I fell off my chair.
A. Groff | Eastern Mass. | 01/05/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Seriously, this is the funniest frigging show I've seen come out in the last couple of years. Can't WAIT to get this DVD. The concept is totally original--it alternates between seeing these couples in their everyday lives, and seeing them in the therapist's office--except you the viewer are in the therapist's seat, because the couples are talking right into the camera. The improv is relentlessly brilliant--if you're a Gen-Xer or thereabouts, they nail the humor. For points of reference, I'm a huge fan of SNL and Family Guy."
I am sooooo happy this show is coming out on DVD!!!!!
GG Spencer | SoFla | 02/06/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you're a fan of shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development, The Simpsons, The Office and the like, you'll lurrrrve this show. It's largely improvisational, and every single episode had me wheezing with laughter-induced asthma."
Shout! Factory produces gold, I tell ya!
BDT | Sacramento, CA | 03/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I happened upon this DVD purely by accident. I saw Nicole Randall Johnson (of MADtv) on the cover and I am becoming a big fan of hers. I also noticed the Shout! Facory logo on it and knowing the stellar series they have produced ("Freaks and Geeks," "Undeclared" and especially "The Job") I decided to take the chance. As far as I am concerned, Shout! is now 4 for 4, this show is simply fantastic.
This show is done in odd form (and I mean that in a good way). It follows the marriages of four separate couples. The only thing they have in common is the therapist they all go to, the four couples have NO interaction what-so-ever. Each episode focuses on three of the four couples.
The couples are all hilarious and mostly well-matched. My favorite couple is Bill and Connie. Bill (played by the, in my opinion, genius Fred Goss) is unemployed and in a dark abyss of depression. The opening scene between he and Connie is one of the funniest segments I have ever seen. The next couple (and the only couple featured in every episode) is James and Chelsea. It is easy to see why they enjoy most of the screen time as the actors, Brian Palermo and Andrea Savage, have the best chemistry of anyone on the show. Their back-and-forth is absolutely top shelf. The other couples, Devon (Chris Spencer) and Alex (Nicole Randall Johnson) and Ethan (Herschel Bleefeld) and Eleanor (Faith Salie) are fantastic but can pale in comparison to the others.
The topics range from infidelity to divorce to pregnancy to Fred Goss dancing around in skimpy underwear. It is completely hilarious and I could not recommend it any more. Only 12 episodes got made (Shout!, while maintaining a high quality, cannot keep a show in the air) which is a crying shame. If you like anything Shout! has ever done, you will not be disappointed here.
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