Portlandia Hilarity

When I first saw ads for Portlandia on IFC that showed Fred Armisen riding a bike, I thought "this looks lame" and I did not bother to watch.    Fred Armisen's recurring characters on SNL are often less than hilarious and just annoying, so I was hesitant to start watching a show where he is the creator, main actor, and writer.  A lackluster Obama, Billy Smith, Fericito, Garth, Gaddafi's best friend, and worst of all Nicholas Fehn... no thanks, bleh.  Then, in January, I heard a interview on Fresh Air that sounded too funny to be true.  So I set the DVR to record, and luckily IFC ran a Portlandia marathon one Friday night that included the whole first season.  Now, we are hooked.

The recurring characters are mostly funny - the funniest being the "chin bearded" bike delivery guy with ear expanding rings & neck tattoos, whose attitude and appearance make me laugh enthusiastically.  They mock politically correct, 1990s-time-capsule-ish, extremely eclectic nature of Portland, and use loads of local actors, shooting on locale.  There was a episode where they focused entirely on locally sourced food that had me rolling.  It's over-the-top, but each little vignette lasts just long enough to not over-do it, and leave the audience looking forward to more.  Highly recommended.