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Also, Artem runs a Farmers market hot sauce stand.

That scene confused me. Judy asked for something trashy, right? Then they somehow got to Moby Dick? When you pick Moby Dick, it feels like there should be some literary significance there, white whale something something but I can't put it together. At least not with this episode. Maybe it plays out in future episodes. In retrospect, if Judy is Maureen's biological daughter but not John's, I'm really surprised at how they played the scene where Maureen realizes that John left Will to rescue Judy. It seems like a prime opportunity for a little bit of reconciliation - even though she's not YOUR daughter you still chose her over YOUR son. But it seems that since Will is her baby, and not as well-suited to the adventure as everyone thinks, she still thought he made the wrong choice. Speaking of which, why was John so resistant to let Judy go down into the ship? Yes, the path was more difficult for her than for Will, but it seemed like there was more to it than that. This happens so often with reboots/revivals/sequels/remakes that you just have to learn to roll with it. It's easier to capitalize on an existing fan base and an existing mind share than starting from scratch, so they take the loose concept and turn it into something entirely new but with the same name. Dark and edgy is (still) in vogue so we get a dark and edgy LiS. Furthermore, if they DID make this show but not call it Lost in Space they'd get accused of ripping off LiS.

Norm tells a lot of stories, particularly about his wife, and I think most of them are untrue. Or at least stretched beyond the truth. I'm watching Cheers straight through for the first time. Caught reruns frequently when I was a kid so I'm familiar enough with it, but this is the first time I've watched with any continuity. By season 2 we've heard a lot from Norm, particularly about his antipathy toward his wife. But I tend to think a lot of this is not real. He likes to stretch the truth and tell stories to try to fit in and be funny. I'm not sure how the seasons precede, we'll probably hear more about this in the future, but a few quick searches didn't provide much about this sort of theory so I figured I'd post it here. It also contributes toward the overall idea that the characters on the show are largely meant to be representative of typical bar stereotypes. Cliff's the know-it-all. Norm's the ever-present, down on his luck sad sack. And so on.

I... don't think so? He seemed genuinely conflicted that he had never broken any of the rules. I guess it's possible the script intended him to play it the way you suggested, but the actor seemed to portray it genuinely.

Garrett has had a few weird episodes lately, where it seems like the writers aren't sure who his character is. He was fan-boying over Phil LaMarr. He was suddenly a goody two-shoes who struggled to remember ever breaking any store employee rules in Amnesty. Which is silly, because two episodes later he's helping Mateo sneak into Glenn's office to change his employee score. Something which he clearly was familiar with doing. Here he has an irritating obsession with proving a woman that he likes is lying. None of those fit with the laid-back, sarcastic, manipulative trickster that we usually see in episodes like District Manager or Target. It's probably just different writers, or a struggle to fit him into some episodes, but there have been some fairly striking shifts lately.

I remember when this show started, just a few episodes in, calling up my dad and telling him this was the funniest sitcom on TV right now. It just hasn't been living up to its potential lately. Even when it experiments with the typical formula - the animated chicken story, Matt's what-if sperm donation, Sophia's musical - it falls short. And I always love when shows push their boundaries like that. Sophia, who is one of the few precocious but still likable children ever portrayed on film and an easy favorite, had two stinkers in a row. Last episodes I'm not the cute one any more, and this sing along which should have been hilarious, both felt off. Sophia's has always been deceitful and manipulative. In an adorable way. None of that was present here. Tim jumping in at the end of the song was funny though, as was Heather singing "when he bought me a purse and I promised to give him ..." Lark has never been funny, and is nowhere near as cute as the writers think she is. There are still some laughs. Leaving Tim behind was perfect. It's just not living up to what it should be.

I mean, kind of... yeah... desperately so... brb, going to the store We've seen that Dina doesn't have a great understanding of or respect for typical social norms ("You want the play-by-play, or a quicktime? I'll send you a file!"), so I thought it was completely in character for her to set Amy up with the old man. And even if you don't buy that premise, you could easily read it as her setting Amy up on bad dates in order to push her closer to Jonah. (Which is what Amy really wants, i.e. it's Dina being a good friend again. Or attempting to be.)

Totally agreed. This is a pet peeve of mine that I've seen happening a lot lately with new sitcoms. A show's premise is based around one character, but these side characters are randomly inserted without earning the screen time they're taking up. (See Superstore for a show where the side characters have earned their chance at their own stories.) The teachers lounge and the principle are fine when they're playing off of Jack, but on their own they're just a distraction. T here's still a chance these characters will turn out better stories on their own, but right now I'm not seeing it. Wait... a different person played her in the pilot? Did that pilot air or did they re-shoot it? I'd say if by episode 7 if you don't like it yet, just jet. Come back after season 2 starts to see if they have adjusted the premise or cast into something more to your taste. Otherwise why waste the time on a show you're not enjoying? This show seems to be pretty polarizing on the forums here. Some people can look past the absurdity and the behaviour of the lead that would never pass in real life to see the silly comedy behind it, while others just find it annoying. The premise of the show isn't likely to change, though.

I thought it would turn Lord of the Flies when they got locked down. Nicole running a water and snack black market was great though. Wish they'd given it more than D plot status because it was better than the dummy and better than Ronnie's crush. Alan's delivery is always spot on. With another actor he might be annoying, but here is perfectly cast. "You didn't not pose for it."

I don't expect that to happen here, because the show is so much an ensemble cast. The only way they could screw it up is if they suddenly stopped giving the other characters so much screen time to focus on Jonah and Amy.

I'm curious how they'll handle the students in a future season. They could bring in an all new class, but I think a few of them have stolen the show already. They're definitely more fun and interesting to me than the other teachers. It's possible that they all have to retake the class, but that would only (reasonably) work for 1 year. As for the A.P. test at the end of the year, my assumption is that becomes a plot point during an episode sometime this season. Even if not, we've seen the students actually care enough about school that they are most likely studying outside of the class. Call me crazy, but I really thought Jack hit it off with Sarika's mom. I hope we see more of her in future episodes.

The creator of the show, and many of the other people involved have been active over on its subreddit. They all have been saying that things get kicked up a notch in episode 6. Can't wait to see what's in store. Downside to this whole release-3-episodes-before-the-show-actually-premieres thing is I feel like I've been waiting forever for anything new!

Great catch! This seems like a good thing. The general feel around here is that the first half of this season has been a bit lacking. Maybe they realized that and are course correcting.

It is real, and takes well over 1000 hours to play!

This wasn't explained terribly well, but I think his reasoning went something like this. Only the main location was profitable on its own, and the rest were breaking even or being propped up by funds from other locations. The only reason the main restaurant was making more money was the nostalgia factor - people in that area remembered Farrell's from their childhood. But even then, people were only coming once or twice a year for special occasions, instead of making it a regular stop for them. In other words, the business model was not profitable and would not likely lend itself to expanding nationwide. Marcus could have kept that one location as it was and probably generated a couple hundred thousand in profit each year, of course that's never his goal. So Marcus needed to find a way to modernize the concept before trying to expand to new locations. I think he's hit on a good blend here with the candy, restaurant, and toys. It's sort of like a modern Cracker Barrel, sans the old Southern theme, and focused more on children and families. It wouldn't surprise me to see him open another dozen restaurants in the next year.

David Tennant is unrecognizable as Lord Commander! I've seen others complaining about this because they like his natural voice, but I love what he's doing here. Haven't identified Gina Torres yet. Tom Kenny as HUE is simply brilliant! I never got into SpongeBob for some reason, despite being the right age for it, but his voice work here makes me want to give it a go. He hits the perfect shade of HAL while adding his own personality to it.

While I think the whole birthday party gift comment was ridiculous, I have to agree with Marcus that stocking the area with <$10 toys that kids are going to latch onto is a good idea. And according to Travis the toys were their best retail category. If we're to take that at face value it means they are outperforming the candy.

This pilot was interesting to me in how different it was. Most pilots end up being slow, or not as funny as you're hoping for, because they spend more time introducing the characters or the setup of the show than they do on any actual plot. This show threw that out the window and gave us something like 4-5 different stories during the pilot. Jack went on a date with his high school girlfriend. The one student followed his bad behavior. Meshing with the other teachers in their lounge. The bully situation was dealt with. They catfished his nemesis. Each of those could well have been their own episode later in the season, but the show just threw them in here and never slowed down. I've laughed through all 3 episodes. It's my kind of absurdity.

My running assumption is that the stagnation of both technology and culture is going to be a theme throughout the show. If people don't die, but live for hundreds of years, how does society ever make progress? Even if that doesn't happen, we have the line about Envoys and how they can be dropped into a new society and integrate themselves instantly. Bit of a cop out, but maybe it will make more sense when we finally learn more about them. Apparently they're possessive and clingy, which I have no doubt will come into play at some point.

I just meant the nine in the foreground of the publicity shot. Even that's a big cast for a show, and it doesn't include everyone.

That picture really shows how big the cast has grown. Background characters, while maybe not fully fleshed out, have turned into relatively prominent roles. Not pictured... Jeff, Myrtle, Brett, Justine, Kelly, Tate, and Bo. I can't think of another show that has done such a great job developing so many supporting roles. Oh, and I'm stoked for season 4!

The clip on the site says Feb 27th.

It looks more like Indiana Jones than Stargate. That won't stop me from watching, but it's not what I expected.

Her own, apparently. She definitely seems to be more interested in the TV exposure than growing her business. Also, concerning washing raw chicken, this advice is dated. The CDC recommends you do not wash your raw chicken.

This is another one where I just can't see how the business makes any true financial sense for Marcus. Its only value seems to be rooted in the show. Sure it fits within his broader fashion holdings, but it seems like there are easier ways to get there. Who were the business owners he demoed the new clothing line to? I missed part of their intro, and I thought that the little popover said they owned sports apparel stores, but that doesn't really make sense with the style of clothing.