Britt Englander
"The Spoils of Babylon" plays nicely off the sweeping tropes of sweeping television dramas of the sweeping past, mostly relying on silliness and the absurd--and, it has to be said, UK spoof series "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace". This is crystal clear from the episode introductions, supposedly looking back on one artist's tragically lost TV masterpiece, and from the low-budget opening title sequence and home-made establishing shots, which call to mind the "striking" approach to the obviously cardboard Darkplace Hospital.There are some wobbles to the concept here. While Darkplace maintained the trappings of a pitiful budget throughout, Spoils enjoys some stunning location shoots that don't quite make sense beside money-saving scale-model inserts. There is a similar competence on the part of the imaginary actors, who rarely chew the scenery quite as much as they might, whereas Garth's collection of pals were every bit as terrible as the show he built around them. However, the basic parody of the genre works and raises at least a smile along the way.
mocrash
Any fan of the Abraham-Zucker-Zucker send-ups who hated pretentious '70s mini-dramas should find some amusement in "The Spoils of Babylon." There's a ridiculousness to the entire project, including its heavy promotion, that plunges deeply into absurdity. This is parody that produces chuckles rather than guffaws, and the humor is in the details. Effort was expended to make every scene excessively cheesy, although when sustained at this extreme level can dull the senses. An excellent cast can be commended for executing such ludicrous material in the straight deadpan manner required.This is a show that doesn't work for those needing their satire to be clever or witty. Instead, TSOB bludgeons the viewer with the preposterous, from the overblown melodramatic dialog to the intentionally fake props and special effects to the blatant references to previous directorial styles.To best appreciate TSOB, take it at face value and don't expect more than what it is, which is unadulterated spoof without refinement or sophistication.
DSlayd
Simply stated, the first 2 episodes of this mini-series have entertained me and made me laugh were very little else has of late.There is a lightness and subtleness to the comedy that I really appreciate. The look, feel, lighting and soundtrack are perfect. Despite it being 2014, the use of models has a refreshing honesty.I am not a huge Will Ferrell fan, but his intro\outros fit well. You do get tones of SNL. However, where SNL skits bore and wander, this show is continually moving.When you consider the amount of tripe on TV from reality shows, laugh queue sitcoms, rich kid\witch\vampire\alien\werewolf\mutant teen melodramas and "learning" shows voiced by monster truck announcers over metal soundtracks...how can one not enjoy such a refreshing and creative 22 minutes of entertainment? Truly.
kcninesling
Totally unfunny vanity project for the absolutely untalented Will Ferrell. If this is supposed to be a send-up of the mini-series craze of the 1970s and 1980s, it's about two decades too late. Cartoonish, silly, downright predictable. I watched the first two episodes in order to give it a chance, in hopes that it would develop, but, it got worse as it went on. Seems that they ran out of ideas about mid-way through the second segment. I came to ask myself, "Why am I watching this? I could be doing something much more entertaining, like doing the dishes or cleaning out the catbox." You'd think with all the money Tobey Maguire makes that he'd spring for a bottle of shampoo. Sad to see someone like Tim Robbins reduced to appearing in a piece of dreck like this. And, the rest the cast? Well, a cadre of has-beens and never-was. What passes for funny among present generation television producers, directors, writers and audiences is pretty sad.
AD
