digitalsidhe

Overall, it's pretty fun. I can see why it's winning all kinds of awards and things.

I had thought that it would be a period piece in the vein of Mad Men — hey, it's set in the same city, and almost the same era. (I thought it started around 1961, but I was wrong; it's actually 1958. Close enough.) But it turns out not to be quite as firm about its period accuracy. Bits of modern slang creep in (like saying that such-and-so "is a thing"), and there is even a bit of breakdancing during the dancing at a wedding.

There are also some bits that edge almost toward musical comedy or musical drama — they don't quite have people bursting into song (except at parties where folks may sing along with music that's actually playing), but sometimes the soundtrack gets a little intrusive, and the motion of the camera and even the people seems almost choreographed, subtly, and it sort of detracts from the realism and gives everything a slightly dreamy, fantasy quality. I'm not sure if I mind that, but it definitely isn't what I was expecting.

Another slightly surprising aspect is that it's more of an ensemble show than I was expecting. While Miriam "Midge" Maisel is definitely the star and central character, a lot more time is devoted to her parents, her wayward husband, and even her manager and her husband's parents, than I was expecting.

There are feminist themes bubbling under the surface nearly everywhere, as the series examines women's roles in the late '50s. Even today, some people try to claim that women can't be comedians, but things were so much worse, in so many realms, back then.

There's a fair bit of lovely (vintage) New York City scenery (did the subway cars ever really look like that? My God!), and quite a few jokes that are aimed squarely at either New Yorkers or Jews. (One exchange in a synagogue is pure gold).

Lenny Bruce puts in a few appearances as Midge's sort of muse/mentor/guide, in a turn that skims the line of being too much, but doesn't cross it. And Midge's style of comedy is sort of Brucean, so it works.

Given the current popularity of the verb "to gaslight", it seems useful to note that the Gaslight Café was a real place in Greenwich Village in the '50s, and so the name is probably not some kind of weird reference.