We’re rounding toward the end of series 2 here, with another romp of an episode. Tons of great bits, judicious use of guest stars, and delightful David Tennant-Michael Sheen interactions. And really, isn’t that what you look for in an episode of Staged?
Michael and David have come to an understanding after recent events, but the path they took to get there left some wreakage in its wake. Now they’re trying to salvage what they can, making one last hail-mary effort to stay involved in the project or, barring that, to simply rubberneck at what’s going to be happening without them.
Once again, the choice of guest stars is right on the money. I don’t know how the show manages to keep finding such inspired “Michael” and “David” choices, but we get another terrific pair here, and they bring plenty of their own laughs while also providing an excellent focal point for David and Michael to riff comedically off of them. The big scene with the guest stars is rife with in-jokes about everyone’s careers, callbacks to bits from earlier in the season, and plenty of wild industry tidbits, all done through Zoom.
On that last point, it’s a little remarkable how normal it now feels to me to see a bunch of actors performing over Zoom. When I watched series 1, even though I didn’t get a chance to see it until much later in the pandemic than when it was originally made, it still felt novel, fragile, and a little awkward. But through a combination of actors getting much more used to acting in this medium and society as a whole incorporating Zoom much more into their everyday lives, it barely even feels like a hook. It’s still very obviously a pandemic-set show with the references it drops and the themes it explores, but the fact that it’s on Zoom doesn’t really jump out anymore. When I first started watching, I thought, “Whoa, this is different!” But now, I just think, “That’s Staged.”
Both Sheen and Tennant were fantastic in playing out Michael and David’s feud separately over the past couple episodes, but clearly, the natural pull of the universe is for them to be together, so all is right with the world again. In addition to bouncing jokes off the big-name guest stars so well, they also get another fun scene with Ben Schwartz’s Tom, the head honcho’s over-eager assistant. There’s been a running gag throughout his appearances that he’s completely gaga over David while Michael barely registers for him, and that joke is brought to a great resolution here. And then, of course, there are the random banter scenes between just the two of them. I love the sequence of them doing a crossword puzzle together. It’s hard to explain exactly what makes it so funny, but it builds to a 100% quintessentially-Staged joke that might be one of my favorites in the whole series. There are other moments in the show that I think have made me laugher harder, but I feel like this one is the most well-earned.
Not much to say about Tennant that I haven’t already said throughout my Staged reviews. He’s fantastically funny, quick-witted and yet somehow still just a tiny bit dim, slightly ridiculous, and delightfully petty when he wants to be. I have such a great time watching him and Sheen in every episode.
* * *
Reason #4,729 why I’m glad Tony Leung Chiu-wai’s Hollywood debut is going to be in an MCU movie? Wenwu action figure. The only other toy figures I own are a few sets of non-posable Star Wars figures, but I needed this miniature plastic Leung in my life. So help me, this movie is still 4 months away. I am so ready!!
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