BoJack Horseman: Christmas Special
December 20, 2014 5:42 AM - Season 1, Episode 13 - Subscribe

Bojack and Todd watch the Horsin' Around Christmas Special on the Bojack Horseman Christmas Special! I bet you didn't even realize there WAS a Bojack Horseman Christmas Spcial!
posted by DoctorFedora (14 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I bet you didn't even realize there WAS a Bojack Horseman Christmas Special!

I did once I logged into my account and Netflix asked me to rate it, and I had the sickening realization that it not only existed but that my boyfriend had watched it without me.
posted by tofu_crouton at 6:11 AM on December 20, 2014 [8 favorites]


that is grounds to marry him in order to be able to divorce him
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:22 AM on December 20, 2014 [4 favorites]


I will see what other folks have to say, but as it began I said, "I sure hope this isn't just a whole episode of Horsin Around." Which it seemed to be. We lasted 10 minutes and understood why it had 3 stars instead of 4+ like the series.
posted by Glinn at 7:06 AM on December 20, 2014


So... is there any reason to watch the middle rather than skipping the Horsin' Around episode and watching the beginning and end?
posted by Zalzidrax at 9:42 AM on December 20, 2014 [1 favorite]


It's only about 26 minutes of your life, Zalzidrax.

Agreed, though -- as much a fan as I am of the show, the show-within-a-show stuff in S1 was just the right dollop. A full helping is not as illuminating as one would imagine. Also, there's no Mr. Peanut Butter, no Diane, and really -- not even a hint of ol' Herb. I think the premise of just BoJack and Todd watching a pure episode of Horsin' Around wasn't quite as good at bringing the meta as the flashbacks during S1 were. Yes, the gags about family-sitcom-filmed-before-a-live-audience were chuckleworthy, but it lacked something.
posted by dhartung at 1:33 PM on December 20, 2014


I dunno, it worked for me. The climax of the Horsin' Around episode had all of the right notes of despair to sit right next to any of the others. Given the lack of main cast members, I wonder if it was put together at the last minute to bump up interest in the show.

Also, anybody else seeing Netflix suggest that they might like the movies recently watched by Bojack?
posted by Going To Maine at 5:26 AM on December 21, 2014 [2 favorites]


I didn't even catch that! They like to go meta with this series, that's for sure.
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:39 AM on December 21, 2014


Also, the minor breakdown about Santa Claus not being real makes the whole thing work in the end. It's obviously not as good as a real episode, but then they also hang a lampshade on how The Christmas Episode is always kind of superfluous in that way they obviously need to.
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:42 AM on December 21, 2014


The rant about Christmas episodes being a commercial sellout in search of the almighty Nielsen point is particularly great in the context of the show: Netflix doesn't give a flying fish about such things.
posted by zachlipton at 12:00 PM on December 21, 2014


Begrudging acquiescence. Just my thing.
posted by FuzzyVerde at 6:28 PM on December 22, 2014


mr muffins and I felt this ep was a big letdown, but on reflection, that seems entirely appropriate from Bojack. Meta, indeed.
posted by trunk muffins at 8:38 AM on December 23, 2014


It's minor Bojack, but it's still Bojack. Cynicism, getting older, nostalgia for a rotten past, authenticity vs manufactured emotion, all the major themes are here.
posted by naju at 11:58 AM on December 23, 2014


I didn't like watching a straight episode of Horsin' Around nearly as much as I liked watching normal Bojack episodes from season one, but I also fucking love that they did that and made me sit through it.

Like, I don't believe there wasn't a lot of deliberate self-awareness here that they were making a tedious thing; that's the whole deal, that they put their money where their mouth was and actually delivered a (largely) unadulterated episode of the show they've gotten away with just laughing about little snippets of despite it being at the core of this weird universe their show is about.

Ballsy, basically. Commitment to the gag, to the point of being willing to die on stage a little bit.

Also I liked the posing reindeer in the front yard on Horsin' Around.
posted by cortex at 10:38 PM on December 23, 2014 [3 favorites]


This episode was great because reasons.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:33 AM on December 24, 2014 [1 favorite]


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