Eastbound & Down, an new comedy series from HBO, tells the sad tale of Kenny Powers, a dynamic relief pitcher (originally on the Atlanta Braves) who loses his fastball but never his attitude: rude, crude, and lewd. When the pros no longer have any use for him, he returns to his home town where he becomes a middle school gym teacher.
If you like Will Ferrell in Semi-Pro, Blades of Glory, and Talladega Nights, you’ll enjoy Eastbound & Down (on which he serves as executive producer and also does a guest starring spot). Danny McBride, the actor who plays Powers, probably based the character on Ferrel’s past performances; he even looks a bit like him in spots.
Like Rocker, Powers has a big mouth, is extremely opinionated, hates non-Americans, and ain’t none too bright. I’m not going to speak to the actual baseball content other than two impressions of the opening show: if they’re going to put him on real major league teams, that have to come up with more realistic uniforms. My softball team looks more professional. Second, here’s a clip of the opening sequence, which is NSFW and laced with expletives:
My question: Based on their reactions, are there that many Braves fans in Baltimore, which is where the final game was played?
I used to think that any based series was better than none at all (see Bay City Blues available on DailyMotion.com), but now I’m re-evaluating.
National Public Radio did a couple of features about the new show, including McBride’s interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air.
is available on Amazon.com,
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