The start of the dumpster diving piece seemed almost note for note along the same lines as a (non-comedic) "documentary" I saw a few years back on cable access.
I continue to watch the show hoping they do a sketch about a guy who refuses to press interviews because he is afraid someone might ask him about stepping out on his tv star wife, and hooking up with another tv star who is half his age. After that I'm done with the show.

Didn't the new one have the "biker rights" guy getting mad because an "uncool" guy is going to the same bars and doing the same trendy activities (like shell art) as him? That one was funny. And it was Portland, too. And if you happen to like Amy Mann and that other lesbian singer you probably would have thought the housekeeper one was funny too. Although I didn't.

@joneser he was with Elisabeth Moss first!

By all means! Watch this episode! (Then return to tell me how right I was.)

@kiala, Joneser: Emperor Klaktu strikes again.

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/ne…

I'm glad other Portlanders think this show is terrible.

Oh, hatin' on Portlandia and loving The Bieber! You're so ironic!
You gotta admit it's kinda funny!
C'mon!
I can see how it grates in the sense that a Michael McKean/Harry Shearer (Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, etc.) comedy seems to say "ordinary people are clueless fuckwits" over and over. I get that. But they sort of are, and that's funny. Especially when the targets are people with a conflated sense of self-importance, of which there's no short supply - probably in any city with a bohemian quarter - not just in Portland.
I sort of cringed when I watched some of precursor videos Armisen was making. Not because they were bad or because it hit close to home, just that it seems to embody the same pissy hipster dissatisfaction with everything that it pretends to set out to condemn.
OK, maybe Portlandia's not that funny, now that I see it that way.

Headline: Dumpster diving Mercury staffers feel Portlandia goes "too far"

Fred was reported to be hooked up with Abby Elliott, when his wife filed for divorce. I believe the only interviews he has done since that news broke are Larry King (SNL cast special) & Jimmy Fallon. Of course neither of those are the type to bring up such a provocative topic.

the agro-biker sketch is amazing!

Wrong, this episode was better than the others. They get it wrong when they start out making fun of a stereotype and then the sketch devolves into general absurdity that could be from any show (iMind, feminist bookstore, polygamist farm). This most recent episode had less of that. I just want them to cut a little deeper and keep it more real. Things are funny when they are real.

Do some damn research, Monkey Beat! Elisabeth Moss left HIM to delve deeper into the Church of Scientology, which rightfully scared the shit out of Fred Armisen, so he got the hell out of there. But yeah, he totally should've stuck it out with that psycho for the sake of appearances and not being judged by dipshits like you.

And this show rocks. If you don't think it's funny, you either have no sense of humor or it hits too close to home for you. It's hard for dickheads and morons to laugh at themselves.

I see how it is.
Post about how shitty Portlandia is once a week = Guaranteed 3000 posts on shitty blog.
Good job, P-Merc.

p-merc would be a good name for a rapper. just sayin'.

Yeah, it's hit and miss. I only watch the clips on Hulu. Bike guy was awesome though. And I think the feminist bookstore is amazing.

Is it just me, or does it seem ironic that a smarmy Portland newspaper that makes fun of everything hates a smarmy Portland TV show that makes fun of everything?

The bike guy is hillarious, and imminently quotable. The dumpster divers were really funny (I love that they wear the crap they find in the dumpster for the whole sketch). Not every second of the show is funny, but it has some great moments.

I think the bottom line is this: If the exact same people were doing the exact same thing in some tiny Portland theater for 30 people, the Merc would love it. But since it's on national TV, that makes it not cool. But not so uncool that it is cool again...

@ebag #21 Expressed the reality perfectly. Maybe little Stevie is annoyed that he didn't get the writing gig himself.

Annoying characters can be very funny, like David Brent or Larry David's character on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Unfortunately, Carrie and Fred just aren't gifted comedic writers or performers. Stephen Colbert's description of Oregon as just being California's Canada was funnier and more on-target than anything on Portlandia so far.

Hey, I played the "uncool" guy at the top of this episode. I can tell you nothing is scripted. They didn't even tell me what I was doing until I showed up on set and even then they only explained the bit scene by scene. Don't know if that informs your opinion of the show.

Puhleeze, Portlandia is funny true. They could take it further. I don't think I've seen all of them but I'd love to see a slam against the tight jean hipsters here, the jay walkers, and the people constantly driving on my bumper. We've got material for daaaaays.