Where to restart 'Bunheads?'

January 15, 2013 8:30 AM

Mrs. Mojo and i began watching 'Bunheads' but lost interest within four episodes. Recent comments from critics implied the show significantly improved after its beginning. Assuming you agree, where would you pick it up again?
posted by mojohand to media & arts (8 answers total)

Did you like Gilmore Girls? If you didn't really like Gilmore Girls, you won't like Gilmore Girls 2.0, starring Emily, Lorelei 2.0, Rory 2.0, some other girls who talk really fast and a creepy dead stalker who we are supposed to think was romantic for some reason.

That said, episode 5 is where Michelle actually starts teaching dance and when we stop introducing the characters, so that's when it starts getting better, and I think it continues to improve throughout the half season.
posted by jeather at 8:43 AM on January 15

If you don't want to work your way through all of those eps (though I agree with the above), you could just watch the last ep from the set that aired a couple months ago and then catch up with the new ones and see if it's any more appealing.
posted by leesh at 8:52 AM on January 15

If you didn't like the first four episodes, I don't know that you'll like the rest. The weird flip-flops in the way the characters act and the stylistic choice of dropping dramatic plot developments from episode to episode are still pretty much par for the course.

That being said, I still watch and enjoy it but almost more as surrealist art than a regular TV series.

Episode 6 was pretty good (IIRC...that's the one with the They Might Be Giants dance, right? INSANE.) and episode 10 is the (mid-)season finale, if you want to dip your toes back in. Episode 12 only just aired this week, it's not like you missed all that much.
posted by bcwinters at 8:53 AM on January 15

I didn't really see any change in quality in the first season, but I liked it from the start. I will point out, however, that episode 4, where it seems to have lost you, was written by Daniel Palladino (the husband of the showrunner, Amy Sherman-Palladino). Many Gilmore Girls fans trace the lowest points of nearly every season of GG to "a Daniel episode."

So maybe start up again on episode 5, and go through to 6, which does indeed have the "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" dance and was also one of my favorites (movie truck!). If you don't like those two, then you're just not going to like Bunheads, and that's okay.
posted by Etrigan at 8:59 AM on January 15

I would recommend reading my friend Jacob Clifton's re-caps of the shows on Television Without Pity. First of all Jacob is HILARIOUS! Secondly, it gives you an idea of the flaws and allows you to be okay with them.

I like Bunheads and I really started loving the show about 5 episodes in. I never watched the Gilmore Girls, so make of that what you will.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:18 AM on January 15 [1 favorite]

I loved Jacob's recaps, but according to his Twitter account he had to quit writing about Bunheads because he hated it so much! The last two episodes were recapped by someone else. It's definitely a polarizing show.
posted by bcwinters at 10:42 AM on January 15

Oh yeah, he hates it alright, that's why it's so funny!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:14 PM on January 15

Thanks, all. I don't know about the show, but those Clifton recaps are just outstanding, recalling the glory days of Mighty Big TV.
posted by mojohand at 3:46 PM on January 15