Rarely has an insider tip in the series been such a piñata: “The Good Place” is a must for comedy fans and is now being released for home cinema. Some episodes get an extended cut.
He created “The Office” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, but had even more up his sleeve: in 2015, Michael Schur presented a concept for a new comedy series to the US broadcaster NBC. He presented his idea in one sentence: “We’re making a sitcom that takes place in the afterlife – and it’s about a woman who learns utility ethics and philosophy there.” yawn. Sounds like school lessons? After dry educational television? Not even close!
In fact, that idea turned into one of the smartest yet funniest series ever made. With us it went down a lot on channels like ProSieben Fun and SIXX, it is currently not available in streaming. But if you still want to see it – and I can only recommend that to every series fan – you can now buy it in the old-fashioned way on DVD and Blu-ray. We’re talking about “The Good Place” – in German “Der Grünenbereich”, that’s what the hereafter is called – as viewers learn here – in this series. Contrasted with the Red Area, “The Bad Place”, Hell.
Buy “The Good Place” Season 1 on Blu-ray for €18.99 from amazon.de
Confusion in the Afterlife: What is ‘The Good Place’ About?
Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) is dead. She dies in an accident. Suddenly she wakes up in the Good Place and meets Michael (Ted Danson) there. He is an angel of God tasked with establishing the Green Realm. Eleanor learns from him that the afterlife is structured differently than the world religions assume: only the best people who have ever lived come into the green area: people who have improved the lives of thousands through their humanitarian work. Only less than one percent of all people end up here – the rest of humanity goes into the red zone and suffers agony there.
The Green Zone is designed as a small, tranquil neighborhood that perfectly caters to the interests of all residents. In addition, everyone will find their perfect soul mate in the Good Place, with whom they also live. Eleanor’s soulmate is the late ethics professor Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper). But problems suddenly arise in the green area: giant ladybugs devastate the cities, garbage rains from the sky. Michael can’t explain all this. But Eleanor has a possible answer – and lets Chidi in on her secret: she ended up in Good Place by mistake!
The woman everyone thinks she is is another Eleanor Shellstrop who is now burning in hell. The Eleanor in the Green, on the other hand, has been a selfish, vain, and ruthless person all her life. So there was a mix-up that nobody noticed – but the afterlife itself fights back against the intruder. So that Eleanor doesn’t get caught and the events calm down – without her having to go to hell – Chidi and she develop a plan: He gives her ethics and philosophy lessons and teaches her how to become a blameless human being, his own deserves a place in the green area. It really can’t go wrong, can it? Oh but!
Ethics and humor go hand in hand
A series like “The Good Place” is actually too good to be true: it has an innovative concept, lovable characters, shows unique situations and is also educational and clever. Of course, everything stands and falls with the questions: How entertaining can a series that takes place in the afterlife be? How funny are 13 episodes that deal with philosophy and ethics? One can only assure unbelievers: It works – somehow. The exact secret recipe is still a little inexplicable after 13 episodes. Michael Schur and his team of authors succeed in an impressive way in coming up with one ingenious idea after the other from the scenario. Would you like an example? Since the green area is sacred, you cannot curse there. The vulgar Eleanor is therefore constantly heard saying phrases like: “What a disc!”, “What the Duck?” or “I think that’s really busy!” – Of course, she also notices that she doesn’t “swear properly”, which only makes her angrier.
At the same time, they take the ethics component of the series seriously: Chidi explains to Eleanor the principle of utilitarianism, i.e. the ethics of utility according to Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill Chidis can muster enthusiasm. However, the series conveys the core of its subjects very well. Each episode has a small background story in which Eleanor is faced with a problem and learns through a new philosophical maxim how to behave correctly. This makes “The Good Place” the perfect series for the whole family: the humor and the many references to religions, historical events or pop culture are a treat for older viewers, the children also learn something new – and since Eleanor doesn’t really swear allowed, the series has its own built-in protection of minors.
Touching moral: We all deserve the Good Place
This enchanting series is carried out by famous actors. Of course, Kristen Bell has to be commended. The former “Veronica Mars” icon is sensational in the difficult leading role, her comedy timing is gifted, her chemistry with Chidi actor William Jackson Harper is phenomenal. But Ted Danson deserves all the superlatives, who single-handedly made “The Good Place” a sensation: The series actor became known through the legendary sitcom “Cheers”, was the star in the successful series “Becker” and was with “CSI for a long time : Vegas” and “CSI: Cyber”. How he turns Michael into a morally stuffy as well as comedic-pointed character, how he plays the balls to his co-stars with inimitable presence is incredible. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Thanks to Bell and Danson, “The Good Place” can also be very touching. Many small moments in the first season have a genuinely humanistic touch that can disarm the most cynic and move them to tears. “The Good Place” discusses with wit and reason what it means to be human and what this abstract concept of the “soul” actually means. She emphasizes that each of us has the potential to change. Each of us can love, sympathize, laugh and give comfort. And that’s why every one of us, even a character as arrogant and reclusive as Eleanor, deserves a spot in the Green.
No streaming possible – but now on DVD & Blu-ray
It’s worth buying the series on DVD or Blu-ray, even for those who already know “The Good Place”. The issue of JustBridge Entertainment has some episodes in extended cuts on board, i.e. with additional scenes that were never broadcast in this way – and in which Ted Danson in particular can really shine. Extended cuts have long been a standard home theater practice for films, but such extended cuts are rare for series. All the better that it hits a series where every additional second is pure gold.
In fact, the 13 episodes of the first season that have now been released on Blu-ray are just the tip of the iceberg. Overall, “The Good Place” has made it to four seasons with a total of 53 episodes. Series fans can now only pray that the remaining three seasons will also find their way into home cinema. Anyone who loves funny, soulful and intelligent shows, and likes to have a little pretentiousness in their entertainment, can’t help but fall helplessly into The Good Place.
This content first appeared on TVSPIELFILM.de.
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