Robert Townsend is in The Bear?!?. One of the comments mentioned it. Now I’m really going to have to try again. Maybe.
I am not sure what has changed more since the thread was started. Me or The Bear! Probably me.
I honestly don’t know what point you’re trying to make. The Bear - according to its production team, and me, and many, many, many other people - is a comedy. You don’t think it’s funny. Okay. As I noted, there are plenty of comedies that I don’t think are funny. But guess who it’s not up to?
I am speaking for myself here @small_h , but I felt I might be considered unsophisticated if The Bear did not meet my expectations when I was thinking comedy. I got the impression to some it meant I didn’t know what was funny or didn’t have a “funny bone”.
I’ll admit it takes a bit to make me smile, let alone laugh lately, and I don’t seek out programming described as “stressful” or “anxiety producing”. I can do that by myself!
But by whom? We all have different definitions of “funny.” Just like we all have different definitions of food that is “good.”
Yeah, sense of humor (and lack thereof, occasionally) is definitely a highly personal / subjective thing.
You mentioned Young Sheldon. A friend of mine absolutely adores The Big Bang Theory, whereas I couldn’t get through more than 2 min bc I can’t deal with laugh tracks.
It’s ok to enjoy different things.
Right it’s not up to viewers. I watched all 3 seasons. Calling this season a comedy is a stretch.
1 Like
I’ve certainly encountered a lot of people who insist the The Bear is not a comedy! But the precedent as far as Emmy categories goes, is partly (as small_h noted) that half-hour shows always land in that category. There’s also the possibility that the show’s producers would choose to situate it there even if the categories were more fluid because they thought the show and its cast would have a better chance there then in drama based in potential competition. (See also how films do this with the choice to submit actors for lead or supporting categories for the Academy Awards.)
Yes. That was what was suggested in the post above.
1 Like
I agree with the point I already made about Emmy category decisions. I just don’t agree it’s a comedy any longer.
I think the problem here is that of definitions. Words can mean multiple things. In this case ‘comedy’.
Def 1: a piece of usually narrative art designed to make the audience laugh. Jeeves and Wooster books are comedies.
Def 2: a distinct structure of a tv show and EMMY category. If a show is STRUCTURED like a comedy (a,b,c stories all merging at the end) and has a writer’s room that FUNCTIONS like one on a comedy, and is generally in the 22-40 minute per episode timeframe, it is a comedy.
The Bear is absolutely a comedy according to Def 2.
It is occasionally a comedy according to Def 1.
Now, can we all agree that Jamie Lee Curtis was fantastic in the pregnancy episode? I know SO many overbearing personalities like that. It’s a dead on portrayal of that sort of half broken narcissism in someone trying (and often failing) to do better.
It made me uncomfortable, which just speaks to its realness.
1 Like
JLC, def dramatic acting in both of her season scenes -no argument there.
How very apropos:
1 Like
Finished Season 3 last night. There were clearly episodes that stood out, so a bit of a mixed bag, but generally, I still love the show and can’t wait for S4.
Folks are right that this season has seemed like it’s just doing a lot of table setting for the next. And that’s somewhat frustrating. But as others have brought up, s3 and 4 were shot in one go, so it may have seemed less jarring as it was happening.
JLC is still amazing. Jeremy Alan White continues to surprise me. His confrontation w Joel McCale in the last episode was terrific.
I’m really liking Ebon Moss-Bachrach. He’s been cast as Ben “The Thing” Grimm in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, and I’m really looking forward to his take.
1 Like
I am always tickled when I see her on that Columbo episode! You could tell she was "going places ".
How about this quote
" The Best Advice I Ever Received
I’m sober 25 years and [I’ve learned] advice is a form of hostility. Advice is somehow saying to someone, “I have a better idea than you.”
a (notorious?) feature of the show is the pristine food/dish photography. it’s perhaps featured even more prominently this season. this article focuses on the Bear, but more so on how ‘food porn’ is being twisted in the culture.
Food Porn Gets Dark: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/08/arts/television/food-porn-the-bear-delicious-in-dungeon.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BU4.Yqpf.LuWO6shbEtES&smid=url-share
‘Carmy’s diminishing relationship with food provides the closest thing [this season of] “The Bear” has to an enticing conflict. As he settles into the early weeks of running a fine-dining hot spot, he’s increasingly haunted by memories of his tutelage under the sadistic David Fields. In flashbacks we see Chef David craning over Carmy predatorily, ready with a bitter rebuke or challenge. By season’s end, food is no longer a comfort for Carmy; producing the requisite artful plate of food is necessary to his restaurant’s survival.’
I considered abandoning the whole series after this episode. Still may…
Well, I’ve now gutted it out through all 3 seasons.
Sorry I did, really. I thought the casting and acting were very good. The glimpses inside the world of haute cuisine were fascinating, but never made me hungry.
This series fell flat for me because of the endless angst and how excruciatingly slowly the personal story lines developed (or didn’t).
I hope the ending of S3 is The End, but what a groaning disappointment.
And what’s all this about The Bear taking all the Emmys for comedy? https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1948917/emmys-viewers-fume-bear-comedy-awards
It was comical in places, but hardly a comedy…
Oh man, I said that weeks ago, ha!
