Fleabag

Hello all,

I have just watched Fleabag on iPlayer and just wondered what you guys thought if you'd seen it.

Personally, I liked the breaking of the 4th wall and it's got a very good cast although I felt that the actual humour was based on shock value which doesn't impress or inspire me. It lacked subtlety which I think if utilised, can be very powerful in comedy.

I'm all for equality between the sexes, and strong independent female lead characters but I didn't find any endearing qualities about her, effectively a bit of a ladette and a bit of a wreck. I actually want to like the characters I'm laughing at.

Of course being inappropriate is one of the cornerstones of situational comedy but the "jokes" here were essentially blatant masturbation, anal sex, effing and jeffing, using your boobs to get things and dropping the C bomb. It seemed relentless. Not wanting to sound like a comedy snob, because everything is fair game in comedy but I think there's a line to be crossed before it becomes crass. I found this to have crossed well over that line. It was trying too hard to shock you into laughing. You could have taken your brain out whilst watching it.

I didn't laugh once and it got me thinking about new comedy and what's getting picked up?

Is that the direction comedy seems to be going these days? Crudeness and pushing the limits of what can shock people into laughing? What about funny intelligent dialogue between two developed and likeable characters that audiences can relate to and get on board with? What about hilarious slapstick?

I think of the elements that I love about my favourite comedies:
Fawlty Towers: Hilarious dialogue, the clever weaving together of situations, slapstick, a great main character.
The Office: Fantastic inappropriate and cringe situations. Great dialogue. A likeable main character. Human traits and subtlety.
Alan Partridge: A great main character, hilarious and clever dialogue. Physical humour too.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: A shallow main character with no shame. Inappropriate situations at times and physical comedy too but not gratuitous and not trying too hard to shock.
Bottom: Manic slapstick.

Can you tell I'm not a fan of Fleabag?

What started off as a question has become an essay. Sorry about that but it has been somewhat cathartic.

Thanks for that. I need a lie down.

Sorry I don't reply with as much depth as yourself. Interesting read nonetheless.

I saw the first episode and came away with mixed feelings, mostly reflecting your own sentiments. I'm going to watch the second episode later today and I may have a better formed opinion on the programme.

Side Note: I noticed this is not in the channel guide on site.

It was nice to see Desk and Collie anyhow.

Yeah. Like I know these people!

Sorry for the long post

I've seen the first two episodes now and I was left completely unmoved. It didn't even make me smile or feel ... well, anything. There certainly isn't any laughs and I have yet to see a moment in which one was genuinely intended.

Its sole claim to novelty is the fourth-wall breaking and this is done here in two ways:

Firstly, there's the confessional, intimate way in which Fleabag explains her feelings (usually by beginning, "You know when ...", which sounds relatable, but then snowballs into an explanation which makes her look weird, and it's even weirder that she expects us to relate to it).

Then there's the second, more off-the-cuff way, in which she glances at the camera and says a sentence. For example, when she is having sex and the man is exclaiming how small her cleavage is and she looks at the camera and says, "Bit much!" That, with its posh-girl-talking-to-camera schtick, seems to be influenced heavily by Miranda, even to the point where it's a direct rip-off.

The only interesting part is the mourning aspect. Her friend Boo died tragically and Fleabag is coming to terms with it. It would seem she wasn't messed up before, but is now both grieving and trying to understand what it means to be the one still living. This - and the low-key mundanity of her daily life (kitchen-sink drama that is cosmopolitan, if that is even possible) gives the show its one, sole virtue.

Other than that, it's just crass, cynical, dull, immature, misandrist, crude, disjointed, unfunny and desperately tries to be shocking. It is as though Waller-Bridge has made a list of things which she hopes will shock people: pornography, masturbation, swearing, casual sex and even suicide, and bases the script around that.

It's the TV version of an 8-year old who is eagerly trying to shock you to show how 'grown-up' he is, but only succeeds in confirming the very opposite.

Whatever point she is trying to make as a writer is lost on me. Surely she isn't trying to say how bad it is to be a thin, beautiful, young 20-something with a flat in London?

I was also weird-ed-out to see the otherwise respectable Kevin McNally in a five-second flashback of the two having sex, with him ecstatically bleating, "You're so young! You're so young!"

Quote: Dave @ 30th July 2016, 5:41 PM BST

Sorry for the long post

I've seen the first two episodes now and I was left completely unmoved. It didn't even make me smile or feel ... well, anything. There certainly isn't any laughs and I have yet to see a moment in which one was genuinely intended.

Its sole claim to novelty is the fourth-wall breaking and this is done here in two ways:

Firstly, there's the confessional, intimate way in which Fleabag explains her feelings (usually by beginning, "You know when ...", which sounds relatable, but then snowballs into an explanation which makes her look weird, and it's even weirder that she expects us to relate to it).

Then there's the second, more off-the-cuff way, in which she glances at the camera and says a sentence. For example, when she is having sex and the man is exclaiming how small her cleavage is and she looks at the camera and says, "Bit much!" That, with its posh-girl-talking-to-camera schtick, seems to be influenced heavily by Miranda, even to the point where it's a direct rip-off.

The only interesting part is the mourning aspect. Her friend Boo died tragically and Fleabag is coming to terms with it. It would seem she wasn't messed up before, but is now both grieving and trying to understand what it means to be the one still living. This - and the low-key mundanity of her daily life (kitchen-sink drama that is cosmopolitan, if that is even possible) gives the show its one, sole virtue.

Other than that, it's just crass, cynical, dull, immature, misandrist, crude, disjointed, unfunny and desperately tries to be shocking. It is as though Waller-Bridge has made a list of things which she hopes will shock people: pornography, masturbation, swearing, casual sex and even suicide, and bases the script around that.

It's the TV version of an 8-year old who is eagerly trying to shock you to show how 'grown-up' he is, but only succeeds in confirming the very opposite.

Whatever point she is trying to make as a writer is lost on me. Surely she isn't trying to say how bad it is to be a thin, beautiful, young 20-something with a flat in London?

I was also weird-ed-out to see the otherwise respectable Kevin McNally in a five-second flashback of the two having sex, with him ecstatically bleating, "You're so young! You're so young!"

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I'm glad it's not just me that felt that way. The reviews on-line are full of praise claiming this is a must watch. I was beginning to wonder if I was missing something.

Now seen both episodes and have to say I'm not finding anything to laugh at. I'm thinking someone wanted to make a drama but lost their bottle at the last minute and decided to sell it as comedy.

The crudeness doesn't bother me, but I often feel the comments to camera are really just lazy writing. If it reminds me of anything it's Drifters, except that I found Drifters laugh out loud funny. So there you go, those are my thoughts.

I only watched this because of the really poor reviews on this thread. I've only seen episode one so far, but I have to say, I didn't mind it in terms of the complaints raised here. I didn't mind the crudness, or anything like that.

Having said all that, it's not that funny, and a bit ... I don't know .. annoying at times. I actually quite like the comments directly to camera. It's a little different (well, was until recently, I'm looking at Mrs Brown and Miranda).

I will try to watch the rest of the series but so far, it seems I'm not keen for different reasons. Maybe it will get funnier.

On the surface, lots to not like about this.
But, somehow, the charm of the lead character means that they get away with it.
I like that there's sadness beneath the comedy.
All comedy is sad, really.

It's interesting but I'm not sure it addresses the quarter-life crisis it is supposed to. The things that happen aren't exclusive to people in their twenties. Also, nothing redeeming about the main character. Which doesn't make you connect with her and hook you to the show. I'll still watch on to see if this changes.

I've enjoyed the entire series thus far.
I find it to be rather blunt and honest.
I felt the most recent episode, Episode 4, was by the far the standout. It managed to raise a few laughs and I felt the writing was quite strong.

i couldn't stop laughing
only just seen the first ep
genius

Quote: gon gon @ 31st August 2016, 9:05 AM

i couldn't stop laughing
only just seen the first ep
genius

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Couldn't stop laughing? I didn't see anything remotely amusing in any of the six episodes.

Quote: Dave @ 1st September 2016, 1:58 PM

Couldn't stop laughing? I didn't see anything remotely amusing in any of the six episodes.

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I think it's probably a girl thing.

Quote: Chappers @ 1st September 2016, 2:28 PM

I think it's probably a girl thing.

View original

I did, however, appreciate the mourning aspect of the series. And, considering the reveal in the last episode, it's no wonder she's so messed up. I think I would be too.

Hi, new poster here, I like Fleabag, refreshing to see a different type of female lead...like others I could do with a few more laugh out loud moments but I could say that about most new sitcoms! Some of her jokes are subtle ones that perhaps are more female only... like pretending to go for light flow rather than heavy flow tampons when her ex flame caught her in the shop! I haven't seen a joke like that and it was hilarious.

Well, Toast of London got a Bafta which was basically Matt Berry doing a funny face whilst shagging various sorry characters and this is a lot less crude than that. Seriously Toast of London got a Bafta? But anyway... really enjoying the show so far.