“The Good Place” was created by Michael Schur, the co-creator of “The Office” — the British version. “The Good Place,” starring Ted Danson as Michael and Kristen Bell as Eleanor, is a fantasy-comedy show that explores the concept of the afterlife.
The series opens with Eleanor being welcomed into “The Good Place” after dying from a shopping-cart margarita-mix incident. Michael, the all-knowing, non-human being shows her around the place, one which he created with the help of another all knowing, non-human being, Janet. Who is sort of like Apple’s Siri but better.
Eleanor then meets her soulmate, Chidi (played by William Jackson Harper), a moral philosophy professor. It is revealed later in the episode that there has been a mistake and Eleanor is not who Michael thinks she is — something went wrong. Determined to stay in “The Good Place,” Eleanor convinces Chidi to teach her morals so that she can earn her spot in “The Good Place.”
The series is great because it comments on morals and the idea of good and bad — heaven and hell. It also brings up important topics such as morals, sexuality and human nature.
Philosophy and the idea of being “good” is introduced early in the series. Chidi teaches Eleanor about Kant and Aristotle and how being good is not something she should do for reward but just because.
Eleanor struggles with truly becoming a good person and in the meantime, she meets the other Good Place members. Tahani was a humanitarian, raising millions of dollars for charity during her time on earth yet she lived in the shadows of her sister and never got her parents approval. Jason also ended up in “The Good Place” by mistake and has taken on the identity of a monk who’s supposed to be Tahani soulmate. He reaches out to Eleanor and they take moral classes with Chidi.
As the series progresses, it transforms from a tale of Eleanor’s guilt about ending up in this utopia to a tale of humans trying to be good. The end of season one reveals that they are actually in the Bad Place and Michael is a demon who created a specific world to torment them mentally. The series then goes on to grand adventures, scheming and questioning of moral compass and intent. I’d recommend the show to everyone, it is lighthearted enough to laugh at but also thoughtful in its commentary on human want and intention.
Review overview
Storyline8
Pacing7
Acting9
Visuals7
Interesting 9
Summary
8"The Good Place" is a great balance between comedy and deep human contemplation. Never have these two elements blended better together in a sitcom.
