This, along with the third season's "Out of Commission", are the first two watershed episodes in the series that would end on a note of sadness. And in the last season, more poignant conclusions would be the norm.
This episode's an emotional rollercoaster: it's got outrageous belly-laughs and an extremely sobering conclusion...the studio audience's moans fit the viewer's own as a disheveled Louie shuffles his way back into the garage to find Alex's shoulder to cry on. (If you listen closely, you can even hear a female studio audience member bawling out loud!) Writer Sam Simon and producer-creator James L. Brooks did some wise, last-minute doctoring of the script when an initial test audience was taken aback by the rough-draft script which had Louie emerge triumphant.
These developments were a part of the series' artistic growth at this point. The result puts this episode in my Top Five.
This episode's an emotional rollercoaster: it's got outrageous belly-laughs and an extremely sobering conclusion...the studio audience's moans fit the viewer's own as a disheveled Louie shuffles his way back into the garage to find Alex's shoulder to cry on. (If you listen closely, you can even hear a female studio audience member bawling out loud!) Writer Sam Simon and producer-creator James L. Brooks did some wise, last-minute doctoring of the script when an initial test audience was taken aback by the rough-draft script which had Louie emerge triumphant.
These developments were a part of the series' artistic growth at this point. The result puts this episode in my Top Five.
