As a fan of comedy and comedians, I had some mix of reservation and interest going into this show. I watched on the glowing recommendation of an online personality I listen to often, but I knew very little going in.

The apprehension I initially felt has proven to be well-founded. When I say I'm a fan of comedy and comedians, I don't just mean I like to laugh. Comedians, as a group of people, tend to be a fairly tight-knit dysfunctional family of very flawed people who respect the drudgery their colleagues have had to deal with. I listen to several comedians' podcasts and radio shows, not to hear their comedy--in fact quite often their podcasts aren't what one would consider comedy at all--but rather to hear their passion and their stories. They're interesting people. And one thing that I've heard time and time again from comedians over the years is that movies and shows about stand-up comedians that do not star actual, experienced stand-up comedians are horribly cringe-inducing. They say there's something about the feigned "delivery" of a person who has rehearsed not only the joke as written, but their reaction to the crowd, whose reaction has also been scripted...you can't really capture the organic flow of the give-and-take of a comedy set...the timing, the genuine-yet-subtle buoying of the comedian's energy when a joke lands just right, the quiet panic as a performer tries to rewrite his whole act when he feels like the audience hasn't bought his starting premise. To hear comedians talk about it, this very symbiosis is the whole thing. It's everything.
I was disappointed, after seeing the main character of the show get on stage and perform a couple of times, to see just how right the comedians were. When you script and block and rehearse and edit and sound design a comedy routine as delivered by someone who has nothing on the line, you're left with more of a "reenactment" of comedy--something that feels as cheap and real as the badly-yet-maybe-intentionally-so-produced reenactments on "Rescue 911" type shows. It's a disappointment to see, because the enjoyment of the character and the story arc is dependent on believing that this person is so naturally funny, so gifted, that a career in stand-up was inevitable. Anyone can rehearse a particular type of routine enough to have a passable one-off performance. But Brosnahan's character is no more believable as a natural-born comedian than formerTexas Governor Rick Perry is as a natural-born dancer . Simply learning a dance by rote and repetition over several grueling sessions with a professional dancer/instructor on DWTS doesn't make Rick Perry a dancer. It makes him a novelty, which is its own brand of entertainment. But when your whole premise relies on buying the character's genuine natural calling, it falls short.

Aside from that, which is enough to make me abandon the show after giving it about a half season try, I have to agree with what several other reviewers have said: the first 2/3 of the first episode is painful to watch in nearly every way imaginable. The opening monologue at the wedding was horrid, not just because of the aforementioned artificiality of it, but because the jokes and delivery were so try-hard and forced, I would genuinely feel uneasy and bothered by anyone hamming it up that hard at any social event--much less her own wedding. If you were that into yourself, it would be no surprise to anyone to learn later that you supposedly had a "comedic genius" inside just screaming to be let loose--you'd be shouting it at every stranger on the street, because that monologue could only have been delivered by a seriously obnoxious narcissist.

Though I agree that the first episode got better toward the end (until the cringe-y stand-up set and the gratuitous nudity, as others have mentioned), I also need to point out that the overwrought "Jewish Family craziness" tropes are absolutely exhausting. I have no first-hand knowledge of the finer points that some reviewers have pointed out regarding "no Jew would ever do this on that day, would know this about that person, would say this about that situation in this time, etc..." But what I do know is that the family dynamic seems to be whipped up into a caricature-like froth that gets agitated too often to let it breathe for a minute. Is it possible that Jewish families are really like this? I have my doubts that it is consistently this extreme, but if it is, I felt a little "left out" by it, thinking that only someone who has lived in a very similar situation would truly be able to relate enough to enjoy the cathartic experience of "YES. THIS is the madness of my family!" Perhaps to someone who is closer to that, it's enjoyable. For me, it simply felt like parody.

The one performance that cut through the stereotypical noise for me was Tony Shalhoub, with a darker angst and more bite than I'm familiar with in the world of the "Crazy Jewish Family" tropes. His performance would seem singular and sharp against any family dynamic in any time or setting. It's quite literally a standout performance, as his portrayal of Abe is brooding, stern, and yet somehow, in his unapproachability, he is utterly believable as someone whose respect people would yearn for. Honorable mention goes to Kevin Pollack--a real stand-up, incidentally--who does a fine job as a much more predictable "hard-nosed self-made Jewish New York seamster caught between the old world and the new" character. There's a depth of character built into Moishe's character archetype that is laid on a little thick in his introduction, but that hopefully he "earns" through the course of the series. Unfortunately, I won't be sticking around to watch it.

A last word about the star of the show, Rachel Brosnahan: I'm not that familiar with her work. She is adorable, and I think fully capable of carrying a show like this. I just don't care for her character. That's not to take nothing away from her as an actress or a person, or even her performance in the role. Even my criticism of the comedy bits she performs isn't about her so much as it is about the act itself of "simulating" comedy. She seems to have decent chops as an actress, and I look forward to seeing more of her in the future, hopefully in roles I can settle in with a little more comfortably.

I finally located my original Fire TV remote (I had been trying, unsuccessfully, to use the apparently identical remote that came with the Fire TV Stick as a replacement for the original remote that came with the Fire TV Box. Not only was the "Stick remote" ineffectual with the Fire TV Box but, even after going through 5-6 fresh batteries, it failed to register with the Fire Stick. Suddenly restored to the two essential components of the fastest and most potent streaming box, I was empowered and hungry for trying out new Prime products--including this pilot episode.

To cut to the chase, this film and its explosive eponymous central character made an impact equivalent to Steve McQueen's celebrated car chase in "Bullitt." The opening shot is pure genius, immediately placing the new bride in the center of the invited guests attending her wedding reception. Not only is the shot a "grabber"--how often does the bride deliver her own toast on her wedding day?--but it foreshadows the position of independence and authority that we sense she's destined--by the sheer force of her wit, elocution, and commanding presence--to occupy as the successful stand-up comic who steps in to fill void when her schlemiel-husband suddenly goes AWOL. (Mention is made of his having an adulterous affair though, to be fair to him--as the father for their two children who is devoted above all to moonlighting as a nascent, faltering entry in the fiercely competitive world of stand-up comedy--his unexpected, drastic action might be traceable to a realization that compared to his ultra competent and supportive wife, it's no contest: he's a distant 2nd banana. (Perhaps we'll see him again down the line. TBA.)

Not many women leads are successful at carrying a dramatic series let alone a comedic one. (Let's see, there was Lucy, then Carol Burnett, then Whoopi? then Melissa? then . . .?) Rachel Brosnahan (and this pilot is my introduction to her) simply lights up the screen with an energy that's likely to make many sit-com haters reconsider their biases against the genre (I think the predictably-timed, unprovoked, unearned "laugh tracks" have contributed to the demise of TV sitcoms as much as any other single factor).

There's a point at which "energetic" ceases to be a commendation and signifies little more than "loud, shrill and boring." Kids running around, or adults trying to act like kids. The beauty of this show (or its script, editing, and lead actor) is that it has the power to energize without seeming to try. It doesn't mistake mere movement or fast talk for humor let alone energy. The laughs are "earned," and there's no laugh track.

Only the final several minutes of the pilot episode proved puzzling--initially, that is. A male acquaintance appears in a cab and shortly afterwards in the hall of the jail where Miriam Maisel has been booked for indecent exposure as a stand-up comic (unwittingly, at this stage), then released--all at the same time that the cab acquaintance--a compulsive fledgling comic, himself--is experiencing the same.. At first, the detail may seem out of place with in a smart series with an ultra competent, even amazing (but never simply "maaahvelous"), star. On the other hand, when the viewer comes to his senses about the period setting--1958--the "detail" is neither small nor irrelevant. Early on, reference was made to a "hot new comic" by the name of Mort Sahl. Who could top the politically relevant and ceaselessly topical Sahl but the legendary comic who pushed the envelope, broke all the rules of propriety, and became the vanguard of a new breed of "counter-cultural" stand-ups? Only one person could fit that description, and certainly it's no coincidence that, as we learn in this closing scene, his first name is "Lenny." (For younger viewers or for those who have come directly from Lucy to Miriam Maisel, his last name is another first name--one that rhymes with "spruce.")

This is a smartly-written script placed on the shoulders on an actress who is as accomplished in the competitive craft of acting as Miriam Maisel is in the performance art of stand-up comedy.

I put off watching this pilot . I wasn't interested. The '50's and '60's comedy era was one I was brought up in, plus as post WWIII in America, it was standard hype to make Americans believe that all good wives tried to be, and were taught to be, so perfect as wife's and mother's. Not a hair out of place, the perfect meals, the perfect house, the perfect sex life, the perfect children. This appeared to be THAT era of hogwash. It turned me off, along with much of the comedy. Still, one day I ran out of things to watch. So I started this pilot when there was nothing else I hadn't already seen on Amazon Prime (who doesn't like "free" TV?). I certainly wouldn't pay for anything, unless, I was desperate. Well, watching 15 minutes of this brought back all that was wrong with those two decades socially. I stopped after those 15 minutes into the first episode. Today, months later, I got desperate again. I just finished Bosch season 3. I had seen Justified, all 7 seasons, twice, The Hand of God, which I loved, Sneaky Pete, season 2...Amazon has some good stuff. But I had run out of good stuff, or so I thought. I wanted good entertainment. I work hard. I want to be entertained like I have a brain and taste. I noticed, for the first time that The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, had a rating of 8.7. Never noticed that before. Pretty good rating. Okay, I'd give it a try again. I watched it all the way through! You guessed it, I loved it! I can't wait for the first full season. And the 2nd full season and the 3rd. I'll binge watch it to death! Maybe I'll wait a year and watch all the seasons (after they come out and I have seen them once) a second time. This is going to be a terrific series. The pilot leaves you with a determination, a new lease on life, a belief in this woman and in yourself--that she (and you) can do anything you set your mind to do amid the most disastrous thing life throws you. How can that not be worth an 8.7? The positivity finally got me. That's what became the bottom line (of course, the characters, the writing and the acting is top notch). Watching something that inspires and creates positivity (that isn't a self-help group, movie, class, book...whatever) in my own life instead of spending too much time watching reruns is a good thing. Mrs. Maisel has different talents than I do; however, it is the fact she doesn't see them until she needs them that is most interesting, to me. Those talents, having been there all along, rise to the surface of her consciousness when she needs them the most-- which gives the audience the belief that we all have such talents waiting in the wings to carry us higher than we ever dared hope to go. All that needs to happen first is some 'tragedy' to wake us up and take us away from the mundane mediocracy of what of we think we want and into the exploration of the powerful gifts we have inside ourselves, and the strength to use them to go where we never dreamed of going. This looks like it will be a delightful, inspiring and intelligent series that does not get bogged down in emotional repercussions of life's tragedies. It epitomizes the phrase; "...I fall down, I get up, I keep on dancing..."

For a long time now, I have felt like some sort of victim of a major disconnect between the majority of today's current legion of "sparkling" comedy and "original" drama shows on offer to people like myself,who are "over a "certain age". And I suspect that I am far from alone in this conclusion. As a white convent-bred Catholic who grew up in the forties and fifties, I feel as if my generation has been consigned to a demographic that is so invisible to today's society and our economic and political "powers that be" the people of my age and background might as well not exist. With all that said,,when I started watching "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", I honestly did not expect to like it, let alone find it entertaining. However, I did enjoy it very and am actually looking forward to the next episode; (if there is one}. Another reviewer stated that they found the first 35 minutes or so "dull and boring" but I actually enjoyed the whole thing. Although I do agree that it was a bit long. However, to me, as a viewer who spent the formative years of my life as the only Catholic member of a distant upper class British Protestant family, I viewed the proceedings as a, delightful example of the best kind of Jewish humor.. While jokes about Jewish women's foibles abound, one of my faviorites asks, rather plaintively, why a Jewish girl will never consent to a colostomy. The punchline, "Because she can never find a pair of shoes to match the bag", is such a spot on description of Miriam Maisel's antics, I felt like going back and watching the episode all again. Part of the reason why I enjoyed this pilot so much is because my father's second wife was exactly like Miriam and her mother. He married her when I was eight and when I would stay with them occasionally,as part of the split custody agreement between him and my mother, she and I drove each other nuts. Personally, I found this pilot delightful and look forward to seeing more episodes. One caution to the writers, however. Please, please leave current "hot buttons" like abortion out of.your plots. When I saw a review that there was going to be an abortion episode on the Gilmore Girls", for instance, , that show was instantly added to my "Do Not Watch" list. Like anyone else, while I have my own strong opinions on such issues, as a matter of common courtesy, if foir no other reason, comedy show like this are neither the time nor the place to air them. I'm giving this episode five stars because I enjoyed it so much, From the first time I saw her, I have been a huge Joan Rivers fan,. (may she rest in peace), and I can see where this might constitute an appropriate tribute to her and such female comedy pioneers of my generation as the late, great Phyllis Diller..

In addition to being funny, this show provides a fairly accurate slice of New York life in the late fifties. Miriam Maisel is indeed a perfect--brilliant, funny, and beautiful--26 year old mother who, despite the opinions of her parents, is not bereft just because her husband leaves her. She gets a job and a hobby (standup comedy) but her parents and in-laws are more more motivated than she is to reconcile with Joel, the husband who left her, perhaps for another woman or perhaps because she wasn't supportive enough of *his* standup comedy aspirations.
The sets alone should make any native New Yorker of a certain age--they re-created B. Altman's main floor!--eager to watch.
In addition to the references and performances of other standup comedians (after sixty years, all impersonators, naturally) there are slices of New York politics of the period, including a great slap at Robert Moses' failed effort to build a highway across Lower Manhattan.
The routines which Mrs. Maisel performs, except for the intentional "bombs" are hilarious, so this is a show for any comedy fan.
Note that there is a "TV-MA" rating, there for a reason: There is nudity, profanity and you will hear sexual references. It's sad that adults who don't have an interest in adult material would watch a few minutes of this and then post a negative review. (I also can't help thinking that said reviewers are still living in the fifties, and would be judging their adult children just as the parents and in-laws do in this show).
Those who suggest that the details of this show are less than spot on? Well, both Joan Rivers and Phyllis Diller--maybe others--incorporated their husbands and families into their acts, although perhaps not as accurately as Midge does, and Midge's "outing" another female comic for banking on a totally fake persona could easily be imagined.
That girls were raised to be wives and mothers, whose husbands were failures if wives had to work, is certainly accurate for the post-WWII era, as is a wife's being shielded from the details (or even the big picture) of the family budget. That Midge works in a department store is especially resonant: a woman I knew who walked into The World's Largest Store nearby during this decade, seeking to buy furniture on credit, was told that this store only granted credit to women who worked there. (So she marched up to the personnel office and obtained employment, which she retained for a could of decades, until volunteer work interested her in attending law school).
Finally, since I've been to the Upper West Side apartments of several tenured professors--apartments just as amazing as that of Miriam's parents--that element also rings totally true.

If there ever was a series written to address the issues of women in our current time, it is is this one. And it is set in 1958.

Firstly, this is not a series to watch with your children. The comedy is dirty, there is a perfectly obscene amount of cursing, there is some nudity (but boy is it ever...!!!), and the satire is subtle yet jarring. Secondly, this is not something you have to watch for every detail, but it is set to please the eyes. I say this because the dialogue is dense, in the Palladino style, but the direction and design is sumptuous, much like Mad Men. The hats alone mesmerized me. But unlike Mad Men, where the women are quiet and reserved, Mrs. Maisel is the spitfire that we need to point out how ridiculous the world was/is.

The series itself has exceptional guest parts: Wallace Sean, Jane Lynch, etc... but what really makes it are the stand up routines by Mrs. Maisel. Let's be honest here, there is a fear that the Palladinos would create a series that would lack a self-awareness that would detract from how good the series could be. And it's not perfect-- it's only 8 episodes so the plot needed some containment- but it's not so deeply flawed that it's not digestable. In other words, the Palladino bubble created isn't so perfect that it can't be popped, or at least pricked to let some of the nitrous out for some levity-- which, I can only hope that the Palladinos have brung in writers for season 2 to possibly push the boundaries slightly. And it's because of the stand up sets-- because Ms. Brosnahan embodies her so clearly-- that any of this works. She isn't a wallflower, she never was, and she never will be.

This show is binge-worthy for any GG fan but it's not without seriousness. Watching it was a reminder that 60 years ago, the issues remained the same for many women and for men. Joel isn't perfect, but he is human, fleshed out with the insecurities of adulthood and what it means to mean what you mean when you mean it. And his insecurities, fleshed out and nuanced was a relief to me, because I didn't want to be Team Logan/Jess. I just want to be Team Mrs. Maisel.

And this show fits the bill.

I've just watched 4 episodes the same as the NY Times critic watched and while James Poniewozik wrote a sort of rave, it was in the NY Times undercut style. He didn't just come out and say he loved it, he sort of said he loved it. I on the other hand LOVED IT! I've waited months for this series after watching the pilot and raving then and now here it is and I'm taking some time watching it, savoring what seems to me the best T.V. I've watched since, well Mozart in the Jungle. I have never watched Gilmore Girls but after 4 episodes of Mrs Maisel I'm planning to "discover" Amy Sherman Paladino for several years of Gilmores.
But back to The Marvelous Mrs Maisel: Rachel Brosnahan is amazing as Mrs Maisel: she is funny, sad, electric and a joy to have on the screen She is surrounded by a dozen or more great actors doing great work (Tony Shaloub is in Monk form as her dad) especially Luke Kirby as my idol from the 50s Lenny Bruce. I find Rachel's discovery of herself to be similar to my own coming of age in the late 50s and early 60s. I'm now 76 and I saw Lenny Bruce when I was 18 at a club in Jersey and he started with 300 in the audience on a Good Friday and Passover and in 30 minutes he had cleared the room of 300 hypocrites to 60 of us who would have followed him to anywhere. Mrs Maisel has Lenny's bite. When she finds her ex husband (who stole Bob Newhart routines for his own failed comedy tries) living with his secretary she says, "so you left me for the Methodist version of me"! As she hands their son over to him she says "Don't have him baptized before I pick him up!"
I think if you give this show a chance you will love it and I say that as an actor who did over 200 T.V. shows including Seinfeld, Cheers, Alice, Night Court and others. I think I know comedy as both an audience and as a performer and I tell you this is a winner. Watch it. You will be begging Amazon for more. I am.

**MILD SPOILERS ABOUT THE FINAL EPISODE**

I have very mixed feelings writing this review. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a GREAT show and one that I will encourage friends and family to watch. However, the finale was a let down for me and reminded me that this show is Amazon's attempt to be simultaneously feminist yet not ground-breaking. TMMM is a *mostly* feminist show that appeals to a wide audience, which is an admittedly difficult task. Nevertheless, in the wake of canceling Good Girls Revolt last year, it's clear that TMMM was an attempted replacement...and it falls short of that feat. TMMM is safe, as evidenced by the finale where Midge decides that she wants to get back together with Joel. I know that it's hard to turn a man away who you still love (reminder - she told her dad that she still loves Joel) but who also hurt you and doesn't deserve to still be your husband anymore, but it's possible. The show didn't wrestle with that struggle in a realistic manner. Instead of depicting Midge thoroughly contemplating the decision to get back together, or even the bolder option of her declaring their *romantic encounter* a final fling, the show opted to give Joel the power to end/not end the relationship. Specifically, it's implied that after seeing Midge's performance, he will finally divorce her. Yet, from Midge's perspective, she still thinks they are close to reconciling, setting her up as a "weak woman" after spending an entire season showcasing her strengths - weak for so quickly declaring they will get back together, weak for being prey to the assumed additional hurt he will cause her next season, etc. This pisses me off because Midge rightfully should have had more control in this situation. The finale took her power over her divorce away from her and I found that upsetting. Additionally, none of the female characters other than Susie talk about anything but men, meaning that this show barely passes the Bechdel test. I really hope that the second season fleshes out its females characters even more and quickly fixes the power imbalance in Midge's marriage. I know it's the 1950s, but this show is supposed to be feminist and again, it *mostly* is. It just needs to go a few steps further to catch up with the groundbreaking storytelling and thoughtfulness from Good Girls Revolt and similar efforts.