Favorite Friday: The Good Place

Kristin Bell and D'Arcy Carden hugging while on a panel talking about The Good Place

I do not usually find myself at a loss of words. I can talk and yap and continue on like there is no tomorrow. However, there is one show that leaves me speechless, to the point of making me consider whether I want to write about it in the first place. However, it changed my outlook on comedy and illustrated what a greatly written show could look like. I am not the only one who believes this, too. The people at Writer's Block Magazine mentioned its unprecedented demeanor. Like many, this show created a permanent spot in my mind that will forever be occupied by it. That show is The Good Place. 

The Good Place is a fictional afterlife that parallels Christianity’s Heaven. When Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristin Bell) awakens after her death, she finds herself in The Good Place. Opening her eyes, she sees a green wall that reads, “Welcome! Everything is fine.” And to Eleanor, everything does feel fine. She is calm, collected, and ready for what’s next. 

Micheal (Ted Danson) opens a door and invites Eleanor in. Micheal is introduced as the architect for The Good Place. As Eleanor and Micheal talk, it is revealed that Eleanor doesn’t remember her death because she was killed by a line of shopping carts that pushed her out into the street, causing her to be hit by a semi-truck displaying a graphic ad. 

The show’s calm execution of jokes causes the comedy throughout to be displayed in different natures. There are moments like this one where if you were not picking up on the subtle hints before, you could still have a laugh. However, there are so many small and at times unnoticeable jokes throughout that make a rewatch just as fun as the first watch. 

These random moments throughout also remind you that this is still a comedy. I appreciate Mike Schur’s willingness to break the tension and remind you that it’s okay to laugh, too. A tough subject matter that has been scrutinized and hypothesized throughout history will undoubtedly make some uncomfortable. However, Schur’s writing insists that the jokes, whether noticed immediately or not, are there to break this tension.  

A scene that always sticks out as a tension breaker to me is in the pilot, within the first 10 minutes. Eleanor, when talking to Micheal, asks who guessed about the afterlife correctly. When Micheal reveals that it was a random stoner in the 1970s who did not even remember saying it himself, guessed correctly, you cannot help but think, what on Earth? But this is something that is done constantly. It makes you question what just happened, and then it makes you want to guess what will happen next.

As the plot of the show continues, Micheal introduces Eleanor to The Good Place which she is now a resident of. It’s a neighborhood carefully crafted to be a perfect afterlife for 334 residents. Other neighborhoods exist, but this one is perfect for Eleanor. Soulmates also exist according to Micheal, meaning that hers would be here too. She was, after all, a veterinarian and a human rights activist in her time on Earth. 

Except she wasn’t. 

Eleanor, after meeting her soulmate Chidi (William Jackson Harper) and following the departure of Micheal, explains to her now-supposed soulmate that she is not supposed to be here. The memories that they displayed of her being a great human are not hers. During this exchange, she also discovers that she cannot curse, and instead succumbs to saying “holy forking shirtballs” as a swear replacement, creating a memorable moment for many fans. 

Chidi was a professor of Moral Philosophy when he was on Earth. He debated every decision he made, to a fault. It’s revealed as the show progresses that Chidi’s indecisiveness is what killed him. At this point, however, he believes that he is meant to be in The Good Place and Eleanor is ruining it for him. She, instead, convinces him to teach her how to be an ethical person, so that she can stay in The Good Place. 

Three other major characters are introduced at this time, too. Tahani (Jameela Jamil), Jason (Manny Jacinto), and Janet (D'Arcy Carden). Tahani is a social elitist who believes that she is where she should be. She never once has done anything wrong in her mind and that means without any self-reflection, she also believes she is meant to be in The Good Place. Jason is her husband, and Janet is the robot-like assistant to everyone who gets smarter every time she reboots. (Jason and Janet fall in love by the end of the first season.)

 As Eleanor explores her neighborhood, she also discovers that Jason also does not belong in The Good Place. Jason is supposed to be a Buddhist who hasn’t spoken in decades. He actually is a less-than-intelligent man from Florida. This creates a divide. Eventually, Tahani and Chidi both come to the self-realization that they also don’t belong. 

At this point, the four decide to confront Micheal. They tell him that they believe there was some mistake and that they do not belong. However, Micheal tells them that if two of them went to The Bad Place, a hell-like opposite of The Good Place, then the other two could stay in The Good Place forever. 

This causes the four to fight, and just as they are at the peak of arguing, Eleanor decides that she will be the one to go with Chidi. Micheal insists that it isn’t what the others want, and she disagrees. She tells Micheal in one of the show’s most iconic lines, “They never going to call a train to take us to The Bad Place. They can’t because we’re already here. This is The Bad Place." 

Many shows are written with the understanding that they might not be renewed for another season. However, this also means that they tend to wrap up and leave the viewer satisfied with what they consumed. With the first season of The Good Place ending with this revelation, it does a good job of keeping the audience interested in what will happen next. 

The show was renewed for three additional seasons, and the plot continued to develop all the way to the end. Schur wrote the script so that the show would be finished in the fourth season. Many shows are used to make an endless amount of income with seasons that drag on for years. However, Shur’s willingness to write something with quality instead of something with quantity demonstrates the effort and work that went into making this show worth every episode. No major actors left, and the plot held together until the very end. 

So, what is the rest of the plot? I would suggest you watch the show to find out. I already gave away the entire first season so if it was intriguing, I do not want to spoil the rest. I know that for me, after I watched the entire show, I felt complete and, although yearning for more, grateful that it wrapped up so elegantly. Few shows start with a great foot and finish on the same great foot. 

I know that this is not the only comedy that has ever done this. If you have a comedy that needs to be highlighted for Favorite Friday, please comment below! Chances are that it'll make on!

Comedy review

Why You Should Hate Along My Side

For the longest time, I have made sure to exclusively surround myself with comedy as a relief from the drag of everyday life. Without realizing it, I started to morph into these characters that I spent my time with. 

During middle school, I made Parks and Recreation my personality, I spent all of quarantine watching The Good Place (one of my favorite shows ever), and now I find myself rewatching The Office as if I were on The Office Lady Podcast, too. (I love Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer!) 

Of course, these are not the only shows I consume myself with and these will not be the only shows I talk about. I somehow manage to fit in seasons of TV shows during semesters of schoolwork and working my part time job, almost as a means of preventing me from going crazy. 

All that to say is that I have put in the hours and am willing to put in more to understand comedy TV shows. They are what I live for and getting a good laugh is a great place for life to start. 

My goal is not to come on here and say that you should hate Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory.  Why, yes he is annoying and has quite obvious character flaws, but I do not want you to walk away from comedy or TV in general because of that. Rather, I am here to present the idea that the main characters from some of our most beloved shows are purposefully crafted to make us hate them, to the extent of teaching us something.

I can hear it now. "I don't watch comedy for a life lesson. I watch it to relax and turn off my mind!" Guess what, I do too! That is why I hate many main characters. My hatred is not pure malice, but instead a reaction for the way I get tricked into learning. If I wanted to learn something purposely, I'd turn on PBS.

However, even the slightest character analysis creates the argument that these characters have more than one job through their design. My mission is to explore and show these designs that make us all take a double take. 

I'll do this a pretty systematic way. My plan is to rewatch a few episodes of a comedy TV show, then explain why the hate I have accumulated is justified. What this usually means is that I have hate because I learned something. When I do learn, I'll share!

I am completely open for comments with suggestions and ways I messed my analysis. How would I know I am wrong without someone telling me? Or maybe I could I have missed something completely, and I want to be as transparent as possible. I am also completely open to comments with suggestions of the next show I should dive into, too!