GRChereck

Den Of Geek's Writers'-Room Walk-Throughs for the first half of LMOE season 3: Part 1 -- "General Breast Theme with Cobras" (3x1) and "The Wild Guess Express" (3x2) Topics include Jon Hamm's cameo (RIP Darrell), planning the premiere, creating/casting Lewis, the fake eyebrows, taking the show in a different direction, Cher, Todd and Melissa's different coping mechanisms, Pat's disappearance, etc. Part 2 -- "You're All Going to Diet" (3x3) and "Five Hoda Kotbs" (3x4) Topics include bombs and singing fish, altered death threats, Melissa's downward spiral, the decision to have the survivors leave Malibu, the flashback, creating an empty world with budget constraints, what's funny / emotional for the writers vs. society-rebuilding stuff, Gail's breaking point, etc. Part 3 -- "The Power of Power" (3x5) and "The Open-Ended Nature of Unwitnessed Deaths" (3x6) Topics include the survivors' new location, revisiting the Todd/Melissa/Gail relationship, Todd and Melissa's Shawshank roleplay, Gail's backstory, Tandy's return to Tucson/reunion with Gary, etc. Part 4 -- "Mama's Hideaway" (3x7), "Whitney Houston, We Have a Problem" (3x8) and "If You're Happy and You Know It" (3x9) Topics include the family theme, cut Erica-and-Lewis material, Lewis learning to fly, Gail and Melissa's disappearances, the dinosaur suit, Todd and Carol's conflict, Forte's idea for the elevator storyline, the honeymoon/fish plot, figuring out the mid-season cliffhanger/climax, etc.

Den Of Geek's Writers'-Room Walk-Throughs for LMOE season 2: Part 1 -- "Is There Anybody Out There?" (2x1) and "The Boo" (2x2) Topics include why the rest of the cast was brought back so soon after Tandy and Carol struck out on their own, the aircraft carrier, the train, the decision to make Tandy a more empathetic character, the burned house, etc. Part 2 -- "Dead Man Walking" (2x3) and "C to the T" (2x4) Topics include the time-jump between seasons, Tandy's "gunpoint apology" and redemption arc, the stocks, the beginning of Phil 2's downward spiral, expiration dates, Forte's physical comedy, the Todd cliffhanger, etc. Part 3 -- "Crickets" (2x5) and "A Real Live Wire" (2x6) Topics include Gail's drinking / grief and "doctor" arc, the idea of a working freezer, disagreements among the characters over repopulation and society-building, shifting dynamics, etc. Part 4 -- "Baby Steps" (2x7) and "No Bull" (2x8) Topics include Erica's pregnancy, humanizing Phil 2, working with cows, Tandy's family talk and Mike's space story, Forte's fascination with male rivalry, Todd's relationships with Melissa and Gail, music cues, etc. Part 5 -- "Secret Santa" (2x9) and "Silent Night (aka Christmas)" (2x10) Topics include Phil 2's sudden illness, Carol's Christmas decorations, Mike's job in space, Melissa's proposal, the use of cliffhangers, the Body Lockers scene, exhuming Gordon, naming Erica's baby, etc. Part 6 -- "Pitch Black" (2x11) and "Valhalla" (2x12) Topics include other ideas for where Mike could've landed, filming around Sudeikis' schedule, Pat's personality, the body-bags and answering the "where are the bodies?" question, "Tubthumping" (and "Informer"), making a funny funeral, Phil 2's middle name, Tandy's "closure" song, Phil 2/Mike parallels, etc. Part 7 -- "Fish in the Dish" (2x13) and "Skidmark" (2x14) Topics include Jared Hess, Tandy and Carol's fertility issues, the Todd-Gail-Melissa love triangle, the quick return of Mike, Mike's effect on the rest of the group, Tandy's nickname / having to face his past / regression, etc. Part 8 -- "Fourth Finger" (2x15) and "Falling Slowly" (2x16) Topics include Tandy and Todd's half-shaved heads, brotherly rivalry and bonding, Forte's real mom as Tandy and Mike's mom, the drone, more relationship talk (Tandy/Carol/Mike, Todd/Melissa/Gail), etc. Part 9 -- "Smart and Stupid" (2x17) and "30 Years of Science Down the Tubes" (2x18) Topics include Erica's backstory and her relationship with Mike, Carol's pregnancy, Mike's sudden illness and departure, Gail's attempt to quit drinking, the DeLorean, the return of Pat, etc.

If they end up doing a Mother's Day ep in May, depending on how long the casting process takes for them, I think that would be as good a time as any to bring in or at least mention Jimmy's parents*, and possibly Maya's. :) I've noticed that the "Dead to Maya" list** on the wall (which I hope they never paint over :D ) says both "mentioning my mother" and "mentioning your mother" -- I, for one, would love to know the story behind that! (* - I had thought "Thanksgiving" would be a good time to give some of that background, too; I found it a little odd that Jimmy and his brother never really said anything about their upbringing or their parents, and that their whole conflict seemed to stem from just the past 10-13 years of Billy bragging about his success while helping out Jimmy's family with money. But I suppose that early -- only 7 eps -- into the series, I could understand the writers not wanting to dig that deep just yet...) (** - Also, I noticed that, in "Halloween," Jimmy had written "male baths" twice, but Maya only crossed off one of them while he was taking one.)

While I thought the previous episode ("Sick Day") was more sweet than laugh-out-loud funny, it went deeper than I would've expected -- it ended up using its standard-sitcom "family gets sick" plot to meaningfully explore the various familial roles among these characters and the day-to-day nitty-gritty of their lives. I especially enjoyed getting a good look at JJ and Dylan's one-on-one dynamic (in the context of his figuring out how to be, in "[his] own way," the protective big brother to his little sister), as well as Jimmy and Maya discussing their division of labor and each ultimately having a renewed appreciation for what the other brings to the table. On the flipside, "Valentine's Day" didn't go as deep as I thought it would into J&M's background -- we still don't know what brought Maya from England to America in the first place, what Jimmy was studying in grad school or anything like that -- but I'm glad we finally got at least some backstory about how they got together, and I found the episode mostly cute and fun. :) Plus, Ray/Dylan is one of my favorite dynamics on the show (loved the callback to Ray's crush on Emma Watson), and tonight I thought the pair had another great subplot. Also: 1) I love that J&M's song was the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)," and 2) interesting casting of Ken Marino as the ex-fiance/roommate, considering how John Ross Bowie (Jimmy) punched out Marino's character at a wedding in the final episode of Party Down!

When Ray said, "Mom, this is no time for jokes!" I was a little confused at first as to whether Maya was telling the truth about the grad-school bit, and if she was, whether or not he believed her. But later, the way Jimmy said to himself, "Oh my God, I matter. I ... matter. I matter!" when he discovered that the insurance agent was another track parent, it hit me that that may have been a bit of a callback to the earlier scene -- I think Ray had probably been just so fixated on the cash prize and desperate to find an essay subject that would guarantee him a win, he was simply dismissing his mom's suggestion to write about his dad as unhelpful toward that specific goal, but I could see Jimmy thinking Ray was dismissing him and his sacrifice as not particularly heroic or even noteworthy, and becoming a bit down on himself about that until he was able to help Maya deal with the insurance agent. Anyway, I loved this episode. :) Sort of a spiritual twin to "Inspirations" (1x4), the cynical take on "inspiration porn" (even drawing similarities to "magical Negro" stereotypes) was both interesting and very, very funny to me. And I loved how the theme of integrity tied this JJ-Ray-Kenneth plot together with the Maya-Jimmy-Dylan plot.

That was such a sweet moment. That whole part with Jimmy in the sickroom -- how, at his weakest and most vulnerable, his best self emerged to help Kenneth calm the rest of the family down and to rally everyone together for Ray's moon project -- was excellent. Also, after that, I would love to see him and Kenneth have a whole plot or subplot together before this first season is over. A while back, JRB had this to say in an interview with StarryMag.com: And I was just like, "Make it happen, 'Speechless' writers!" :)

Hello! Thought I'd start posting here since IMDb is shutting their whole message-board system down; the boards for this show and the FOX comedy 'Last Man on Earth' were two of the few I still enjoyed posting at... Anyway, I primarily started watching for Minnie (whom I've liked since 'Circle of Friends' and 'Big Night') and I was a little curious about how John (whom I had liked on BBT, though I didn't get into it until a few years ago) would fare as a first-time sitcom dad, but I immediately fell in love with the kids and Kenneth; still, by the "bulletproof" speech in "Bonfire," Jimmy became my hands-down favorite character. :) (Maya is my least favorite by default, but still I like her a lot.) I'm super-psyched for tonight's "Valentine's Day" episode -- I think Minnie and John make for such a cute pair anyway, and I'd been hoping to see some backstory on Jimmy and Maya's relationship at least since "Halloween" (my favorite episode so far).