美国国家公共电台 NPR--TV review: 'Only Murders in the Building' begins its 2nd season on Hulu

TV review: 'Only Murders in the Building' begins its 2nd season on Hulu

Transcript¹

The show is even more confident in its second season — building on the surprising chemistry among the series' stars: Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez are teaming up again for a second season of Hulu's true crime satire³ "Only Murders In The Building." NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says the show has only grown more confident and entertaining the second time around.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE⁴: One of the deepest pleasures of "Only Murders In The Building" is the comic chemistry between the show's three leads, including two guys who've been in show business far longer than the third star has been alive. Last season, the three played true crime podcast fans who solved a murder in their apartment building, the Arconia, on New York City's Upper West Side, creating a popular podcast in the process. As the second season begins, Gomez's character, Mabel Mora, has been accused of killing⁵ the Arconia's board president. Martin's washed-up actor Charlie Savage⁶ and Short's faded stage director Oliver Putnam want to prove her innocence⁷ but can't believe a rival podcast host is already releasing a show about the crime.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING")

MARTIN SHORT: (As Oliver Putnam) She's stealing our format⁸. We did invent that format, right?

SELENA GOMEZ: (As Mabel Mora) The format where we drop a true crime podcast before we even have a story, an ending or even a crime? Yeah, that's all us.

SHORT: (As Oliver) You know, Cindy Canning is very lucky that my attorney passed away.

STEVE MARTIN: (As Charles-Haden Savage) I thought you said he was disbarred.

SHORT: (As Oliver) This is no time for semantics, Charles. She's stealing our format.

DEGGANS: "Only Murders In The Building" is actually a delicious balancing act in lots of ways. It satirizes⁹ true crime podcasts, upper-middle-class New York apartment life, celebrity¹⁰ culture, media, baby boomers and much more. In a flash, it can vault¹¹ from a moment where a character is discovering something important and personal to the stickiest of jokes about fame or name dropping. Consider this exchange where Mabel admits to Oliver that her romance with a character from the first season is probably over, which leads him to drop a bit of fatherly advice.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING")

SHORT: (As Oliver) When you're in danger, it's all passion and sex. But then when things settle down, it's hard to know what comes next. That's why Judi Dench and I lost touch after that infamous¹² ride on the Concorde.

GOMEZ: (As Mabel) That never happened, right?

SHORT: (As Oliver) God, you really get me.

DEGGANS: You almost want to hear a rim² shot at the end of that scene. The real treat of the show's second season is to see how confidently it moves through all the show's different styles and tones, particularly its celebrity cameos. This season, they have sidesplitting appearances from Shirley MacLaine, Roy Wood Jr., Jane Lynch and Amy Schumer, who plays herself, revealing an oddly age-inappropriate crush on Martin's character when they meet.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING")

AMY SCHUMER: (As Amy Schumer) Charles-Haden Savage. I had a poster of you on my ceiling, the shirtless one on the bearskin rug. Oh, I wanted chest hair because of you.

MARTIN: (As Charles) And you got it, too.

SCHUMER: (As Amy Schumer) As a little girl, I would practice my signature - Amy Schumer Savage, A-S-S.

MARTIN: (As Charles) Oh. Thank you?

DEGGANS: The second season spends more time on the backstory of Martin's character, whose father had a bizarre and discomfiting¹³ connection to the apartment building. They also delve¹⁴ into the life of the murdered board president, a crusty, lifelong resident named Bunny, showing that even the toughest New Yorker can have a more tender history, as evidenced by Oliver's narration¹⁵ for their podcast episode about her.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING")

SHORT: (As Oliver) What would your last day on Earth be like? Will it be like any other? Or will it point to it being your time? As we recreate Bunny's, we hope it will take us to clues - and please, dear God - not the subway.

DEGGANS: I think it's safe to say that Martin, Gomez, Short and their crew will take audiences on an even better adventure in this second season, stepping up their game at a time when we all could really use a few more laughs.

I'm Eric Deggans.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

3 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。

4 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。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

7 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

8 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

9 satirizes   

v.讽刺，讥讽( satirize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This detestable custom satirizes humanity. 这个可厌的风俗违反人性。 来自辞典例句
• This idiom satirizes those who instead of taking changed circumstances account. “刻舟求剑”这个成语讽刺那些办事迂腐，不知道变通情况的人。 来自互联网

10 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

11 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

12 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

13 discomfiting   

v.使为难( discomfit的现在分词 )；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败

参考例句：

• The Atomic Bazaar is an excellent introduction to this most discomfiting topic. 原子集市》是关于这个极令人不安的话题的一本优秀的入门读物。 来自互联网
• It is a discomfiting historical fact that great power shifts in the global economy are dangerous. 一个令人不安的历史事实是：全球经济中的重大权力转移是危险的。 来自互联网

14 delve   

v.深入探究，钻研

参考例句：

• We should not delve too deeply into this painful matter.我们不应该过分深究这件痛苦的事。
• We need to delve more deeply into these questions.这些是我们想进一步了解的。

15 narration   

n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体

参考例句：

• The richness of his novel comes from his narration of it.他小说的丰富多采得益于他的叙述。
• Narration should become a basic approach to preschool education.叙事应是幼儿教育的基本途径。