美国国家公共电台 NPR Siblings Struggle (Hilariously) In Their Kid Brother's Shadow: 'The Other Two'

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

A new sitcom¹ premiering tonight on Comedy Central offers a unique look at how fame happens these days. NPR's Glen Weldon says "The Other Two" mixes over-the-top satire² with a surprisingly warm, intimate sense of humor.

GLEN WELDON, BYLINE³: In the first episode, 13-year-old Chase, played by Case Walker, becomes an overnight sensation off of a cloyingly⁴ sweet homemade video he posts to YouTube.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE OTHER TWO")

CASE WALKER: (As Chase, singing) My friends thinks I'm crazy, but I was thinking maybe I want to marry you at recess⁵.

WELDON: But "The Other Two" isn't about Chase really. It's about his two older siblings⁶, Brooke and Cary, "The Other Two" - get it? - played by Helene Yorke and Drew Tarver. They're a couple of self-obsessed 20-somethings struggling to make it work in New York City and - wait, stop, come back. I know that setup sounds familiar, but "The Other Two" keeps making choices that defy your expectations, especially if one of the things you're expecting is the caustic⁷ tone so many sitcoms⁸ default to. You just feel for these two characters right away. Cary is waiting tables while trying to make it as an actor.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE OTHER TWO")

DREW TARVER: (As Cary) Hi, I'm Cary Dubick (ph). And I'm reading for the role of man at party who smells fart.

WELDON: His sister Brooke doesn't even know what she wants. And over dinner with her mom, she's maybe a little defensive⁹ about that.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE OTHER TWO")

HELENE YORKE: (As Brooke) We might not be the hot, new twink or whatever, but all three of your kids are hot, equally successful millennials.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) What? You guys aren't millennials.

YORKE: (As Brooke) Yeah, we are.

TARVER: (As Cary) We Googled it.

YORKE: (As Brooke) We looked it up.

DREW TARVER AND HELENE YORKE: (As Cary and Brooke) It's 1982 and after.

WELDON: Individually, Brooke and Cary can be a lot. But in their many scenes together, Yorke and Tarver find an easy, unforced chemistry marked by mutual¹⁰ affection and a shared sense of humor. Over the course of the season, Brooke and Cary get caught up in their younger brother's fame and start to lose themselves in it. And while the satire about the nature of viral Internet success and showbiz phoniness can be broad, the actual jokes are sharp.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE OTHER TWO")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Some in the music industry are already calling him the next big white kid.

WELDON: Co-creators Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, former head writers at "Saturday Night Live," have a knowing grip on the thing they're making fun of and an intimate sense of these characters. Kelly and Schneider are a gay man and a straight woman writing about a gay man and a straight woman. And the show's particularly smart about how it treats Cary's gayness, showing the tiny everyday negotiations¹¹ queer people have to make as they move through the world. Take the way Cary's boss at the restaurant keeps pulling his gay waiters aside to update them on just how woke he is.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE OTHER TWO")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) I wanted you both to know last night at my home, my wife and I watched "Brokeback Mountain."

WELDON: Brooke and Cary grow and change over the show's 10-episode season, which sets it apart from other sitcoms that keep their characters static. "The Other Two" knows that watching flawed characters trying to become better people inspires a deeper kind of laughter because it comes from a real place of recognition and empathy. Glen Weldon, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF JAMES BROWN'S "UNTITLED INSTRUMENTAL")

1 sitcom   

n.情景喜剧，（广播、电视的）系列幽默剧

参考例句：

• This sitcom is produced in cooperation with Hong Kong TV.这部连续剧是同香港电视台联合制作的。
• I heard that a new sitcom is coming out next season.我听说下一季会推出一个新的情境喜剧。

2 satire   

n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品

参考例句：

• The movie is a clever satire on the advertising industry.那部影片是关于广告业的一部巧妙的讽刺作品。
• Satire is often a form of protest against injustice.讽刺往往是一种对不公正的抗议形式。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 cloyingly   

参考例句：

• The film is too cloyingly sentimental. 这部电影太过感伤，看着就倒胃口。 来自柯林斯例句

5 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

6 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

7 caustic   

adj.刻薄的，腐蚀性的

参考例句：

• He opened his mouth to make a caustic retort.他张嘴开始进行刻薄的反击。
• He enjoys making caustic remarks about other people.他喜欢挖苦别人。

8 sitcoms   

n.情景喜剧( sitcom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This is the stuff most stadard TV sitcoms are made of. 这是大多数标注的电视幽默剧所采用的题材。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In most countries, prime-time Monday night television is dominated by sitcoms. 在大多数国家，周一晚上的电视黄金时段都由连续剧所占据。 来自互联网

9 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

10 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。