Two years ago, Louis C.K. was TV’s hottest commodity. His first stab at television, 2006’s ‘Lucky Louie’ on HBO, was a dark take on the traditional multi-camera sitcom. Perhaps too challenging a concept for the in-studio audience, let alone HBO subscribers, the network promptly canceled the show after its first season. Other networks jumped at grabbing such a talent.

Amid a myriad of offers, FX approached C.K. with the most interesting one yet: absolute creative control in exchange for considerably less money. FX was so confident in its newly acquired asset that C.K. didn’t even need to send in a script. He got $200,000 to shoot a pilot and the result was a thoughtfully engaging season of television. But compared to this summer’s second season of ‘Louie,’ those first 13 episodes feel like a warm-up round.

Take the show’s most recent episode Aug. 25, ‘Duckling,’ by no means a common episode of ‘Louie.’ The hour-long episode does not take place in New York City, C.K.’s regular stomping ground, truly setting it apart from 10 already superb episodes.

Louie, the fictional one, is leaving for Afghanistan on a USO tour to entertain the troops. Before he does, he finds out it’s his family’s turn to take care of his youngest daughter’s class pets — ducklings. As he puts his daughters to bed, he explains where he’s going and what he’s doing. The older one worries about her father while the younger one is concerned about keeping one of those all too adorable ducklings.

She gets her wish by stowing away a little ball of fuzz in her dad’s luggage, After settling in at his first forward operating base, Louie discovers this after hearing chirps. Her note states that the duckling is to keep him safe, and it does just that.

While moving bases, the USO’s helicopter has some technical issues and is forced to land, coming into contact with some hostile natives. A standoff commences until the cute duckling waddles its way out of Louie’s bag. Even at gunpoint, all he can do is chase after it, falling over in the process and bringing unexpected comedic brevity to the situation. They all finally put down their guns and forget their hostilities, brought together by a universally shareable image: an adorable baby animal.

There’s a lot of the hour I’ve left out. Louie’s stand-up sections, which always address themes in the plot, were particularly relevant this week. After all, his performances for the troops were part of the story. Then, there are his fellow USO performers. One, a hot young cheerleader, acts as foreshadowing for the ending. Louie cannot find any common subject to talk about with her, save for that duckling. The other, a country western singer and former army ranger, gets to perform a good bit, as C.K. gives his songs a certain respect.

C.K., who writes, directs, acts and edits every episode, never lets any one of his many duties suffer. And the effort isn’t in vain, earning ‘Louie’ its most recent accolades: two surprising Emmy nominations for C.K.’s writing and acting. He was never an actor to begin with, but it’s probably that lack of training that gives way to one of the more authentic performances on TV today. He also isn’t afraid to take on a variety of topics including war, suicide, divorce and racism.

I always have trouble recommending ‘Louie’ to people as a comedy because of episodes like this. There are very long stretches where nothing funny happens on purpose. Not a lot of shows on TV will forgo laughs for a strong theme. ‘Louie’ is gut-bustingly funny at times, but it’s also poignant. This isn’t TV. This is art.

jswucher@syr.edu

Published on August 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Jeff: jswucher@syr.edu