BoJack Horseman (season 1)

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BoJack Horseman
Season 1
BoJack Horseman.jpg
Season 1 promotional poster
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes12
Release
Original networkNetflix
Original releaseAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)
Season chronology
Next →
Season 2
List of episodes

The first season of the animated television series BoJack Horseman premiered exclusively via Netflix's web streaming service on August 22, 2014.[1] The season consists of 12 episodes.[2]

While the first half of the season received mixed reviews, the second half of the season received much more positive reviews. Ben Travers of IndieWire believed one possible reason for mixed reviews of the show was critics reviewing only the first half of the season. Many critics cited the eighth episode "The Telescope" as being the turning point of the season, with it changing drastically in tone and developing a darker, deeper meaning.[citation needed] This change was so drastic it resulted in IndieWire changing its policy to only review entire seasons of shows on Netflix, instead of just the first six episodes, which would have boosted BoJack Horseman's C+ grade.[3] This change in perception is starkly noticeable in the show's other seasons, which received critical acclaim on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.

Cast and characters[]

Main[]

Recurring[]

Guest[]

Episodes[]

See also: List of BoJack Horseman episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateProd.
code
11"BoJack Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Story, Chapter One"Joel MoserRaphael Bob-WaksbergAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)101
BoJack Horseman is a washed-up television actor whose only successful venture is the 1990's sitcom Horsin' Around. As he makes no progress on his upcoming memoir, his publisher, Pinky Penguin, assigns him ghostwriter Diane Nguyen. At the same time, BoJack's layabout roommate Todd has run afoul of a Mexican cartel leader. To repay him, he promises to throw his daughter a quinceañera, and uses BoJack's house without his permission. At the party, BoJack meets Diane, who he quickly bonds with and finds himself attracted to, before learning, to his horror, that she is dating BoJack's rival sitcom star, the overtly cheerful Mr. Peanutbutter.
22"BoJack Hates the Troops"J.C. GonzalezRaphael Bob-WaksbergAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)102
BoJack comes under fire when he gets in a fight with Neal McBeal, a Navy SEAL (who is an actual seal) over a box of muffins at a supermarket, then indirectly calls American soldiers "jerks" during an interview. Diane and Todd sneak him out of his house when the press refuses to leave him alone, and take him to Mr. Peanutbutter's house during a filming of his reality show. Mr. Peanutbutter suggests using the show as a platform to publicly apologize to McBeal. During the apology, Todd fails to obtain the muffins that BoJack was supposed to give as an apology, and BoJack ends up giving McBeal a bag of stale hamburger buns. Initially furious, McBeal starts to calm down when BoJack passes the buns off as a metaphor, his speech turning into a rant before it gets cut off by Mr. Peanutbutter, capturing everyone's attention by getting a bucket stuck on his head. BoJack finds Diane on the roof and tells her that he is ready to be honest with her so she can write about him.
33"Prickly-Muffin"Martin CendredaRaphael Bob-WaksbergAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)103
Sarah Lynn, formerly BoJack's child co-star on Horsin' Around and now a pop singer addicted to drugs and alcohol, ends up staying with BoJack after a public incident where her boyfriend Andrew Garfield breaks up with her. Manipulating BoJack by playing into their past relationship, she holds frequent, destructive parties at his house and the two end up having sex. BoJack's agent and ex-girlfriend, Princess Carolyn, tries and fails to get Sarah Lynn to hire her. Diane and Todd intervene and tell BoJack he is only making things worse for Sarah Lynn by enabling her self-destructive behavior. When BoJack puts his foot down and asks her to get help, Sarah Lynn decides to stay with someone who will let her do as she pleases.
44"Zoës and Zeldas"Amy WinfreyPeter A. KnightAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)104

Todd reveals to BoJack that he has been working on a rock opera, which BoJack vehemently criticizes. During one of their writing sessions, Diane states she believes BoJack keeps Todd down because of a fear of being alone, knowing Todd's success could lead to him moving out. Denying this, BoJack starts helping and encouraging Todd. Upon completing the show, BoJack and Princess Carolyn set Todd up with a theater owner interested in producing him. While buying snacks, Todd notices the newest video game in a series that he got addicted to back in high school. Despite BoJack's warnings, Todd buys the game, plays it through the night, and bombs at his audition. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that BoJack paid off the Beast Buy clerk and character actress Margo Martindale to stage Todd finding the game, therefore keeping Todd by his side.

Guest starring: Margo Martindale as Character Actress Margo Martindale
55"Live Fast, Diane Nguyen"Joel MoserCaroline WilliamsAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)105

Diane learns that her father has died. Although unfazed, she asks BoJack to come with her to Boston to arrange the funeral. With BoJack gone, Todd pretends the house belongs to David Boreanaz to attract tourists, which Princess Carolyn helps him capitalize on. The police catch wind and Carolyn flees, leaving Todd to be arrested. BoJack hits it off with Diane's neglectful family, much to her chagrin. As per her father's request, she has his body turned into chum to throw into the face of Derek Jeter, only for no one to turn up to his funeral. Enraged at everyone's behavior, Diane drives off with her father's body, before BoJack catches up with her and tells her she doesn't owe her family anything because of the way they treated her. Leaving Boston, BoJack receives a voicemail from old friend and former Horsin' Around showrunner Herb Kazzaz, stricken with cancer. Shaken, he ignores a phone call from Todd, who is now in prison.

Guest starring: Ira Glass as Diane's ringtone
66"Our A-Story is a 'D' Story"J.C. GonzalezScott MarderAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)106

Returning from Boston, BoJack and Mr. Peanutbutter compete for Diane's attention by showing off, culminating in BoJack stealing the "D" from the Hollywood sign while drunk. Mr. Peanutbutter offers to help him return it if he stops pursuing Diane, which he agrees to. Todd, meanwhile, is courted in prison by both the Aryan Brotherhood and Latin Kings, who eventually discover his involvement with the other. Mr. Peanutbutter instead takes the D back to his house, where he pretends it was a romantic gesture for Diane. While BoJack leaves a heartfelt voicemail expressing his feelings for Diane, Mr. Peanutbutter proposes to her in a public spectacle, making her uncomfortable. When Diane calls BoJack back, he tells her that the voicemail was a drunken ramble and asks her to delete it. As the D is flown back to the sign via helicopter, a firework from Mr. Peanutbutter's proposal hits the vehicle, causing it to crash into the local prison and narrowly save Todd from being assaulted by both gangs.

Guest starring: Yvette Nicole Brown as Beyoncé, Chris Parnell as Aryans Gang Member, Horatio Sanz as Latin Kings Leader.
77"Say Anything"Martin CendredaJoe LawsonAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)107
Princess Carolyn pulls BoJack out of a week-long bender after Diane's engagement, getting him a commercial shoot for a bourbon manufacturer. As her agency merges with her rival Vanessa Gekko's, she loses her client Cate Blanchett and a project about Eva Braun to her. When BoJack ditches the bourbon shoot to go on a date with her, (leaving Todd to do it) she finds herself enjoying it until he gets another call from Herb Kazzaz, prompting him to leave to go visit Herb. Distraught, Princess Carolyn barely manages to win back the Eva Braun project and manages to secure BoJack a role in the upcoming movie based on the Hollywood (now called "Hollywoo") D. She calls BoJack while he drives back from Herb's, but he dismisses her, miserable. As she sends her assistant home for the night, Princess Carolyn stares out her office window at the city below as her phone alarm wishes her a happy fortieth birthday.
88"The Telescope"Amy WinfreyMehar SethiAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)108
BoJack, Todd and Diane drive to Malibu to see Herb Kazzaz. BoJack recounts their history to Diane: in the 1980s, he and Herb were struggling stand-up comedians until ABC network executives hired Herb based on one of his routines. At the same time, Herb's girlfriend and BoJack's friend Charlotte announced that she planned to leave for Maine. Herb told BoJack about his plans for Horsin' Around and invited him on as the lead. During Horsin' Around's production, Herb was outed as gay, and a network executive manipulated BoJack into allowing Herb to be fired. When they arrive, BoJack apologizes to the thin and ailing Herb, but Herb does not forgive him. He was not hurt by BoJack failing to advocate for him, but rather by BoJack never reaching out to him. He tells BoJack he will always have to live with what he did, then orders him to leave. On the drive home, BoJack pulls over to look at the Pacific Ocean. When he and Diane talk, he suddenly kisses her, and she returns to the car in stunned silence, leaving BoJack alone.
99"Horse Majeure"Joel MoserPeter A. KnightAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)109
A lovestruck BoJack tries to sabotage the wedding of Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter. Meanwhile, Todd accepts a surprising new professional role as a driver for Mr. Peanutbutter, who loses his driver's license following an incident with the mailman.
1010"One Trick Pony"J.C. GonzalezLaura Gutin PetersonAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)110

BoJack shoots a movie at Mr. Peanutbutter's house called "Mr. Peanutbutter's Hollywoo Heist" (a movie adaption of the incident in "Our A-Story is a "D" Story"), which is directed by Quentin Tarantulino, as Todd comes up with ideas to improve the movie. Diane finishes her book and sends the prototype copy to Pinky Penguin. BoJack reads the prototype and is angered by what Diane has written, and forbids her to send it out. After she shares a teaser of the book on BuzzFeed as a preview, BoJack fires her.

Guest starring: Wallace Shawn as Himself, Naomi Watts as Herself
1111"Downer Ending"Amy WinfreyKate PurdyAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)111

Despite a positive response to his memoir's excerpts, BoJack insults Diane and the work that she has done for the book. Later, he, Sarah-Lynn and Todd go on a drug-infused frenzy in an attempt to rewrite his memoir. BoJack hallucinates a life with his former friend Charlotte, in which they have a daughter and live happily into old age. At a Ghostwriter convention, BoJack gives a heartfelt apology to Diane and gives her his blessing to publish her copy of his book.

Guest starring: Ken Jeong as Dr Hu
1212"Later"Martin CendredaRaphael Bob-WaksbergAugust 22, 2014 (2014-08-22)112

Three months after his memoir is released, BoJack is being considered for a role that is his lifelong dream. BoJack discovers that while the book may have resurrected his career, it also might have ended all of his personal relationships. Meanwhile, Todd and Mr. Peanutbutter make plans for different businesses.

Guest starring: John Krasinski as Secretariat

Reception[]

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported a score of 64%, based on 22 reviews. The site's critical consensus states, "It's intermittently funny, but in most respects, BoJack Horseman pales in comparison to similar comedies."[4] On Metacritic, the season received a rating of 59 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5]

Erik Adams' review of the first six episodes gave the series a C+ grade; in the review, Adams wrote that the show "spoofs the emptiness of celebrity, but does so without any novelty or true insight".[6] At Slate, Willa Paskin was more enthused. "[It] is perhaps a little more clever than it is uproariously funny, but it is often very clever, and, moreover, well-tuned to the ludicrousness of the sort of low-level fame that surrounds BoJack". She likened it to 30 Rock in its ability to "[present] big ideas without having to commit to them".[7]

Chris Mitchell from Popzara was equally optimistic about the show's future, saying that "Fans of FX's Archer or Fox's Bob's Burgers will definitely want to check this one out, as its rapid-fire delivery is always consciously spot-on".[8] The New York Times described the show as "hilarious and ribald".[9] Margaret Lyons of Vulture gave a positive review, describing it as "radically sad. I love it".[10]

However, the second half of the season received much more positive reviews. Ben Travers of Indiewire believed one possible reason for mixed reviews of the show was critics reviewing only the first half of the season, with the second half changing drastically in tone and developing a darker and deeper meaning. This change was so drastic it resulted in Indiewire changing its policy to only review entire seasons of shows on Netflix, instead of just the first six episodes, which would have boosted BoJack Horseman's C+ grade.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ "Netflix teases 'BoJack Horseman' animated series". CNET. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  2. ^ "'BoJack Horseman' gallops onto Netflix". USA Today. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  3. ^ Ben Travers (June 27, 2015). "7 New Netflix Shows to Binge Watch in July 2015 - Indiewire". Indiewire. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  4. ^ "BoJack Horseman: Season 1 (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  5. ^ "BoJack Horseman – Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  6. ^ Adams, Erik (August 21, 2014). "Netflix's entry into the adult-animation race, BoJack Horseman, stumbles out of the gate". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  7. ^ Paskin, Willa (August 22, 2014). "The Longest Face". Slate. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  8. ^ Mitchell, Chris (August 29, 2014). "BoJack Horseman Popzara Review". Archived from the original on August 31, 2014.
  9. ^ Neil, Genzlinger (August 24, 2014). "A Talking Horse of a Different Color: Blue". Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  10. ^ "BoJack Horseman's Radically Funny Sadness -- Vulture". Vulture. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  11. ^ Ben Travers (June 27, 2015). "7 New Netflix Shows to Binge Watch in July 2015 - Indiewire". Indiewire. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
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