Round Three

A to Z

VS

TRANSPARENT

See the bracket!

Today’ combatants are both part of the elite eight, but for very different reasons. Both 30 minute comedies, their formats are enormously different. A to Z is more of a standard sitcom with a familiar format. And by the third episode, its settling comfortably into its formula. You have your main characters, Andrew and Zelda, having a misunderstanding but coming back together for the third act, the two foils rounding out the story, and a B-plot centering around Andrew’s boss. The boss character is probably the best thing on the show, but the writers aren’t really sure what to do with her. This week had her spying on her employees using software that monitors their email. Her best moments come in the form of interactions she has with her assistant or meetings with the staff. The cohesiveness of the episode can’t support giving her an entire narrative to run through. The two the side and the main story don’t belong in the same show.

Then there is Transparent. There’s been a whole new era of the 30-minute comedy ushered in by Louis CK’s Louie. These shows are nothing like typical sitcoms. Far from light-hearted romps intended to let an audience escape from the heaviness of their own lives, they highlight human failure. These shows are all about a character’s ineptitude at leading a normal life. They embody the comic spirit’s bottom line: life is kind of shitty and then you die; that’s the joke. The true embodiment of the comic spirit is The Joker.

If you find my synopsis grim, stick with shows like A to Z. However if you want a little more from your viewing experience, Transparent is the better show. There are no B-plots, no formula and no resets to normal by the end of the episode. This week the transgendered father unable to come out to his son, there’s an abortion, a failed drug-induced threesome, and a failed marriage. I kind of surprise myself stacking up the plot points like that. How can a show effectively deal with that much drama? The fact is that these kinds of comedies do drama better than dramas. There is one fundamental difference, Transparent conveys how awkward people are. The oldest daughter, played by Amy Landecker has a scene where she is anxiously writhing around the kitchen about to tell her husband she is in love with another woman. It was astounding. It is the clear winner this week and moves on to the final four.

-Stephanie Brady

NEXT UP: THE FLASH VS THE AFFAIR