When Arrested Development Season 4 premiered on Netflix, my fiancee and I had a party, where all we did was binge watch the entire new season. This was the first time I had ever spent more than an hour or two watching television, and I thought I’d get on board this new trend. Thirteen (fantastic) episodes of Arrested Development later, I was physically feeling awful and adamant about swearing off binge-watching forever.
Since then, I’ve tempted to test the waters, but instead mastered the art of self-control. It took twelve, 20 minute episodes of BoJack Horseman to break my hiatus. Though it felt just as awful physically as my Arrested Development experience, I’m glad I took the plunge. Here are the many reasons why you should dig in and spend the next free weekend gorging yourself:
Premise: Many years after his hit sitcom Horsin’ Around, 90’s star BoJack Horseman (Will Arnett) teams up with ghostwriter Diane Nguyen (Allison Brie) for a tell-all memoir about his life. The two become friends, and form a social circle consisting of BoJack’s ex, Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris), his free-loading roommate Todd (Aaron Paul), and his frenemy Mr. PeanutButter (Paul F. Thompkins).
Watch It If You Like: Ugly Americans, Futurama, Arrested Development, Bob’s Burgers
Seasons: 1
View It on: Netflix
Wait…Isn’t That: The most magical thing about BoJack Horseman was that from the initial credits of Episode One to the end credits of the finale, there were big name voices all over. Let’s start with those credit sequences, as they are both created by some familiar names in indie rock music. The opening theme was created by Patrick Carney of The Black Keys and the catchy final credits sequence was the work of Grouplove. Cool, right?
Now, the main cast roster for this show is pretty incredible (see the premise section above for more), however the guest cast is just as fantastic. So I don’t ruin some of the main parts of the show early on, watch and see if you can catch the voice of Stephen Colbert, Naomi Watts (this isn’t hard), Keith Olbermann, Olivia Wilde, John Krasinski, and Kristin Chenoweth. There’s a ton more, but hint hint, the end credits and a quick Google Search will come in handy.
Favorite Character: The winner for this category is one-hundred percent Todd. Todd has many roles in the show but he is best known as BoJack’s free-loading housemate and best friend. I think the best part about Todd is that he looks and sometimes acts like a cartoon version of Jesse Pinkman. Which is absolutely epic given the fact that Aaron Paul voices him. Second best part about him would have to be his relationship with BoJack. Despite his inability to provide rent or clean up his messes, he means a lot to BoJack, which is something I hope they explore more next season.
A Close Second: Todd was definitely the best character overall. But a close second? That’s hard. All of the characters were great in different ways! I absolutely loved how some characters worked via their personality and others made an episode or two with the jokes they were associated with.
Hmmm…I guess if I had to choose, I’d pick Diane (voiced by Allison Brie). I always identify with the geeky, writer-types for obvious reasons.
Best Easter Egg: What makes BoJack Horseman so special was that there were over one hundred Easter Eggs hidden throughout the season. Some of these I caught pretty quickly, but others I needed to rewind and pause to really see. Though the latter sounds pretty annoying, it was actually a lot of fun to see the different jokes in it’s full form.
Buzzfeed did a comprehensive list of the hidden jokes throughout the season (Note: DO NOT click this until you watch the show). I looked through this after I watched the season, and I couldn’t pick just one. They all fit so perfectly in their own little ways. I guess if I had a broom to my head (yes, broom was done on purpose), I would choose the Orange is The New Black reference. I won’t say more for spoiler purposes, but I will say that I did get the most excited about this. If it’s wrong to want more drawn out Netflix crossovers in the future, I don’t want to be right.
The Best Episodes (Spoiler Alert!! We’ll try not to give too much away!):
Prickly Muffin (Episode 3)
This was the first episode where we were introduced to Sarah Lynn, BoJack’s the youngest of Bojack’s former co-stars from Horsin’ Around (voiced by Kristen Schaal). After a handful of years as an actress and pop singer, Sarah Lynn has resorted to drugs, partying, and dating “Andrew Garfield.” She’s dramatic, bratty, and self-obsessed, much like the former child stars of today. Schaal emulated that perfectly.
I think the best scene of the whole series happened in this episode when she reacted to “Andrew Garfield” breaking up with her by stabbing herself repeatedly, and then duct taping her insides together. I don’t think I laughed that much in a long time.
Live Fast, Diane Nguyen (Episode 5)
In this episode, Diane and BoJack go to Boston for Diane’s father’s funeral. This is where we meet Diane’s mother and three brothers. Aside from the fact that it’s one of the funnier episodes, this was one of my top because of all the Yankees/Boston Red Sox references. Cartoon Derek Jeter even makes a cameo!
Our A Story is a D Story (Episode 6)
Ah, the beginning to the recurring “Hollywoo” joke. For that alone, I am grateful for this episode. The “Diane Receives D” headline also makes an appearance, which is one of the best Easter Eggs of the show (probably a close second to the one I mentioned above).
Downer Ending (Episode 11)
About 50 percent of this episode, BoJack, Sarah Lynn, and Todd are on the most ridiculous drug binge. It was totally hilarious but also quite frightening. I don’t think I want to see any of these characters look like a monster again, ever.
Is it Worth the Marathon? As someone who was adamantly against binge-watching, I would take another weekend out and watch this again. The length is short, the plot is fun, and there aren’t really any cliffhangers – which makes it more of an enjoyable experience. While those were certainly pluses, I think what kept me hanging on was the hidden Easter Eggs. I don’t think I would have spent the entire day watching if they weren’t as good. The ability to resist the urge to catch them all is most definitely easier said than done.
