Louie Season 2 [Blu-Ray]

The difficulty for any comedian expanding into television has always been how to best adapt a stand-up act for an entirely different medium. After failed bids at a more palatable sitcom, venerable comic Louis CK has finally managed to achieve the feat at FX by maintaining complete creative control, in exchange for keeping the show on a tight budget. In season one, he laid the foundation by presenting stories (interspersed with bits of his stand-up) that, even when not splitting sides with laughter, at least were consistently engaging and/or squirm-inducing. Here in season two, he has further refined the formula, offering an even more candid and amusing glimpse into one of the premier comedic minds working today. The structure of episodes is loose, allowing for multiple vignettes to hang together with sometimes very little in the way of connective themes. That would likely register as a complaint if they weren't so damn entertaining. Whether attempting to deal with emergency complications involving the pregnancy of his visiting sister or taking his daughters to visit a decrepit great-aunt, there's always suspense in wondering where things are headed and plenty of uncomfortable laughs in getting there. Not everything revolves around family, however, as a few guest stars help enliven the proceedings, many of them portraying themselves or least some version thereof. Joan Rivers teaches Louie a lesson in humility, Dane Cook blurs the line between reality and fiction in addressing allegations of stealing jokes and Chris Rock pops in to reluctantly help Louie out of a jam. There is also the continuation from the first season of Louie's unrequited affections for his friend Pamela (Pamela Adlon), which reveals the comedian to be a steadily improving actor. And let's not forget an extended episode in which Louie unwittingly brings along a duckling on a USO tour of Afghanistan. The extras on the DVD are sparse, with commentary by Louis CK on several episodes providing the only highlight. Though the first season did have commentary tracks on more episodes, it would be difficult to accuse someone as prolific as Louis CK as not putting forth enough effort, especially since the commentaries are as insightful and funny as you'd expect. Even if he might not always be able to remember the names of actors, CK further enlightens his incomparable process in his inimitable fashion.