SmithW6079

Opinions vary, of course, but I liked "Happy Endings" from the very first episode, and subsequent episodes only confirmed that, so I found it frustrating that others hadn't discovered this gem.

Esp not the guy who created the Max character on Happy Endings... Who also created the character Derrick on "Happy Endings," who is as stereotypical drama queen as you can get, so it washes. And for every Max, there are half-a-dozen stereotypes floating out there.

That was surprisingly touching, and considering the source was the corporatized Disney machine, surprisingly subversive. Imagine -- actually believing the "blood, sweat, and tears" American worker, not the corporate oligarchy, is worthy of respect and admiration? (And the janitor and lunch lady are probably members of a union too!) Maybe to atone for his past as a bully? I don't care if Topanga is a bad mother or what, but I love her interactions/ruminations on children, especially when she remembered she had another kid.

"Happy Endings" was hilarious. This was dreck. Oh, I guess that's more a difference than a similarity. OK -- they're both set in sitcom Chicago. That's it. I got nothin' else.

I said upthread that I liked the gay dads, and I did, but what would have been nicer? If the two dads were not stereotypical gays. Why couldn't they be construction-working bears in denim and flannel? No, they have to reflect what Hollywood believes all gay men are -- prissy, fastidious, and fashionable. And the interracial thing, with "we don't know whose sperm made our daughter"? "Glee" did that several years ago. See, and I don't find that type of embarrassment humor at all funny. It makes me embarrassed to watch the character.

Agreed. It's not even that the Kate Walsh character is not funny or we're supposed to find her "quirkiness" amusing. What lost me in this episode was that she got high and then called the police and 911 because she was tripping. Given how they've been setting up the character, there's no way it was the first time she got high, so that part was ridiculous, and really, only happened so she could score some fireman beefcake. And I'm tired of these workplace comedies where boss and underling are "besties." When her car breaks down, she doesn't think to call AAA or some other roadside service? No, she calls her bailiff who not only picks her up but offers her words of wisdom. That being said, when the van was destroyed, I laughed. Although, would a tanker truck have kept going after destroying a van? Isn't that, oh I don't know, illegal?

I thought it was majorly disappointing and almost painful to watch. "Happy Endings" it ain't (reinforced by watching "Happy Endings" clips on YouTube). I like Ken Marino, so all I wanted him to do was run far, far away from Casey Wilson (can't bother to learn the characters' names). Yes, Casey Wilson character, the fact that you had a total meltdown because your boyfriend didn't propose to you, you insulted all of his friends and family, and you got him fired with your own proposal does mean you shouldn't be together. If this is "Marry Me," I predict the spin-off is "Sign the Divorce Papers, You Bitch!" I did find the two gay dads mildly amusing, but that was it.

Really? I enjoyed both of them. I loved Peter's story of filming "Three Musketeers" in the Czech Republic, finding out that one of the boys there loved "Doctor Who," but he couldn't tell the youngster he was going to be the next Doctor.

Except the "Mystical Black Woman" is a multimillionaire, with a skyscraper that bears her name. There are worse people to teach you a lesson. I guess that is Jackee's natural voice? I always thought it was something she put on. (I remember her from the Marla Gibbs sitcom "227.") I thought the umbrella idea was stupid, though. You can buy one on the street for $5 or $10, and if it craps out on you, it's only $5. If you've spent money for a good one, then you're going to make sure you take it with you, not leave it for the next subway schlub. Liked that Farkle called out Riley for making class all about her all the time. Who on earth could eat a giant sugar cube? My teeth were rotting just thinking about it. Love that Topanga has a 6-year-old girl as an arch nemesis. But really, what class does Cory Matthews actually teach? And being a homeroom teacher wouldn't work. In my high school, homeroom was were we gathered before the day started. There was never any teaching (and certainly no assignments or homework).

According to Wikipedia: "In 2011, Ross appeared in four episodes of CSI as the estranged wife of Laurence Fishburne's character." So she went from being his wife to his daughter-in-law. I liked it. I laughed out loud a few times -- mostly the breakfast scene with the family.

I believe she hyphenated.

Weren't the beatniks the late '50s/early '60s, while flower children a product of the late '60s/early '70s? It bugged me that May's bus broke down in New York, heading to California. I guess I presumed she would have begun her journey from NYC, which would have meant the bus broke down before it even started. So by not befriending Rosie McGee, at least two of the others had bad lives? Apparently, Maya is still paying for the mistakes of her great-grandmother. And while I think Sabrina Carpenter is great, and I like the character, I am getting a little tired (already) of "Maya thinks she's not special, but she really is." I know they were going for a "Beat" vibe by calling Farkle's great-grandfather "Ginsberg" (obviously evoking Allen Ginsberg). Were they implying that Farkle's great-grandfather was also gay (or bisexual)? I thought Riley was adorable in her Audrey Hepburn get-up. She looked good with her hair like that.

Here's my wish list: Amy finally realizes Sheldon will never give her what she wants; that he only tolerates her when it's to his advantage, and finally dumps him. Raj gets deported back to India. Shortly thereafter, India and Pakistan have a limited nuclear engagement. Raj is vaporized, and we never have to hear from him again. Penny gets some semblance of success, in anything.

Sheldon's such a d-bag, I enjoy it when he's scared and upset, and I keep hoping he'll get some comeuppance, but he never does. The only I found disturbing was the "half-naked" part. Nobody needs to see that.

Sheldon is tolerable for me only in small doses. I hated him the most when he said something about being the baby and the baby always wins. If no one (except Howard) would take Sheldon's class, doesn't that mean the University would have canceled it? (I have a cousin who's a university professor and she's said that she has to have a minimum of five students to teach a class.) If they had to cancel it, wouldn't Sheldon still be out of a job? And are they playing fast and loose with his grant money? It was to study string theory, not dark matter, not teach.

Plus, in the episode where Hayley causes havoc when Jeff dumps her, Francine yells at Stan to "Shoot her! Shoot her in the face!" when Hayley grabs Francine.

She has lived in LA for eight years. I did't need to see any of it. I don't think Jim Parsons is attractive (or at least as Sheldon), so it's kind of creepy when they show him in underwear or being sexual in any way. (And did he refer to his genitals as "boy parts"?) Sheldon is tied, with Raj, as my least favorite character. He was a dick to Amy, and has been for years (he's been a dick to his "friends" for even longer). Maybe someone should start asking her why she stays in an emotionally abusive relationship. I liked that Penny owned up to it being a lousy interview and apologized for wasting the interviewer's time.

What bothered me about the Greg and Terry story line was that they referred to "adopting" Libby. Now, I know you can't really expect continuity on a cartoon where people don't age in real time and it's always the present, and I know that continuity doesn't mean anything to the creators of "American Dad" (I think I read that some place -- maybe AV Club), but Francine was their surrogate and either Greg or Terry is Libby's biological father. I would have thought that Greg would be the one who would try to "junk food" it up on the side, not Terry. And maybe I shouldn't have, but I laughed when Roger opened the airplane door and Michael got sucked out. Normally, I don't like his homicidal tendencies, but this was funny. I liked the return of the Golden Turd, too. The woman being executed -- that was the cop's wife who found it all those years ago?

Leonard is my favorite character, and sometimes I think he gets a raw deal. He puts up with Sheldon's bullshit, which makes him a saint. One of my favorite Leonard moments is when Sheldon goes crazy and ends up in the ball pit at some arcade. They call Leonard to come get Sheldon, and when he does, he says, "Oh, Shelly," in such a way that you know he cares about Sheldon, even if he drives him crazy. I have no problem with Leonard's passive-aggressive ways of getting back at Sheldon, because let's face it, Sheldon's a douche.

I think the "cray cray" is especially strong when people say they want a tiny house to be mobile. I can't imagine having to pack everything up, tie everything down when it comes time to move it. And once again, they're squatters on someone else's property. Did they run electric out to the field, or a super extra long extension cord? The show continues to gloss over all of these things. The "Tiny House" show I wouldn't mind watching would be about the people they visit who are living in tiny homes -- like the guy in this episode, with the tri-level tiny home, or the lady a couple of episodes ago with the garden or the couple. These are people who are really living the "tiny house movement." I'd love to see how they built their homes, what they did to prepare for life in 200 square feet, etc. I can't help but feel that except for the bachelor pad and the Colorado couple, the rest of the people (especially the ones with children) are just poseurs.

I'm convinced that Riley has early-onset Eric Matthews Disease (see also "Rose Nyland Disease," "Ted Baxter Disease" -- basically, any example of a character who is just too stupid to live). Cory and Topanga know this, so they let her get away with all kinds of juvenile shit because in a year or two, she's going to be too stupid to tie her shoes or even remember how to breathe. I was annoyed at how disrespectful Maya was. Really, she addresses the teacher as "Matthews"? Except for Eric's "Feeney" call, did any of the "Boy Meets World" cast ever address Mr. Feeney as anything other than "Mr. Feeney," especially when in school? Once again, Cory's lesson (today we're studying Greek history; last week, it was the Civil War; and the time before that, a spelling bee, or whatever) deals with the lesson Riley and Maya need to learn. (Was it my imagination, or are they starting to get meta about this? Didn't Riley say something about whatever lesson Cory had to teach her this week?) Also, Auggie annoys me. Not the "I'm this many" bit, but that a 5-year-old is (1) noticing girls, (2) that he has a girlfriend at all, and (3) that he thinks she supposed to be the love of his life. I grow more impressed with Sabrina Carpenter each episode. It occurred to me that Disney has recreated the studio system of old -- they have all this kids in their stable, put them in various sitcoms or original movies until they're old enough to go out on their own. Some will do well, others will crash and burn, and we'll read about them in the "Stars We've Lost" section at year's end.

I finally caught this episode. I liked the couple, especially when the wife choked up talking about her job. However, I call BS that that house ever moved. In the "three months after" shot, the close-up was on the couple, with the tiny house in the distance and slightly out of focus. It looked as though the trellis that surrounded the trailer and the plantings were the same. And once again, no explanation of water and power hook-ups, so they were once again squatting on a relative's land. While I think an RV would have been better in terms of mobility, they probably got more "bang for the buck" with the tiny house -- or at least a greater sense of "home" than they would have with an RV.

As soon as I heard that Rod was a high school drama teacher, I figured that any emotion we saw would be suspect. That being said, I felt for the guy, maybe because I identified with so many parts of his story. The "audition" was uncomfortable to watch. I wish they had made it more of an "acting workshop" than an audition in front of producers. The moment he flubbed the first line of the song, they would have said "Next!" and he'd be off the stage. I cringed when they said Rod would be on their "radar." Please, his resume went into the trash as soon as Chris and the cameras left. How could the show's production team not provided him with a new headshot? Was it just to add even more drama? I don't think any of them will keep the weight off, but now they'll have giant full-body scars where all their excess skin was cut off. How many of "The Biggest Loser" contestants have put the weight back on again? So much weight lost so quickly does not give the person time to truly learn new ways of thinking, new ways of eating and exercising.

I love book recommendations. If only there were "world enough and time"...to read everything I wanted to read. I've been all over the place in terms of genres lately, but here are some of my latest: "Life is a Wheel," by Bruce Weber. A New York Times reporter bikes across America. Beautifully written. "Redeployment," by Phil Klay. A collection of short stories about Marines deployed to Iraq. The author is himself a Marine and was deployed to Iraq during the surge. The stories of Eric Frank Russell, a sci-fi writer from the "golden age" of science fiction (defined, as Robert Silvergberg does, as the stories created in 1950s(. "Light Between Oceans," by ML Stedman. It's not the strongest story, but I liked its setting of a lighthouse in 1920s Australia. What I especially liked about "Life is a Wheel" and "Redeployment" is reading authors whose command of the language is as strong as the stories they're writing about, authors from whom I can learn.

Any episode that features Raj prominently is my least favorite. I don't like the character at all. I think he's a pretentious, boring, skeevy rich kid. Howard was upfront that he was sleazy; Raj hides it in coying sweetness. I think the "Panty Pinata" is one of my favorites. I have plenty of favorite scenes overall -- where Sheldon is trying to learn to drive with Howard's simulation and he crashes into the mall, especially the pet store (if only for Leonard's, "Not the pet store..."). I like where Leonard goes to get Sheldon from the ball pit (his "Oh, Shelly" is endearing). The gang's desire to watch dinner with Sheldon and Ramona (Leonard: "we're just going." Howard: "To watch, right?").