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Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

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Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Old 11-18-19, 10:04 AM
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Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20





Armando Ianucci, the man behind Veep, is reteaming with Hugh Laurie. Here’s what you need to know about their new space comedy.

What is it? Avenue 5 is a space tourism comedy set 40 years in the future when the solar system is everyone’s oyster. Hugh Laurie will star as the Captain, and with him in charge, nothing can go wrong.

Who’s in it? Laurie will play Ryan Clark, captain of space cruise ship Avenue 5. Suave, outwardly confident, controlled, and personable, Ryan is the man you want in charge of a crisis.

Josh Gad as Herman Judd, the billionaire face and name behind Avenue 5, and the whole Judd brand, including hotels, fitness clubs and space tourism. Judd is used to a life of luxury; his fortune was made from holiday resorts and he thinks he’s good at everything else. Terrible at science, he leaves that to the experts he employs to give him the answers he wants.

Zach Woods as Matt Spencer, head of customer relations. Despite being a nihilist, Matt is a nice guy who can’t wait to get to the end of his final cruise before promotion to a more senior role on Earth. He has a performance background, but gave up trying to make it as an entertainer years ago.

Nikki Amuka-Bird as Rav Mulcair, head of Judd Mission Control on Earth. Extremely intelligent, intense, and slightly odd, she is frustrated and exhausted by lack of control. Rav is racked with guilt at having sent her two best friends into space in an attempt to fix their failing marriage.

Rebecca Front as Karen Kelly, a born leader who illicitly boarded Avenue 5 using her sister’s non-transferable ticket. Strong-willed, articulate, likeable, Karen soon finds herself becoming the voice of the passengers, enjoying her newfound power.

Lenora Crichlow as Billie McEvoy, second engineer. Young, outspoken, smart, career-focused, but exhausted by responsibility, Billie loves building and fixing things. She is terrified of dying in space.

Suzy Nakamura as Iris Kimura, Judd’s right-hand-woman. Straight to the point, sharp and serious, Iris has a very particular sense of humor. Iris is a “fixer,” there to work out what Judd wants, even if it’s unclear, and make sure it happens whilst ensuring it doesn’t cause anyone or anything any harm.

Ethan Phillips as Spike Martin, elderly space enthusiast and former astronaut. Spike is a grizzled womanizer and heavy drinker who is also surprisingly good with kids. Spike thinks he should have a higher status due to his achievements as an astronaut, but not many people know who he is. He often boasts of being the first Canadian to land on Mars, which isn’t strictly true.

Who’s behind it? The series hails from Veep creator Armando Iannucci who will executive produce and direct the pilot. Kevin Loader, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche and Will Smith will also serve as executive producers.

Last edited by dex14; 01-19-20 at 07:32 AM.
Old 11-18-19, 10:56 AM
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re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Wow, that is some high-concept stuff. Will watch for sure but I don't know how they make that work for a series.
Old 11-18-19, 03:44 PM
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re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Looks like fun. I am down.
Old 12-09-19, 12:40 PM
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re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20


Last edited by dex14; 01-19-20 at 07:33 AM.
Old 01-19-20, 07:33 AM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Premieres tonight.
Old 01-19-20, 10:37 AM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

it's like Galaxy Quest: the series. it looks fun. i'll watch before new CYE...
Old 01-20-20, 11:07 AM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Outside of the scene where Laurie loses the American accent, I didn’t think this was very good. Gad’s character was annoying from the second he appeared on screen.
Old 01-20-20, 11:42 AM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

It didn’t do much for me either. I was pretty tired when I started it though. May try it again.
Old 01-20-20, 11:54 AM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

The trailer looks funny. Reminds me of The Orville. I'll watch it right after The Outsider.
Old 01-20-20, 12:10 PM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

I was very disappointed in the first episode. It thinks it's being funny, but it's not. Not at all like I would expect to see on HBO. More like a bad network sitcom. Not to mention all the bad science, i.e. people bouncing off a wall can move a spaceship 2 degrees off course? Plus they have a gravity field and they can't recover from this course correction? I know, I know. But still, there's only so much stupid one can overlook.
Old 01-20-20, 12:30 PM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Originally Posted by SteveA
I was very disappointed in the first episode. It thinks it's being funny, but it's not. Not at all like I would expect to see on HBO. More like a bad network sitcom.
Have to agree with this, especially the part about it feeling like you are watching a network sitcom which is about the worst thing it could be. At least it doesn't have a laugh track. I'll give it some time, but this was not a promising beginning.
Old 01-20-20, 12:31 PM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

This was all over the place in a "what the heck is going on here" kind of way.

Not sure why, but I'm still curious to see more. I'll give it a few episodes.
Old 01-20-20, 12:33 PM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Yea didn't love it either and even struggle to find a single thing to care about in entire episode.
Old 01-21-20, 07:47 PM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

I guess I'm "that guy" who enjoyed this and is looking forward to new eps.
Old 01-21-20, 07:56 PM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

I didn't think it was terrible by any means. Had some funny parts. I don't get why they can't fix the problem, though. Like, that ship has to have some sort of thrusters or something to veer them back on course. Doesn't make sense.
Old 01-21-20, 08:08 PM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

That sucks. I’ll give it a shot of course, but that sucks.
Old 01-21-20, 08:22 PM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

A bit better than I thought it would be. Not a big fan of sci-fi comedies, though. The two genres don't blend well for me, sort of like toothpaste and orange juice.

Agree the dilemma, above. I would think the ship would have some kind of ability of maneuver on its own and get itself back on course. Or they should be able to send out rescue ships to get everyone off the A5. And they probably should have had more personnel on board who can repair the ship instead of relying on Joe for everything.
Old 01-21-20, 10:56 PM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Everyone being obnoxious gets old fast on most sitcoms that try it. Idiots and assholes, what fun. Speaking of which: Josh Gad.

Old 01-22-20, 06:25 AM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Originally Posted by adamblast
Everyone being obnoxious gets old fast on most sitcoms that try it. Idiots and assholes, what fun. Speaking of which: Josh Gad.
Agreed. And, yeah, Gad was pretty much the low point of this.
Old 01-22-20, 07:09 AM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

I enjoyed this. Gad is the worst but Laurie and Woods are enough to keep me watching for now. I don't think I've seen Woods in anything other than Silicon Valley; love that he's playing a similar character here.
Old 01-23-20, 09:40 AM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Originally Posted by Giantrobo
I guess I'm "that guy" who enjoyed this and is looking forward to new eps.
There are at least two of us. But I also have enjoyed the new Star Wars and don't feel like I have been violated in any form from their existence.
Old 01-23-20, 10:19 AM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Originally Posted by Cusm
. . .I also have enjoyed the new Star Wars and don't feel like I have been violated in any form from their existence.
Trauma can take many years to surface, you've probably just blocked out what those bastards did to you.
Old 01-28-20, 12:45 PM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Ep2 wasn't much better than 1. The time delay between the ship and earth is already way overused. Gad is still terrible.

The coffin orbiting the ship gave me a chuckle.
Old 01-28-20, 12:53 PM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Yea, I'm out. If it somehow improves over the course of the season, maybe I'll swing back to it. But I don't want to waste my time now.
Old 01-28-20, 12:56 PM
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Re: Avenue 5 (HBO) -- from the creator of Veep -- S: Hugh Laurie -- premieres 1/19/20

Originally Posted by dex14
Yea, I'm out. If it somehow improves over the course of the season, maybe I'll swing back to it. But I don't want to waste my time now.
I'll stick around until Woods no longer provides laughs. His character in Silicon Valley carried that show to the end for me; might do the same here.

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