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Mr. Meatball Man

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Everything posted by Mr. Meatball Man

  1. I agree that when you really think about it, it shouldn't have been a huge shock that the show was cancelled. But for the people behind the show, it was a combination of how abrupt it was and the fact that they've been doing this for ten years. Now, they have to say goodbye, the whole crew has to find new jobs, and people are scrambling to make sense of their careers now since the writer's strike is going on. And there was literally no time to prepare since it was done after the show wrapped production for the year. With the way everything turned out, the best time to end the series would have been last year. Adam graduated high school, Erica got pregnant, it's the last appearance of Murray. There was nothing else the show had to do after that. It makes me wonder why ABC even bothered bringing the show back if they were going to dump it like this. Also, this is pretty much a rule of thumb at this point, but when main cast members leave, that's the end of the series. At most, it gets one more season where things are slightly off and then it just ends. It's crazy how The Goldbergs went out almost exactly how Mom went out, and they both premiered the same year (2013).
  2. I'm not going to blame the writers because there was probably no heads-up given that the show was getting cancelled. Usually, with long-running shows, they at least get some kind of warning, or it's decided early on that this current season will be the last one. I remember when Modern Family was airing its tenth season and there were rumors circulating that it would be the last one. They ended up negotiating for one more season, but since there was a good chance season ten would be it, they at least knew they had to prepare a series finale just in case. ABC probably gave the writers and producers no indication that the show was in danger, there were no rumors circulating. That interview the showrunners did in August had them sounding really confident about the show's future, like they were entering a brand new era. The network could have at least told them earlier that the show was getting cancelled so they had time to rewrite things and make a real series finale. Hayley Orrantia found out the show was getting cancelled a day before she filmed her final scenes, and they didn't even film anything as the entire family because all their scenes were separate.
  3. I find it interesting that they did this episode and it never came up again. The only character that consistently had trouble paying for things was Joey, and Rachel and Phoebe rarely did (except for that episode where Joey got Phoebe a job on Days of Our Lives). Monica had issues with money in season two, but it wasn't like she was broke and couldn't afford to pay rent or take care of herself. Ross was unemployed for a year and not once did it ever come up that he was having issues with money.
  4. Does anyone else feel like it was ridiculous for Rachel to give Ross that letter and expect him to read it right then and there? It's 18 pages (front and back) and it was 5:30 in the morning. When the hell did Rachel even write that? On the same night? How much time passed between Ross breaking up with Bonnie and Rachel writing it? It can take hours for the average person to reply to a text or a DM, it would literally take days for Ross to read that letter thoroughly, analyze every part of it, and come to a conclusion. I don't know, that whole episode was proof that Ross and Rachel no longer made sense as a couple.
  5. Yeah, that's the one. It plays when Rachel's boarding the plane. I keep thinking it's the song that plays at the end of the episode, but that's a Jefferson Airplane song. The finale was pretty good. I wouldn't call it one of the best episodes of the series, but it was a respectable way to wrap everything up. Maybe a few things that bothered me (they really tried hard with the stupid Joey jokes), but not enough to ruin the episode. Actually, that got me thinking. When Joey asked if the apartment has always been purple, was that just another stupid joke or was it a meta joke? Like one of those things fans would wonder about for years and the show's making fun of itself?
  6. Yeah, I mixed them up with Pearl Jam. Friends was the first show to license a Pearl Jam song, not Led Zeppelin. All the producers had to do was ask the band. You know why I thought it was Led Zeppelin? Because The Sopranos was the first show to license their music. I never liked this plot. Why couldn't Phoebe let Joey sleep? He could have killed them both if he didn't stay awake.
  7. Wasn't Friends the first show to license a Led Zeppelin song? Before that, their music had never been used on television. I know the show was huge back then, but looking at this thread, their music budget must have been enormous. Some sitcoms that use licensed music have to replace it for streaming because of how much it would cost to clear it now. It's like how hip hop in the 80s used to have hundreds of samples on an album which would be impossible to clear now. I know The Adventures of Pete & Pete wasn't on DVD or streaming for a long time because of how much money it would cost to clear the music they used on the show.
  8. I don't know, the whole Cassie thing didn't bother me as much as it did other people. At least it gave us that great scene where Ross was trying to rationalize it in his head. Also, I really liked the Joey plot. My favorite moment was when Monica asked him if there was anything to work with and Joey doesn't say anything. He just gives her a blank stare. That always kills me.
  9. I think Joey was a Mets fan at one point. Him and Janice went to see them play on their day of fun. But since the Yankees were the better team back then, they changed it. I'm surprised they were able to include dialogue about the Subway Series. I know the episodes are filmed in advance, but that was only by a couple weeks and it was really specific dialogue about what happened in the series.
  10. Maybe a new network will offer to pick up the show, but the cast will be completely over it by that point? 🤣
  11. I was watching TOW Rachel is Late the other day and this part killed me. "Get out! Get out, get out, get out!" .......... "Let's." Also, Ross talking about being a seahorse. 🤣🤣
  12. I watched "Amadoofus" this morning and these lines stood out to me. "Why do I keep agreeing to these things?" "I really need to stop coming back home." When the writers are aware that Brea serves no purpose on the show anymore and she doesn't even want to be around these people, I think it's time to write her off. Jackie was never heard from or mentioned again after season six, but they love Brea so much, they keep bringing her back for pointless cameos? Also, didn't they already make this joke earlier in the season, about Brea missing midterms because Beverly tricked her into coming back home to see Adam?
  13. I always thought Joey was screwed over when it came to relationships. Every time he was interested in a woman beyond sex, she either didn't like him back, turned into someone else, or couldn't commit. It's almost like the show admitting that Joey wasn't meant to have a real relationship, even though he believed he would go the distance if the right woman came along. I know Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow pitched the idea that Joey and Phoebe were having a hidden sexual relationship in the later seasons, but the writers didn't like it. I know this doesn't answer the original question, but Joey and Phoebe made too much sense to not at least give it a shot.
  14. Yeah, her hair was really short in season four. I think Monica was at her best in the earlier seasons, when her voice was deeper and she was neurotic, but not to a ridiculous degree. They made her more insane over time, but I feel like that ruined her character. She couldn't handle that as well as Ross did. On top of that, her voice got higher and that made her delivery worse. Like when she says "Chandler has two copies of Annie!" I just feel like slapping her. Honestly, Ross is the only character who benefitted from becoming more exaggerated. Everyone else just irritated me.
  15. They always show that on Nick at Nite. But as I've stated multiple times before, Monica was horrible in that episode. Speaking of Monica, you know which line I always hated? "You're gonna do some feet flirting!" I don't know if the line itself is bad or the delivery is awkward, but it never worked for me. It sucks all the air out of the room whenever I hear it. At least Ross saves the scene when he asks Phoebe about the toe ring.
  16. Right, that's what I'm talking about. The DVD versions with the extra, unaired scenes. Those need to be re-released at some point. I'm used to the Nick at Nite versions where the characters talk faster and scenes are cut down for Whopper commercials.
  17. I think that's a syndication cut because I have no memory of Rachel or Ross saying those lines. It makes me wonder what it would take for them to release the original versions of every episode as they aired on NBC and put them on Blu-Ray or streaming. Kevin S. Bright mentioned something about why that's not possible, but I forgot what he said.
  18. You've never watched any of his interviews? His personality outside of the music is a lot more reserved and soft-spoken. You wouldn't think it's the same guy because he doesn't have that same charisma. A lot of times when he does interviews, he comes off like he's about to blink three times to indicate he's in trouble. There are other examples of Rachel being awkward that I can think of: -Everything having to do with Joshua. Everything. TOW the Fake Party is probably her worst characterization in the entire series. -Her job interview with Ralph Lauren and everything afterwards. -Her laughing on her first date with Ross, along with the slapping on her first date with Joey. -Not shutting up when Ross catches her with Joey. Hell, I was watching TOW with the Boob Job yesterday and not only did she not know there was a hardware store down the street, she admitted to not knowing how to use chopsticks. Rachel was surprisingly self-deprecating and lacked awareness of what was going on at times. It's not a bad thing. It honestly makes her more likable and realistic.
  19. @Ms Blue Jay It's the Jay-Z effect. Think of how some popular, successful people are really shy and aren't charismatic outside of what they do. Rachel could be one of those people, especially because she's had several socially inept moments. Chandler has a line that I think about all the time: "Some of us have to get up early and go to work! He does not know that I am not some of us." I wish @Danny Franks had the opportunity to write a Friends episode. I wonder what characters he would focus on, what he would leave out. I would definitely scrap the plot where Phoebe becomes a creepy stalker in an attempt to get Sting tickets. Might be my number one choice if I ignore the last two seasons. "ROSS CAN GET ME THE TICKETS!" Shut the fuck up. Friends wasn't absurd enough to pull off something like this.
  20. I always felt like that line was playing on Rachel's awkwardness. Clearly, Gucci isn't spelled like Gucky, and the guy working at the restaurant would know who Gucci is, but Rachel's just really bad at making small talk in that moment because she's having jitters. That's how I took it. If we're going to talk about genuinely bad writing in season ten, there are other examples I can think of. Like Phoebe pulling on Ross' ear because of a hypothetical scenario where Mike is cheating. Doesn't she pull on his ear a second time, after he already made it clear that Mike's not cheating? It reminded me of when Joey and Rachel were talking about which one of their friends they would punch if they had to. If it was me, I would punch literally all of them, but Phoebe would definitely be at the top of the list.
  21. The one thing I'll give season ten is that it has a better Thanksgiving episode than season nine, which has arguably the worst one in the entire series. But most of the time, I see season nine being ranked the lowest and I don't know why. Maybe it's because the Joey/Rachel stuff takes over the end of the season but I would rather have that than Joey and Rachel barely interacting after they somehow lose their attraction to each other. There's nothing in season ten that lines up with the best of the show. Nothing as good as TOW the Memorial Service or TOW the Lottery. I never like it when they make Phoebe the voice of reason. That's why the "Joey doesn't share food" scene is so weird to me. Phoebe telling Joey exactly what he's going to do the next time he sees Sarah, dictating the rules. Her being the straight man doesn't work. She was at her best when she was more sensitive and awkward, more unaware of her reality. But they stopped writing her like that after......season four, probably? She just turned into an arrogant, delusional weirdo with no social skills. I still think one of Joey's worst moments was when he was unable to write a thoughtful letter to the adoption agency. I don't believe he would struggle with that, ever. He was literally the minister for Chandler and Monica's wedding two years ago, and now, they have no faith in Joey being able to give them a good recommendation? Joey has to use a thesaurus to sound smart? His writing is at the same level of a child? It's like a way worse version of the minister storyline, and they not only had to dumb down Joey to justify it, but go against what makes his character work.
  22. By the way, @Danny Franks, you were spot-on with your analysis of Ross and Rachel. I don't know why the show made it seem like they had this all-time great romance when they only dated for a year. Then they got back together months later and quickly broke up again. Ross wasn't even willing to put his own pride aside to be with Rachel when the breakup affected him the most. If he couldn't do that, there's no way they would work as a couple. Then the divorce to Emily made Ross go insane and he became more cartoonish. The only other time where I could say that Ross and Rachel should have gotten back together is when Rachel got pregnant. That would have been perfect. They even softened up Ross' character around this time to make it more believable. Then the fake proposal happened, Ross didn't want to maybe kinda start things up again, and he went back to being insane. Doing things like hide messages from Rachel and cry like a spoiled kid when he sees her kiss someone else on her birthday. "You're the one who moved on and didn't tell anybody!" You haven't dated in six years, you've had other relationships since then, I think you both moved on years ago. As much as people hate Joey and Rachel together, and I understand why, they were more compatible at the end of the series. I feel like Joey genuinely appreciated Rachel for who she was and they had a chemistry that was different from the one Ross had with Rachel. The writers didn't really give that relationship a chance. They literally dated for a week, broke up because they suddenly lost all feelings they had for each other, and Joey just became a complete idiot after that. The show took a lot of time to deal with how Ross felt about Rachel leaving. What did they do with Joey? They had Rachel take advantage of his stupidity so she could leave, and then they made a joke about him wanting to kill himself because of her goodbye speech, the only speech in the episode we don't hear anything from. It's almost like they had to manufacture Ross and Rachel getting back together when they didn't need to, because there were other opportunities they didn't take (Ross not getting the annulment, Rachel getting pregnant).
  23. "You were my midnight mystery kisser?!" "You were my first kiss with Rachel?!" "You were my first kiss ever?!" "What did I marry into?!" One of the worst episodes in the whole series ends with some of the worst acting in the whole series. It's bad enough that we have to find out Ross and Monica committed accidental incest, but the line readings are horrible. I never thought I would see these people forget how to act. This whole episode felt like it was written by someone that hated the series and wanted to make fun of it.
  24. @Crs97 @kariyaki You both make some really good points. Monica always showed fear and vulnerability when she was around older people (her parents, Rachel's mom). Plus, there was that episode in season four where her and Phoebe weren't being paid for the catering and she didn't want to say anything. I guess she's never felt confidence around strangers or her elders.
  25. Looking at the season four Christmas episode and......is Monica written out of character? She has to be. Getting bullied by her own employees, admitting that she doesn't like confrontation? If this was any other episode, she would have shot all of those employees dead for even looking at her wrong. I know Phoebe was written to be softer in the earlier seasons, but Monica's always been a control freak that doesn't let anyone walk all over her. An episode about Monica learning to assert herself is like an episode about Joey learning how to talk to women. 🤣
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