Lucky Louie

This isn't a review of HBO's cancelled sitcom "Lucky Louie" that starred comedian Louis C.K., although I loved that show. This is a review of the new Louis C.K. sitcom "Louie" on FX, but it seems strange to me after the odd reception the first series got from critics that he would get another one so quick. Either way, I'm thankful he did.

That said, I had to wait more than a few episodes before I could decide if I really liked it or not. It has elements of the HBO show in it as well as some things borrowed from "Seinfeld," mostly the comedy club bits. But it also has something else, and it took me a while to pinpoint it. It's Woody Allen.

It was the loopy old jazz music that first brought this comparison to mind but then it became much clearer. When Woody Allen was in his Annie Hall phase, he was still funny, but there was also the hint that he was trying to say something about his world, our world. This is what Louis C.K. is doing. It's sharp, subtle and clever.

There is of course the problem of its lead-in, "Rescue Me," which in the last season became a sad parody of itself, and so far this season, two episodes in, it has become a humorless cartoon. I hope it doesn't affect "Louie." Hopefully he'll be luckier with FX than he was with HBO. Check it out, well worth your time.