The Characters Season 1 TV Review

The Characters Season 1 (2016-)

Starring: Lauren Lapkus, John Early, Henry Zebrowski, Kate Berlant, Natasha Rothwell, Paul W. Downs, Tim Robinson, Dr. Brown

The Characters - Comedians showcase zany characters, like a blind cop riding a Segway.

Plot:
This Netflix original series gives eight comedians half an hour to make us laugh in this sketch comedy show where each actor plays multiple characters.

Verdict:
The concept alone is great, unfortunately it's entertaining but not that funny. It's fun to see what the comedians developed, but I'm left thinking, "That's it?"
The way Lapkus's sketches drift into and out of each other is really well done. Rothwell's is the most humorous. Dr. Brown's increasingly crazy single take romp is the most intriguing and cohesive story but ultimately unfulfilling. These are my three favorite episodes, and two of them aren't even based on the comedy but the execution.
It's the kind of show that's good background noise. You don't have to pay attention, each episode is self contained, and at any moment something at least moderately zany is occurring.
It was never as funny as I hoped it would be. There were no laugh out loud jokes. It's long form SNL type sketches. While I didn't love this season, I think it could develop into something good.
It depends. 

Recap
My favorite episodes are Lapkus, Rothwell, and Dr. Brown. My least favorite are Early, Berlant, and Robinson.

Episode 1 - Lauren Lapkus

Lauren Lapkus deftly transitions between a teen boy, stripper, and celebrity.

Lauren Lapkus from the Netflix original Orange is the New Black spoofs reality dating shows, reprising her role from Comedy Bang! Bang! as Whitney Peeps. When Peeps arrives at an arcade, the focus transitions from Peeps to Lapkus as a teen boy who gets in trouble for foul language, except the language just rhymes with foul words. It flips back and forth between celebrity and teenage boy before Lapkus appears as an addict that attacks the teen boy's mom. It's convoluted, but it's part of the charm.  
Lapkus also plays an elderly woman watching a Lauren Lapkus movie and a stripper with a strange choice of music. I was hoping to like it more than i actually did. 

Episode 2 - John Early
This one wasn't very interesting focusing on a wedding reception that as a joke doesn't pay off. Early plays a bad date and a female comic, but I'd skip this episode.


Episode 3 - Henry Zebrowski
Being mistaken for Jim Gaffigan was a great opener. Zebrowski gets killed and gets to see snippets of his various past lives. He's a friend zoned cave man and on the cross next to Jesus. The Jesus skit felt like a rerun. His life as a pilot builds upon itself when the same pilot is responsible for the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ronnie Van Zant, and Aaliyah. His next skit is a guy that goes all out with zany excuses as to why he's late, showing up naked. I didn't need to see Zebrowksi naked. It's a shock to make up for the lack of punch line.
Episode 4 - Kate Berlant
She plays a pretentious artist commissioned by a corporation for an installation. It pokes fun at artists, but it felt like well tread ground.

Episode 5 - Natasha Rothwell

This well-read homeless person will spoil Game of Thrones unless you donate.

Rothwell's well read homeless person who threatens to spoil Game of Thrones if he doesn't get donations is the best skit of this season. Rothwell plays multiple characters in jury duty and a doctor who's treating a patient and metaphorically talking about race relations. The stories occur in the same world with the characters showing up in multiple skits, though the transitions aren't as deft as in the Lapkus episode.
Episode 6 - Paul W. Downs
Paul W. Downs from Broad City opens with a monologue before playing a monster truck gearhead. We a scene and another skit with someone naked. When you can't be funny, shock the audience. It's a shame I don't enjoy Downs's monologues as much as he likes to perform them. Downs plays an editor providing notes on the Bible before it was published. a date with a few difficulties. Downs's best skit is a blind cop riding a segway who divines information by licking objects. The concept is better than the execution. 
Episode 7 - Tim Robinson
Tim Robinson of SNL plays a Las Vegas playboy whose facade crumbles, a limo driver who takes jokes literally, a member of the Pointer Brothers who point to poeple as they dance to music, and a really bad wrestler. I found this episode in particular not entertaining. The last sketch, a guy trying to buy a gun wasn't bad.

Episode 8 - Dr. Brown   

Dr. Brown really wants people to go to his friends birthday party.

Dr. Brown aka Phil Burgers plays three characters that invite people to a party in a skit that is a single continuous take. I liked his transition to the next character, changing his jacket as he walked. Three character stories intertwine around Tim's forty-first birthday party, with conversations between Dr. Brown's characters mirroring each other. It was one of the more intriguing skits because it seemed like it was building to something big. The last scene turned into the first scene as we end exactly where we start. It's the type of story that's more sci-fi than comedy. The lack of a solid conclusion didn't help.