“The Last Man on Earth” is a series best understood in segments. Each new group of episodes fundamentally changes how the viewer feels about the series as a whole. Considered in isolation, the first two or three episodes lead the viewer to extol Will Forte’s Fox sitcom as a refreshing entry into the TV comedy canon. These episodes sparkle with undeniable comic novelty, boasting a deft combination of arresting visual style and scalpel-carved characterization. “The Last Man on Earth” renders a post-apocalyptic Tucson with such audacity and innocence (Forte launching bowling balls through a stack of fish tanks immediately comes to mind) that the viewer cannot help but continue watching.
This faith and curiosity is, at first, rewarded with the introduction of Kristen Schaal’s Carol Pilbasian, a delightful foil to Forte’s Phil Miller. Her stubborn insistence on abiding by road signs, even in a world ostensibly reduced to a population of two, introduces genuinely interesting conflict. The argument that she and Phil have over a handicap parking space forces Phil and the viewer to think critically about the rules that govern our daily lives and the reasons we choose to follow them. She brings a fresh variety of pathos to Phil’s world, complementing his crushing loneliness with longing for a world gone by. The two of them are a comedic duo through which the series could have explored myriad old-world sitcom tropes (like marriage, among others) in a way that no other show could have.
Half-way through the season, the viewer’s feeling of awe and respect for “The Last Man on Earth” gives way to frustration. Rather than dwell on its tender examination of post-apocalyptic psychology and social longing, the show drops that framework and instead introduces the character of Melissa Shart (January Jones), who exists entirely to sexually frustrate Phil. The episodes devolve into a rote pattern of events: Phil makes an ass of himself, lying and manipulating for a chance at casual sex, only to be thwarted by episode’s end. Characters begin to join the cast with stultifying regularity, to the point that even the sheltered poignancy of the pilot episode begins to crumble. Unlike Carol’s entrance as a realized character with a unique method of coping with the demise of humanity, every character following her can be summarized in terms of how they play into Phil’s infuriating crusade to fornicate with women that are not Carol.
At times, it’s difficult to discern the root, structural cause of the viewer’s dissatisfaction. Is it that the frequency and dynamism of the show’s plot points scrape against the natural, sublime beauty of the setting? Or, is it that, for a program that jumps forward so often, “The Last Man on Earth” frequently feels like it barely moves at all? Such confusion between freneticism and stagnancy is bound to occur with a story that turns disrupting the status quo into its status quo. It is the danger of valuing “plot” over “situation” in the sitcom.
The lifeblood of the sitcom is modulation, placing its characters through different situations in order to explore their relationships and develop a deeper understanding of some overarching theme. For most sitcoms, their cardinal sin is returning to the same well too often, constantly resetting its characters and replaying the same scenarios over and over. In an effort to avoid this problem, “The Last Man on Earth” achieves this drudgery by rocketing through fundamental change after fundamental change, without taking the time to examine and explore each new scenario.
Most viewers will leave the final episode of the season not quite sure what to think. The above criticism certainly holds true, but the season finale resolves conflicts and breaks the show’s pattern decisively and audaciously. It forces Phil out of the society that he should have been kicked out of episodes ago for his unconscionable selfishness. And the final shot of the season, while itself being yet another of the show’s “twists,” manages to both justify much of Phil’s psychology while simultaneously advancing the plot and maintaining the viewer’s attention for a second season. How appropriate that it takes a satellite-level view of the world in order to make the series add up.
“The Last Man on Earth” is a difficult series to appreciate episodically. Its emphasis on plot and the progress of information over careful character exploration makes the week-to-week viewing experience frustrating. The viewer simultaneously feels neither in motion nor on solid ground. And yet, one cannot help but respect the series for its unrelenting desire to change. If nothing else, it is a show that remains unpredictable. Few other sitcoms can make such a claim.
Contact Magellan Pfluke at justapfluke ‘at’ gmail.com