I've been watching that show on FX, "The League," because it's on after "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" (the funniest show since "Arrested Development" was canned) and I'm chronically lazy. I figured I'd give it a shot....it's a show that's based on dudes who are in a fantasy league together, one of them's a lawyer, this show should be up my alley, right? Right. But it's not funny because it's about fantasy sports. It's funny because it's well-written.
Thing is, the fantasy jokes are contrived and forced. It seems like they're partially just a vehicle for cameos (Terry Bradshaw, Antonio Gates) or an attempt to loosely tie the show to the title. All the references seem out of place and detract (and distract) from what are otherwise solid comedic plots.
They're also just not believable. I'm supposed to believe that guys who base their lives on fantasy sports don't know that Keyshawn Johnson is retired or that Plaxico Burress is in jail? Why would a football league only have 5 guys (shouldn't there at least be 3 guys who are friends of friends who no one knows like real fantasy leagues and why is their an odd number in a head-to-head league)? Does anyone think it's not OK to be in more that one league at a time? These are all real occurrences on the show, and it sort of ruins it.
The show is actually very, very entertaining. The actors have a good rapport. The writing is really good, and they regularly nail pithy one-line putdowns that feel true-to-life. As any Bud Light commercial will tell you, guys LOVE ripping on each other. "The League" does a great job of capturing this dynamic with the homoerotic jokes and good-natured ribbing that dudes constantly engage in. Strangely enough, I hope the show moves away from the fantasy sports crutch and just focuses on the characters. I never thought I'd say this, but when I watch "The League," I actually want less fantasy sports in my life.
I agree. Great show so far. That guy's t-shirt says "I shaved my balls for this?" haha.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think the show may have been deliberately advertised as a fantasy sports show as a way to get viewers.
ReplyDeleteIs there any chance I would be watching this show if I didn't see the "you get 3-5 years, and I just lost Adrian Peterson" commercial? Probably not.
I feel like they have these occasional fantasy jokes in the show only for marketing/advertising. FX knows that the people who do fantasy football are also the same kind of people who enjoy good-natured ribbing and homoerotic jokes...
I couldn't agree more w/ Mike's analysis. Funny show, but anytime fantasy football comes up, it is the most annoying thing in the world. Thus, I can't say its a great show.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest problem is they act shocked when one of the guys who sucks, beats another guy. Do they not realize that in fantasy sports (particularly football) that someone who sucks can easily win any given week, much less win the league overall. Until they drop this fantasy theme, the show will be hilarious one minute and the dumbest thing ever the next.