"The Comeback" starring Lisa Kudrow

I'll bet not a single one of those silly Stans makes an appearance here.

What thread were they on?

R2 It's the best acting in a scene thread

I never saw "The Comeback" but there is always Kudrow's big catfight.

Gigi. Always stuffing herself.

Damian Young who played Mark, showed up on ATWT as a Conversion Therapy guy trying to fix Van Hansis.

This thread inspired me to rewatch season 2, which in many ways is even better than the first season. It can't be overstated, Lisa Kudrow is brilliant.

Agreed R6.

Season 2 was absolutely as good as season 1.

I cannot even watch that finale. I laugh and literally cry- Its brilliant.

And when Lisa comes out of that Emmys auditorium ON FILM, no longer on a reality camera- its a pretty great moment- and it works.

"And when Lisa comes out of that Emmys auditorium ON FILM, no longer on a reality camera- its a pretty great moment- and it works."

Agreed. They took an incredible chance, creatively, but it paid off! Aside from Kudrow, I think that episode deserved Emmys for writing and directing.

I loved them both, but I think I've watched season 2 more times than I have season 1. Every episode has so many little things that I discover each time.

I don't need to see that!

R10- Aunt Sassy!

Theeess heat is bullshit!

Brilliant but too short. Wish there were more episodes. Really nails the craziness that is being an actor. My husband was involved in that world and so many of his friends are just like this as they approach 50. Seems really sad and delusional - but most tend to be good people who are addicted to the narcissism. Vaguely self aware but can’t help themselves.

Web Therapy was pretty good too. More Lisa Kudrow please.

[quote] Really nails the craziness that is being an actor.

It couldn't have done so better then "Episodes".

Episodes is good, but no Comeback.

Agree - Episodes were ok. And made me appreciate Matt LeBlanc who I had not liked. But it isn’t in the same ecehelon as The Comeback. Writing was good not great and acting was good not great. Comeback has great writing and great acting.

'Flo' from the car insurance commercials played the agent who signed Juna but wouldn't touch Valerie. She was also on Mad Men as the switchboard operator. Still don't know her name in real life.

After Comeback's "comeback," with the long delayed second season, Lisa said there would be a 3rd season as well. But that didn't happen and there are currently no plans for one. It still might happen, but they might want to get around to it soon. Surely the hefty old Mickey actor isn't going to last that much longer. He already almost died on the show.

'Mickey' died in real life and the general feeling with Season 2 of The Comeback was that it ended happily and won't be back. HBO didn't get great ratings - go figure.

I guess without Mickey, they might as well end it, and since it only had a small cult audience anyway.

Laura Dern's "Enlightened" is another great series with only about 20 episodes. This seems to happen more to series starring women, although I prefer female-led series personally. "Lady Dynamite" was another great one that only lasted 2 seasons, despite rare reviews.

I thought Enlightened was a much better show than The Comeback.

The Comeback - Her jittery stilted schtick was monotonous and repetitive and she was such a sad sack. One of those gay women's shows that gays totally overrate.

^^ much like AbFab - which was pretty fucking lame as well.

Golden Girls is a women's show gays overrate, hardly freakin' brilliant AbFab.

AbFab doesn’t hold up. Shocking for the time but now just stupid and overblown. Comeback is a lasting insight into the narcissism nd insecurity of actors and the humiliation of the industry.

What parts Valerie Cherish were Shelly Long - and what other actresses?

Shelley Long had a gay hairdresser named Mickey and was the star of a short-lived 90's sitcom that creator Michael Patrick King worked on, which had to be cancelled mid-season due to a nervous breakdown the star had. Take that for what you will.

There's also whispers that a lot of Val is based on Courtney Cox. The writers raping a fake Val in the writer's room is similar to an incident with the Friends writers that came out where they would pretend to fuck a doctor's skeleton they called "Courtney." Also, "I need to know that I'm being heard" is supposedly a line she uses a lot.

Your loss, r25.

Thanks R27 - did not know any of those facts. Interesting she would mine Courtney's bad experiences - but CC probably was ok with it if it showed the sexism.

[quote] 'Flo' from the car insurance commercials played the agent who signed Juna but wouldn't touch Valerie. She was also on Mad Men as the switchboard operator.

where Ken Cosgrove had the privilege to dial her with a pen during their drunken night of depravity.

Actually, one of the showrunners during Season 1 hinted at the character of Valerie being loosely based on Kathy Griffin.

I love The Comeback and think the writing is amazing--as is most of the acting.

I do find Lisa Kudrow to be a bit cartoonish. Watching the show, I often feel that if she played the reality of the character, rather than the cartoony surface and equally cartoony looks beneath the surface, it would have been a lot stronger.

The things is, if you've ever been friends with C or D listers, Lisa nails it perfectly. Most of the time there isn't anything beneath the surface anymore. They life their lives as a character 24/7.

How can we forget "Web Therapy??" Brilliant!

My God I'll never forget when Letterman and Shelly Long - both Indiana natives - co/hosted the Emmys and Shelly had her big dance number which Letterman cast shade on her throughout the show and Shelly was too dim to realize it.

And there is actually “Web Therapy” in real life now - lol. I see ads and articles about it.

Interesting about Shelley Long have her own Mickey. I just finished rewatching S2 for the first time since it aired, and had completely forgotten about some of the funny one-liners. The one actor I had to look up is the lady who played Sharon in both seasons. Her comedy is so nuanced, like when she trips up the stairs in S2E1 at Valerie's audition for HBO. Turns out she was played by Marla Garlin, Jeff Garlin's ex-wife. She was also the casting director for 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' while they were married.

I’ve seen the first season a handful of times but haven’t rewatched season 2. Is it worth going back?

R38, it holds up pretty well. I couldn't watch more than 2 eps at a time because Valerie really is too much to handle so much of the time. The second-hand embarrassment I felt for her...bless her heart. Mickey was funnier to me in S2 because he's out and proud, instead of being closeted as he was for much of S1.

I just realized that she looks exactly like Teri Garr: