Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

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Lunkhead
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Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Post by Lunkhead »

I was frankly surprised to find that I really enjoyed this show when I started watching the first season. Then it got a second season and the writers managed to mostly get through that pretty well. But this third season really seems like it's either gone off the rails or deliberately turned into a very different show. The music and songs have been pretty forgettable, compared to previous seasons, and they also feel sort of obligatory, like if the creators didn't think the audience expected them then they wouldn't happen. In the first season they worked better because of how a big part of the narrative revolved around the main characters detachment from reality and her using these imaginary musical numbers as ways to cope. Now all that is basically gone and also we're getting a lot more side character songs which generally are pretty meh. There are also a lot more side character stories and more time devoted to them, and they're not really holding up great under so much scrutiny. And now instead of a whacky funny zany disturbing show about a cast of misfits, everybody seems to be pretty groundless and lost and like they have run our of narrative arcs for the characters. Maybe that's a prelude to something but the fact that all the characters have kind of stalled in the lives is grinding the whole show to a painful halt. I'm not sure I want to watch it anymore!
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MicahSommer
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Re: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Post by MicahSommer »

I have really enjoyed this show through its entire run. I think its recent darker turn is a necessary consequence of taking seriously Rebecca’s unhealthy behavior throughout the show. And the increased focus on secondary characters goes along with her increased awareness that other people have their own lives and issues. I agree that the songs have been less consistent recently and feel like a less integral part of the show, although Rebecca’s “A Diagnosis” and Paula’s “First Penis I Saw” are recent highlights, among my all time favorite musical moments from the show.
"you did a skillful job pulling off the sexy" - RangerDenni
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MicahSommer
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Re: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Post by MicahSommer »

The series finale of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend aired last weekend, and I thought it was a great end to a great show. I thought the first half of this fourth and last season was a little weak (similar to Lunkhead's criticism of the third season, it felt like a lot of characters were just spinning their wheels) and I was concerned about how they were going to wrap things up, but the quality really picked up in the second half of the season, and I found the conclusion really satisfying. I'm so glad that the creators got to give the show the ending they planned and it deserved. Plus, the bonus concert special was a ton of fun! It was great to hear so many of the show's classic songs in a live setting, although Santino Fontana's absence meant that we didn't get any of the vintage Greg songs.
"you did a skillful job pulling off the sexy" - RangerDenni
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Lunkhead
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Re: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Post by Lunkhead »

My enthusiasm for the show had recovered after my last post but I still felt like it was overall a lot more hit or miss than the first two seasons. I didn't personally feel like the ending was that great. Maybe I'm jaded having written a lot of songs for Song Fight/Nur Ein/FAWM over the years, but the idea that the whole thing was leading up to her writing and performing an original song left me thinking "So what?" Maybe my favorite moment of the finale was when White Josh confessed he still didn't like Rebecca and probably never would.

The concert special was indeed very fun. I'm curious to see what the creators and cast go on to do next. Part of me thinks I'll never see most of the cast in anything again but I hope that's not the case because they were all great.

Random bit of trivia, if you watched the concert special or looked into who the creators and songwriters were, the guy playing bass in the band, Jack Dolgen, spent a whole year making fun of Song Fighter Jonathan Mann and Jonathan's song-a-day project, although without ever actually acknowledging Jonathan. I think he first found out about Jonathan when Jonathan and his ex-girlfriend Ivory posted a song/video about their breakup which went somewhat viral. Jack did a pretty brutal parody of Jonathan and Ivory's video. Anyway, Jack started his own song-a-day videos on his YouTube channel but every time something would interrupt him or he'd otherwise have some excuse for not writing a song or for skipping that day. It was kinda funny at first but he actually kept it up for a full year, and on the final day did a bit of a mea culpa video admitting how sad it was to spend a whole year making joke excuses. I'm not entirely sure the whole thing wasn't planned/staged though, who knows.

Jack's final video:


Jonathan's video about it:


Jonathan's been tweeting at Jack occasionally as Jonathan's a fan of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend but I haven'don't recall ever seeing Jack reply.
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MicahSommer
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Re: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Post by MicahSommer »

Lunkhead wrote:
Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:29 am
Maybe I'm jaded having written a lot of songs for Song Fight/Nur Ein/FAWM over the years, but the idea that the whole thing was leading up to her writing and performing an original song left me thinking "So what?"
Music is such an important part of Rebecca's inner life, and yet she had never once considered sharing it with anyone else, because she's spent her entire life basing her identity and her actions on other people's expectations, up to and including going along with the ridiculous "Bachelorette" scheme. Performing her own song represents finally living her life on her own terms.

And come on, out of the dozens upon dozens of songs you've written, one of them was the first. I bet it was a pretty big deal.
"you did a skillful job pulling off the sexy" - RangerDenni
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