Avenue 5

I think that a lot of the bad reviews here are from people that are... well, slow.

The humor here is dry and quick. It's easy to miss if you're used to being hand-fed comedy or need a laugh track to tell you when something's funny. Think Hitchhikers Guide mixed with some Monty Python.

It's not often I actually laugh out loud at a show. This one has me doing that every episode. HBO has already renewed it for a 2nd season. Can't wait!!

People need to stop being so obnoxiously negative. This show is extremely entertaining. Maybe not always funny, in a sense, but certainly always entertaining. Entertaining isn't as subjective as funny. And if you don't find it to be entertaining, at the very least, you're doing something wrong. Lower your negativity, lingering expectations, and I bet you'll begin to find it entertaining, a little bit, at first.

Anyway, all that aside, I enjoyed watching this show very, very much. The fictional history of the in-show world and the subtle references to little bits and pieces of it came out of nowhere and was probably one of the most shocking aspects of it if not the most. But it was super interesting from the start, and then began to be entertaining and a very wonderful running gag, so to speak. The gradual descent into anguish and madness made for a compelling theme and didn't disappoint.

The VFX (or CGI?) of outer space, and maybe the space ship itself as well, something that I think I've seen a person or two complain about and call bad, or at least comparing it to a much older show that had "bad" VFX/CGI that also didn't age very well, didn't look remotely bad to me. In actuality, it looked quite good and...crisp or whatever, I don't know.

Each significant character was entertaining. Yes, even Karen. Sure, if you're more passionate and generally immersive in what you watch than I am, you probably hate her and don't particularly like any of the other characters. That's fine.

Moving on, the main issue which a lot of people have with the show that I've seen is that it isn't funny, and I think that's a load of bollocks. While the show is advertised as a comedy or considered to be a comedy, first and foremost, you're supposed to be entertained. Not to mention, this is, without a doubt, and very obviously, a much different version of the comedy genre than usual. That alone should've been obvious before going off and complaining about how much the show sucks, and how remarkably unfunny it is.

That being said, feel free to freely act negatively towards the show, most of you probably already have. I liked it and I'm looking forward to the second season, and it's a good thing for the show that those of you who I've mentioned, you know who you are, have been weeded out and won't be returning. Goodbye.

The pilot is wild and offbeat which isn't for everyone but perfect for me! I love unorthodox things, Avenue 5 is a delight! I loved Veep which started off meh at first and got so much better give this a chance everyone; if not there's so many other excellent shows out available to delve into. Hugh Laurie is legendary in anything, I'm intrigued regardless of the negativity.

There seem to be some reviews here panning this show for not being true sci-fi. It's not sci-fi, it was never sci-fi, it's social satire. A terrific cast working well together from scene one, although it is true there isn't a lot of warmth or likeable characters. Life has very few of those, either. A couple, maybe. I might know one of them. Not me, but I know one.

The target here is the incompetence of so-called leaders and their inane systems running society and how society seems just fine with that. In real life, people are apparently are not bothered when politicians and captains of industry without skills or knowledge or empathy or investment in the future of humanity send the world crashing sideways into oblivion. But in this show the public are immediately upset that their holiday has gone dangerously wrong. In this sense, Avenue 5 is taking an artistic liberty.

The writing is not as sharp as it could be. Time has been spent instead setting up a much more involved scenario than, say Veep or In The Thick Of It. All we need to know for those shows was that manipulative jerks run the show in London and Washington. For this, the creators are trying to set up a larger theme. Will it work, will it not, I don't know. But the bones are there for better things, and I trust the cast and writers to know where they are going. Based on their track record of past shows I trust them more than I trust us, the viewers.

Reading a lot of the 1 to 4 star reviews and its nice to see we're all human. And I respectfully disagree. I LOVED the dry humor and absurdity in the show. I grew up watching Black Adder and its funny to see how Hughs character in Avenue is slowely becoming Rowan Atkinsons character in Ba. If you like sarcarsm, absurdity (ba is and old example. Something comparable these days would be the movie Dont Look Up) and dry humor. You're going to love the show.

Gave it an 8 because the eps should be longer. Almost seems rushed. Should have taken more time for some character development. Maybe something cheesy like (very short) flashbacks of their lives. Would have matched the setting. IMO.