Individually, they all respond to a flyer on the street and go through a windy sequence of events until they’re on a team, playing what may or may not be a game, in order to do… something. This naturally breeds empathy from the audience (sometimes to a problematic degree), but seeing oneself in a TV character isn’t a revolutionary request, and it feels patronizing here - and slightly othering when done with minority characters, as though there’s no possible way a Janice-type watching at home could connect with a Fredwynn-type if the show didn’t explain exactly why they could.Īll of these folks plus Lindley’s Simone, whose second episode is definitely the best of the lot, are brought together by an elaborate game of chance. While this choice may sound bold and different, most shows actually ask the same thing, only without drawing attention to the request they simply create distinct, compelling characters and put them in an intriguing situation. Jason Segel, Sally Field, and Eve Lindley in “Dispatches from Elsewhere” Jessica Kourkounis/AMCĮven as the following episodes branch out to less culturally common lead characters - like Janice (Sally Field), a 60-something woman who’s stuck in mom mode while struggling to be a free-and-easy individual, or Fredwynn (André Benjamin), a 30-something black man who might be on the spectrum and is definitely way too focused on being the smartest guy in the room - the narrator insists on explaining why you, dear viewer, might be able to identify with these people. The audience doesn’t need to be told why they might identify with Peter, as Coleman does by saying, “Peter is you if you ” - wake up to your iPhone, or work a reliable but uninspiring corporate job, or any number of common activities for a single 30-something. (Grant), promised he wouldn’t waste our time with the “unnecessary filmmaker convention” of introducing our protagonist by listing “his occupation, the particularities of his life, and, most importantly, the obstacles that stand in the way of his happiness.” (Of course, Coleman also admitted he lied once during his introduction, so maybe that was it.) Peter isn’t a hard man to understand because he’s not designed to be, and yet these meta promises expose the show as being a little too simple itself. The problem is our narrator, Octavio Coleman, Esq. He apologizes to his therapist - who he only sees because she’s included on his medical plan - for not “bringing more to the table.” Yes, Peter is so boring, he apologizes to his therapist for boring her, but the problem isn’t that Peter is boring to watch - Segel, who’s exaggerated delivery is still formulated for sitcoms, is still an easily identifiable sad-sack, even a decade removed from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Straight white man Peter (played by Segel) is lonely, bored, and fully aware of both. ‘The Idol’ Episode 3 Awkwardly Confronts the Myth of Tortured ArtistsĪs an ensemble drama trying its damnedest to weigh each cast member equally, the first four episodes tell one character’s story through their own point of view, but the premiere does itself little favors by starting with a very common onscreen protagonist. Like a scavenger hunt you can’t take part in, the 10-episode series is easy to appreciate from the outside without actually drawing you in. “Dispatches From Elsewhere” has a few moments of genuine insight, mostly found through Simone, played by newcomer Eve Lindley, but a patronizing tone and grating execution limit the show’s impact. Yet covering all this delightful tomfoolery is a sense of sincerity and superiority that make it feel like the show is daring you to laugh at it before bothering to earn your respect. Grant serves as a not untrustworthy narrator for and character within the increasingly quirky narrative. A hidden 3D city is unveiled from a specific rooftop viewpoint dolphins are trained to communicate with human divers a wandering Bigfoot carries his own ID card (name: Professor Foot), and, perhaps most charming of all, Richard E. What feels like a wake-up call for anyone who’s been binge-watching TV too long (yes, hello, it is I, your diligent TV critic), the hourlong AMC drama begs its viewers to stop watching life and live it by stacking the screen with peculiar wonders. There are isolated moments of grandeur within “ Dispatches From Elsewhere,” an eccentric new anthology series from creator and star Jason Segel.
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