Lessons Learned: HIGH MAINTENANCE (“Stevie”)

Instead of a straight review, this series of posts looks at what can be learned from watching with a critical, writing-focused* perspective. First up, the fantastic web series, HIGH MAINTENANCE, created by Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld. It also happens to be one of the Top Five Things I Watched in 2013.

You probably should watch it before reading on. Or else, you know, it won’t really make sense.

I love the roughness of this first episode. Some out-of-focus shots, an unnecessary title sequence, the shots making it feeling a bit confined. It’s got that low-budget, two people talking in a room, not-great lighting webseries feel. But you can already see how nicely constructed the episodes are, especially through three things that are almost hallmarks of the series: set-up and payoff, character reversals, and a tight ending.

In this initial episode, all three are tied together. The plot, as it is, has a Frantic Personal Assistant trying to buy pot for her demanding “bitch” of a boss.

If I was going to describe this web series in TV terms, it has a cold open. In it, an off-putting guy watches porn while Our Dealer deals. The guy notices that they both have the same shoes–those Vibram Five Finger toe shoes. Or, as some of my former students termed them, “gorilla ninja” shoes. (Yes, I wore them to teach one day.) ((Yes, they are super hideous. But comfortable.))

The customer is kinda a gross guy. I mean, he’s blasting porn on a big screen when people are around. The only other significant detail in the scene is that he notices they have the same shoes. So it kinda infects the shoes with grossness. This is the set-up. It happens so quickly that you pretty much forget it as soon as you move into the next scene.

The payoff is the last line, when the Frantic Personal Assistant, notices Our Dealer’s toe shoes and says, “Those shoes are disgusting.” It’s a simple bridge between scenes, but it’s effective. And not only is it the pay-off, it also creates the tight ending.

The reason why this ending stands out is that it immediately follows a beat where the Frantic Personal Assistant accidentally chucks her phone into the toilet–then gets a high five from Our Dealer for escaping her boss. It’s a nice moment, but “those shoes are disgusting” tempers it and feels like a better ending. Because it gives us that satisfying mini-payoff. It’s also more reflective of the series than a simple triumph.

It’s also a small character reversal. My** first initial impression of the Frantic Personal Assistant is not a good one. Especially when she says, “I’m a little uncomfortable because this is my first time doing this and I expected a more professional experience…” But instead of letting the Frantic Personal Assistant stay as a frantic personal assistant for the entire episode, the next scene has her accepting Our Dealer’s offer of pot and shooting the shit with him. Telling him real personal things. So she’s kinda cool. Then she shits on his shoes. And we’re out. Bang.

The only real constant in the series is Our Dealer and his even-keeled, expressive-eyed, wild-bearded ways. The series loves to set up expectations for a character and then reverse them. Or tweak them. Or destroy them. It’s great character work in small doses.

* I’m using “writing” kinda loosely here. Since I don’t know how much is scripted or ad-libbed or whatever.
** Initially I had “our” instead of “my” but then I realized that’s assuming too much. Maybe you love frantic personal assistants and really relate to them and their neuroses and semi-rude ways.