Drunk History: Hamilton

November 30, 2016 7:17 AM - Season 4, Episode 9

Lin-Manuel Miranda brings us a couple of stories from a little play you might have heard of, a couple of stories that didn't make it into the play, a guest spot via video chat with ?uestlove, and the revelation that he likes the Monkees more than the Beatles.

Alia Shawkat plays Aaron Burr to Aubrey Plaza's Alexander Hamilton, and Dave Grohl and Bokeem Woodbine show up too.

posted by Etrigan (21 comments total)

Alia Shawkat plays Hamilton and Plaza plays Burr; Shawkat's casting as Hamilton is especially rich since she came to prominence in Arrested Development opposite Michael Cera, who portrayed Hamilton in the very first Drunk History web video.
posted by brainwane at 7:42 AM on November 30, 2016 [4 favorites]

This was great.

Also made possibly better after having read this Vox joint yesterday.
posted by General Malaise at 8:21 AM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

I only just got hooked on Drunk History this season - it might have been from hearing about this episode being on the schedule, I forget exactly, but something got me to set my TiVo to start recording new & repeat episodes around the start of the season and I have been kicking myself for not watching it sooner. It looks like I'd need to sign up to Hulu to see the past 3 seasons, so I guess I'll just wait and hope for the odd marathon to catch up.
posted by oh yeah! at 11:43 AM on November 30, 2016

It's gone from just being something I enjoy to something I find unexpectedly moving. Both the Marsha P. Johnson episode and Paget Brewster telling the story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko choked me up.
posted by maxsparber at 12:47 PM on November 30, 2016

I've heard it said that this show should be shown in schools. I kind of wish it could be, because it shows aspects of history we rarely see, focusing on the roles of women, LGBT people and other minorities, and it truly makes learning fun. On the other hand, I guess having schoolkids watch wasted people have fun would be, uh, problematic.

I love, love, love the Monkees, they're probably one of my top five bands. But better than the Beatles? Jeez, I doubt even the Monkees themselves would be on board for that! (I say this having not seen the episode yet. Got it on the DVR.)
posted by Ursula Hitler at 4:24 PM on November 30, 2016

Was there something to Dave Grohl's appearance in this episode? I didn't realize he was also an actor.
posted by fuse theorem at 4:39 PM on November 30, 2016

I'm gonna be the naysayer and please note that this horrible comment physically pains me to write but I truly need to say this was a little disappointing. While a delight, because LMM is just a delight, but I mean, part of what makes the show funny is seeing people having to do something a little difficult while drunk and for LMM running through the plot of the musical he wrote & was currently starring in (as per the hair) wasn't even a tiny bit difficult, I mean couldn't we have gotten a take of LMM's that we didn't already know about? I guess the purpose was to promote the show so, no. Well ok. Can we get *another* one of these in that case? Haha also no.
posted by bleep at 4:57 PM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

I also really like how Drunk History was added to Fanfare just to talk about this episode. It's usually a pretty good show as long as you take it with a huge grain of salt.
posted by bleep at 5:00 PM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

I mean couldn't we have gotten a take of LMM's that we didn't already know about?

Seriously, I wanna see Lin get drunk and talk about, like, Woodrow Wilson.
posted by Itaxpica at 10:32 PM on November 30, 2016 [3 favorites]

It's usually a pretty good show as long as you take it with a huge grain of salt.

Oh, for sure. There's no evidence that Sadie the Goat, from a previous episode, ever even existed, as an example.
posted by maxsparber at 4:41 AM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

I mean couldn't we have gotten a take of LMM's that we didn't already know about?

I was hoping this would focus more on the side characters of Hamilton, like, more on the Marquis de Lafayette or Aaron Burr trying to take over Mexico. Stuff you know that LMM knows about from researching Hamilton, but wasn't his focus.

It was still hilarious and awesome and the ship caught fire, and Aubrey Plaza and Alia Shawkat were amazing, but that would have been even better.

Though also the closing time segment.
posted by dinty_moore at 6:23 AM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

I loved this episode but I was also hoping that LMM would tell a different story or focus on an aspect of the musical that he had to leave out. But this was damn entertaining. I loved the bit when he was slurring The West Wing quotes to Christopher Jackson, and drunkenly snuggling Derek Waters and eating french fries. Waters is an excellent drunk wrangler. And I laughed out loud at his description of Hamilton's admission of the affair as, "It was like a Penthouse letter! It was like, Dick 101!"

Drunk History is really telling great stories this season. Last week's segment on the Boston Molasses Disaster (my favorite disaster!) was awesome. My all time favorite Drunk Historian is Mark Gagliardi and his penchant for lying on the floor. I don't think we've seen him this season (though I have a few episodes on the DVR so fingers crossed) and I've missed him.
posted by Aquifer at 7:00 AM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Count me among the folks who were disappointed that this didn't focus more on some aspect of the musical he had to leave out. Some additional information about Burr would've been great, as Plaza didn't feature as heavily as she could have, and there could've been more information to shore up the ending (the one time Burr acted impulsively/the one time Hamilton didn't).

French fries and "Closing Time", though, A+++ would watch again.
posted by minsies at 7:52 AM on December 1, 2016

"Dear America: I never thought this would happen to me, but..."
posted by Huffy Puffy at 11:48 AM on December 1, 2016 [4 favorites]

My all time favorite Drunk Historian is Mark Gagliardi and his penchant for lying on the floor.

Mine too. Sometimes I cue up Gagliardi's moment in the original Hamilton webisode where he's worried that his belly is showing just because I need to laugh about it again.

I was a little disappointed in this show too, but I did like seeing Lin be more generous towards Burr. Also, the phone interruptions were awesome.
posted by gladly at 12:29 PM on December 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

Not my favourite this season (look, the minute Paget Brewster is on, it's game over), but I think it also suffered from Lin being too familiar with the story. Part of the fun is when they are so hammered they forget where they are, or, on occasion, even what the story is. I guess for the sake of his health, he wouldn't be able to get drunk enough to reach that point.

(still want an episode with three different drunks telling the story of Dune)
posted by lmfsilva at 4:20 AM on December 2, 2016 [2 favorites]

look, the minute Paget Brewster is on, it's game over

Ooooh, them's fightin' words!
posted by elsietheeel at 6:45 PM on December 2, 2016

(I find the consistently funny drunk storytellers to be Mark Gagliardi, Kyle Kinane, Matt Gourley, Jen Kirkman, Jenny Slate, and the incomparable Paget Brewster.)
posted by elsietheeel at 6:46 PM on December 2, 2016 [3 favorites]

You guys think that the narrators pre-write & memorize their own scripts right? I do.
posted by bleep at 7:36 PM on December 2, 2016

I think in general, the production team (or Waters) approaches a narrator with the episodes they have in mind and later asks them to pick one and a subject and a schedule, and when the day comes, Waters appears with a crew to film it. I guess the narrator in that time just chooses the most convenient way to not drop the ball. I guess a few of them might need to freshen up on the phone.
But some of best seem to be when the narrator is very, very drunk, but also seems to know the story they're telling very well (as in: any Paget Brewster or Kyle Kinane)


Was there something to Dave Grohl's appearance in this episode? I didn't realize he was also an actor.
Dave Grohl has been on previously, IIRC in the DC episode (about about Elvis and Nixon) with Jack Black. Although I wouldn't be surprised he could have taken the bit actor in comedy/voice-over artist if he wanted, this was a bit part that likely didn't took him more than a (fun) afternoon.
posted by lmfsilva at 6:36 AM on December 3, 2016

It's gone from just being something I enjoy to something I find unexpectedly moving. Both the Marsha P. Johnson episode and Paget Brewster telling the story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko choked me up.

For me, it was the Dolly Parton/Porter Waggoner story that got me.

Shit... still gets me. I can't even retell the story without choking up.
posted by grubi at 11:46 AM on December 5, 2016