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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2013 14:09:11 GMT -5
 A very wise man once said... that... ... I forgot... While there may be a lot of wisdom in the world, you won't find it on Burning Love. It's not the most famous, original or funny web series to ever transition to television, but it certainly has the most impressive cast spread out over its three seasons and it's never less than fun. While some choose to describe Burning Love as a parody, it's not the kind that needs intimate knowledge of the source material for maximum enjoyment. If you've seen just one episode of a Bachelor-type program, you're ready for Burning Love, as the tropes of the dating reality show have penetrated the pop culture mainstream repeatedly and thoroughly.
Shot in just nine days, the first season of Burning Love debuted on Yahoo! Screen, and made its way to E! in less than a year. Transitioning to cable, the 14 nine minute episodes now include some of the exclusive online content available at the web premiere of the show, with a total runtime of 22 minutes for each of the 7 episodes.
In the TV premiere, we're introduced to Ken Marino's Mark Orlando, a fireman looking for a soulmate who doesn't ask a lot of questions... because that's annoying. Marino is perfectly cast as the offensive and offensively stupid protagonist, as is Michael Ian Black as the douchey host of the faux reality program. As first glance, Burning Love is very much a family affair with deep roots in the cult classic The State. The show is directed by Marino, and was created by his wife Erica Oyama (who's previously written episodes for Childrens Hospital). It's co-produced Ben Stiller's production company, Red Hour. Stiller and wife Christine Taylor also make cameos as the previous season's happy couple.
With such a solid comedic team as its core, Burning Love has managed to attract a great cast and even A-list cameos (do you recognize the voice coming from the bear suit?). The mansion is populated with plenty of caricatures vying for Mark's fireman hose: the deeply Christian one (Kristen Bell), the damaged goods (June Diane Raphael), the perfect one (Abigail Spencer), the homeless one (Malin Akerman), the Fatal Attraction one (Beth Dover), the slutty one (Natasha Leggero), the blind one (Carla Gallo), and many more I shouldn't spoil for new viewers, including Community's Ken Jeong perfectly cast as... the hot one.
Spoofing a reality program that's turned itself into a parody could go wrong in many ways, but Burning Love finds the perfect tone. It doesn't linger on the jokes too much and doesn't reach for surrealism in the way Adult Swim shows like NTSF:SD:SUV or Eagleheart do. Sticking to the format is a strength here and you'll find yourself quickly invested in the competition aspect, hoping your favorite gets the hose again and again.
For a web series, Burning Love has excellent production values, and was not available in HD before the E! broadcast. An unfortunate side-effect of the web part is the lack of 5.1 audio, but the show makes up for it by perfectly replicating the audio and visual cues of the material it's spoofing.
Stray Observations
- "I'm just looking for love and I really think I'll find it on this TV show"
- "I love baking, happiness and giving", says Annie who is also addicted to sports
- Dental hygienists are always looking for love in all the wrong places
- "Can I steal you for a minute?"
- Blink and you'll miss the cameo by Burning Love creator Erica Oyama as the drunk nurse practitioner
- "Maybe the bear suit wasn't such a good idea"
- Whether you want to keep up with the Kardashians or not, the TV version forces you to, by scaling down the image for the all important E! news bar at the beginning of each episode. What was Lena Dunham tweeting in February 2013? The show has the answer to that and much more.
- The pictures for this review and the following are intentionally screencaps from the TV version, not promo images, because even though I'm a professional online journalist, I don't consider this a professional review
- If you'd like to watch Burning Love, but E!'s not rerunning S1 right now or you don't have Hulu Plus, a PM to me might be the best way to go.
- Are any of the characters direct and obvious parodies of actual The Bachelor contestants? Feel free to chime in with discussions on actual past contestants of the show.
Revisionist Take (doesn't contain actual spoilers, but if you'd like to avoid further discussion on the rest of the season, don't click)
Because the first episode takes place during the first night in the mansion, it fails to highlight the potential of the show. Once the challenges kick in, Burning Love truly takes off and develops its characters. As the season progresses, every cast member gets a chance to shine and there's a lot more to these ladies, and a lot less to Mark, than the premiere reveals.
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Pear
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Post by Pear on Nov 21, 2013 14:36:29 GMT -5
This show is amazing. I know I saw season 2 in its entirety, but I haven't seen season 3 yet and I don't even know what my status is with season 1. I'll definitely read along and participate, though; I found season one through other means, and I'll watch the first episode later. With such a solid comedic team as its core, Burning Love has managed to attract a great cast and even A-list cameos. The mansion is populated with plenty of caricatures vying for Mark's fireman hose: the deeply Christian one (Kristen Bell), the damaged goods (June Diane Raphael), the perfect one (Abigail Breslin), the homeless one (Malin Akerman), the Fatal Attraction one (Beth Dover), the slutty one (Natasha Leggero), the blind one (Carla Gallo), and many more I shouldn't spoil for new viewers, including Ken Jeong perfectly cast as the hot one.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2013 14:49:55 GMT -5
Would you forgive the fuck up if I told you I was on my second beer when I wrote it? I don't even know who Abigail Breslin is, but I've seen her mentioned on the AVC a lot so it must have stuck with me...
Also, since this is my first review, there might be other fuck ups too (like not enough stuff about the action in the episode maybe?), but I won't edit it anymore unless there's something factually wrong.
I will be more careful for the next ones.
Also, yes, Abigail turns something on inside me that reminds me of that scene in Eyes Wide Shut where Nicole Kidman describes how she'd abandon her family in a heartbeat for a hot sailor she just met. All Abigail would have to do is nod and I'll give up my entire life for a chance to hit that. She's like... Orlando Bloom hot!
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Pear
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Post by Pear on Nov 21, 2013 16:37:53 GMT -5
Your review's good; I don't usually nitpick, but I just wanted an excuse to talk about Abigail Spencer. Anyway, I think you touched on all the right notes here. The actual episode events usually don't take the forefront in a premiere anyway. It's more about introducing the characters and the overall feel of the show.
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MissBeaHaven
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Post by MissBeaHaven on Nov 22, 2013 9:33:57 GMT -5
Spoofing a reality program that's turned itself into a parody could go wrong in many ways, but Burning Love finds the perfect tone. It doesn't linger on the jokes too much and doesn't reach for surrealism in the way Adult Swim shows like NTSF:SD:SUV or Eagleheart do. Sticking to the format is a strength here and you'll find yourself quickly invested in the competition aspect, hoping your favorite gets the hose again and again.
Yes, yes! I love that it doesn't put a humongous exclamation point on the jokes, and it doesn't go way, way over the top. I do have fun with the spoofs that go for all the bombastic, scenery chewing caricatures, but I love this one specifically because it doesn't. I actually feel the same awkwardness I did when I've seen actual reality dating shows. I can't remember which show it was, it was so many years ago, but there was a fella who was truly being a casual racist in his remarks about a Latino woman. The host just glazed over it and didn't even acknowledge it. I love Michael Ian Black's character actually addressing Mark's casual racism, and awkwardly confronting his buffoonery directly. Don't you sometimes wish actual hosts did that more on reality shows? You're totally right about getting invested in the competition aspect. I haven't seen it in so long now, I can't remember how the 'Hose Ceremonies' go, so I'm excited to see how it all plays out again. My friend watched with me, she has never seen the show, and she already has her favorites (she's rooting for Agnes, big time, haha). I'm not sure if we're going to be able to resist skipping ahead. @odduck Did you laugh when Michael Ian Black hung inside the frame a little too long during the announcement of 'the final hose'? It's little things like that which set me off into hysterics. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2013 12:20:13 GMT -5
I love Michael Ian Black's character actually addressing Mark's casual racism, and awkwardly confronting his buffoonery directly. Don't you sometimes wish actual hosts did that more on reality shows? You're totally right about getting invested in the competition aspect. I haven't seen it in so long now, I can't remember how the 'Hose Ceremonies' go, so I'm excited to see how it all plays out again. My friend watched with me, she has never seen the show, and she already has her favorites (she's rooting for Agnes, big time, haha). I'm not sure if we're going to be able to resist skipping ahead. @odduck Did you laugh when Michael Ian Black hung inside the frame a little too long during the announcement of 'the final hose'? It's little things like that which set me off into hysterics. Yeah, but that's not happening anytime soon. If anything, contestants have the full support of the networks to get racist... for ratings (like on Big Brother). Boy, that Agnes, she's such a cougar! It's a great show to marathon, so I wouldn't hold it against you if you went ahead and finished it in a day... Michael Ian Black does quite a few things like that and he's still hilarious even in the background. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2013 12:57:20 GMT -5
Also, I don't believe Abigail Breslin was ever on the show. I think you're referring to Abigail Spencer. Also, here's a picture of Abigail Spencer because she's fucking gorgeous and talented--seriously, watch her in this and then watch Rectify. It's impressive.
I've only seen the first season of this show, but it is hysterical and I'm glad you're doing this, @odduck. Just wanted to add my love of Abigail Spencer. As I watched Rectify I couldn't even believe it was the same person from Burning Love. She absolutely is beautiful and extremely talented. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2013 13:08:40 GMT -5
Just wanted to add my love of Abigail Spencer. As I watched Rectify I couldn't even believe it was the same person from Burning Love. She absolutely is beautiful and extremely talented. I first discovered her during her Mad Men arc... I guess it was S1 or S2. And than brother of hers...  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2013 13:15:49 GMT -5
Just wanted to add my love of Abigail Spencer. As I watched Rectify I couldn't even believe it was the same person from Burning Love. She absolutely is beautiful and extremely talented. I first discovered her during her Mad Men arc... I guess it was S1 or S2. And than brother of hers... I looked her up and saw she was Suzanne on Mad Men, but I don't remember her. Also saw she's in Oz the Great and Powerful, which is burning a hole in my DVR right now as I haven't worked up the desire to watch it before now. Guess I'll have to rectify that soon. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2013 13:23:23 GMT -5
@ifwewait I'd like to see the kind of Oz where she rapes James Franco in a prison cell... But the other kind, I dunno if I'll ever get to it.
She was Sally's or Bobby's teacher on Mad Men... Had a thing with Don and an epileptic brother played by Marshall Allman.
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Kid Q
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bruised and cruised
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Post by Kid Q on Nov 23, 2013 21:02:12 GMT -5
Great review odduck. It will be good to revisit this series with you all. I can't believe how those bitches were so mean to poor Ballerina! I guess they couldn't handle a gal with something "extra." Here's to hoping Mark makes all the right choices.
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Smacks
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Smacks from the Dead
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Post by Smacks on Dec 3, 2013 12:14:42 GMT -5
Spoofing a reality program that's turned itself into a parody could go wrong in many ways, but Burning Love finds the perfect tone. It doesn't linger on the jokes too much and doesn't reach for surrealism in the way Adult Swim shows like NTSF:SD:SUV or Eagleheart do. Sticking to the format is a strength here and you'll find yourself quickly invested in the competition aspect, hoping your favorite gets the hose again and again.
Yes, yes! I love that it doesn't put a humongous exclamation point on the jokes, and it doesn't go way, way over the top. I do have fun with the spoofs that go for all the bombastic, scenery chewing caricatures, but I love this one specifically because it doesn't. I actually feel the same awkwardness I did when I've seen actual reality dating shows. I can't remember which show it was, it was so many years ago, but there was a fella who was truly being a casual racist in his remarks about a Latino woman. The host just glazed over it and didn't even acknowledge it. I love Michael Ian Black's character actually addressing Mark's casual racism, and awkwardly confronting his buffoonery directly. Don't you sometimes wish actual hosts did that more on reality shows? You're totally right about getting invested in the competition aspect. I haven't seen it in so long now, I can't remember how the 'Hose Ceremonies' go, so I'm excited to see how it all plays out again. My friend watched with me, she has never seen the show, and she already has her favorites (she's rooting for Agnes, big time, haha). I'm not sure if we're going to be able to resist skipping ahead. @odduck Did you laugh when Michael Ian Black hung inside the frame a little too long during the announcement of 'the final hose'? It's little things like that which set me off into hysterics. M.I.B. may just be my #1 favorite thing about this show. I love when he pops in at the end of the hose ceremony completely deadpan, barely moving his lips- "One hose left......" and then glides out of frame. |
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Smacks
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Post by Smacks on Dec 3, 2013 12:15:15 GMT -5
I love Michael Ian Black's character actually addressing Mark's casual racism, and awkwardly confronting his buffoonery directly. Don't you sometimes wish actual hosts did that more on reality shows? You're totally right about getting invested in the competition aspect. I haven't seen it in so long now, I can't remember how the 'Hose Ceremonies' go, so I'm excited to see how it all plays out again. My friend watched with me, she has never seen the show, and she already has her favorites (she's rooting for Agnes, big time, haha). I'm not sure if we're going to be able to resist skipping ahead. @odduck Did you laugh when Michael Ian Black hung inside the frame a little too long during the announcement of 'the final hose'? It's little things like that which set me off into hysterics. Yeah, but that's not happening anytime soon. If anything, contestants have the full support of the networks to get racist... for ratings (like on Big Brother). Boy, that Agnes, she's such a cougar! It's a great show to marathon, so I wouldn't hold it against you if you went ahead and finished it in a day... Michael Ian Black does quite a few things like that and he's still hilarious even in the background. Yep, I marathoned. Now to find season 2. |
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