TV Recap: Louie - "Barney/Never"

Left to right: Louis C.K. and Jeremy Shinder

Welcome to my recaps of season 3 of the FX television series Louie. Join me as I try to dissect what I hope will be another excellent season from one of my favorite shows currently on TV. I think what makes this show work is the ability for Louis C.K. to be self loathing and artful at the same time in unique and clever ways. Also, keep an eye out for my Breaking Bad Breaking Half column set for upcoming Mondays.

After spending two whole fabulous weeks with Parker Posey's character, it is unfortunately time to return to a world we're more familiar with in regards to Louie. This week focuses on dealing with people you cannot stand in three very different ways. Some are more fulfilling than others while some just leave you reminiscing on how great Parker Posey's short time on the show was. It's a bummer, because I was hoping that she would be around more often.

In DVD commentary for season 2 episode "Bummer/Blueberries," C.K. states that he doesn't like to change up the opening credits, which features him walking from the subway to the Comedy Cellar. Same routine every week. However, we open this particular episode with a more grim, artistic style. Shot in black and white, the credits play silently over a graveyard as C.K. approaches a casket. No rhyme or reason has been given, but the only other person there is Robin (Robin Williams), a fellow comic who knew the deceased member.

At a restaurant later on, C.K. and Robin meet up again. They get into conversations about how they knew the deceased member, who is revealed to be named Barney. They share stories about how they each went to the club he owned and dealt with Barney, who sounds like Ray Romano and seems to be too clingy.  They both considered him to be a shoddy business man who ripped off Robin and went too often to strip clubs.

For some reason, the two decide to go to the strip club. Random strippers begin asking them if they want lap dances. When they say no, they interrogate them for reasons. They discover that Barney, a well known patron, has died. It leaves all of the strippers crying as the house DJ (Jay Oakerson) plays Night Ranger's "Sister Christian." Robin and C.K. leave the place and share a laugh of the previous scene. They shake hands and part ways, but not before stating that they should go to each other's funerals.

The following segment focuses on C.K. and Lilly (Hadley Delany), who are about to go on a play date. They are so excited to not have her sister tagging along. Suddenly, Nancy (Nancy Shayne) comes up and asks C.K. to watch her son Never (Jeremy Shinder). Lilly opposes, but when C.K. discovers that Nancy needs to have a meeting about voluntarily getting her vagina removed, C.K. eventually accepts.

Never is definitely a pain in the ass of a kid. Before the scene ends, he pushes a baby stroller into the street, causing some collisions of traffic, including one driver (Artie Lange) to panic and cause everyone to do likewise. At the C.K. residence, he is not much better. He cannot eat food with carbon, as it is from China according to Nancy. He also cannot eat apples because he'll die. However, he can eat raw meat out of a bowl.

During the time that C.K. is preparing the food, Never tosses C.K.'s rug out the window, to which two passing pedestrians steal it, but not without flipping him off. Never wants to take a bath, to which C.K. prepares, thinking that he can handle it.

During this time, his manager Doug (Edward Gelbinovich) has set up a radio interview to promote a show that he is doing in Kansas City. He is to call into a radio station with upbeat and crazy DJ's in hopes of selling more tickets. Doug cares enough for C.K. to not sell himself short, but not enough to call into a better show.

The interview is a mess and turns out that the DJ's (Amy Schumer, Jim Norton, and Anthony Cumia) are more into trying to make C.K. break out into incoherent dirty jokes. This bothers C.K., but he holds onto the conversation, which seems to be more about them shouting things than asking questions. When finally asked about his thoughts on Kansas City, he disowns it and calls it the worst city ever. This causes them to hang up.

Lilly comes running into the scene to tell C.K. that something smells awful. It turns out that Never "diarrhead" in the tub. This creates an awkward situation where C.K. tries to find a way to get him out without making a mess. He ends with a conversation with Never in which he explains that he needs to change his ways in order to be liked. No word on if the advice actually sticks, but we finally figure out why Nancy is having her vagina removed.

The episode ends back at the graveyard where two grave diggers (McKinley Belcher III, J.B. Smoove) are talking to each other. One is speaking African while the other is insulting him for not being able to speak English. This scene is very one note and reminiscent of Pootie Tang, but definitely puts a nice capper on an episode dealing with people you cannot stand.

Left to right: C.K. and Robin Williams

This episode was all over the place, and I am sure it is because of the subject matter. I personally was ready to give this episode a glowing review, but then the segment "Never" happened, and things changed. I have a strong dislike of rude children who cannot learn, and Never almost killed my interest in this episode entirely. He was annoying and a failure at almost every turn. I was almost hoping that the show would go dark and kill him off somehow. I felt that there needed to be more consequences with Never, whose rudeness of pushing a stroller out into the street and throwing a rug out of a window is just plain bad. As much as it could have been the parent's fault, it is just annoying that he got a slap on the wrist.

I really disliked the Never story, and I wish that it didn't make me rate this episode lower than it could have been. However, the "Barney" segment was pure bliss. It seems like Robin Williams is on loan for all FX shows now, especially after a turn on Wilfred. However, it was great to see him playing a somewhat more dramatic side and being able to discuss death in a profoundly human way. Barney was an asshole, and they're not afraid to admit it. Williams may not be hilarious in this episode, but the simple dynamic of C.K. and Williams together talking is an amazing feat that I wish was the entire point of this episode. The strip club scene was also amazing, if just because we really got to understand Barney without any screen time.

Even the radio DJ's, which have always been a staple of insults in comic routines, got good mileage out of this episode. It is always a bummer when having to talk to people who would rather just make noises all day. It is also sad to find out that you are forced to do it just to sell tickets, and probably not appealing to your demographic. Since it was used sparingly, it managed to play for full comical effect nicely.

It's also interesting to see an entire episode without stand-up routines. I usually enjoy when bits are strung together by observations. However, the premise was strong enough to stand on it's own feet so perfectly that it all worked out. It is hard to overlook that Never was supposed to be annoying, but this is probably my least favorite moment in the series and makes me regret it's lower score.

However, from what I did like, I liked a lot. This episode was packed with small cameos from every comedian imaginable. That's what I like about Louie. It manages to give everyone a nice role in this universe without making it seem forced. I didn't notice some of the people until the credits rolled at the end. That was also a nice touch to the episode, though I mostly like the dynamics of the various ways disliking people can lead to things. The idea that you can be friends with someone you never knew or lose money for a gig is all an impressive subtext to this episode.

Favorite scene: The scene with "Sister Christian" in the strip club is especially nice, if just because the juxtaposition was amazing. Crying strippers, two legendary comedians trying to avoid laughing. A song about growing up. It all played towards an awkward beauty where you wondered just who this Barney character was without having to really explain who Barney was.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Check out more of my work at www.nevpodcast.com where I post every Wednesday and have a podcast called Nerd's Eye View.