I, like so many, really love the original three seasons of ToL. They're consistently weird and creative, well-written, with great characters and memorable music, some tunes I still hum to myself today. However I think I laughed maybe once this entire series at something other than the main character, and that hurts. Here are some points to consider--
1. I think this show was made at the wrong time. Celebrity fans of the original are awkwardly skyped in on product-placed laptops and tablets, and it bears the dated stamp of something made during the pandemic. I know no one's getting any younger, but if faced with that choice, use some no-name American actors or just wait for this to pass. It's hard to feel like Toast is in Tinseltown when all of Tinseltown just seems to phone it in.
2. No songs. The songs in ToL were like beautiful little pathos bombs, giving humorous and truthful insights into Toast and others to show an understanding that he isn't just a clown, but an insecure, genuine human. None of that carries over to ToT and it is sorely missed.
3. Watching Fred Armisen is like listening to comedy on its death bed while he holds the pillow over its face. Why he was cast in a major supporting role I'll never understand.
4. The only American celebrity who didn't make me cringe when onscreen was Rashida Jones. She plays a real human being who acts as Toast's confidant. Ed, though a creepy old pervert, always lends an ear or has Toast's back (quite literally in the stage fright episode). A character like Steven needs that, and she provides the other leg for him to stand on.
5. The only reason I give it the score it has is because of Toast himself. Matt Berry is as effortlessly funny and appealing as ever, and a pitiful loser like him (Toast, not Berry) only gets funnier the older he gets. It was a pleasure to see him and his world again.
It is a very disappointing follow-up to a show I truly love. But, as the Man himself sings, "all men somehow pay for love".
