I definitely have the tendency to overthink children’s TV shows. My daughter loves Jake and the Neverland Pirates. But I think the animated series is a little weird. Where are Jake’s parents? And Izzy’s? And Cubby’s? I know, I know. They live on Neverland. But they never talk about their moms or dads. They never wonder where they are. Where do their clothes come from? Where do they get all their food? And seriously shouldn’t they be in school?
All this is to say, I totally related to Lee’s utter confusion around Dora the Explorer in this week’s episode. When Happyish hits upon some universal truth of parenting and relationships, you can see the good show just bursting to break free.
The second episode was much better than last week’s dismal series premiere. Happyish toned its anger (everyone is still very angry, but a little less raged-filled) and used profanity with less frequency (i.e. not every other word). But still, over all, the series isn’t working.
Lee is struggling with the fact that her estranged mother sent a present to her son Julius. Lee has a lot of anger towards her mother, which manifests itself in the form of a talking Amazon box. Here’s where more context would have been helpful. We got hints on what caused the rift between Lee and her mom, but it’s probably something the show needs to explore more.
Lee can’t decide if she should give Julius the present, or send it back unopened. Ultimately she lets Julius decide, which seems like a lot of pressure to put on a six-year-old. Even worse, she tells her son, “My mother didn’t really love me very much.” Who tells a six-year-old that? Julius decides to forgo the present because his parents promise to get him something else he really wants. The whole thing is a huge parenting no-no.
While Lee is paralyzed by what to do about her mother’s present, Thom continues to deal with his new bosses at work. Their latest genius idea? Make the Keebler elves real people and get a documentary filmmaker (Ken Burns or Michael Moore) to direct the commercials. “Real problems. Real issues. Real chocolate,” Gottfrid says. Oh and the new bosses stole Thom’s couch from his office and everyone is trying to act hip and cool to impress these new, young bosses. Series creator and writer Shalom Auslander is clearly hell bent on mocking corporate America. But a little subtlety would go a long way here.
As I stated in my review last week, I didn’t love Thom talking to the animated Keebler elves. Although I still don’t love it, Lee chatting with the Amazon box worked better. However it’s a little strange that both the husband and the wife have these hallucinations. Is everyone going to have them?
And while the show’s bizarro version of Dora was actually funny (“We better get knapsacks. We’re going on a guilt trip.”), it seemed like something better suited for a Saturday Night Live skit.
We here at Paste have decided to stick with Happyish for a few more episodes to see if it improves. What about you? Did you like the second episode more than the first? Talk about it below.
Other thoughts on “Starring Marc Chagall, Abuela and Adolf Hitler”:
• Last week it was “Fuck Mad Men. This week it’s “Fuck you Carol Brady.” If this is going to be some sort of running gag, it’s not working.
• I have to wonder what Keebler thinks of this show.
• Carrie Preston who plays Thom’s co-worker Debbie, is a bright spot on the series.
Amy Amatangelo is a Boston-based freelance writer, a member of the Television Critics Association and a regular contributor to Paste. She wasn’t allowed to watch much TV as a child and now her parents have to live with this as her career. You can follow her on Twitter or her blog.