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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2012/may/07/veep-episode-three-review-catherine
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Veep season one, episode three: Catherine | Veep season one, episode three: Catherine |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| SPOILER ALERT: This blog is for people watching Veep on HBO. Don't read on if you haven't seen episode three of the series. Here are the reviews of previous episodes in this series. | SPOILER ALERT: This blog is for people watching Veep on HBO. Don't read on if you haven't seen episode three of the series. Here are the reviews of previous episodes in this series. |
| Oval Office | Oval Office |
| The vice president Selina Meyer is preparing for a party to celebrate her 20 years in Washington, but celebrations are marred by rumours of tension coming from the First Lady and by negotiations over the make-up of the "clean jobs task force" – specifically the oil industry's desire to have a representative on the panel, and others equally opposed to it doing so. | The vice president Selina Meyer is preparing for a party to celebrate her 20 years in Washington, but celebrations are marred by rumours of tension coming from the First Lady and by negotiations over the make-up of the "clean jobs task force" – specifically the oil industry's desire to have a representative on the panel, and others equally opposed to it doing so. |
| The VP's daughter Catherine (Sarah Sutherland) arrives from college to attend the party but is unable to see much of her mother in the rush of meetings. Meyer's choice of an ex-oil industry figure for the task force is opposed by both sides, with the environmentalists backing down when Meyer's staff suggest appointing a more controversial pro-oil figure instead. | The VP's daughter Catherine (Sarah Sutherland) arrives from college to attend the party but is unable to see much of her mother in the rush of meetings. Meyer's choice of an ex-oil industry figure for the task force is opposed by both sides, with the environmentalists backing down when Meyer's staff suggest appointing a more controversial pro-oil figure instead. |
| Meyer's daughter is appalled at plans to have the name Selina deleted from the list of hurricane names, and then picks a dog that Meyer doesn't like. The dog adoption plan is scuppered when it's revealed that the First Lady is also planning to get a dog, and so the dog is foisted upon one of Meyer's staff members, who for years has pretended to have a dog to avoid work commitments. | Meyer's daughter is appalled at plans to have the name Selina deleted from the list of hurricane names, and then picks a dog that Meyer doesn't like. The dog adoption plan is scuppered when it's revealed that the First Lady is also planning to get a dog, and so the dog is foisted upon one of Meyer's staff members, who for years has pretended to have a dog to avoid work commitments. |
| White House Mess | White House Mess |
| Third episode in, and this should be where the series is hitting its stride. Instead it tripped on its shoelaces and landed face-down. Except that might have been funny. Which this wasn't. In fact this episode nudged the needle from so-so to bad. | Third episode in, and this should be where the series is hitting its stride. Instead it tripped on its shoelaces and landed face-down. Except that might have been funny. Which this wasn't. In fact this episode nudged the needle from so-so to bad. |
| The worst thing is the whole series is in grave danger of actually taking itself seriously: not so much a West Wing satire as an actual episode of the West Wing, believe it or not. For the third programme in a row, the vice president's office is still going on about the clean jobs commission, as if anyone gives a fuck. Which they don't. Instead of a plot device that would have detained us for, let's see, about 10 minutes in a single episode of The Thick Of It, the damn thing is being strung out for a whole series. | The worst thing is the whole series is in grave danger of actually taking itself seriously: not so much a West Wing satire as an actual episode of the West Wing, believe it or not. For the third programme in a row, the vice president's office is still going on about the clean jobs commission, as if anyone gives a fuck. Which they don't. Instead of a plot device that would have detained us for, let's see, about 10 minutes in a single episode of The Thick Of It, the damn thing is being strung out for a whole series. |
| The comedy gods, meanwhile, have not been smiling on Veep's dialogue. Such as this: | The comedy gods, meanwhile, have not been smiling on Veep's dialogue. Such as this: |
| Meyer: So now we have two Catch 22 situations simultaneously. Is there even a name for that? | Meyer: So now we have two Catch 22 situations simultaneously. Is there even a name for that? |
| Staffer: How about Catch 44. | Staffer: How about Catch 44. |
| Is there even a name for that! Pass me a stapler, because my sides are totally split. No, not really. | Is there even a name for that! Pass me a stapler, because my sides are totally split. No, not really. |
| Even leaving aside the slow-moving plot and the script with the winning charm of Nicolas Sarkozy, the episode felt like it been welded together by blind squirrels. Whereas episode two suffered from what Lizz Winstead called TryingTooHardToBeEdgyitis, tonight's episode suffers from glueing a traditional sitcom premise – daughter embarrassed by parent! – to the sort of political farce elements – politicians make face-saving deals that please no one – that one assumes Veep is supposed to be about. Then there was the recycled "rapey" joke about the dead senator from episode one. And all of it topped and tailed with some gestures of a cat-fight between the vice-president and the First Lady that I fear is also to become a long-running trope. Because that's what this series needs. | Even leaving aside the slow-moving plot and the script with the winning charm of Nicolas Sarkozy, the episode felt like it been welded together by blind squirrels. Whereas episode two suffered from what Lizz Winstead called TryingTooHardToBeEdgyitis, tonight's episode suffers from glueing a traditional sitcom premise – daughter embarrassed by parent! – to the sort of political farce elements – politicians make face-saving deals that please no one – that one assumes Veep is supposed to be about. Then there was the recycled "rapey" joke about the dead senator from episode one. And all of it topped and tailed with some gestures of a cat-fight between the vice-president and the First Lady that I fear is also to become a long-running trope. Because that's what this series needs. |
| I know, let's appoint the First Lady to the clean jobs taskforce and have done with it. And the dog as well? | I know, let's appoint the First Lady to the clean jobs taskforce and have done with it. And the dog as well? |
| But none of this would matter if the jokes were funny. But they are not. | But none of this would matter if the jokes were funny. But they are not. |
| The good news is that HBO has, for some reason, decided to buy another series of Veep. So someone likes it. | The good news is that HBO has, for some reason, decided to buy another series of Veep. So someone likes it. |
| Best line of the episode | Best line of the episode |
| Senator Hallowes: You dumped my daughter by text message and didn't even apologise. | |
| Dan Egan: Yes I did – colon and open bracket :( | |
| Update: thanks to suefromlondon in the comments below for correcting the Dan Egan quote. |