I have one super-catty thing to say about The Line, and it is this: Oh, wow, a web series making fun of nerds getting in line for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace? How about a Lewinsky blowjob joke while you’re at it? Hey, did you hear that Michael Jackson molests little boys! Comedy gold!
Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, OK. The Line is Saturday Night Live’s first major foray into web production, created by cast member Bill Hader and writer Simon Rich and directed by Seth Meyers. The seven-episode web series is either a celebration of the fanboy spirit or a cruel mockery of those who would spend 11 days of their life waiting in line to see a movie — but either way you interpret it, it’s a great-looking series, with flawless production values and some top-notch acting, especially from Hader and SNL/30 Rock cast member Jason Sudeikis.
However, while the comedy is solid and reasonably character-based, the series as a whole lacks structure and dramatic momentum. While each episode has a bit of a through line (such as episode 4, in which one man juggles spending time with his son and upholding his commitment to line-waiting), the connections between them are tentative. Given what other web series have been able to do with approximately 28 minutes of screen time, it’s a little disappointing when the same material gets rehashed for the first four episodes. Episode 5, in which a trivia contest gives the series its first real conflict, offers a glimmer of hope that the series might acquire a real adversary — but those hopes are dashed moments later. It’s clearly a series written by sketch writers, more interested in stringing together funny scenes than developing a full narrative.
The Line does a solid job of capturing the peculiar status of the aging fanboys trapped between their adolescent passions and the pressures of adulthood, but its most glaring flaw is that there’s no countdown, no building excitement, and little reference to the fictional Future Space franchise. There’s a lot of material left unexplored here — especially since the story ends just when we’re about to find out whether or not the Future Space devotees are subjected to the same trauma experienced by those who waited for a new Star Wars movie — and got The Phantom Menace instead.
Hader is a self-professed fanboy who, in 1999, waited 15 to 20 hours to see Phantom Menace in the theaters; it’s difficult to understand why he chose to end this story before what feels, dramatically, like its real end. Will the fans grow up after finally achieving their dream of seeing the movie? We’ll never know, and after investing my time in the series, it’s a little disappointing.
But you know what? Perhaps that’s my fault. Perhaps I was wrong to expect that much. Because what I learned from Star Wars is that the greater the expectations, the greater the likelihood of disappointment.
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