Save Lucky Louie

noz

Hi folks. Sorry to break out of the Lucky Louie thread for this but I wanted to so I did.As most of you know, my show "Lucky Louie" has been cancelled by HBO. My initial message to fans of the show was that we are "Cancelled but not dead". I would like to revise that and re-issue the statement under the heading "Cancelled and certainly dead. Please help."Last week, my plan was to try to bring HBO to another network. We had one meeting with an interested party, during which I quickly realized what a huge mistake that would be. HBO is the only place where Lucky Louie can really exist. Any other place would want a different show. So I'm asking you to help pursuade them to put it back on the air. If you want Lucky Louie to come back, please contact HBO and let them know it.I know most of you have jobs and don't have time for this kind of horse shit. Others of you might not even like Lucky Louie. And listen, the show wasn't perfect. It's an experiment and it needed more time to become as good as it could be. But I don't think I'm sucking my very own penis when I say that Lucky Louie was very funny and showed some serious potential to get even better. We made a connection with people all over the country.Some of the reports in the press have said that Lucky Louie had bad ratings and bad reviews. Neither is actually true. Here is our page at metacritic...http://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/luckylouie?q=lucky%20louieif you actually read the reviews, they were a lot better than that site rated them as being. Especially the New York Times, the LA times and Tom Shales. All really good and thoughtful reviews from highly respected people. Sure, some people hated it. But aren't those people, afterall, wrong? Who cares what "Wrong" people think?As far as the ratings, we actually did very well, especially considering that HBO did not promote the show hardly at all. I am not complaining about that by any means. I was happy that they let it grow on it's own, because we got to show that our audience was growing based on the show's merits. The fact is that our ratings increased steadily for several weeks in a row and our cumulitive ratings (tallying up all the times each episode aired during the week) were even higher than deadwood. We certainly did better than most HBO series have in their first year and when "The Wire" went on the air this season, with much critical acclaim and an already existing core audience, they got about the same ammount of viewers as us.So people were watching Lucky Louie. More people every week.Why did they pull the plug? I don't know. I really don't.Our show is very different from what they're used to. It's a populist show, not a museam piece. Just the way the show looks is a huge departure from what they've succeeded with in the past. But it was working. So I don't know.Up until the very end, I got very generous and kind support from everyone there. That's one reason I want to go back. I've never worked with any people that were so focused on the quality of a show. They let Lucky Louie be what it was. I'm extremely grateful to have gotten the opportunity that i did, to have the show on for twelve episodes. amazing. I am hesitant to ask for more on my own behalf. But everywhere I go people tell me how much they love the show. Couples come up to me on the street in every City in America (i'm on tour right now) to tell me that they watch Lucky Louie together and that it's the only thing they both laugh at.If you go on Youtube and search our show, you'll find there are about 60 clips of Lucky Louie on there, posted by random fans, and they've all been watched tens of thousands of times. If you go on Youtube and search under "Men Behaving Badly" there are zero clips.Our show was funny, compelling, original and worth having on television.So what can you do?well, someone, I don't know who, created a myspace page here...http://www.myspace.com/saveluckylouieThere is also an online petition here...http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?louisckyou can also go to the hbo.com Lucky Louie message board here...http://boards.hbo.com/category.jspa?categoryID=700000006or just call HBO or write them and voice your opinion.You know, I kind of hesitated to say all this because I guess I didn't want to come off desperate. But I don't care. I love the show and everyone who worked on it. I don't want any other job in television.I feel Lucky Louie has a huge ammount of support out there. All week I've been having to break the bad news to people that it's gone and they are so bummed, it breaks my heart. The guy at airpot security at LAX, the guy in front of some hotel in Cleveland, three people tonight in Austin Texas. Everywhere I go people love the show and they want it back. People I don't even know started this petition and all this other stuff. So fuck it. I'm here and I'm asking. Help save Lucky Louie if you feel like it.thanks for your time.LCKhttp://www.louisck.com

The_Non

Plaese to explain the appeal of this show. I thought it was god awful.

keithvanhorn

i like louie (the main character) and wish him success, but the show kinda sucked. in fact, it got worse and worse, imo, with the culmination being the last episode which didn't even attempt to be funny.

there are very few bad shows on hbo, but this is (was) one of them. even that lisa kudrow show had its moments. tourgasm and lucky louis were the worst things hbo has touched in years.

sorry louie.

mannybolone

I'd trade his entire career for a sixth season of The Wire. "Lucky Louie" was . It tries to be a 70s sitcom minus any laughs + fouler language.

noz

I think a lot of people's distaste for Lucky Louie stems from conditioning. Recently the best sitcoms - The Office, Arrested Development, My Name is Earl - "reinvented" the form by completely abandoning it's norms. LL doesn't exist to reinvent the sitcom but rather ressurect it. And such a dramatic return to the Honeymooners/All In The Family/etc. style sitcom can be kind of off putting. Especially on HBO, where cinematic television is the norm.

It's not a comfortable show to get into, but I think it's worth the effort. there are so many great moments - the line "I want to fuck your tits off," Jim Norton's theory of evolution, Lucy's obnoxious cuteness (and her dance routine to "My Neck My Back"!), every time jerry minor is on the screen (funniest straight man i've seen in years).

Admittedly, it's also not without it's flaws. But Louis is easily one of the best stand ups/joke writers of all time and is someone who takes his craft as seriously as the creators of The Wire or The Sopranos do. You'd think a network like HBO, which prides itself as a bastion of creative televison, would give someone with his track record some growing room, especially considering that great sitcoms take more than a season to hit their stride (first season of Seinfeld, anyone?)

And Oliver, why would you want a sixth season of the wire when it's creators specifically planned a five season arc?

magnetic

Plaese to explain the appeal of this show. I thought it was god awful.

DJFerrari

The first episode was awesome, but it fell hard after that. It had so much potential, but all the characters were overacting. I guess the format kinda lent itself to that, but it made it tough to watch.

I'd like to see the wife in something else. She was spunky

dollar_bin

I'd like to see the wife in something else. She was spunky

She's the voice of Bobby Hill. I guess that doesn't count as "seeing" but she's a talented voice actor.

Young_Phonics

I think a lot of people's distaste for Lucky Louie stems from conditioning. Recently the best sitcoms - The Office, Arrested Development, My Name is Earl - "reinvented" the form by completely abandoning it's norms. LL doesn't exist to reinvent the sitcom but rather ressurect it. And such a dramatic return to the Honeymooners/All In The Family/etc. style sitcom can be kind of off putting. Especially on HBO, where cinematic television is the norm.

It's not a comfortable show to get into, but I think it's worth the effort. there are so many great moments - the line "I want to fuck your tits off," Jim Norton's theory of evolution, Lucy's obnoxious cuteness (and her dance routine to "My Neck My Back"!), every time jerry minor is on the screen (funniest straight man i've seen in years).

Admittedly, it's also not without it's flaws. But Louis is easily one of the best stand ups/joke writers of all time and is someone who takes his craft as seriously as the creators of The Wire or The Sopranos do. You'd think a network like HBO, which prides itself as a bastion of creative televison, would give someone with his track record some growing room, especially considering that great sitcoms take more than a season to hit their stride (first season of Seinfeld, anyone?)

And Oliver, why would you want a sixth season of the wire when it's creators specifically planned a five season arc?

Where's a fan-boy graemlin?

j/k

Did you run to your local Best Buy and cop the "Stella" DVD?
























i hated that fucking show

PABLO

I've been a fan of LCK since the Chris Rock Show days/standup work but this show was straight garbage out the gate.
If HBO brings back anything it should be Carnival.

tonyphrone

jerry minor is on the screen (funniest straight man i've seen in years).

HUGE

I'm also a fan of the show - but I guess we're the only ones?

noz

Did you run to your local Best Buy and cop the "Stella" DVD?

i hated that fucking show

I thought you were saying you liked stella? Or am I thinking of something else?

Either way I don't think that's an accurate point of comparison. Stella is avant garde. Lucky Louie is everyman bare bones traditionalist comedy (+ curse words), and is hard to digest when positioned against the general flash that HBO usually traffics in (paradoxically the show couldn't really exist on any other network). I couldn't think of a worse show to run it after than Entourage. Frat boy fantasy land vs. dysfunctionally functional family values.

noz

I'm also a fan of the show - but I guess we're the only ones?

It's weird, while I understand that it's not the most accessible show, most people I know in the world are indifferent to positive about the show. I had no idea that there was such an immense hatred of it.

I could swear we've even talked about it here before.

edith head

this show reminds me of married with children

noz

this show reminds me of married with children

all poor white people are exactly alike.

Hotsauce84

Isn't this show completely improv?

Herm

edith head

this show reminds me of married with children

all poor white people are exactly alike.

Cosmo

I saw this show and thought it was okay. Didn't really kill it for me but it was mildly amusing. The episode was the one where Louie was jerking it in the closet. However, I did like it when his wife started talking about her "wet pussy" or something like that. I LIKED that a lot.

coldcuts

Plaese to explain the appeal of this show. I thought it was god awful.

Seriously. All of my friends love it. They think I'm retarded for not feeling the same way.

mannybolone

And Oliver, why would you want a sixth season of the wire when it's creators specifically planned a five season arc?

Looks like someone's limited edition, Mark Echo-designed Wire hoodie has gone to their head.

jazzercism

It's not a matter of accessibility. The show just didn't have that many funny moments. Also, the conceit of "bringing back the traditional sitcom" only works if its funny. Otherwise it's a cool idea and nothing more. I just don't think it's worth giving this show another chance. HBO has such a great batting average with their shows that chances are the show that replaces it will be better than another season. Calling for this show to be renewed is like asking for another season of "Arliss" rather than waiting for the next "Curb Your Enthusiasm".

PS: Speaking of great HBO shows, in honor of Ms Damn's avatar bring back Mr. Show.

noz

Calling for this show to be renewed is like asking for another season of "Arliss"

Arliss ran for seven seasons.


(and I kinda liked it... )

jazzercism

I'm still waiting for them to bring back "Dream On".

HarveyCanal

tourgasm and lucky louis were the worst things hbo has touched in years.

And Arliss was the worst ever. Whenever Arliss just happens to appear on our television screem at my house, whether that be back when it was running after Six Feet Under or now on ESPN Classic, my wife and I both scream with terror (like Homer Simpson) at first sight or hearing of it and scramble for the remote as fast as we possibly can get the channel changed.

I loved Robert Wuhl in Hollywood Knights back when I was a pre-teen...but he should have quit while he was still ahead.

As far as Lucky Louie, it was the kind of show that I wanted to like but would ultimately turn off half way through. My biggest problem with the show is that Louie's character was such an unlikeable, idiot scumbag. I have an old mopey, always-trying-to-act-like-common-adult-responsibility-is-some-form-of-intrusively-imposed-injustice-upon-his-person friend who's a lot like that and believe me, hanging out with him can be a drag...just like the show.

And Tourgasm...I wonder if Dane Cook realized that reasonable people would like him less and less with each episode? His latest concert feature isn't all that funny either. Another dude that I wanted to like...but couldn't.

Next.