Ted Lasso [TV-series 2020-...] - As Sweet as Apple+ Pie

[Veltigar]

I wanted to make a thread about everyone's favorite Ted who isn't named Cruz (joking, joking ). This wonderful, wholesome and - dare I use a big word - life-affirming series deserves to be viewed and discussed more. That's why I wanted to have this thread up and running for the second season.

I'm hoping for Cobra Kai trajectory, where the first season passed under the radar here, but then it got discovered and now there is quite some good discussion about it here. 

Apparently they just started production on season two, so hopefully we get a new season by the end of the year

https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/20210121105127/ted-lasso-season-two-everything-to-know-release-date/

[Slurktan]

4 hours ago, Veltigar said:

I wanted to make a thread about everyone's favorite Ted who isn't named Cruz (joking, joking ). This wonderful, wholesome and - dare I use a big word - life-affirming series deserves to be viewed and discussed more. That's why I wanted to have this thread up and running for the second season.

I'm hoping for Cobra Kai trajectory, where the first season passed under the radar here, but then it got discovered and now there is quite some good discussion about it here. 

Apparently they just started production on season two, so hopefully we get a new season by the end of the year

https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/20210121105127/ted-lasso-season-two-everything-to-know-release-date/

I'd love to watch Ted Lasso. The problem is it's on Apple TV and I'd rather cut off my arm then give them money.

[Veltigar]

3 hours ago, Slurktan said:

I'd love to watch Ted Lasso. The problem is it's on Apple TV and I'd rather cut off my arm then give them money.

How come?

And you know there is an obvious solution that would allow you to see this great show for free... if you catch my drift

Spoiler

Just buy a new IPhone and you can use Apple TV+ for free for like three months and you get a neat little phone out of it which protects your privacy  

 

[Argonath Diver]

So Veltigar, I actually thought about your recommendation to send him a toy soldier. Excellent! Alas, he says he quit after two episodes, so he never saw them in play. I managed to get him to talk about it today a bit over messenger - his reasoning for hating the show is that the portrayal of a Premier League team is so unrealistic that he couldn't enjoy the characters. Said "it'd be like me writing a British show about baseball that isn't funny anyway". 

What can I say, the man has wretched taste. I thought it'd bridge the gap between American jokes and English culture - as he lived over here for a decade and now back, thought it'd gel. Alas. 

I must admit that I don't subscribe to Apple+ either. I cannot confirm or deny using illicit means for viewing. One possibility for some is a promotion involving purchasing a new iPhone - something weird iPhone people seem to do every year anyways - giving a free few months of Apple+. Perhaps once that service manages to put out any sort of interesting content whatsoever, more people will have a chance to watch Ted, Beard, Nate and friends.

Season two thoughts:

Spoiler

I wonder if Roy will be around as a coach, perhaps. I don't know anything about Juno Temple, but she seems be be a 'name' judging by the credits, so I assume Keeley will be back, hopefully with Roy in tow. Jamie Tartt, I reckon, will pop up here and there. I wonder if some of the other players will get some development - season 1 didn't have much time for them, which is fine. I expect a few heel characters to pop up in addition to that rotten bastard Rupert. Boy did that actor nail "smarmy rich cunt". 

 

[Slurktan]

11 hours ago, Veltigar said:

How come?

And you know there is an obvious solution that would allow you to see this great show for free... if you catch my drift

  Reveal hidden contents

Just buy a new IPhone and you can use Apple TV+ for free for like three months and you get a neat little phone out of it which protects your privacy  

 

Because Apple sucks?  And no, I will not be purchasing an iPhone. Once was enough.

[Heartofice]

Watched first couple of episodes and I'm really enjoying it. I was cautious about it, having seen the character before on youtube I think and not finding it especially funny, but this show has a real heart so far.

It does help that I recognise a lot of the locations, AFC Richmond and he really does live in Richmond.

[Vaughn]

11 hours ago, Slurktan said:

Because Apple sucks?  And no, I will not be purchasing an iPhone. Once was enough.

So just sh1tposting about a show you won't watch to what end? Lasso really is a fun, life affirming show - sort of the opposite of your contribution to this thread.

 

[Veltigar]

16 hours ago, Slurktan said:

Because Apple sucks?  And no, I will not be purchasing an iPhone. Once was enough.

It doesn't have to be an IPhone, I think the offer also works with a Mac or an IPad 

This isn't the thread for it, but I definitely think you ought to reconsider. I have switched between IPhones and Android a couple of times over the last couple of years (I'm crazy I know) and the new IPhone is really good. Expensive as fuck of course and the scumbags know they have a captive audience, but in the grand scheme of things they are less malevolent than Google and the like who steal your data 

5 hours ago, Vaughn said:

So just sh1tposting about a show you won't watch to what end? Lasso really is a fun, life affirming show - sort of the opposite of your contribution to this thread.

 

Well, I guess Slurktan might find other methods to access the show. Perhaps an enlightened friend with an Apple+ Subscription  If he does get to see it, I'm guessing he'll change his tune about Apple a bit  

9 hours ago, Heartofice said:

Watched first couple of episodes and I'm really enjoying it. I was cautious about it, having seen the character before on youtube I think and not finding it especially funny, but this show has a real heart so far.

It does help that I recognise a lot of the locations, AFC Richmond and he really does live in Richmond.

Yeah, I agree. I'm actually glad that I didn't look up the original skits before trying the show because they really changed the DNA of the character. He's still ignorant, but the way they injected heart into the character was remarkable.

23 hours ago, Argonath Diver said:

So Veltigar, I actually thought about your recommendation to send him a toy soldier. Excellent! Alas, he says he quit after two episodes, so he never saw them in play. I managed to get him to talk about it today a bit over messenger - his reasoning for hating the show is that the portrayal of a Premier League team is so unrealistic that he couldn't enjoy the characters. Said "it'd be like me writing a British show about baseball that isn't funny anyway". 

He clearly doesn't get it. I think one of the strongest thing about the show is that it knows how ridiculous it is. I watched the first episode again with a mate of mine and the first jokes are all centered on how bonkers the central premise of the show is. That is part of why the series is so clever.

I guess we'll have no other option but to kidnap your friend and force him to watch it  

23 hours ago, Argonath Diver said:

I must admit that I don't subscribe to Apple+ either. I cannot confirm or deny using illicit means for viewing. One possibility for some is a promotion involving purchasing a new iPhone - something weird iPhone people seem to do every year anyways - giving a free few months of Apple+. Perhaps once that service manages to put out any sort of interesting content whatsoever, more people will have a chance to watch Ted, Beard, Nate and friends.

Season two thoughts:

  Reveal hidden contents

I wonder if Roy will be around as a coach, perhaps. I don't know anything about Juno Temple, but she seems be be a 'name' judging by the credits, so I assume Keeley will be back, hopefully with Roy in tow. Jamie Tartt, I reckon, will pop up here and there. I wonder if some of the other players will get some development - season 1 didn't have much time for them, which is fine. I expect a few heel characters to pop up in addition to that rotten bastard Rupert. Boy did that actor nail "smarmy rich cunt". 

 

I'm still confused why Apple even launched this service to be honest. For Amazon I get why they came up with the inclusion of movies and TV-series in their Prime subscriptions. It's quite a low amount to go Prime, so the series definitely help to convince people and once they are signed up to superfast deliveries and the like, people will automatically start consuming more which is where Amazon earns its investments back.

With Apple TV+, I don't see anyone who isn't already an IPhone customer being convinced to switch to an expensive new phone just so they are able to get another streaming subscription. Sounds a bit strange.

As to your comments in the spoiler section

Spoiler

I do hope Roy gets to play again. Transforming him to a coach in season 2 seems a bit quick and it would also make their team quite crowded in my book. Between Ted, coach, Nate and Roy Kent their would be far too many people on the bench.

I also hope Jamie doesn't revert back to being a villain. I guess season two should put all the spotlight on Rupert. I think the foundation has been laid there and Anthony Head (aka Uther Pendragon from The Adventures of Merlin) is such a legend that I think he'd be brilliant.

 

[Argonath Diver]

Yeah my message was somewhat unclear. I don't want anyone to buy an iPhone for this show - frankly I don't want anyone to buy one, regardless. But one friend of mine heard me mention that promo on FB, and had recently bought a new phone, and was happy to jump on a free few months as a result. 

I'm gonna guilt trip my grouchy Irishman one more time with promise of Richmond locales,  as HoI mentioned. Barring that, once I can visit Belfast at some point, I'll have to force him another look-see while we nurse an inevitable future hangover.

[Slurktan]

On 1/23/2021 at 1:31 PM, Vaughn said:

So just sh1tposting about a show you won't watch to what end? Lasso really is a fun, life affirming show - sort of the opposite of your contribution to this thread.

 

At what point did I shitpost the show whatsoever?  I actively said I wanted to watch it, I just will not be watching it on Apple+.  I'm probably going to  download it from somewhere at somepoint.

[Heartofice]

8 episodes done of the season so far and it’s a real joy of a show. I get the same feeling that I had watching Schitts Creek, in that it’s a show clearly made to warm the soul, which would usually make me feel unwell, but it’s made with real skill in so many areas that it does the job really successfully.

One of the key elements I think is the extended cast, there isn’t a character on the show I don’t enjoy watching. They all get their moments on screen and everyone has real comedic talent.

Juno Temple is especially fantastic, I’m always dismayed that she isn’t in more things as she’s always stood out in everything I’ve seen her in, guess Atonement was my first glimpse at her. She’s really great in this as well,  nails a character that could have been really irritating in the wrong hands.

The same has to be said about Ted himself, that is a hard character to get right, push it too far and you have Ned Flanders, but he gets the balance right and really adds depth and makes you just wanna give the guy a hug!

Oh and Nathan is brilliant too, guess I’ve seen the guy around on UK tv here and there but he never stood out, but I love every second he’s on screen.

Great show, really glad I took the jump and watched it.

[Jaxom 1974]

Got a couple episodes in on this last night and it's just damn good. I'm invested and interested in seeing where it goes.

[Veltigar]

I feel like our Ted Lasso posse is growing y'all

@Heartofice did you finish already?

[Heartofice]

47 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

I feel like our Ted Lasso posse is growing y'all

@Heartofice did you finish already?

God yeah. Raced through it.

Spoiler

I was pretty shocked they ended up relegated in the end. I think one of the strengths of the show is that I’m able to accept the almost offensive levels of feel good cheese the show emits, because it is able to do it in a clever, non lazy way. 
 

Most feel good tv and film is bad because it’s lazy, it cuts corners and thinks the audience are idiots who will just want to be cheered up. But as I said above, Ted Lasso is packed full of clever writing, great performances and real heart. Hard to dislike that, even when it does things that are totally unrealistic and corny.
 

So I was totally prepared to hand wave a last gasp goal that kept them up , and I was prepared to feel ok about that. Them going down was a bit of a shock but makes season 2 potentially much more interesting.

One of the most unrealistic things about the show is that Richmond is very much a rugby town in reality, Twickenham being down the road. Most people there are pretty posh and wouldn’t touch football with  barge pole.

Ive been the pub featured in the show quite a few times and I don’t think it shows football at all, even during the World Cup. It’s a very pleasant gastro pub that you’d go to on a sunny day for lunch and a pint. Football hooligans wouldn’t be anywhere near it.

[Veltigar]

1 hour ago, Heartofice said:

God yeah. Raced through it.

  Hide contents

I was pretty shocked they ended up relegated in the end. I think one of the strengths of the show is that I’m able to accept the almost offensive levels of feel good cheese the show emits, because it is able to do it in a clever, non lazy way. 
 

Most feel good tv and film is bad because it’s lazy, it cuts corners and thinks the audience are idiots who will just want to be cheered up. But as I said above, Ted Lasso is packed full of clever writing, great performances and real heart. Hard to dislike that, even when it does things that are totally unrealistic and corny.
 

So I was totally prepared to hand wave a last gasp goal that kept them up , and I was prepared to feel ok about that. Them going down was a bit of a shock but makes season 2 potentially much more interesting.

One of the most unrealistic things about the show is that Richmond is very much a rugby town in reality, Twickenham being down the road. Most people there are pretty posh and wouldn’t touch football with  barge pole.

Ive been the pub featured in the show quite a few times and I don’t think it shows football at all, even during the World Cup. It’s a very pleasant gastro pub that you’d go to on a sunny day for lunch and a pint. Football hooligans wouldn’t be anywhere near it.

Ah glad you finished and didn't change your opinion. I agree completely on the spoilered of your post. I feel like the cleverness of the story and the willingness to subvert when necessary is indeed what elevates this show above fellow feel-good competitors (e.g. to name but one other show which has recently garnered attention on the board, Lupin is a pretty good example of a feel-good show that slums it down considerably because they think the audience can just be swayed by a smile from Omar Sy).

Also glad to have confirmation from a local about the area in which the team is located. I read online that houses in the area we can see on the show can be worth more than a million GBP, so trying to turn it into a working class neighborhood was pretty funny.

I can handwave it though. There is a long and proud tradition of making the UK look more picturesque than  it is in reality and this show does it with heart, so I can also hand wave it  

[Heartofice]

Yeah I’ve made my feelings known about Lupin on the watched thread, but it’s a good example where it just expects very little from the audience, but tries to appear clever. That’s where the disconnect is.

Ted Lasso reminds me a lot of the Paddington Bear movies; which I highly recommend btw. Like Lasso, they feature a cast of talented British talent, but it’s set in a version of Britain that is almost mythological, picture postcard really. Even the hooligans are really just nice people ( and not thick racists like they are in reality)

As for location, yeah Richmond is one of the richest areas of London, Ted seems to be living in an apartment above a shop on Richmond Green. Richmond green I think you’d need to be a multi millionaire to live anywhere near there.

I think Richmonds home ground is actually Selhurst park, home to their first opponents in the show, Crystal Palace.

Its been fun seeing all these places I’ve been in the past, but in this glossy light 

[Argonath Diver]

Thanks for the locality references, HoI. Cool. 

There's an absurd amount of content set in New York and Chicago, two cities I lived in much of my adult life. Seeing silly glamorized versions of real places is exceedingly common, to the point it has to be ignored for the most part. Then again, sometimes a show or film really nails the feeling of a place I know well. 

Particularly glad to hear about the real pub - I can definitely see your description of a business lunch kind of joint. Having a particular affinity for pubs, as I was on one side of a bar or the other for the better part of two decades, portrayal of bars and bar life is something a very very small percentage of film and television get right. A proper pub experience is nearly unfilmable, and I'm fine with that. 

Off topic, but I want to see that Mads Mikkelson film about day drinkers. Seems they took real interest in depicting functioning daily alcoholics accurately. It's not a glamorous life, nor a nightmarish one - and oh so many lifelong bar regulars. Ted Lasso is certainly depicted as a heavy drinker at times, perhaps more accurately than many roles - than again, the show is such a wonderful farce that I don't mind any smoothing over of characterization.

 

[Heartofice]

8 minutes ago, Argonath Diver said:

 

There's an absurd amount of content set in New York and Chicago, two cities I lived in much of my adult life. Seeing silly glamorized versions of real places is exceedingly common, to the point it has to be ignored for the most part. Then again, sometimes a show or film really nails the feeling of a place I know well.

 

It can also have the opposite effect. My first time visiting New York I was absolutely terrified, think anyone noticing I was British would mug me. I kept my head down and looked at nobody. This was based on a diet of 70's and 80's crime drama, Taxi Driver etc giving me a very skewed view of New York. We went to Brooklyn I thought I'd get shot. I didn't have a clue. 

 

[Argonath Diver]

4 hours ago, Heartofice said:

It can also have the opposite effect. My first time visiting New York I was absolutely terrified, think anyone noticing I was British would mug me. I kept my head down and looked at nobody. This was based on a diet of 70's and 80's crime drama, Taxi Driver etc giving me a very skewed view of New York. We went to Brooklyn I thought I'd get shot. I didn't have a clue. 

 

Hah, I can see that. I loved The Warriors in high school, and often thought New York was somewhere between that and NYPD Blue. Then in my 30s I end up tending bar in all the most touristy areas and it may as well have been Disneyland.

Having befriended many folk from your side of the pond at this point, I know that my perceptions of London and the English countryside were for a long time vastly different than the reality. Never did pop over for a visit, but 2021 is a year of travel for me. It'd be funny if I somehow ended up in Richmond and recognized that street.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

I just watched it this weekend.  (The Honest Trailer prompted me to check it out.). 

That was absolutely amazing.  Optimism without being denuded by cynicism.  A person who can and does deal with geuine pain and heartbreak without allowing the world to break him.

“Be curious… not Judgmental.”

I absolutely adored this show.