I was very tempted by the commercials and tried a few episodes - no longer. It seems like 2 couples dealing with 20-something angst issues.. and then throws junk in. One character talks about her sexual dysfunction and then goes into a monologue like a German torch song S&M montage; another time a cocktail party has an actor actually blow up the moon. A real history of abuse? A dream sequence? After 30 minutes of this, you don't care and there's no resolution anyways. The surreal bits seem like they intrude on what MIGHT be a interesting relationship show. I confess - I watch anything with Michelle Mylett in it but no longer. And I'm sure that Maslany's character of Bondurant Smit would be entertaining in a high school play but is so over-the-top here he's a complete turn-off. The others just seem along for the ride. It's sad because I'm sure other young script writers would have killed for the chance to do a show and be good at it.
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iminloveithink6 September 2016I want to love CBC shows, I do. Granted some are decent, some are amazing and some are meh. Four in the Morning started off meh but with the second episode could have the trajectory of decent -- Worth a Watch.
The main issue of this show is that the dialogue trumps characters. The characters are merely vessels for snappy, witty, introspective however sometimes pretentious, sometimes "that dude that tells you his clothes are from banana republic" dialogue. When the characters are merely used to make interesting points about life, rather than living breathing people in their own right, it can be hard to engage.
You may find the characters off-putting at first...but give it a chance.
There are some really interesting concepts and relatable snippets in life in this show. Episode 1 had one when two male characters are in awe of an empty Massey Hall, standing on the stage to a grand empty audience. In episode 2 the side characters out shined the main characters. The concept of Day Kids was original and almost poignant at times though sometimes the need to insert witty dialogue pulled away.
Still, so far these moments make it worth it. I'm hoping it becomes a show finding its groove and I'll be hoping to be filled with its surprises. -
eatcrowepls4 August 2018Say what you want about this show and I know a lot of people didn't like it, in fact I'm still not sure whether I liked or just tolerated it as an interesting TV oddity, but you can't deny that at least this show was trying to do something different. It may not have worked out but thank you CBC for at least trying to do something risky and different instead of the usual garbage you churn out!
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simenvalla9 October 2016I really enjoyed this show and was surprised to see the negative reactions and the low IMDb score. Although I can see how the show might not be to everyone's tastes, and I think these are some of the things which are polarizing to some: - It's not really plot-driven. - Heavy use of metaphors and symbols. - The dialogue can seem pretentious and overacted. - Fast-paced and hard to follow at times.
I actually enjoyed the fact that the show doesn't try to push a clear narrative(or rather, that the narrative is not the central aspect of the show), almost all shows already do that: "I'm breaking up with you" "Why?" "Because this and this" Blah blah, "I lost my job!", blah. I'm sick of the literal nature of most television shows. With this show I just listened, sometimes sentences or a particular phrasing stood out to me, and I was not really concerned with the concrete narrative. Occasionally I would hear a sentence that had some relevance to me, and other times metaphors would stand out. Sometimes I even laughed. The obvious use of symbolism seemed very honest too me. Whereas most shows have structure and underlying messages, in most cases these are completely trivial, only seeming profound because they are hidden. This show puts it all out there. Ironically the pretentious and over- complicated language makes it less pretentious than similar shows which have simple "relatable" dialogue and situations but pretend to deal with serious subjects.
TLDR; If you enjoy watching something which is weird, possibly requiring some getting used to, and does not take itself too seriously, then this show is worth a try. Some episodes are better than others, but the show is definitively unique (at least I have not seen anything quite like it before). -
ciaranmarley28 August 2016Have just watched episode one and immediately find myself with no appetite for any more. This follows four friends who navigate their way through modern day...blah blah blah blah. This is not my cup of tea in the slightest.
I do not identify with any of the characters nor can I bring myself to empathize with them or even care how things turn out for them. Three of the four main characters exhibit chronic verbal diarrhea while the fourth member of the group seems to have the task of looking confused and shocked at what his comrades have just come out with. He's not the only one.
I found myself irritated and disengaged as wave upon wave of pointless rants were delivered without much in the way of emotion. I would guess this will have quite limited appeal but I'll probably be proved wrong on this one. The show reminds me of 'Bored to Death' but even that show had some charm and genuinely funny moments that would hook the viewer in.
The acting is fair (they had a LOT of lines to learn), it's filmed very well and there may be improvements as the series unfolds. I won't be spending any time finding out though. Not my kind of comedy, no sir. -
sashagrove3 October 2016OK I'm a little surprised at the negative reaction this show gets on here.
Yes, the comedy is VERY dry, and I guess a lot of people don't get that, but I think that's part of what makes it so brilliant.
I've had to re-watch some of the episodes because it all whizzes by pretty quick, but I pick up something new every time, and I love shows that do stuff like that.
I have to admit that I was expecting something totally different from the description, basically another angsty 20somethings sitcom, but this show is so much more than that, kind of like a Chekhovian satire. Approach with an open mind. -
Portia333 September 2016This is one of the worst new shows I have ever seen on TV. Had the sense it is trying way too hard to be all edgy and cool and cutting edge and to impress or shock us or engage us with its use of the f-bomb, snorting coke, etc. But it all just comes across as completely forced, self-aware, artificial, pretentious and self-absorbed. Couldn't feel anything for any of the characters and didn't care one iota about their incessant ranting, their lives, their issues. The character of Bondurant is particularly annoying and insincere. No one talks like that. He seems like he's not even in the same show. But all of the characters are un-relatable and the acting leaves a great deal to be desired across the board. There is absolutely nothing in the dialogue that is engaging or that makes us want to know more about these characters. Go back to the drawing board, CBC - this show is a bust.
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DeRobertis2 October 2016First, "Canadian" is not a knock. Do I need to point this out (cough cough)? Unfortunately, hockey has thus far been the best CanTV. Not saying this is better than hockey, just that calling out something as "Canadian" is not a knock... a knock on us, that is.
This show is different ~ but how is that a bad thing (as in a 4.something rating as of now)? The two chicks are good foils; William is a strong straight man to these girls (as in stock character); and Bondurant, well: this character is where performance and strong writing come together to make a show. We've never seen anything like this.
Plot, but not arc, driven; performance but not character; post-campy but not cliché... c'mon!!! Stop dumping on this and someone give us another season. -
lawlorwalter11 August 2018This show is all right. I do get what a lot of the reviewers here are saying, that's it can get boring and talking heavy and that the comedy really drags sometimes but that's the kind of show this is supposed to be with some very subtle and understated stuff. But I also disagree with the really glowing reviews here, because frankly this show just is not that great either. It's worth checking out and you may not like it or you may think it's quite good. If you don't like it you don't have to watch it remember!
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parsleysage-2471712 October 2016I gave this show the benefit of the doubt for the first few episodes to see if it would find its footing. Not a chance. This show is terrible! It's all that's wrong with TV programming these days.
I realize it's not supposed to be plot driven (there isn't any) so one would hope the character focus would be enough. That didn't happen. Who cares about a group of 20- something friends who are completely self-absorbed, narcissistic, lacking in heart and soul, and who spend their seemingly copious amounts of free time just hanging out and talking ad nauseum about random things in order to appear all edgy and cool? I know it aspires to be all intellectual and trippy, but it's just so self-aware and superficial. The only character I could bare to watch for brief moments was William. The musician guy is particularly awful.
I doubt I could bring myself to watch another episode, never mind season. -
jgoodhand3 February 2019This show was very short lived. If you blinked you would've missed it and that is not a bad thing. Not a terrible idea except the whole idea of modern dating yada yada has all been done before and been done a lot better. The writing was terrible. Acting not much better.