Barb (TV series)
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Barb is an American made Sitcom that originally ran on Nextflix from 2016 to whenever it ends. It was a spinoff of the show Stranger Things of which Barb was a minor character. Set predominately in New York City in a random apartment complex, the show features a variety of characters created to provide funny comedic situations; the wacky best friend, the eccentric neighbor and of course, the Monster which was an already existing character that appeared in both shows concurrently. Is it often described as being a show "where literally nothing happens" and true to it's word; many of the episodes feature no interesting plots or comedic goldmines.
Despite that, it was a favorite among critics who declared it to be "the best show of all time"; it lead ratings thanks to Barb's massive and devoted fanbase and often topped the lists of major publications and independent web publications who were just starting out.
Production[edit | edit source]
The show was conceived after Barb, a character of which was killed off pretty quickly, suddenly gained massive popularity among fans of Stranger Things. Realizing this, the producers of the show set off to create the spinoff; under the guise that it would be radically different than Stranger Things and "showcase Barb in ways nobody could ever imagine".
The show was initially titled "The Barb Chronicles" and it's pilot episode featured tons of guest stars from Stranger Things despite them having absolutely nothing to do with the plot, hoping that would win over appeal of Netflix executives and fans of Stranger Things. Test audiences were split, some thought they were watching a Stranger Things episode, others were angered by the fact that the guest stars were disrupting the appeal of Barb and others wanted to know where the restroom was... One particular comment that stood out the most was "OMG, who the fuck are these people and why are they with Barb?". This mixed reception would of killed the show, had it not been for the decision to cancel Richie Rich, a children's sitcom which focused on some obscure comic character. This decision is attributed for allowing Barb to exist.
The show's premiere season became a hit almost instantly, propelling it to the top of Netflix's most-watched list alongside Air Bud and Barbie: Yet Another Fantasy Adventure. It was popular not only with young adults but with 16 year old squirmy females who make GIF's on Tumblr and post poorly written fanfiction about their favorite show. Netflix has since renewed it for various seasons as it's popularity grew; eclipsing that of the series that it span-off from. Eventually Netflix would cancel Stranger Things in favor of making more Barb episodes, a decision of which affected Stranger Things fans but nobody cares about that.
Premise[edit | edit source]
Characters[edit | edit source]
- Main
- Barb - Barb is a "avid reader" who likes to read books and go to the library. She often joins her "friends" in various escapades; very few of which she is involved in and often carries around a book, preferring to read it rather than do anything else. She does tell jokes but they're often dry; which is a recurring running joke throughout the series.
- Mr. Kramer - Kramer is the eccentric neighbor who likes to act wacky; he lives next door to Barb and often interjects himself in her situations by appearing at inappropriate times, often with a nonsensical joke. He has no concern for any of societal rules preferring to cut in line and park in handicap spots which often created many of the shows plotlines and twists, he is also an inventor though invents inane, crazy gadgets that serve no purpose such as the coffee cup holder and "I Can't Believe It's Not Anything".
- Elaine - Elaine is Barb's best friend forever which disputes canon in Stranger Things but nobody cares, Elaine is described as "the sliest, wittiest, most apathetic person you could ever think of" and often has no compassion for anybody, including Barb. She is known to date various men who are often people who are able to spit witty jokes and also hold high-paying positions. Throughout the show, she has never managed to get married or go to third base with any of the men she's dated which is explored upon in the show. Like Kramer, she has no concern for societal rules but unlike him, she at least has a sense of modesty.
- The Monster - The Monster just happens to live with Barb for the purpose of having a 4th wheel on the show and originally came from Stranger Things. He is stuck-up and selfish, mostly caring about getting achievements without working hard for them. He is an inventor of pyramid schemes that never truly work, schemes featured on such episodes as "The Timeshare", and "The Euroipod" which showcased his lack of empathy. He is also a compulsive exaggerator, he claims that he is very tall, has a large bottom area, is black and can transform to the Hulk at a whim. Many of these exaggerations lead to him being slapped, beaten up and in worser cases; being eaten by a Grue. He often quips about his experiences in the "upside-down" world, often providing an erotic quip at the end.
- Minor
Throughout it's long run, Barb has had many memorable minor characters that often reappear in episodes. These characters can be twisted like Barb's nemesis "Uncle Jerry" who often causes discomfort around those he hangs out with or one-note characters such as "The Book Nazi" who runs the local library and often denies Barb the books she ever so needs; not because of any dislike but to use the catchphrase "No Book For You", which has become a tagline of T-Shirts everywhere.
Minor characters often play a role in forming the fabric of Barb's world, making the mundane seem even more mundane; they also provide alot of the show's appeal as everybody flocks to see comedy gold from them, gold which has made Barb one of the greatest shows of this generation.
Plotlines[edit | edit source]
Many episodes of Barb are often imagined from the perspective of what would Barb do in her daily routine, which usually resulted in her staying home, reading a book and then going to bed. Many writers then incorporate wacky situations and exciting locations in order to make comedy gold out of them; including exaggerating real life situations such as parking in a no-parking zone ("The No-Parking Spot") or causing a ruckus in a club ("The Club"), Barb is often along for the ride but much of the plotline revolves around characters that are not Barb, thus resulting in episodes that have Barb barely impacting the trajectory of the plot, something fans of the show called "disgraceful" and "why are they not focusing on Barb?". Some episodes focus on the other characters with Barb appearing on screen at all times in a tiny little box on the right, in order to not piss off the leigon of Barb fans which drive it's ratings. These episodes are often called the weaker episodes of the series, mainly for reasons that "Barb" is not with them when it happens.
Themes[edit | edit source]
Barb broke conventions of any form of media by having literally nothing going on throughout the episodes. Barb contains elements of postmodern nihilism, the first TV show to ever have elements deriving from that.
The show typically encourages people to read books as books are a good source of knowledge for the future; besides that, it's also driven by irreverent humor and disproportionate views of humanity; one of the running themes of the show is the characters attempting to correct their own problems, always resulting to failure. The audience is never made to care about anybody except Barb; no empathy or sympathy is shown in any character at any times with the notable exception of Barb. This was once showcased when one of the more famous minor characters (Susan) was killed off in spectacular fashion ("The Wedding"), no one cried or even cared; except Barb who broke down in tears.
The characters are 30 year old nobodies with no identities and no moral grounding (except for Barb). The show often broke conventions that were normal in all forms of media, the real life and fantasy worlds were converged into one, thus making the show eerily similar to reality. Characters on the show did not care that they were characters themselves and often broke character for the sake of humor and their own personal amusement. The characters and world of the show could best be described as a "defiance to any form of establishment, real or otherwise" as the show often insulted tradition and intelligence, suggesting that whatever they believed in was just one big circlejerk; except for Barb who's lifestyle is seen as "stable and mundane".
Catchphrases[edit | edit source]
The show is routinely known for producing catchphrases that appear on the T-Shirts of hipsters. Photos of Barb with the caption "I'm going to the library" have become major sellers on sites such as Amazon and eBay with prices ranging up to $1,000 per shirt. Other catchphrases such as "I ate it up quick" and "I think this is a totally acceptable idea" have not sold as well with the fanbase with those shirts going for $0.01 in various real life flee markets.
Certain slang has been popularized by Barb reflecting holidays ("Festivus") shock ("Barbastic") acts of sexual deviance ("Slickery")... That slang has also been used as a code by people in the left-wing establishments to show their disenchantment with the current political system and by Barb fans to show how much they love the show.
Music[edit | edit source]
There was never much musical variety on Barb, the only piece of music that was on there was a bass guitar that contained some form of clicks and pops. It could be used in a different variety of ways such as being replayed on a different instrument in order to reflect a different country (which rarely happened if ever) and was even played with different notes in order to emphasize the emotions of the characters, sort of like a slide whistle.
Due to a "if it works, don't fix it" mentality... Barb has continued to use the same piece of music for the entirety of it's run, barely switching it up thanks to the fans continued love for it.
Legacy[edit | edit source]
Barb has influenced a lot of modern comedy, it's defiance and surrealism has left a mark on any aspiring comedian who hopes to make it big in the business. Comedy acts which were usually trite and boring have become exciting and unexpected; comedians now stand around doing nothing reading a book, which has garnered laughs around many comedy clubs. This routine is known as "The Barb Routine".
Pronounced literary expert Oscar Wilde has given his opinion on why Barb is the greatest comedy of not this era, but of this generation.
| “ | "I seriously do not like this show; whoever gave it the terms "defiant" and "irreverent" should be shot. It's just a stupid show where a minor character who didn't even matter that much to begin just sits around and reads a book while the other characters do more interesting shit. I do not understand why the camera focuses on Barb all the time, all she does is read a book and go to the library. This wasn't even as good as Seinfeld, in fact Seinfeld had more innovation and wits than Barb will ever have in it's entire lifetime. I could at least understand what all the fuss was about but this? This is just trash designed by Netflix to appeal to 16 year old girls in the hopes that they'd buy merchandise and stupid stuff like that? Truly pathetic television, fuck this show." | ” |
Of course, "Seinfeld" is a show that does not exist but if it did, it would probably be called a ripoff of Barb.