MovieChat Forums > Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous (2013) Discussion > I wish this was on Comedy Central

I wish this was on Comedy Central

posted 11 years ago by WermhatsWormHat
18 replies | jump to latest

I like Burnham and this show has some hilarious bits, but half the episodes get bogged down by the angsty teen melodrama that is necessitated by a show being on the Teen Mom network so it appeals to brainless tweenage monsters. If it was on Comedy Central he could do away with that angle and focus on Zach just being a narcissistic dick and having wacky adventures trying to be famous. They could also push the envelope a bit more in terms of how far he takes it (ie a more raunchy version of the sex tape episode for example). Despite the humor of some of it I find myself distracted by the bits where I realize I'm watching an MTV show.

[–] FaithNoBungle 11 years ago

Funny, I just said that to my sister. We watched the first couple episodes in a row, we both love it. But yeah, MTV blows

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[–] TheBayHarborButcher 11 years ago

I don't think I would like the show as much if it was all about Zach being a d*ck and having wacky adventures. To me, what makes the show good are those moments when Zach has self-realizations about growing up and becoming an adult. That with the combination of those crazy moments is what really makes the show.

Personally, I have no problem with it being on MTV, but I think that it may be rating better if it were on Comedy Central. Burnham has a larger following over there, and I think Comedy Central would have advertised the show more. MTV has done very little for this good show. It is a shame that it will be so easily forgotten.

[–] WermhatsWormHat 11 years ago

How old are you though? Do you also think those same moments about having shallow self-realizations and growing up are cool on Laguna Beach? Because these are not things most grownups look for in a comedy and it's not like he gets this shallowly sappy in his stage comedy. It's clearly something that is just forcibly injected into this otherwise funny show to manipulate the 12 yr old MTV audience that just wants to see rich vampire teen moms have a super sweet 16 party and fall in love forever and ever.

[–] theblackestmagic 11 years ago

^You may have a point there. Someone mentioned that Burnham appears to possibly be channeling the characters from 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' into his Zach Stone persona. But he goes nowhere near as far in his various escapades as the 'Sunny' characters do in theirs. And there are no real moments of sappiness or self-realization from any of those characters either, as they simply play it completely ridiculous and out of control all the way through. So you may be right with MTV perhaps playing a role in having Burnham's character go into these sort of self reflective moments or realizations about himself at the end of most every episode. I mean just take the 'sex tape' episode involving my imaginary girlfriend Christy Ackerman(HA!HA!, MAJOR WISHFUL THINKING THERE!). But could you imagine how the guys from 'Sunny' would've approached a similar 'sex tape' scenario on their show?

[–] WermhatsWormHat 11 years ago

That's exactly what I mean. Always Sunny and Eastbound and Down are probably my favorite comedies and I see that kind of potential her if it wasn't toned down for a shallow PG audience. If he's trying to tug at my heart strings with these MTV moments it aint working because I'm not 12 and I haven't read Twilight. Seinfeld, Married with Children, Always Sunny, Eastbound, a lot of great comedies succeed with people just being dicks for the sake of comedy and I wish he didn't have to tone it down for MTV. And if this is his decision to make the show like this, I wish he had a collaborator who could just tell him to stop being a bitch and trying to be deep and just be funny, because he still has these brief moments on the show where his sheer comedic genius shines through. I just want to see Burnham meet his full potential and not be another MTV loser and start hanging out with those tools from College Humor or something.

[–] theblackestmagic 11 years ago

I really enjoyed the first season of 'Eastbound and Down' but was pretty disappointed in Season 2 and 3, save for a few individual episodes of course. And I've only been disappointed in seasons 5 and 6 of 'Sunny' though IMO, having Diddy, or whatever he calls himself, on as guest star last season was a MAJOR misfire. The man has ZERO comedic skill or talent, again, IMO.

But yes, I completely get where you're coming from regarding Burnham and 'ZSIGBF'. The show clearly has the potential to be much funnier than it is, though I still find it relatively enjoyable to watch(I am missing Shelley Hennig though!). But I definitely don't want to see Burnham going down the same kind of MTV/College Humor path you mentioned either.

[–] TheBayHarborButcher 11 years ago

Fair enough. Everybody has different tastes, so I don't expect everybody to like what I like.

And for the record I am a fan of Eastbound and Down and Seinfeld. I think they are both funny shows. (I haven't watched much of Sunny or MWC so I can't comment on them.) The thing is I like variety when it comes to the comedy genre. I don't always want to see a bunch of people do crazy things. Sometimes it is nice to see something with a little more meaning, even if that meaning is just about young adult problems.

[–] theblackestmagic 11 years ago

Point taken whydotheycancelgoodtv, and I can totally understand how viewers sometimes like to see more than characters involved in numerous wacky shenanigans throughout their shows. Comedy, like many other things in life, is very subjective and we all obviously find different themes, situations etc. to be either humorous or dull, all depending on one's own personal viewpoint.

[–] TheBayHarborButcher 11 years ago

I don't think that the self-realization moments feel very forced in. They feel pretty natural to me. Like in the episode where Zach decided not to go to college. That moment with his dad at the end of the episode or the moment when he is all by himself at the party/reliving his troubles of high school in his car felt very authentic to me. I've never paid much attention to Burnham before, but based off the vibe I get from this show I think that he set out to tell a coming-of-age-story with this show. He's not just trying to do random crazy stuff. He may be able to do that on stage, but I personally feel that one can't do that if they are setting out to tell a well-rounded story.

But my point is I disagree with you about the forced "teeny" moments. I think that those moments are purposely written by the writers and Burnham to try to speak to an audience, a late teen/early 20's audience, about relatable problems.

(Also, I've watched little to none of Laguna Beach and Teen Mom, but those quote "real" moments in those shows are no way near as well done as in Zach Stone. In those shows it is done in a more shallow/surface level way, but on Zach Stone they seem to be trying to break through that surface a little bit.)

Additionally, I found this interview with Burnham on Youtube where he discusses the show. And in the interview he mentions how the heart of the show is Zach suppressing his emotions and his relationships with the other characters. The crazy stuff just sort of happens in between.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGpe4Ve6cMI
(4:20 minutes in)

[–] theblackestmagic 11 years ago

While I could still do without the self-realizations or 'sappy' moments, I admit that whydotheycancelgoodtv's post makes a lot of sense, as well as offering an intelligent and compelling viewpoint in his/her assessment of the show that I hadn't considered before. In short, a very well written post and response by whydotheycancelgoodtv.

[–] TheBayHarborButcher 11 years ago

Thanks.

And I get that the teen or sentimental moments aren't for everyone. But personally I really like them. I love well made coming of age stories or teen films/TV series. And so far I think Zach Stone is fitting into a well made coming of age story category.

[–] medmom54 11 years ago

Yeah I would say it's definitely Bo who decided to make the show a coming of age story. The problem for me is that the comedic situations are so insanely over the top, that it's hard to take the dramatic moments seriously. And for that reason it comes off as a bit forced.

[–] the_new_indie 11 years ago

I wish it was on CC too. I don't think Bo has a big enough following of the tween demographic to make this show successful on MTV. People that enjoy comedians and have followed his career would definitely tune in to CC though.

[–] theblackestmagic 11 years ago

And I thought that last night's episode was pretty funny as well. I really wish that the show was doing better than it is. Not necessarily be a ratings splash mind you, but at least have a fairly solid viewing audience throughout it's first season run which the show obviously doesn't have.

[–] AdvanceIstheMan 11 years ago

It's a parody of the shows that you're associating it with. It's on MTV because it's essentially making fun of a dozen different shows on the network. I'm sure the idea was that all of the MTV viewers who are sick of people getting famous for being famous would enjoy the premise and then the rest would enjoy it simply because it's funny.

I'm 30 years old and have never watched Teen Mom or any similar shows, but I can appreciate something that's funny. You can take any premise and make it humorous with the right cast and writing. Your example was a raunchier version of the sex tape episode. How would that have made it any funnier? Bo has grown up as part of the generation he's mocking so I'm sure he understands teen reality shows better than whatever you want it to be

[–] WermhatsWormHat 11 years ago

Here I'll be more specific about the elements that could be cut out if it were on a different network. I want him to go further with the satire is what I'm saying. The parts where he tries to make us feel for or empathize with Zach I think should be cut out. We don't have to like Zach for his character to be funny. He could just be a pure satire of a fame whore. Instead they kind of take it half way and then reel it in with some sappy love stories. I think they take up way too much with the generic will they wont they unrequited love crap. I also don't like how his sitcom parents act a little pissy but then at the end of each episode its that sitcommy "Aw shucks, he's still our son and we love him dearly". Basically if they cut out all the sentimentality and replaced it with more of the funny satire, I think the show would be a lot better. And yes the sex tape episode could have gotten a lot funnier if they had gone further into it instead of making Zach stop because he has to be this redeemable prudish MTV personality. Still a great show, just think it could be ten times better. I enjoy it but I don't recommend it to my friends. I would like to be able to start recommending it. I kind of hope it gets cancelled and moves to comedy central or maybe IFC or something.

[–] medmom54 11 years ago

The entire reason this show works is because Zach is the only ridiculous character in the show and everyone else plays it straight. Given the subject matter, it only makes sense that Zach has to constantly fight for his parent's approval, try to fit in, get the girl even though he is unknowingly pushing her away etc. I compared Zach to the characters in It's Always Sunny on some thread here. The difference in that show is that ALL of the main characters are wacky, oblivious and over the top. That's why that show can be played for pure comedy while this one can't.

[–] michelleod1 11 years ago

I wish this show wasn't cancelled! but i was also really hoping comedy central would pick it up also cause they supported his other special on that channel & they're not stupid like MTV!