MovieChat Forums > Catastrophe (2015) Discussion > Substandard copy of You're The Worst?

Substandard copy of You're The Worst?


I feel like the writers watched the (excellent) first season of You're The Worst and thought 'this is great and feels fresh' and rushed to write an equivalent version set in London rather than LA, and where the girl is English and sour, and the guy is American and a bit of a mess, before YTW could get big in the UK. Similarly the batch of largely mean-spirited 'quirky friends'.
Other than that, it's ok. Just about. The writing feels forced at times and the acting rings a little hollow yet try-hard. Catastrophe goes for what it thinks is the 'edgy' style seen in YTW, but suffers when compared to that show, lacking the emotional stakes and charisma of both the cast and the depicted characters. It comes off as being deliberately 'adult' for its own sake rather than in exploring an interesting taboo or uncomfortable theme or character aspect. And some of the dialogue feels self-consciously explicit and shoe-horned in for the sake of allowing the show to show off with 'gross' humour, rather than extreme yet organic character expressions being allowed to go uncensored. In YTW this comes off as naturalism, whereas in this show it's the opposite.
That said, it's an easy watch and entertaining - if not 'laugh out loud' funny. I'm aware others will probably enjoy it more and be less of a harsh critic, especially if they haven't seen YTW and don't have that to compare it to. Normally I don't like to judge one show in relation to another, but I feel it's justified here as (in my eyes) it's so blatantly 'influenced by' (a rip-off of?) YTW. Which annoyed me as it came JUST after that show.
Also I noticed a lot of praise on here that lauded Catastrophe for not hand-holding the audience (with a laugh track for example). I guess that made them feel smart, as it makes the audience feel they're being taken seriously and not talked down to, but that alone does not guarantee a great comedy.

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Both show are great. I think this is between older characters and more realistic ... but why does it have to be a rip-off or be insulted since it is a bit alike ... so what? You know, there are shows influenced by shows that end up being actually better than the original show sometimes.

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Everyone has his own tastes. My wife and I couldn't make it through two episodes of You're the Worst. Thought it was obnoxious, and the leads were trying way too hard to be hip and edgy. I also believed the we're-actually-falling-in-love aspect should have been less subtle than, say, a sledgehammer, but that's only my opinion.

I know you probably weren't really implying one show copied the other, but just to be clear, both pilots were written and produced in 2013, and both first seasons produced in 2014, although YTW premiered rather quickly in mid-2014, while BBC held off on airing Catastrophe until the following January.

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Came to say pretty much the same thing, the Catastrophe pilot was filmed in 2013, full series commissioned/written/filmed in 2014, and aired January 2015. Highly doubt You're The Worst was an influence.

Ps. I also disliked You're The Worst, I think I got 4 or 5 episodes in before bailing. I'm a fan of dark comedy (Pulling, Catastrophe, Fleabag, Nighty Night etc) but YTW was just.... not good. I really disliked the main male character (not because the audience is supposed to dislike him - because I thought the character was unengaging, not compelling or funny). I actually thought he was an American putting on a terrible English accent until I found it's an English actor. I assume he's exaggerating his accent for the US market, I find it hard to believe he actually talks like that!

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I'm a fan of dark comedy (Pulling, Catastrophe, Fleabag, Nighty Night etc)

I love Catastrophe, so I'm now downloading the other three shows you mention. Thanks for the recommendations!

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If you like Catastrophe I think you'll like Pulling, Sharon Horgan wrote (or co-wrote) it and she plays a similar character. Very similar tone as well, it borders on genius at times!

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I like both shows ... a lot.

"You're The Worst" is less believable, and also gets too annoying.
"Catastrophe" is more realistic and true to life. I started out liking
YTW a lot more, now I like C more. The third season of YTW was
grating on my nerves too much that I bought it on Amazon, started
watching it and shelved that. I wish I had not bought it because by
the time I think I'll be ready to go back to it, it will be streaming
for free.

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Yeah, Catastrophe has worked out much better, but the Worst is still OK.
I like Catastrophe and Casual.

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