
The Good Place: how a sitcom made philosophy seem cool - pmoriarty
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jan/30/the-good-place-how-a-sitcom-made-philosophy-seem-cool
======
mcphage
To HN readers who are unaware of this show, let me just say: this is a Very
Good show. It's clever, and it's funny, and it's remarkably good-natured
despite the premise. It's full of blink-and-you'll-miss-them jokes, ridiculous
situations, and plenty of philosophy references. The plot frequently moves at
a mile-a-minute, so it never feels like it's stuck in a rut. The actors are
all wonderful. It's just really solid all around.

~~~
joezydeco
_It 's full of blink-and-you'll-miss-them jokes_

Another fan checking in. Here's a bonus if you missed it: writer Megan Amram's
list of restaurants for the Good Place. Don't read it if you haven't finished
Season 1.

[https://twitter.com/meganamram/status/913642289834090497](https://twitter.com/meganamram/status/913642289834090497)

------
philipkglass
This is the only show I'm currently keeping up with as new episodes come out,
via Hulu. Its wit and ability to make me laugh out loud is up there with the
first three seasons of Arrested Development, while featuring a fundamentally
_hopeful_ outlook on humanity. I also enjoy "terrible people" comedies like
Arrested Development and Seinfeld, but The Good Place (like the better Pixar
movies) reminds me that you don't have to be cynical to make smart comedy for
adults.

------
dvt
As a philosophy major, the show never ceases to put a smile on my face. And
Ted Danson is absolutely brilliant, as always. I would say, though, that
"philosophy" is a very broad field, and The Good Place basically deals solely
with ethics. We also have logic, metaphysics, epistemology, and so on (which
are all very interesting -- and probably deserve shows -- in their own
right!).

(The author also misinterprets existentialism, but that's beside the point.)

------
jeffmcmahan
I like the show. With that said, I have a bachelor's degree in philosophy, and
the show (i.e., the character Chidi) _mentions_ philosophers and concisely
recounts their views in broad strokes, but I can't recall an instance where it
invites the audience to understand an argument as such; more like, "Kant
thought X, so maybe we should X."

------
lsiebert
This, and Brooklyn Nine Nine have been smart, quirky, and good.

------
oceanghost
As a drug user, the first scene of the show is one of the most fantastic and
accurate descriptions of the ineffable effect of psychedelics.

