Bobbin

LOL. Katy: "Kids change." Roseanne: "You can be replaced, you know." (I'll let someone else explain the reference.) Greg and Katy have always been more parents to Cooper than his actual parents (which basically was no parenting at all), so this is a good move. I'm OK with no COVID or election references (they did address global warming and the environment in the first season, I believe). Think the timelessness of syndication. Tripp's description of the pony wedding was delightful and charming! And his knowing everyone's talents, hidden or known, was heart-warming. Taylor and Tripp will always need adult help, but they do make the world a better place. As does Katy, in her way.

Peyton Meyer (Trip - one "p") was part of the "family" on Celebrity Family Feud. Not really a surprise that he was the best player.

I worked for a principal who told one of my fragile students that he was probably the reason his parents had split up. Our high school principal was an alcoholic who refused to have anything to do with students. A counselor who barged into classrooms and berated and snapped at students confided that she was bothered that students never came to her with their problems. My stepson, who taught himself ASL so he could talk with hearing impaired students, was told by a high school teacher during class that he was stupid and would never amount to anything. And then struck him (which I didn't learn until long after the fact). Not everyone who holds a teacher's certificate should be allowed anywhere near children. Others can never be paid their true worth.

I have mixed feelings about celebrity guests who don't know how the game works because they aren't fans and are only there because Disney insisted. Poor Daniel DiMaggio was a deer in the headlights. It made me think of when the producers made the kids from "Eight Simple Rules" and Katy Sagal sit for an interview on TV right after John Ritter's sudden death.

This has probably been answered upthread, but what is the Jack in the Box commercial about with the angel wings? I'm never paying attention until it's nearly over. And who is the cute guy? (Even Jack thinks he's cute.)

I take the series as parodies of people in regular, boring office jobs: bureaucrats who won't help if it's not in their job description, doting parents who interrupt and embarrass you at work, Dagwood Bumstead asleep at his desk (again), etc.

For a sitcom with so many quirky characters, it sure generates a lot of thoughtful analysis and comments. Kudos to the writers.

The shell game action was deliberately slowed down and simplified so that the audience, as well as Taylor, would see that Taylor was a victim of sleight of hand, which is how shell games work. I imagine that Cooper uses a credit card with no limit for everything he buys, so he would be oblivious to the significance of the cost of things. Price is just an abstract number to him. This was a good turnabout for both boys, especially for Oliver, realizing that his family makes him rich in ways that Cooper only dreams of. Gay or not, the boys do love each other.

Hooray for Franklin. Just last week I asked for more moments with characters displaying hidden talents, so this surprise was very gratifying.

True. Even today, if a restaurant customer skips out without paying, the server is stuck with the bill. But they're not automatically fired over the customer's dishonesty. That also is possible. But more likely that Dale fired Georgie, with attitude, to punish Connie for rejecting his proposal. Ah, well, only the writers (and the all-knowing god Thoth) know the truth.

I'm not so sure a corporate manager would "automatically" fire a valued employee over a mistake, even a significant one. Besides, with the sales Georgie brings in every day, Dale could absorb the loss even if Georgie hadn't made it up to him. Dale is just a jerk who uses people. And never forget, he killed Trudy Monk! Now, that's unforgivable.

A typical teenager reaction, thinking the robbery was something he should handle himself without having to ask adults (the police) for help. The store wasn't robbed because Georgie left the till open and unattended, it was robbed because a crook stole the money. A lesson learned, one he'll never forget. I wonder how often Dale has been robbed. (The older Montana gets, the more he looks like Jerry O'Connell. I do hope he gets his own spinoff some day.) This is the second time Sheldon has had a dream revelation. The first time involved numbers, and he woke up before the secret was revealed.

So much for Oliver's maturing. But good for Pierce calling him out. The Trip-Franklin subplot was well done and sweet. I wish we would see more of the other side of the other characters, the moments few people are ever privileged to see in real life. Katie's ultimate tactic to rein in Anna-Kat wasn't shaming, just flat out humiliating. But whatever works.

Mine, too. He was stationed in Manila. It wasn't until a few weeks before he died at 94 that he revealed that the day before his unit was to invade Japan to set up an airfield for the main assault, the first atom bomb was dropped and the mission was put on hold.

I was just watching some noir films from the '30s where EVERYONE lived in colonial mansions. There were no 1-2 bedroom starter homes. Apparently in those days you started at the top. In modern times, I know a family with several children of a successful patriarch who gave each a sizeable amount for their first homes, so they each started out with a large house and little or no mortgage. Maybe that's the story with Jay's kids. Wasn't there an episode with Phil giving back money he received from Jay years ago? Mitchell, too?

I thought about that, too. But I saw it as a reason why he might as well move. Mitch said he could be a judge, and he may well make a good Justice of the Peace, being more qualified than most. I can't make up my mind about Lily. Has she ever shown a glimmer of love for her fathers, anything more than wisecracks? I expected her to ask to stay behind. Everyone's life has changed, and they each have gone on to bigger things, new careers, etc. But none of them has actually grown. For me, the most fun has been all of the unbilled guest stars, especially Nathan Lane. And the love between Claire and Phil, from the magical anniversary to the Hawaiian wedding. That I will miss.

Working with Dr.Palmer and Eric Beale in the same office with their identical nervous banter would drive me up the wall. Kasie is a keeper. If and when NCIS Mothership packs it in, I hope they transfer her to NCIS:LA -- they need a lively lab tech. As for the episode, meh.

Deeks has changed in one way since his introduction as LAPD liaison and perpetually scruffy undercover agent. In the beginning he was risk- and action-averse. Now he is a sharp-shooter who is not afraid to pull the trigger and as willing to go to Eastern European and Middle East hot spots at a moment's notice as any of the agents. That transition kind of snuck up on us under the mop and stubble.

What's with Kensi Bligh and the matronly, no makeup look? It's unusual for adult actors to age out of the franchise, but that may be the case here. The mothership rotated out all but McGee and Gibbs. Maybe that's the plan here.

We have come a long way in two generations. A big city newspaper once ran a feature story on the plight of LGBT high school students that included many interviews with both out and closeted teens. In response, the Vice Principal of their school held a press conference the next day where she "assured" everyone that there were no gay students in her school, despite the actual student testimonies, which must have been devastating to those students. I'm glad this episode had a happy ending, but there is still a ways to go with many pockets of bullying and ignorance. God bless teens like the football player's teammates for calling him out on his faux sniping at Oliver while at the same time giving him the reassurance to come out.

Poor Luke. From always getting his head stuck in the railing when he was nine to taking a header tonight, that stair case is out to get him (and everyone else). And being ignored while he obviously has a concussion. "Someone could get hurt!" "I'm getting sleepy...."

Oliver gets detention just for giving the principal a hard time? He never said he was gay, just didn't deny it. It was good that the gay football player's buddies straightened him out over the way he pretended to treat Oliver, but probably not realistic. He's a social star -- the peer nfluence usually goes in the opposite direction. Katy can do the right thing. Who knew? And AnnaKat is growng up. Taylor, too, in baby steps.

Besides pointing to and calling out the suspect's name from across the street to give him a running start, the other trope in crime shows is that only the show's principals can be called to the scene, any time of the day and no matter how far away they are. At least CSI once or twice acknowledged that LVPD did have a day shift.

As I see it, Sheldon is spoiled, and respected, because he is incredibly gifted. That may be the whole story. But is he also on the autism spectrum? The flaw in that theory is that while he thoughtlessly uses both family and friends, he also is depressed at the thought of being friendless and alone. Love 'em or hate 'em, the more I learn about these characters, the better I understand them. Just like real people.

In fairness, Sheldon deserves more than a footnote. Authors of treatises do give special thanks in the preface to those who contributed in some substantial way. And Sheldon did more than make one suggestion. Dr. Sturgis may have spent years working on his paper, but he wound up re-writing the whole thing after talking with Sheldon. An accusation of plagerism could doom Dr. Sturgis's career, but it wouldn't hurt it to give Sheldon more than a footnote nod. Of course, that would never satisfy Sheldon's demand for equal billing. So in the end, Sheldon deserved what he got: nothing.