Review by Andrew Bloom

Veep: Season 1

1x05 Nicknames

7.1/10. In the early going, this strikes me as one of those shows where I watch and say "that's pretty clever" but rarely actually laugh. That's how I felt about the collection of Selina's nicknames, which were amusing enough, but never actually crossed the chuckle threshold. So it goes.

But I'm coming around on Jonah, so that's something! In some ways, Veep feels like a slightly more profane version of The Office set in Washington, and Jonah feels like this closest thing Veep has to a Dwight type character -- someone who's nominally an antagonist but so ridiculous and ultimately inept that he's just funny. Watching him and Dan pal around while Dan's trying to use him for information (an amusing character touch that his only personal relationships are for professional gain) and seeing Jonah get excited for the amount of bread he gets at a restaurant or demand nuts for sustenance at a metal concert was the funniest part of the episode.

There's some juice in the final decision where Selina has to break the tie in the Senate and decide whether to stick with her principals and get her clean jobs amendment passed, or be loyal to the President's wishes to focus on other legislation and vote against it. It's an interesting scenario, with the Amy vs. Dan dynamic rolling along apace with it.

Overall, perfectly solid television.

loading replies
Loading...