Quickie Review: Rutherford Falls

[Tom Wolper]

Streaming on Peacock. It's the latest Michael Schur "sitcom" starring Ed Helms and Jana Schmieding. The series has a number of Native Americans in the cast and in the writers' room. It's about the tension between Helms's character, a descendent of the white founder, the Minishonka who have their own history of the town, and the townspeople who don't really care about the history or heritage.

Pros: the Minishonka characters have differing viewpoints among themselves and they own a casino so their grievances don't come from poverty. The series feels like it's current and based on contemporary attitudes and is not a throwback.

Cons: there's not a laugh to be had in the pilot. Helms and Schmieding play characters I don't want to spend any time with.

[Jim Ellwanger]

I've watched the whole season, and at last, it's a sitcom where my people are properly represented -- by which I mean Northwestern University alumni who are doing something with their lives other than acting (there are two characters in the show who fit that description, including Jana Schmieding's character).

The best thing about it was Paul F. Tompkins, who appears in 2 of the 10 episodes in the role he was born to play (eccentric college professor who also hosts a podcast).

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[two...@gmail.com]

Is it worth sticking with? I mean, do the characters dial down their annoying attributes enough (especially Helms) to make it watchable?

On May 2, 2021, at 1:49 PM, Jim Ellwanger <trai...@ellwanger.tv> wrote:

I've watched the whole season, and at last, it's a sitcom where my people are properly represented -- by which I mean Northwestern University alumni who are doing something with their lives other than acting (there are two characters in the show who fit that description, including Jana Schmieding's character).

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/48CB93FE-0FA9-460C-B3BF-23E21539234A%40ellwanger.tv.

[Jim Ellwanger]

Yeah, I thought it did get better (otherwise, I wouldn't have stuck with it all the way through), although your mileage may vary -- if the underlying issue is that you just don't like Ed Helms and/or the types of characters he plays, then you'll probably disagree with me.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/C9A7641F-2A0F-4BFE-846C-8FA1B5CC117F%40gmail.com.

[Tom Wolper]

On Sun, May 2, 2021 at 2:07 PM Jim Ellwanger <trai...@ellwanger.tv> wrote:

Yeah, I thought it did get better (otherwise, I wouldn't have stuck with it all the way through), although your mileage may vary -- if the underlying issue is that you just don't like Ed Helms and/or the types of characters he plays, then you'll probably disagree with me.

I watched a couple more episodes and it's not for me. I admire the idea but find the execution lacking.