Season 1 of BoJack Horseman is a contradiction to what it promises to be in its first episode. A "We're different" approach quickly turned into we're the same as all sitcoms but we're also mocking them. It created a hypocritical world that is chaotic. The prevailing attribute to it though is that as a show, it was trying. Failing miserably, but trying.
Comedy shows tend to be like that and I don't mind it. Community's characters, namely Troy and Britta, changed their attributes as the writers found the correct tone for them. BoJack Horseman had the opposite problem.
The characters in BoJack Horseman are very good and with the glimpse I have seen about their past lives, all seem to have an interesting story. The issue is, we haven't really seen episodes written to showcase their characters until episode 7 - Say Anything and its follower episode 8 - The Telescope.
Before that, we saw events not escalated properly. Prickly Muffin painted how drug reliant BoJack and Sarah Lynn are and how dysfunctional their relationship is. But the way it was done wasn't clear about whether those characters are actually like that or just the show exaggerating it. That's a running problem with the whole show.
The Pacing
Sarah Lynn stabs herself and then gets the wound taped. Later on, we learn about Herb's cancer. You can't expect me to take cancer seriously in a show that just handled self-stabbing like a joke. The problem goes on.
Serious moments ruined by failed joke attempts. Exaggerated jokes followed by attempts to make them serious. Season 1 was a mess, to say the least. Disoriented and uncoordinated. The mixture of exaggerated, over-the-top comedy spots can't coexist with how serious you want some moments to be. It is illogical.
I know it seems harsh to judge a comedy like that, for example, I would never judge Family Guy this way, but this leads me to the final point of this overview.
Emotional Moments As A Crutch
I get what all the show fans are saying about why the show is good. I get the handling of depression, sadness, and loneliness is good. But it seems like the show is trying to trigger that in you constantly. It is not enough that Princess Carolyn isn't appreciated by people around her, but it also has to be her birthday.
Some of my favorite shows do often end in a sad scene, How I Met Your Mother and Scrubs are prime examples. But, those shows don't keep hitting you in the face with the sadness in it the way BoJack Horseman does. Ted gets dumped, cheated on, and left feeling bad plenty of time. Marshal's father dies, also Barney and Lilly's issues with their fathers.
I get that show will be handling this in the future, but for now, you're just showing me sad stuff and counting on the background of this whacky animal/human world to make up for the lack of comedy at times.
In different glasses, I could appreciate BoJack Horseman as a show more, but not as a comedy. But, it resorts to Family Guy's whacky style comedy to get the pass of a comedy for the forgiveness of its flaws, while wanting you to take it seriously in sad moments.
You can't expect to take a lecture from you about self-harm seriously after having Sarah Lynn, and I can't stress this enough, stabbed herself in public as a joke. Unless, you want to take that moment seriously as well, in that case, you're not a comedy anymore.
Best Episodes
Episode 11 - Downer Ending
Episode 7 - Say Anything
Worst Episode: Episode 6 - Our A-Story Is a 'D' Story
Episode 5 - Live Fast, Diane Nguyen
Episode 6 - Our A-Story Is a 'D' Story
Most Memorable Quote
"The most important thing is you got to give the people what they want. Even if it kills you, even if it empties you out until there's nothing left to empty. No matter what happens, no matter how much it hurts, you don't stop dancing, and you don't stop smiling, and you give those people what they want."
My Rating: 6/10
The rating of a season isn't the average of episode scores. It is the ultimate message I left with. BoJack Horseman had a great final three seasons that worked together well with each other and played on the characters' portrayal well. But, ultimately the show remained lost.
I will be checking season 2 as season 1 motivated me enough to do that, but not enough to do it right away.
