THE PLOT THUS FAR
Portlandia is IFC’s hit sketch comedy series created, written by, and starring Fred Armisen (SNL) and Carrie Brownstein (WILD FLAG, Sleater-Kinney vocalist/guitarist). The show is driven by a series of hilarious character-based shorts all of which take place in “”Portlandia”", the creators’ dreamy and absurd rendering of Portland, Oregon where 90s culture reigns supreme and political correctness is all the rage.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
There is far too much talent on this show for it to be so bad. Kyle Maclachlan tries to save the season, but the forced callbacks and inane characters produce what can be called hipsteresque Tim and Eric at its worst. There is immense potential for the show to turn into something that is flawless. However, “Portlandia” remains stuck in the ghetto of forced celebrity bit roles and niche comedy. It’s not that terrible of a ghetto, but you can’t ever grow when you’re trapped within.
The nature of the comedy is upset with the details of those too poor to be nouveau riche. They are locals proud of their late 90s time capsule that never seems to advance past a point. Let’s find another way to put it. I understand that there are those who are interested in knowing the origins of their meal, and this bit could have been very well done if it ended in the restaurant. The show just takes it to a painful degree where the laughs have dried up and it’s just simply sad and unfunny in the end. I was just wishing they would wrap up and move along.
The Blu-Ray comes with a featurette, interview and trailer. The 1080p transfer is rather refreshing from a company that I’m not used to reviewing. However, I found that the DTS-HD master audio track couldn’t decide if it wanted be 2.0 or 5.1 surround. If it was 5.1, then why where was there no back channel support? In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: 09/25/2012
