Life Lessons From Maron: "Marc on Talking Dead"

Left to right: Michael Ian Black, Marc Maron, and Chris Hardwick

Welcome to a new recap series on the IFC series Maron in which comedian/podcaster Marc Maron lives life and tries to learn how to be a better person. To pay homage to the series, these recaps will be released on Fridays and chronicle the various life lessons that are presented in the 30 minute format on a weekly basis as well as a meter that determines just how angry our protagonist seems to be. Join us as we tackle the psyche of the popular angry man and pray that he doesn't lose it entirely.

Left to right: Nora Zehetner and Maron

Plot: Maron preps for an appearance on Talking Dead only to have Jen (Nora Zehetner) angry for making jokes about their sex life and bans him from referencing her in a public forum again.

A Line That Sums Up the Episode: "If the original cast didn't do a good job, the remake's not going to be any better."

Sarah Silverman

Guests Review: Packed with cameos that makes me believe that every season (presuming there's more) will begin with a member of The Nerdist Podcast doing a cameo. Last season we saw Matt Mira and this year we see Chris Hardwick as the perfectionist who hates Maron's cynical sense of humor. Along with a cameo by Michael Ian Black, everyone in this episode exists solely to grind Maron's gears and it all goes well. Hardwick plays bully very well. In the interview seat, we have Sarah Silverman doing shtick about marrying parents that is funny, but a far cry from the genius of the Talking Dead segments that bookend this episode.

Anger Meter: 8 (out of 10)

Is there anything that stung worse than Maron breaking up with Jen on The Talking Dead after getting insulted by Chris Hardwick? This whole episode was about Maron commenting how you can't mix personal with public, no matter what context. Here, he finds frustration in that largely because that is his persona as a comedian. He needs to give dirty secrets for punchlines. This episode is all about grappling with the way to move on and be accepted by the public who clearly doesn't like you. Besides, going on a show to talk about The Walking Dead only to possibly get your own chat show is a little demeaning when you know nothing about it. 

We Good?: I didn't realize how much I missed the series. It came back strong and pushed forward some interesting subject matters. Maron's personal life is falling apart and he becomes a pariah by the end of the episode. In particular, the cynical persona has been improved massively and Marc Maron (actor) has gotten better at being frustrated without being annoying about it. He may be somewhat hypocritical in the continuity department with hating people, but it all makes for some of the most intriguing humor on the show. There's plenty to mine from this episode, especially if you listen to WTF with Marc Maron regularly, or at all. He's gone through so much that could be outlined for the season to come. The only question now is where things are going to go.

Rating: 4 out of 5