There were some loose threads that went unresolved but I think there might have been some poignancy in and of itself. I won't ever be one to say that the "woke" narratives wear thin on me but they became more and more obvious, where some discretion in it's application could have been more effective.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: BoJack Horseman

#48 Post by therewillbeblus » Sat Feb 01, 2020 1:47 pm

I’m struggling with similar reactions, because while this last season (both parts) felt close to the show’s worst season, they also felt absolutely necessary and consistent with where this was all building towards.
SpoilerShow
Bojack had to hit another rock bottom, and the culmination of all of his past targets, historical harm, and ghosts of those who he was denied catharsis all coming back to assist him in reaching the ultimate surrender was necessary, though I don’t know if it was all that effective. Still that may be in the show’s favor as reinforcing this loop of progress in positive growth and fallback onto character defects. Bojack in many respects actually admits to his faults in ways he never would have before in that first interview, despite exhibiting some defenses. He’s clearly grown a lot and practiced being uncomfortable through his stint at rehab and early sobriety. However, his ego and narcissistic impulses jump right back into gear after he is forgiven, taking it as another “grand gesture” fixing things. What I love about this show is that it understands that social-emotional growth is not linear, continues to have ups and downs, and whether that’s rooted in mental health, innate personalities, ideological and social conditioning, etc, we need to show up each day and do the best we can, while never truly overcoming some of these faults. The show preaches rehabilitation vs. retribution. We will all be the bad guy in someone’s story; and that acceptance is crucial to being a better person in someone else’s. The show also understands the process of recovery in addiction better than anything I’ve ever seen from the medium, and is truly inspiring for those who struggle with not just addiction but mental health issues on a daily basis - and I’m not just talking about BoJack; Diane has emerged as just as significant a character on that plane.

All in all, I think it ended the only way it could have, with Bojack and Diane on the roof doing the best they can to hold multiple conflicting emotions together at once, trying to leave space for the pain better than before and also showing up to find something to laugh at, but most importantly finding the space to not just sit in awkward silence like they initially did looking around nervously on a horizontal plane. Instead they are now looking up to the cosmos, feeling right-sized and trying to become comfortable with that uncomfortable process of sitting with their own thoughts in silence. This was never a show that was going to tie up loose ends because it’s a show that acknowledges and accepts that these stories don’t have endings of finite growth because, well, that’s life (and even if they did have resolutions they wouldn’t all occur at once!). I may wish I laughed more over the last 16 eps, but in the show’s defense, I think the comedy is secondary to the drama.

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Re: BoJack Horseman

#49 Post by Tawfik » Sun Feb 09, 2020 12:21 pm

One has to love the fact that Bojack frequently criticized dramas he played in by saying 'it's no Ibsen". And then when finally referring in the last episode to one of the most tense Ibsen play "Edda Gabler", he comments "well it's no Strindberg" (who was the Swedish homologue to Ibsen, insanely brilliant and tormented writer) :D . I personally felt like the whole show took on a lot of influences from Ibsen's last plays (in particular "When we awaken from the dead"), while Bojack's character definitely has a lot in common with August Strindberg himself.
Though none of these writers ever wrote a comedy :)

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