The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon) (1 Viewer)

[benbess]

Looking forward to season 2! Things elsewhere are troubled, but in terms of TV it is a new golden age.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

I had not caught this show yet, but have seen the Season Two opening episode and my wife and I were quite blown away. Broadway pros at their best, impeccable timing, fast paced smart dialogue, great musical sequences, tremendous production value$ (the episode takes place in Paris and I doubt they actually shot there, but the look, vibe and feel is awesomely evocative). Anyone just coming in late like us, you get caught up quick with everything. It's absolutely like watching a first rate Broadway production. More Emmys in store for everyone involved... but maybe not for Simone.

 

[mattCR]

Really enjoying coming back to these characters; you are dead right.. a very broadway feel, done so well

 

[Matt Hough]

Once again, I'm trying to contain myself and only watch one a day, but it's hard since the show is such an exhilarating watch. The first episode was hilarious and enormously touching, too. (The stuff with the hit men was "borrowed" from Radio Days.)

 

[ScottH]

Conveniently started watching season 1 just last week without even realizing season 2 would be available right away. I was surprisingly hooked right away. Alex Borstein owns every scene she's in. There is a certain whimsy to it, but it's not overdone like a Tim Burton movie. Midge's stand-up is not my thing, but I can appreciate how it was edgy for the time (especially coming from an attractive woman).

One question - not sure if I missed it, but was it ever stated how Midge's parents got their money? Surely it isn't from Abe's professor salary? I assume it is family money?

I had not caught this show yet, but have seen the Season Two opening episode and my wife and I were quite blown away.

Just curious, why start with season 2 when every episode is available?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

My wife and I plan to watch the first episode of Season 2 this evening. We are both looking forward to it, and I am especially looking forward to viewing this season in 4K. We watched Season 1 while we were at our condo in South Carolina, and we do not have a 4K display down there.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Just curious, why start with season 2 when every episode is available?

I don't subscribe to Amazon Prime (Netflix, HBO, Showtime are enough for me), but got Season Two on DVD screeners for award season promotion.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

We watched the first two episodes of Season 2 yesterday. The show hasn't lost any of its charm from the first season.

 

[ScottH]

I don't subscribe to Amazon Prime (Netflix, HBO, Showtime are enough for me), but got Season Two on DVD screeners for award season promotion.

Ah, that's cool. But did they really give you DVDs and not Blu-ray?

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Ah, that's cool. But did they really give you DVDs and not Blu-ray?

Yeah, that was my beef originally, but then Amazon doesn't even release any of their series on physical media DVD or Blu-ray and I've gotten maybe 7-8 or their top series season sets that way, and the PQ is still quite excellent, maybe it's my upscaling player. I definitely want Blu if it's something I'm going to keep or collect, but for viewing these are fine, and light years ahead of many of my TV sets from series before Blu-ray that I've collected on DVD. And I guess for maximum exposure there are still people out there without BD players, but those with them can still watch DVDs, so it's the best way to guarantee viewing.

And you should have seen the package they sent with The Romanoff's - Large white engraved case, a large stack of full color lobby cards, a picture book with script excerpts, and the DVDs in a wax-seal container. Amazon is definitely spending big bucos promoting their shows.

 

[ScottH]

Amazon is definitely spending big bucos promoting their shows.

Ain't that the truth. Seems like every other website I go to has a huge ad for one of their shows.

 

[Matt Hough]

It's lost neither its charm NOR its quickness, brightness, nor intelligence. The writing is simply wonderful for this show, and all of the performers do it justice.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Just watched the season premiere and fell in the love with the show all over again.

I'm assuming that @Mike Frezon wasn't ever able to resolve his Prime streaming issues, since I don't think he ever reported back with his thoughts for the back half of the first season.

I had not caught this show yet, but have seen the Season Two opening episode and my wife and I were quite blown away. Broadway pros at their best, impeccable timing, fast paced smart dialogue, great musical sequences, tremendous production value$ (the episode takes place in Paris and I doubt they actually shot there, but the look, vibe and feel is awesomely evocative).

When Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband made the leap from the minuscule budgets of The WB to the far more generous budgets of the streaming services, they didn't lose any of their discipline, and put every single one of those extra pennies up on the screen.

One of the areas they spent that extra money was actually shooting in Paris for a few weeks. That shoot made up most of the first two episodes. They also shot the Catskills scenes later in the season on location, at Scott's Oquaga Lake House in Deposit NY, one of the last of the old Catskills resorts still clinging to life, on the western fringe of what used to be called the Jewish Alps.

There are a lot of reviews complaining about the place being run down and not modernized at all, but the fact that it hasn't been updated since the sixties makes it a perfect shooting location for this show. Reportedly, it was the Dirty Dancing producers' first choice to shoot at, but the owner turned them down. As it is, the resort probably got some badly needed upkeep by this show's production by allowing them to shoot there.

Really enjoying coming back to these characters; you are dead right.. a very broadway feel, done so well

The scene in the season premiere that really stuck out to me was Midge alone on the bridge, surrounded by couples in love. The way that scene was shot could have come right out of one of the great fifties musicals.

(The stuff with the hit men was "borrowed" from Radio Days.)

I adored that whole subplot, with Susie going from being called an "it" to going home with a doggie bag. I especially loved the bit in the taxi about the perks of being a garbage man.

One question - not sure if I missed it, but was it ever stated how Midge's parents got their money? Surely it isn't from Abe's professor salary? I assume it is family money?

I believe Midge's mother, Rose, comes from money. And I think Midge's father, while not from quite as extravagant of a background, was still from a higher social class than both of Joel's parents.

 

[Matt Hough]

Midge's father is not only a professor but works at Bell Labs, right?

 

[Mike Frezon]

I'm assuming that @Mike Frezon wasn't ever able to resolve his Prime streaming issues, since I don't think he ever reported back with his thoughts for the back half of the first season.

That's a fact. It is still being worked on. If Amazon ever has another period in which non-subscribers can watch-for-free, someone please PM me.

In the meantime, it really is something I'm still working on. Admittedly, it just hasn't been a priority.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

I wouldn't be surprised if the production cost of each episode was in the Game of Thrones territory. The amount of extras, lavish attention to detail, costumes, numerous extravagant period sets, I'd say each episode costs around $10 million

 

[B-ROLL]

I wouldn't be surprised if the production cost of each episode was in the Game of Thrones territory. The amount of extras, lavish attention to detail, costumes, numerous extravagant period sets, I'd say each episode costs around $10 million

But how is 10 episodes a season?

 

[mattCR]

But how is 10 episodes a season?

Lots of series are 10 eps or so.. I personally prefer 10 episode or 12 episode seasons. I find them to be tight, well written, and ready to go.. there are some shows that can go a 23/24 episode season and make it work, but most end up with a lot of padding.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Midge's father is not only a professor but works at Bell Labs, right?

He just got that job in Season 1, though, so it couldn’t account for any of the family’s wealth.

 

[Matt Hough]

I got to Episode 4 tonight (Catskills vacation). This has to be one of the best written, best directed, and most spectacular episodes I've seen for a TV series in many a year. The dialogue crackling so fast between characters was simply amazing and production values were jaw dropping.