18 Nov Recommendation – W/ Bob & David
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Nostalgia is a hell of a thing, as Netflix knows. So let’s avoid it. Fans of the cult HBO sketch series “Mr. Show” are jazzed that the Netflix original series “W/ Bob & David” brings back the two titular stars and a bunch of their busy, popular writer/actors pals. And they should be. From what I’ve seen of Mr. Show (I’m not a completist but I’ve seen most of them) it was cutting edge, funny and launched a bunch of careers, including my man crush Paul F. Thompkins.
Does “W/ Bob & David” continue the legacy of “Mr. Show”? I don’t care, and since we’re more than a decade and a half from the show going off the air, you shouldn’t either. These artists have grown into themselves and out of their roots with Cross nailing a very particular brand of pissed of American in his stand up and Odenkirk producing and acting his way to American Treasure status (seriously, that last scene with him and Cranston on Breaking Bad). Same goes with the cast including Thompkins, the great Brian Posehn, John Ennis and others. It’s a different group doing a familiar thing and deserves to be judged on its own merits.
Lucky for them the show is always interesting, sporadically very funny and really self assured. It’s always great when an artist (or group of artists) let you know they don’t really care if you’re enjoying yourself. They’re in it for why they’re in it and that spirit pervades all of the four episodes of “W/ Bob and David”. Add to that the fact some of the sketches are absolute classics and there’s no reason to not blow two hours or so on the four episodes currently up on Netflix.
Netflix original series have a strange effect on me. When they’re done, I almost never want more. Daredevil was too long by about two episodes, for example. “W/ Bob & David” feels short in the best way. I loved it.
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