"Probing the Idea of Greatness"

"The best of these episodes can forever change the way you watch the source material. Sometimes, you want to run back to the original with a newfound swelling of appreciation. 'Final Transmission,' for instance, pays homage to Talking Heads' 1984 concert film, Stop Making Sense, fondly quoting bassist Tina Weymouth's blond, shaggy hairstyle and David Byrne's oversize business suit. Other episodes reveal holes in work you previously admired. 'Parker Gail’s Location Is Everything' puts a dark twist on Swimming to Cambodia, Jonathan Demme's 1987 film about the performance artist Spalding Gray and his elaborate monologues; Hader plays him as a misogynist fabulist, who can't stop warping the truth, inventing anecdotes about a pushy girlfriend and about encountering a wise woman in the subway, who tells him 'you'll get where you need to go.'"

Rachel Syme at The New Republic watches Documentary Now!