732 - Marinating Melvin (5/15/23)

I used to think the boys were a little too harsh on 'ol fuddy duddy Lasso but then season 3 happened and I switched between boredoms yet unknown and saccharine induced vomiting during my viewings

Padjoe

I suspect we're actually gonna see more and more of this kind of bunny soft, stroke-your-back-and-say-it's-OK media going forward as people get just physically sicker with things like stress, unaddressed pollution, banned-everywhere-but-America food additives, and long covid. A growing niche of targeted content for people with chronic illnesses.

Jon Lyons

My mom recently passed from ALS- the last year of her life was miserable, and anytime that she and my dad (her full time caregiver) had time/energy to watch TV, they wanted to watch something feel-good. They became really into this show because it gave them a lift in the middle of an incredibly dark time. I'm not a fan of the show personally, but can appreciate what you're saying about it being a useful escape for people in difficult situations. Also, sorry to hear about your mom- best wishes.

Tyler Mourey

I feel halfway the same. Yeah sometimes its nauseating but it has enough scraps of humor or plot to be just ok. I would be more repulsed if we were all watching network television and it was the current "The Office", but for the streaming age its a fine show to throw on with family or passively in the background to numb your brain. I do completely agree that there was potential for an actually good show if Lasso was a psychopath or at least showed these people at their worst instead of best. That's why I gave it a shot because I thought it would be that, but its still serviceable as a television after-dinner mint

Jack Ryan

Ted Lasso: SVU

Ari

I watched some Marinating Melvin after this episode and it's really just a stupid, sincere show that isn't all that unpleasant. Aside from Sudekis being an annoying cheesedick and Nate looking like a muffin, it's on par with something like Tulsa King.

Big Dong Bill

If you ask to leave they have to let you but you're supposed to clean the security camera before the poison gasses kill you.

Big Dong Bill

That idea of people competing with positivity is literally just a Smiling Friends episode. Highly recommend

foxy

I want to know what’s going on with the silo

Ted Lasso is liberal fascist media that imagines Soy American Exceptionalism as the panacea of the world. The relationship of Lasso with the brits is just a representation of the way that Center/Left of Center libs view the "mission" of Woke American Imperialism vis a vis the swarthy hordes of the world. It'll help calm suburban anxiety as we start burning down villages around the world to prevent de-dollarization, or at the very least give them an excuse to be okay with the genocide because people in the Third World keep refusing to use preferred pronouns.

Kevin

Yeah even though it’s obviously quite popular - specifically zeroing in on this stupid little show that’s trying to be earnest and positive, because of course you’re all so unbearably clever that you’d never be duped by something that didn’t just drag you through the mud and tar and tell you it’s all meaningless. I mean there’s a place for that but my mom has cancer and she’s watching Ted Lasso over and over because it makes her feel better. Not a lot of culture that actually does that is there boys? You think No Country for Old Men is gonna help my mom feel nice after chemo? You think maybe there’s a place in the world for something that’s trying to be earnest and being cynical is actually easier? You guys reference David Foster Wallace maybe read some. Cynicism and pessimism and gallows humour is, sorry to say, fuckin easier. I know you guys closed the last little door of earnesty in your hearts when Bernie won - but I’m dying for an explanation as to why this ok-to-pretty-good show is the target of such vitriol. It’s not prestige and it’s not Bosch or Ray Donovan sulking into their navels, but it makes a lot of people feel nice after the end of history president and the pandemic. Apart from your half assed imperialism comment why do you actually care if people enjoy this thing

Wes

I like pie.

October

the Independent Thought Haver has logged in

etienne

Sorry. I mean, it has its moments. And one of the thing the Chapo guys kept sort of alluding to was how meme-able Ted Lasso seems to be. I feel like The Office, Parks and Rec, and now Ted Lasso exist as some sort of weird semiotic bridge that connect ideas about contemporary life. I will say I like Parks and Rec memes more than I like the show.

Don’t ruin Parks and Rec for me. :(

Axel Herrera

I like Chapo. I like Ted Lasso.

ill not watch it--any snl players in a show is a major turn off. (I do love 30-rock, tho, and I enjoyed the first season of Barry--but that's saved by Stephen Root) I saw Suckdickus speaking at the White House about health care awareness. I think we're beyond "awareness" (corporate lip service/thoughts any prayers) of mental health or cancer or whatever else--it all means nothing without single payer. im glad Chapo watched it for me, canaries in the shitty culture coalmine--bravo!

carl

SPORTS

Jack Hume

TV is for boomers. Remember when tv was distainfully referred to as the boob tube and a place where rotting brains go to die? Nothing has changed. And no, your favorite prestige tv show wasn’t good or important.

T

A little too on the nose that Ted Lasso filmed an episode where all the footballers talk about the evils of revenge porn at around the same time this verdict was handed down: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/24/french-footballer-karim-benzema-guilty-sex-tape-extortion-scandal

George P

My first impression of Lasso was more “dances with limeys.” Like he may be a American yokel but these Brits have never seen coaching or baking skills like these! I feel like they need an episode where he’s the GOAT of the great British bake off.

You’re a buttface

Peter Sullivan

Look, I've studiously avoided watching the show, but everything you are describing here about the kind of flaccid anti-humor just goes back to Parks and Rec. Parks and Rec was the show that delighted its audience by just kind of serving up picaresque vignettes of these quirky so-and-sos just doing stuff and being cute. And Parks and Rec stole that model off the last few (unwatchable) seasons of The Office, which started out being a show about uncomfortability, thwarted expectations, and the despair of work. In other words, it started out being about people at their worst and soon turned into fanfic about lives of contented mediocrity.

what about this ep was good?? am i dumb?!?!

chronye

it was like The busiest it’s ever been bc we sold our usual shortbread cookies in ted lasso themed boxes and also drinks were $1

eric

I feel bad for them but please say more

The difference is that Golden Girls is actually hilarious and nasty in addition to the “friendship conquers all” lessons

J.P. McD.

i once worked at a coffee shop that had a ted lasso day and i heard it was one of the most miserable days that my coworkers had ever experienced

eric

Extremely good ep with a god-tier Fall song on the outro if you don't like this you are dumb

Bobby Lawn

Felix really turnt for this one

Beej

Tv is pizza or potato chips. Ted lasso is goldfish crackers

Jacob Teasdale

Funny episode but Chapo boys are acting like moral-lesson-sitcoms are a new invention lol

Sean

💤

Ben

All these dudes do now is watch TV this shit sucks lol

buttface

Have never watched the show (nor Silo) but episode was a banger. You’re all morons.

J.P. McD.

that sucks

Robert Falco

I haven't seen any of the promos for the Silo, but the Chapo critique makes me want to watch it for some reason. What the fuck is in that thing?!

ZeeBee

Just remember this is the show that’s stealing Emmy’s from Barry

Bryce Rodriguez

This topic wasn't worth a whole show

Vincent

Weak episode. Boring unless you have watch Ted Lasso.

David Andrews

All of the Chapo patrons who incessantly complain in the comments, folks, you're going in the Silo.

Tim O'Connor

FIRE WALK WITH ME !!

ploob

Felix brings up Mongols no less than three separate times in this episode

Gebicca

Surprised these dudes have never done a Twin Peaks episode

Mfusion

Your heart’s not in this one though

Malika Nash

How Could You Forget severance?

Sean Marshall

A life beyond slop? I refuse to entertain this

Christopher E Musgrave

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, from what I remember, has a similar dynamic to Ted Lasso but is actually funny.

Nathaniel Chesterton

The bit with Kevin Costner and those Chinese tourists is the only clip I've ever seen from Yellowstone. I feel like I got a good sample of Taylor Sheridan mindset

Rusty

have they heard of Severance?

nick

Prestige TV breaks people’s brains. Every two months a new season of something snows people into believing it’s the best art that’s ever been made, and they get red hot flaming mad if anyone suggests otherwise

J.P. McD.

It's a Bill Lawrence show. It's a little better than Scrubs, and not as good as Cougartown. I get that Ted's relentless positivity is a bit much, but it's hardly the darkest vision of American Empire. Try Yellowstone for a truly psychotic vision of America.

T.A. Martin

Soccer is a much better sport than baseball

Colton Durbin

Ted Lasso serves the purpose of a traditional multicam sitcom for libs who think they are too evolved and sophisticated for the lowbrow hog slop the hoi polloi consume.

David James

Comedy is when YOU walk into an open manhole and die

Gulb

This is once again the most unhinged place on the internet

Ian Firstenberg

If you dig down into Apple+ content and contracts you will probably find that about 85% of their total content published this year was written by Chat GPT.

John Mitchell

Pretty sure I killed several budding friendships by admitting that I didn’t like Ted Lasso. They’ve treated me differently ever since. One person got visibly upset.

William Evans

Sudeikis is great in the Nacho Vigalondo film Colossal as a selfless friend to Anne Hathaway who turns out to be extremely manipulative. I’d never be able to watch Ted Lasso because I can only see him as sinister.

Mike Mariano

I would rather see a show about the two sports broadcaster characters sudekis and will forte played on snl.

Dick Van Sexel

Thanks for your service. Confirms everything I avoided this show for as a British man who loves football. The fact this turdpile wins awards is damning for civilisation. Please do ‘Succession’ which is even worse in that it appeals to libs but manages to attempt at humanising billionaires. Easily more sinister than Lasso.

This may be the dumbest Chapo episode ever. It’s just a silly, easy show and they fucking love it just like everyone else. There is no political drive behind it, it’s just a nice 30 minutes of goofs once a week to pacify your aching American brain.

Ted Lasso feels like they made the anodyne kindness of a flight attendant the spiritual core of the show. Your mind is eating dry nutritionless saltine crackers from a plastic sleeve wrapper.

C. Ries

Oh, is there an episode about Ted’s porn star past? Because with a mustache like his, he had to have starred in Slobbing the Knob 8.

Demented Avenger

This sounds kinda like First and Ten (well, 35 years later, in England, and playing soccer), except instead of the problems being tidily resolved at the end of the episode, the problems are resolved right away. Oh, and none of the cast has killed anyone. Yet.

Demented Avenger

The real life characters of Ted Lasso are a little more interesting. Welcome to Wrexham is American Influence but of course not coaching ownership. Jesse Marsch basically spent more time convincing Brits he wasn't Ted Lasso. More deeply is using Lasso to become a Bobby Robson figure. Look him up, he managed my hometown team Ipswich went on to manage PSV, Porto and Barcelona. Nate's character arc is based on Jose Mourinho who worked as a translator for Robson at Porto and then became an assist manager under Robson at Barcelona. Roy Kent arc started as Roy Keane but has morphed into Pep who was a defensive mid under Robson at Barcelona and is on the record as saying that Robson inspired him to become a manager. Robson brought total football to England, another arc in Ted Lasso character development after going to the Netherlands. Robson brought in two Dutch players to Ipswich Arnold Muhren and Frans Tyson. In short watch the Bobby Robson Documentary instead. Lol

Marcus Wrightus

It's very interesting how over the last few years I've heard people talk more and more about "comfort shows". I think they may be trying to come up with shows that already feel like you've watched it in the background 1,000 times the first time you watch it.

Jeremy Hawkins

also I watched the first 2 episodes of the Silo and it’s actually even worse than the boys made it out to be

Felix is right, Deadwood is definitely the greatest show ever

ROU Sentient Lichen

My wife & I watched the first two episodes. We didn’t like it because it felt like they making fun of someone with special needs.

Mathew Parkhurst

Get this nerd shit out of here, i wasnt defending Ted Lasso. It is a very vanilla show, I do not care about Avatar Last Airbender go talk about it on Reddit.

Matty yglesias

Sorry I don’t think trauma dumping immediately as soon as any tension is built is good writing. I mean the avatar the last air bender had better more fleshed our characters. That show has plenty of people who watch it that aren’t the targeted demographic yet because of good writing it transcends its targeted audience.

Ethan Jones

Ted Lasso. But he's a leftist.

Ben Reed

Felix's intro killed me instantly! Go off king!🔥🔥🔥 Marinating Melvin! Instant classic this one! Well done fellas

James Browning

Getting upset about a tv show that is not targeted towards you.

Matty yglesias

For All Mankind should be watched as the prequel to the Fascist universe from season 2 of Picard. Or alternately a prequel to The expanse.

Michael Coutts

The NBC Sports commercials were funny. Haven’t watched the show

Mark Patsy

if you want a good British psycho-bods comedy stream THE BRITTAS EMPIRE its on youtube

Hayley

"for some people, this show is like Jack Nicholson saying GooseFrobba to Adam Sandler" sorry im sorry

Doug Cartel

Ted lasso is good. Tired of every show being about a depressed real estate agent who sells meth or something

Matthew Silverman

does Ted lasso have writers from the good place or something? seems like it’s similar vibes where it’s going for ‘cute’ or ‘clever’ but gave me a handful of laughs at most in what I did watch

Andrew Cross

This bwah knows

Bob Duvall

u gotta suck the dick sloooow

calvin kilby

it high key sucks

calvin kilby

Can’t wait to know more about this show than I should

Dick Wolf

Ted Lasso is a very annoying name

Olivia Kali

I missed the part in Major League where Lou Brown isn't a qualified baseball manager. You can hate the show but this ep is on the same level of dreck as Ted Lasso.

Bob Duvall

Only hearing about any sort of new TV via podcasts rather than actual irl friends

Olivia Kali

Very funny episode

Carl Thomas

I heard Ted Lasso is low key good

Bilbo Baldwin

God damnit do not remind me about Jesse Lacey

Major bit me

Feeling very vindicated!!!

Betty Kelly

Ted Lasso= The Berenstain Bears for adults. But less good