The Last Man on Earth

[on:]

So, given the amount of discussion this show has generated in the last few pages of the test thread (staring here, for anyone who would like to the conversation throughout season 1), I figured it deserved to have its own space. Especially given how spoiler-y any basic plot discussion can be at this point.

For archival/spoiler purposes: The season 1 finale has just aired.

SEASON 1 FINALE DISCUSSION STARTS HERE:

I must say, I enjoyed the final episode of season 1 quite a bit. I felt the show's quality was all over the place throughout its run, but the pilot and the finale were equally as inventive and unpredictable as one another (not to mention hilarious), which gives me hope that hitting the reset button means giving the writers a brand new slate to avoid making some of the most jarring mistakes a second time around.

Will Forte and Kristen Schaal's comedic chemistry is fantastic, and while I did come to really like Todd, I also don't believe losing him would cost the show greatly. Plus, if the final scene is anything to go by, I'm guessing maybe Jason Sudeikis may be a regular next year too, which would be excellent (plus, it would mean a cast populated entirely by actors who had significant recurring roles in 30 Rock )

What I'd like to see less of next season:
* Phil/Tandy's compulsive lying, which was often for little to no reason. Granted, not all of the results were terrible, but I much prefer The Last Man on Earth as a weird, anarchistic post-apocalyptic comedy series, rather than a predictable farce about a selfish liar. The writers don't even have to try making him a good person at this point - we accept that the world is different in this show and we're probably not even supposed to be on his side - but I at least need this unusual character decision to amount to something more than just "guy keeps getting himself into unenviable situations by lying when things would be much better if he just told the truth."
* "Another person shows up" as a plot twist. Now, obviously, if Phil/Tandy and Carol actually have moved on, they're going to run into someone else eventually. Can we maybe let it an already-established community of people and not just repeat the events of the first season again?
* Phil/Tandy's libido being the primary catalyst for the plot. I'm not sure if he's actually in love with Carol or if he just wanted her because he couldn't have her, but either way, there were way too many episodes in the first half there where the plot just amounted to "Phil/Tandy wants to get laid, does X to try and make it happen, but then X winds up stopping it from happening." By the third or fourth time, I just wanted someone to punch Phil in the face. Thing is, his desires aren't all that reprehensible when you bear in mind he hadn't interacted with another person for two years, let alone had sex with anyone, and even after finding people, is ultimately left with little to live for - this was a man who was trying to kill himself when he first met Carol, after all. But the show doesn't often remind us of Phil's fragile mental state or the horrific circumstances of this post-apocalyptic world, and I feel maybe it needs to. I'm hoping the introduced plot element of Phil/Tandy's brother means we'll be getting a lot of backstory fleshed out next season - mabye even some flashbacks.

And for something I would like to see next season:
* Occasional cutting back to Tuscon and seeing what happens with the original community after Phil/Tandy and Carol's departure. This is going to sound horrible of me, but I would find it inexplicably hilarious to see it all devolve into chaos and then fall apart (after all, without the common enemy of Phil/Tandy, I can only imagine they'll turn on each other... and, if done properly, it will be GLORIOUS).

Anyway, that went on a bit longer than I was intending. Ultimately, I enjoy the show and find it very funny, I just feel it falls short of its potential sometimes. Then again, it's easy to forget that this show's attempting something that's never been done in tv comedy before, and there is therefore no pre-existing blueprint for how everything works. On that note, I think Will Forte, Phil Lord and Chris Miller (!) have done a fine job at taking such a ballsy (and potentially risky) concept and turning it into something so solid, with (mostly) entertaining results. I'm looking forward to season 2.

[Reply #1 on:]

I'm guessing other phil might wind up being a wolf in Sheeps clothing and it'll be up to Tandy to save the day

[Reply #2 on:]

There's some decent information in these articles about what they're kind-of planning for season 2:

The Last Man on Earth finale: Will Forte on that 'bonkers' twist ending—and what happens next

‘The Last Man on Earth’s’ Will Forte and EPs Talk Finale Twists, Dead Bodies and Burning Questions for Season 2

I quite enjoy this show, however, I can only really stand 3 of the 7 characters, those being Phil 1 (Tandy), Todd and Carol (but not when she was screwing around with Phil 2).

I understand Phil 1 can be a massive asshole, but I really hate all the others for giving him a constant hard time. Phil 2 is also a massive dickhole to him, which riles me.

Despite enjoying this show, I feel like it had a lot more potential than what is used. The ending of season 1 makes me curious about season 2, and I really hope they don't keep recycling the same plot points. Will Forte is a great actor, and I think Mel Rodriguez is brilliant, too.

I wish we could find out more about Gail and Erica, their backstory/personalities are severely underdeveloped. Maybe in the future.

Finally, despite Phil Lord & Chris Miller being involved in this show quite a lot, I found it lacked that Lord & Miller vibe. That's not a bad thing, it's just the first time I've watched something they've been involved with that doesn't feel in-line with all their other work. It's probably due to Forte having more control on the whole, which is again, not a bad thing, just an observation.

[Reply #3 on:]

I pretty much agree with everything Beamer said.

[Reply #4 on:]

Beamer is GoochExtension?

[Reply #5 on:]

Beamer is GoochExtension?

Pretty sure I've mentioned this before. The blobfish didn't tip you off?

[Reply #6 on:]

Really hoping Season 2 will be a lot better than the mixed bag that Season 1 was. The show has proven that it can be really funny and charming when it wants to, but after about episode 3 to around 11, it really started to lose me. Nearly thrice was I tempted to completely quit watching from the extremely obvious, cliché set ups just to make Phil into the biggest jerkass possible, expecting us to laugh from Melissa seeing through his cartoonish schemes and the extreme meanspirited attitude from Phil's plain unlikeablity (which I guess is what the writers were going for, but when it came to emotional scenes like in the finale, it made it really hard to side with Phil after all the shit he put the group through.

If Season 2 can keep the laughs a lot more consistent (which should be easy with Carol and Phil, along with the various hitchhickers/newly formed communities/destroyed locations they could react to on the road) while giving an even development on them and new characters, I think this could be a really good show. But if it keeps to some of the horrors the mid Season 1 episodes had, I might have to give it a pass.

[Reply #7 on:]

I'd say the whole runner of "Tandy" was probably the funniest part of the first season for me. I like that his name is changed so abruptly, then sticks for the rest of season, but I love how quickly Phil resigned himself to the name change - going as far as to refer to himself as Tandy when no one else is around is even around.

[Reply #8 on:]

The funniest I could remember as of recently was Carol and Black Phil's sex noises at the end of episode 12, and Todd's general plight after breaking up with Melissa "He had sex with ALL of them!".

The Tandy change kind of annoyed me, though it was kind of good in showing Melissa being a general dick to Phil without him having to do something destructive to them first (plus of all the names you could've said Phil, you had to say Tandy? of all the times you couldn't have just lied).

[Reply #9 on:]

I hope season 2 is about Tandy finding a tank and then he just drives it into Tucson and blows the shit out of other Phil, then turns to all the women and says "You're next" and chases them off a cliff and then he turns around and Carol accidentally died too, so he and Todd can just bro out for the subsequent 21 episodes, but at the very end of the last one, his astronaut brother is still up in space and hes made some friends out of space-balls and he sings "Space Oddity" or something.

[Reply #10 on:]

Spoilers, dude!

[Reply #11 on:]

Beamer is GoochExtension?

Pretty sure I've mentioned this before. The blobfish didn't tip you off?

*Squints* Hermes?

Also the Tandy joke kind of annoyed me. Somehow I came out of the season liking jerkass Phil more than anyone else.

[Reply #12 on:]

Season 2 starts airing this Fall!

This is great news, I hate waiting an entire year for another season, which is the case with 99% of shows these days.

[Reply #13 on:]

Huh, that's cool.

[Reply #14 on:]

*bump*

Season 2 has an exact premiere date, 27th September.

Also, Jason Sudeikis' character has had his name confirmed: Mike Miller.

[Reply #15 on:]

Well, season 2's off to a bloody good start.

[Reply #16 on:]

Definitely enjoyed the premiere and am excited for next week

[Reply #17 on:]

Was it just me or was that premiere better than ANY episode in season 1?

Really looking forward to what comes next!

Also, I laughed hard at that gag with the gunshots timing up perfectly with the song.

[Reply #18 on:]

I thought it was better than most of last season. I think the biggest problem was the middle part of those first few episodes was mostly about Phil trying to get laid and that kinda got old

[Reply #19 on:]

Agreed, this was a solid premiere that gave me a lot of renewed hope in this show.

[Reply #20 on:]

Yeah, those last few minutes actually had some emotional poignancy. And Phil is a lot more enjoyable a character when he's not being a self-centred ass, as is Carol when she's a bit more relaxed. I'm really intrigued as to the mystery of what happened in Tucson now, and am also looking forward to seeing when and how the other characters reunite.

[Reply #21 on:]

I'm really intrigued as to the mystery of what happened in Tucson now

Some folks think that Phil 2 went berserk when he found out Carol left with Phil 1 and then burnt down Phil 1's house; others are saying it could be due to a lightning strike or an issue with the solar panels. I'm very intrigued to find out!

[Reply #22 on:]

Yeah, I kinda figured he'd wind up being the villain of the show at some point

[Reply #23 on:]

That Will Ferrell cameo was unexpected!

Decent 2nd episode, I just hope we don't end up spiralling into season 1 territory again with the re-introduction of all the cast.

[Reply #24 on:]

Eh, that was a huge step back to relative medicority after the strong season opener.

Like, it was alright. I enjoyed it. But only as much as the other average majority of episodes from season 1. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the show is going to drastically pick up for the second season after all.

[Reply #25 on:]

Just when you think the others are going to forgive Phil and finally become likable they go and pull that shitty move with the stocks.

I thought Phil's hold-up/apology scene was great, Will Forte is hilarious. Other than that, another meh episode. I really don't like how quickly the others just accepted Carol's re-appearance. The love triangle between her, Phil 2 and Erica was really rushed and forced, too.

I dunno, it seems like they really dunno what they're doing at the moment, which is a big shame, because the season opener was fantastic and I really thought they were aware not to retread the same steps as season 1.

Hopefully, Mike coming back down to Earth will create a new, interesting dynamic.

[Reply #26 on:]

I agree. The hold-up apology was great and that makes this show all the more frustrating because they're clearly capable of putting fantastic comedy out there... just not consistently.

The rest of the episode was pretty "meh" and the plot didn't unfold in a very satisfying way. I can't see the rest of the season being much better, either - it's not like they've been laying the obvious blocks of some interesting, upcoming stories.

[Reply #27 on:]

I'd have been perfectly happy had we never seen the Tuscon gang again, but there you go. I'm still really enjoying this season for the most part - I'm just hoping it doesn't resort to a string of "Phil/Tandy is an asshole" plots in the middle like season 1 did.

And yeah, that "apology" scene was brilliant. Will Forte really is at his best when he's giving relentlessly manic performances.

[Reply #28 on:]

I'm so fucking done with everyone but Tandy on this freaking show...

[Reply #29 on:]

I'm so fucking done with everyone but Tandy on this freaking show...

I still like Carol, and even Todd (at this moment) as he was arguably treated the worst by Phil last season. I also never really hated any of the others, honestly, until this episode. Melissa and Phil 2 were just awful; with the beers and the gun, respectively. I'm still interested in this show because I do feel that it's pretty funny (more so than the first season even), but it's more because I'm interested to see where it goes and because it can provide a few chuckles, rather than because I love the characters.

[Reply #30 on:]

Yeah, I didn't really like any of the Tucson crew this episode, but hopefully Todd's secret will lead to something interesting

[Reply #31 on:]

I mean, to be fair, I don't think you're particularly supposed to like any of the Tucson gang at this point.

[Reply #32 on:]

Hated it. 20 minutes of the "Tuscon gang" punishing Phil, with a 2 minute scene to put him back in the status quo again (honestly was surprised by that, fully expected it to cut to him still locked up after the explanation, thinking he made the fire himself, which S1 Phil probably would've done). Maybe I'm being wrong here, but I was just cringing for most of the episode. I know he probably deserves this treatment after that stupid gun scene, but that still didn't make watching the 2 dimensional Tuscon gang treating Phil like shit any easier. Either they should be trying to kill him, or Phil should just be running away, can't see how they could possibly live with each other now, even if he put out a fire. No laughs, no development, just like old times.

Anyway, next ep has Todd doing something secret. With how distant and angry he's been lately, that could be interesting. Hope they don't fuck up.

[Reply #33 on:]

Definitely the weakest episode of the season so far. This show works better when its protagonist(s) is/are isolated.

[Reply #34 on:]

Interesting takes, guys. I agree that I'm less excited about seeng more of the Tuscon gang than just Phil and Carol (whose episodes alone were phenomenal), but from a story and character standpoint, nothing that has happened recently has felt unnatural or nonsensical to me, at least within the world and tone that the show has established.

I mean, from a real world point of view, the Tuscon gang are pretty damn justified in how they are treating Phil. That's not to say they're not annoying assholes themselves (especially Phil 2 who has been established to have a dominating nature that goes far beyond what's acceptable), but considering that Phil cast the first stones when he tried to KILL multiple of them simply because he wanted to get laid by someone other than Carol, can any if you really say you would treat him much differently if you were in their shoes, regardless of how apologetic he was?

I mean, while hilarious, Phil holding them up at gunpoint to apologize was idiotic, cruel, and totally unnecessary. He could have just kept the gun in his belt and tried to apologize normally, only pulling the gun out if one of them tried to attack him. Hell, even if he'd had the gun visibly in his hand but not pointed at them and told them he had it because he was scared of him, then calmly made his case, he would have been fine. Instead he shoved it in their faces and screamed at them, making them fear for their lives even if it turned out the gun wasn't loaded. It made for great comedy, but from the characters' view it made total sense to punish him for it. I don't really see how anyone could defend him there. I mean, at least the gang still gave him the chance to redeem himself at all.

Honestly, while it was a bit hard seeing the Tuscon crew be so intensely cold to him for the whole new episode, I found Phil himself to be far more cringeworthy with his behavior. I love Will Forte, but I find his work here to be somewhat hit or miss. When he was trying to compliment everyone, especially affecting the Australian accent, I agreed with the gang...I wanted him to shut the fuck up. Watching him attempt to endear himself to other characters in over-the-top ways is probably my least favorite element of the show, especially since it feel like he's regressed from how it seemed he'd been toned down at the start of this season.

[Reply #35 on:]

I'm not rooting against the Tuscon crew because they're so harsh with Tandy, I'm rooting against them because they're boring characters with pretty much no discernible personality traits beyond their Tandy hatred right now. This show needs to flesh out its supporting cast and quickly if the writers are planning on keeping them.

[Reply #36 on:]

I can agree with that completely. I didn't say I thought they were good characters, just that I can understand their actions regarding Phil for the most part. I'm not going to start calling him Tandy, by the way. There's Phil and Phil 2!

To me, Phil's big issue right now is that he thinks he's changed a lot more than he actually has. He is better, but marginally. His main motivation currently is getting others to like him, which manifests in mostly selfish ways. Even actions that would otherwise be considered noble are performed by him mainly in a conscious attempt to ingratiate himself with the gang for not much other reason than he doesn't really have another choice. I'm not even sure I believe that he wouldn't still be lying and trying to get laid if it weren't for the fact that he's now certain there's absolutely no chance of that.

[Reply #37 on:]

I'm sure he would be. You don't just go from compulsive liar (and possible sociopath) to saint overnight.

The biggest annoyance about the aforementioned issues with the Tuscon gang is that they actually have some real comedic talent in the supporting cast - Mel Rodriguez and Mary Steenburgen have been hilarious in other comedies, but they just aren't given any material to work with here.

January Jones, however, is fucking terrible, and shouldn't be doing comedy - period. The only thing she's ever been good in was Mad Men, and that was more a case of brilliant casting than anything (her wooden performance actually worked in favour of her role). And I haven't really seen enough of Phil 2 or Erica to have even formed an opinion on them.

[Reply #38 on:]

Well, that was an improvement. I'm glad Todd and Tandy are making amends.

Scenes where the gang were just hanging out together with Tandy included were really nice, I wish they'd all just stop the lying and the punishments and being shitty and just get along.

*edit*

Just found the preview for episode 6 on YouTube and

Show spoiler

I'm super stoked to see what goes down after Phil punches Tandy IN FRONT of the rest of the group. Maybe finally this asshole will get his comeuppance.

Shame we have to wait 2 weeks to see it.

[Reply #39 on:]

They'll probably cheer and praise Phil 2 for doing what the rest of the gang has been wanting to do the entire series, then make it into a running gag followed by Will Forte making annoying sounds that are supposed to be funny(unless the writing dictates them to having feelings for Phil all of a sudden, which is a possibility). Could see more conflicts with Carol at least, that and the flirting being more obvious to her.


Anyway, ep was okay. Glad it wasn't cringe inducing, but they really could've gotten a lot more laughs from this fairly boring ep (though I really enjoyed the ending on the beach, and Carol's cricket serving at the beginning had its moments). Nice to see them show more of the cast acting normal without Phil involved. Still not very much (I now know Gail is the drunk one), but some effort to ground this cast.