'Wilfred' Final Season

Wilfred started as an Australian TV series, and this is the American remake that premiered on FX and FXX.  I watched the first three seasons of Wilfred on Netflix, and the last episode of season three finished with a big cliff hanger. When I saw that they added the final season, it felt bittersweet.  I wish I had more time to see the rest of the epiosdes!  The final season is ten episodes, that are supposed to wrap up this series. For anyone who hasn't watched this show it's about Ryan [Elijah Wood]; a neurotic, depressed man who in the pilot tries to commit suicide by drinking a cup full of mixed pills and cough syrup.  It doesn't kill and him he ends up waking up to a new neighbor, Jenna [Fiona Gubelmann] moving in next door. She asked him to watch her dog Wilfred [Jason Gann].  Ryan sees Wilfred as an Australian man in a dog costume but everyone else sees Wilfred as just a dog.

Check out these clips to get a feel for this show:     

I hope that they will fully explain how Wilfred is the way he is.  I really hope that Ryan isn't going crazy and that Wilfred is just pranking him.
If you don't get used to Wilfred's character after the pilot you proabably won't enjoy this show.
I rate this show 7.2/10; I find this show consistently funny! The chemistry between the two are great.

Wilfred... What?

Last week, I wrote my post about the pilot of Psych, a comedy about a man who claims to be a psychic.  I haven't watched any more episodes of it. Oops.

However, I watched another pilot of a show recommended by a good friend.  Wilfred, a show featured on FX, was hilarious but left me wondering so many questions- all coming down to one word.



What?

My expectations for the show were high in terms of comedic effect.  I heard that the show was very funny, and was expecting to laugh a lot.  And I did.  It was very well written.  The concept of a talking dog induced by overdose just screams one word.

What?

I really appreciated the deeper meanings behind the comedy.  The episode opens with the main character, Ryan, writing an edit of his suicide note.  He attempts suicide, fails, so tries again.  After overdosing on what looks like NyQuil and some pills, he begins to feel hazy.  In this haze, Ryan is asked to watch his neighbors dog, Wilfred.  Ryan, due to the overdose, thinks Wilfred as a talking dog.

Again, what?

But as I was saying before, there is a deeper meaning.  Ryan is depressed.  The blank stare in his eyes, the sinking inflection in his voice, and the lack of effort to make something of his life shows that Ryan just doesn't know where to go.  But somehow, through this hallucination of a talking dog, he learns to "live his life" instead of float through it.  I was reminded of my project that I did with Kyle and Jake, Sperm Bank.  There are two characters, one on the serious side and one on the silly side, and the silly character helps the serious character come to a realization.

Aesthetically, this show is pretty modern.  The lighting is bright and the colors are saturated, which I believe helps make light of the serious aspects of the show.  There is low depth of field throughout most of the show, allowing you to see every last thing in the frame.  It is shot in handheld format, putting the viewer in the show and making it feel like they're actually there.

I really liked this show.  It was really weird, leaving me asking "what?" a lot.  But I think it has potential to create some great laughs and a very meaningful story.  I'll definitely be watching more episodes.

Breaking Bad and Wilfred

I don't regret purchasing cable but now that my roommate gave me his Netflix password, I don't believe I'll turn the cable box back on in the near future. I don't watch many live sports and since the NHL is locked out, a hole in my heart must be filled with some TV show of equal or greater value. I've been watching new shows every day and a movie every other night. I recently watched the pilot episode of both Breaking Bad and Wilfred. I feel left out when my friends discuss what's new in their TV shows and I find the need to begin a show and catch up until the next season comes out. When the first episode of Breaking Bad was over, I was hooked and wanted to know what was going to happen next. The editing and movie-like filming hook the viewer and, like Professor Sinclair said, there are certain color motifs in each episode. It's strange that people would root for a meth dealer but the other side of the story and Walter's cause allows the audience to sympathize with him. It was also surprising to see Bryan Cranston play such a dynamic character because last time I saw him on television he was Malcolm's dad Hal. I may choose to watch every Breaking Bad episode in order to catch up for the fifth and final season.

After the first episode of Breaking Bad, my roommate told me to watch the Wilfred pilot. I was instantly hooked within the first ten minutes due to the clever lines and absurd plot line. From the first episode, it's hard to understand who Wilfred actually is. Elijah Wood's character Ryan Newman is asked to take care of his neighbor's dog and when she arrives to drop the dog off, it is an Australian man dressed in a gray dog suit. Ryan is depressed and Wilfred, in man form, can only be seen by him. The show is hilarious and every joke made me laugh out loud. The episodes are only thirty minutes long so I could watch both Breaking Bad and Wilfred. I plan to catch up to the current seasons by November so that when the next seasons premiere, I'll be able to follow the story and talk to my hooked friends about it. Also, the story line and movie-like filming can be closely studied and I hope to apply the techniques in my own films.

-Matthew Hadley