[7.4/10] So for starters, I loved all the schtick around “The Block”. It’s such a pitch-perfect spoof of both prestige genre shows like Battlestar Galactica and Game of Thrones (and anticipates Westworld really well), and the discourse and fan theorizing around them. The MacArthurses’ recap of the major detail and theories of the series, and Pete’s shotgunning and obsessing over the show to impress his ref friends was delightful. Plus, Milo Ventimiglia as “Agent Baker” cracked me up in the actual spoof. As somebody who’s watched and written about tons of those sorts of shows, I loved that send-up of both the shows themselves and the fandom around them.
I’ll also say that while the idea of the obsessed, stalker-y one night stand falls into The League’s usual retrograde predilections, Casey Wilson is just too funny in the role to resist. Her wide-eyed insanity is straight up hilarious, and Paul Scheer does a nice job as a scene partner.
Taco “retiring from sex” due to concussions is pretty dumb, but the show managed to wring some good gags from it (particularly the checklist of symptoms and him responding to them), and the final payoff is pretty solid.
The only true dud in this one was Ruxin’s skype sex thing with his wife, but it was, at least, mercifully brief.
Overall, this was the best episode of the season, one that diverged a little from the show’s usual M.O. into spoofing big budget T.V. shows (with a few meta references to its own impending finale), in a move that really paid off creatively and comedically.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2019-10-21T04:24:14Z
[7.4/10] So for starters, I loved all the schtick around “The Block”. It’s such a pitch-perfect spoof of both prestige genre shows like Battlestar Galactica and Game of Thrones (and anticipates Westworld really well), and the discourse and fan theorizing around them. The MacArthurses’ recap of the major detail and theories of the series, and Pete’s shotgunning and obsessing over the show to impress his ref friends was delightful. Plus, Milo Ventimiglia as “Agent Baker” cracked me up in the actual spoof. As somebody who’s watched and written about tons of those sorts of shows, I loved that send-up of both the shows themselves and the fandom around them.
I’ll also say that while the idea of the obsessed, stalker-y one night stand falls into The League’s usual retrograde predilections, Casey Wilson is just too funny in the role to resist. Her wide-eyed insanity is straight up hilarious, and Paul Scheer does a nice job as a scene partner.
Taco “retiring from sex” due to concussions is pretty dumb, but the show managed to wring some good gags from it (particularly the checklist of symptoms and him responding to them), and the final payoff is pretty solid.
The only true dud in this one was Ruxin’s skype sex thing with his wife, but it was, at least, mercifully brief.
Overall, this was the best episode of the season, one that diverged a little from the show’s usual M.O. into spoofing big budget T.V. shows (with a few meta references to its own impending finale), in a move that really paid off creatively and comedically.