Wilfred

[clocker]

How has this show not been mentioned here yet...it's fucking fabulous.

I'll be talking about the American version, which IMO, is much better than the Australian original...

Wilfred stars Elijah Wood (Frodo!) as Ryan, a burned out (but apparently well to do) lawyer searching for meaning in his life.
He's about to commit suicide when a new neighbor moves in next door with her dog, Wilfred (Jason Gann, the Aussie originator of the concept and role).
Oddly...perhaps frighteningly, Gann is an almost dead ringer for j2k4 (Kev). So, think about that...

Wilfred is just an adorable dog to everyone but Ryan, who sees him as a man in a cheap dog suit.
Basically, it's Harvey with a few twists and a lot more marijuana.

Wood is the straight guy of the pair and his "almost normal" appearance ensures that the viewer is never sure just how crazy he really is.
Jason Gann is pure gold, his Wilfred is a masterpiece of real canine behavior channeled through a wickedly warped comedic filter.
It happens rarely, but I actually LOL at Wilfred.

Be sure to catch the afterscenes (every episode ends with one) which seem to be loosely written/improvised riffs between Ryan and Wilfred ("I have magical powers, Ryan...for instance, I can make you disappear...")- they are sometimes the funniest bit of the show.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/wilfred1.jpg

[IdolEyes787]

How has this show not been mentioned here yet...it's fucking fabulous.



Never heard of it .What do I look like the fucking TV Guide?
Anyway sounds interesting and I shall check it out.

[clocker]

It's on FX, Thursday night.
The previous episodes are readily available from the usual sources.

"Peanut butter, Ryan, peanut butter!"- Wilfred.

[iLOVENZB]

I haven't even seen the Australian series.

Elijah Wood as an actor is just unbearable. I could almost tolerate him in LOTR because his character was a midget who was supposed to have an annoying pubescent voice. After watching Greenstreet Hooligans I made a decision to stay away from his projects.

So clocker, answer me this; is it worth contradicting my decision?

[clocker]

So clocker, answer me this; is it worth contradicting my decision?
The short answer is yes.
Jason Gann has created (and, given his long run, perfected) a character destined to become as iconic as say, Bender.
To miss out on Wilfred because of a dislike of Wood is silly.
Besides, IMO Elijah Wood is perfectly cast in the role of Ryan. I mean really, in essence, the basis of Ryan's character is David Berkowitz and Wood has the barely concealed otherness to make the shows conceit plausible.

So far there are only six episodes and at @20 min. each, it's not a major investment of time.

[Artemis]

I haven't heard of the show either but will check it out, the likelihood of it appearing on a local channel are next to zero but will go hunting teh internetz. One thing struck me as incongruous though.... David Berkowitz as a comedic character ?

[clocker]

Just imagine the Son of Sam story as told by the dog.

[IdolEyes787]

Son of Sam was directed by a dog. Or Satan speaking through a dog so basically Michael Bay.

[iLOVENZB]

Finally got some spare quota, gonna watch the first episode in a few minutes ...

[iLOVENZB]

I just finished the first episode, It was enjoyable to say the least. Character development (like most TV shows) was done very well. There were scenes where I should be laughing but I just didn't, maybe I wasn't in the mood?

Although I didn't laugh I still enjoyed the psychological element. Elijah Wood's performance wasn't like that of Frodo or Matt Buckner (Green Street Hooligans), which means he can enter different roles and still convince the audience. His character as Ryans was still naive and a pubescent no-hoper but at least he doesn't sound like a 12 year old with his bollocks removed.

I'll follow this series through, it's only 175MB/week.

[clocker]

I'll follow this series through, it's only 175MB/week.
Do you have a download cap?

[iLOVENZB]

Yes.

[IdolEyes787]

I'm guessing something like this.

82733

[clocker]

Hmmm...more stylish than I would've guessed.

[iLOVENZB]

Stylin' on 60gb/mo incl. upload. It's these p2p cunts who's at faults. ISP's never included uploads till bittorrent exploded around 2004.

[clocker]

Well, small consolation it may be, but Wilfred is worth the bandwidth.

[iLOVENZB]

Very true!

I'm actually starting to laugh now during the show. I love the scenes at the end where Ryan is talking with Wilfred on the coach.

[megabyteme]

Well, small consolation it may be, but Wilfred is worth the bandwidth.

Downloaded first 8 eps, and plan to watch them tonight. Thanks for your always good recommendations. I actually stopped reading once it was clear you gave it am enthusiastic nod.

Don't know much about it, but will soon. Very soon. muhaaahhhhamuhaaaaaamuhwaaa. :shifty:

[megabyteme]

Watched the first two episodes tonight. Both the wife and I got some good, solid laughs out of it. Kinda like that the premise is so simple- yet (wait for it...) it has legs. :shifty:

Thanks for the heads-up on this one, clocker. I seriously doubt it would have caught my attention otherwise.

[halo9176]

Been watching this show and it is interesting enough to keep me watching but I don't know for how much longer.

[MixLogy]

it's a good tv show

[clocker]

Well, the first (and I'm guessing only) season of Wilfred has ended and I'm ambivalent.
The show's tone seems to have changed towards the end and without a second season, I'm afraid I'll never know exactly what they were aiming for.
The first few eps established the outre premise of the series and lead to episodes 4, 5 and 6 which were sustained comedy genius but having reached a zenith suddenly everything got a lot darker, particularly Wilfred himself.
Although the basic concept didn't change, Wilfred becomes more aggressively manipulative as the series progresses and a lot of the lighter touches seem to have disappeared (notice that the "couch scenes" which ended the earlier episodes stopped and they were sometimes the funniest bits) and an almost metaphysical aura took over (see the ending of the last show for proof).
Personally, I think this was a mistake as the basic absurdity of the concept didn't need to be explained, just exploited (as it was so well in the middle of the season).

If there is a second season I'm totally onboard but failing that, Wilfred will be another conceptually ambitious series that leaves behind more hope and confusion than pleasure.

Still and all, I'd highly recommend the show...even the worst episode of Wilfred outshines 90% of anything else on TV.
I'd much rather watch a risky failure than pablum.

[iLOVENZB]

An (~old) interview based on Wilfred/Ryan's opinions of "Bear":

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/redeye-wilfred-season-1-finale-preview-jason-gann-elijah-wood-20110907,0,4464433.story

The last episode was a huge WTF ep. It was a little predictable, although I thought Ryan wouldn't be able to understand Wilfred after he got hit by the car

[clocker]

Cool, a second season.
I'm surprised and heartened.

[iLOVENZB]

Next year: https://www.facebook.com/WilfredTVDog/posts/169898186423199