Gummo

Thank you, Harvey! I knew Bill came into it because of his resemblance to Charles, but that was the extent of my memory of him!

Another great episode, but could someone please remind me: who's Bill? The play on the fans' love of Cheddar was great! And heralding her entrance with "I Wanna Be Your Dog" by the Stooges? Well, you gotta be a certain age to pick up on it, but I am and I did!

I liked it. It was a big noisy mess but I liked it. And since nothing the Master says or does can be trusted, the whole thing can be reverse-engineered out of the story at any time. (Yes, it supposedly came from the Matrix, but how long has he had to mess with the Matrix? We don't know how long it's been since he destroyed Gallifrey (or really, how he did it)). So now the Doctor is Kal-El, the mysterious orphan saviour from an unknown place whose innate goodness and powers leads her to roam the universe saving people from evil? Not new, but obviously a myth that works, as Superman has endured for 80 years through all sorts of incarnations. And it gives her wanderings an overarching purpose as she searches for clues to her origins. So, are the companions done? I hope not, I liked Yaz and Graham, though Ryan never had much to do.

Seems to me that with all this pointed talk about how far Graham has come and what an adroit time/space adventurer he's become, that by ironclad TV and movie convention, he's now bound to die an heroic death saving the universe and declaring with his last breath that it was worth it and he wouldn't trade the last months for anything. Not to be cynical or anything.

Well, that didn't make a whole lot of sense, but it was fun.

They made that point quite specifically the BBT episode when they brought adult Georgie in to give his side of the story. So the only 2 things we can know for sure about the 'future' of the Cooper family is that George cheats on Mary at some point and dies when Sheldon is 14. Everything else Sheldon has ever said is very subjective and open to interpretation.

I'm surprising myself by how much I'm enjoying this season so far! Mariano is still the consummate smooth bully, Parvati can still flirt without flirting, Ben is an idiot, Adam is smarmy but smart, Danni -- what the hell was that?? She literally talked herself out of the game, LOL -- and on and on. Tony is still entertainingly insane: the whole ladder episode was a producer's dream. Was it Tyson who said, "I know we signed waivers, but . . . ." - that cracked me up! Not hating EoE as much this time, since it keeps all these old faves on our screens. Still not sure how I feel about the fire tokens, but unlike some other innovations that didn't pan out, they're already having an effect on the game, so at least that's good game design. Can't remember ever seeing Rob flustered before. He blew that challenge big-time.

I've enjoyed this whole season (except for the second half of Orphan 55, which was so friggin' lame) more than any since the pre-Capaldi days! This episode was no exception. Never a big Cybermen fan, but the Lone Cyberman was wonderfully creepy, as was the entire episode.

Late to the party, just want to say that, as a "message" episode, thought this one worked a lot better than Orphan 55. More fun, nice Hitchcock callback with the swarming birds, great guest characters. It's a little weird, alternating arc-heavy episodes with episodes that ignore the arc completely, but I can live with that.

I haven't watched SNL in years so I only knew Officer Debbie as Evie Russell, the Emotional Vampire from What We Do In the Shadows, and loved seeing her! The 99 is back!

A fun episode, though it would be nice to see some change-up in pacing from episode to episode. Not every story needs to be told at breakneck speed with breathless dialogue. After all, it was the 4th doctor's laid-back, easygoing manner that demonstrated his mastery of every situation. I liked that the aliens were clumsy (I loved how they kept bumping into each other during the invasion) and rather stupid. Not every alien race is superior to humans!

Insisting that a "heritage" challenge can only mean your ethnic heritage is too reductive -- for some people, their ethnic heritage may not mean much to them but an ancestor's profession or beliefs or interests may have influenced them more -- i.e., Chelsey. I liked that she and Nancy went in a different direction than merely ethnic heritage -- it was about what does this challenge mean to you and they thought seriously about it and produced nice, meaningful designs.

So, does Sergio hand out a study guide with every 'political statement' -- er, I mean dress -- he sells? And does he insist the client read it out at every public appearance? And who's going to know what those names mean? Would you recognize them offhand? I wouldn't. And what a fun party that would be! "Whose names are those on your dress, dear?" "Oh, six children who died at the border. Are there any more cocktail weenies?" And if he's such a great designer, why does he consistently make that curvy, cute model look so dumpy and sad? Most of that dress could have come straight out of the "Lucy & Desi Go to Cuba" episode. I liked Victoria's outfit but it would be more appropriate for an avant garde challenge. Yes, she should have been safe. I really liked Brittany's -- she embraced her background. DaYoung's was gorgeous. She was so dismissive! That's why I can't help but like her. It doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes....

The finale left us gobsmacked, thrilled and shaken, so my thoughts are pretty random: Geez, every time things seem to be going right for Midge, she self destructs. It may be her most consistent character trait. I was yelling at the TV during her whole routine, NO NO NO STOPPPPP! Even if the audience didn't pick up on the subtext (which would make sense for that time frame), Shy is a prima donna who fires his band every other week, so he was bound to take offense at Midge betraying his confidence (or so it would seem to him). (And I definitely think it was Shy's doing, not Reggie's.) I thought Susie and Tess bonding over committing a felony and torching the house for the insurance was hilarious. IIRC, the tour contract was for $4,500 and the insurance on that dilapidated shack couldn't have been much more, so the insurance company may just pay out without much fuss. At least Susie can make good on her debt to Midge without Midge ever knowing how bad it got. Susie crying may have been one of the most shocking moments of the entire series. So sorry we won't, can't, see Jackie any more. So I guess "Criss-Cross" will take over as sole subtenant? Glad the Maisels-Weissmans subplot is over. Even in a wacky comedy-drama, it stretched credulity to the breaking point. As an avid Village Voice reader for decades, I'm thrilled to see it brought into the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel world. IIRC, it began publishing around 1959-60, so it would have been a brand new liberal weekly then. Rose finding a career as an upscale matchmaker makes perfect sense. OTOH, not sure what's going on with Imogene. I guess she figures Midge's opinions are marriage are 180 degrees out of kilter based on Midge's own marriage, so if she says everything's okay, it's time to prep for independence? Count me in on the pro-Joel votes. He's one of the few characters who's shown real growth over the 3 seasons while staying true to his character as we were first introduced to him. I agree with the poster who said it looks like Midge will be doing regular gigs at his new club as she rebuilds her career, thus bringing the two disparate plotlines together. It reminds me of the Marx Brothers who several times in their vaudeville and stage careers suffered major setbacks and had to start from the bottom (or at least the middle) again. It happens. So except for the Maisels-Weissmans story, I LOVED this season. I'll leave the nitpicking to others.

And back then it wasn't uncommon for upscale homosexuals to go looking for "rough trade" -- laborers, dock workers, less educated, blue collar men -- for sexual rendezvous, and get victimized by them. Brian Epstein, the Beatles' legendary manager, was notorious for his taste for rough trade (in his case, Liverpool dock workers), and suffered accordingly for it. We were all waiting for the 'reveal' about Shy, it was just a matter of how the show was going to do it -- and oh, it was heartbreaking. And Midge is learning there's a much darker, more complicated world out there beyond the Upper West Side. ETA: One of the reasons for trolling for "rough trade" is that it was considered 'safe' in that since they weren't men of your class, there was less chance you'd ever run into them again in embarrassing circumstances. Especially true for an upwardly mobile Englishman like Epstein.

That make so much more sense.

So the theme of this season is chopping up old episodes and throwing them in a blender to produce a flavorless mush that barely resembles classic Modern Family? Wow, that's some ambition. Always wonderful to see Stephen Merchant. Otherwise, the entire extended family has devolved into cruel, selfish douches. Now that's character development for ya. And to make these labored plots work, everyone has to be incredibly stupid. Like, Alex, supposedly the smartest one, doesn't know her family well enough to not use her code while they're around? Also, if you're going to do a classic just-barely-missing-each-other in-and-out-of-rooms style farce, it has to move a lot faster and tighter than this lackadaisical mess. And what a weird waste of Beckham and Cox. The whole thing was just odd. And not in a good way.

I don't think Robin was aware of it, I think that was all at Mary's instigation. It sounded like Jeff and Robin just wanted tie the knot as quickly as possible but once Jeff asked Mary to help out, she tried to take over and it quickly became all about her unresolved issues. Funny eppy. Always glad when this show comes back.

It was loud, noisy, rollicking fun and I had a great time watching it. That may not sound like much, but I wasn't able to say it for most of the dour Moffat/Capaldi run. Yay, Dr. Who is BACK!

The Weissmans-Maisels story is the first real misstep of this series. It's way over the top, unbelievable and worst, violates character - the Weissmans would never have moved in with the Maisels; why would they? Don't they have any other friends or relatives? It makes the universe of the show feel less closed and more suffocating. Violating character for cheap laughs is beneath this show. Joel, however, reverted to character perfectly -- freaking out about marrying Midge, of course his first instinct is to blame her. And I was actually liking him up to that point. Never seen Susie scared before. Of course, she had plenty to be scared of. Not sure where her story is going -- turns out Sophie isn't just an egomaniac control freak, she's crazy, too. Quite a handful. Still loving the show, warts and all. Taking it slow, it's a lot to absorb.

Yes, the Weissmans moving in with the Maisels is VERY sitcommy. I can't see them accepting that choice under any circumstance.

Objectively, I can see how Dr. Sturgis is getting weirder and more annoying, but it's Wallace Shawn! I can't be objective. And the big cookies. Loved how coach was weirded out and annoyed ... but ate it anyway. Kaley was the pool monster!? Never occurred to me! Thank you! Great episode. More Missy is always welcome.

Rose's backstory makes a certain kind of sense to me. Sure, there was the obvious switcheroo for comedy purposes (Providence, Rhode Island? Providence, Oklahoma!) but there were Jews among the first European migrants who came to this continent and Jews among the first western settlers. And often, as people have said on this thread, they were the only Jewish family in town. So it's not beyond believing that a nouveau riche western Jewish family would send their only Jewish girl back east for 'refinement' -- finishing schools, a Seven Sisters education where she probably majored in French, then a year in Paris -- as a striving for 'class' was a common goal of ALL Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries. That's probably how Rose met the young genius Abe Weissman too -- and the fact that he was at Columbia University would have held a helluva lot of cachet back then too -- that's Ivy League! In fact, it makes great literary sense too, because now Rose and her daughter really have parallel growing-up stories -- Rose tried to replicate her experiences for her daughter because she thought it was the best thing for her -- so, Seven Sisters education, useless major, find a husband, etc. etc. Anyway... This episode felt like a feature film, there was so much going on, and I don't see any 3rd-season slump at all. Loved Imogene being the voice of reason, loved Abe's identity crisis (loved him falling in with phony 'beatniks' rather than real Beats, who would avoid this poseur like the plague), loved Midge & Susie making up. But what will the family do now? I guess Rose can tutor rich Upper West Side girls in French, Abe can teach high school math (that's a comedy series in itself) but that's going to be quite a wrench. One last thing -- I could swear there actually was a nightclub in the heart of Chinatown back in the middle of the last century and that may be the reference point for Joel's story. And I hope he has an affair with May -- she would eat him alive.

The Weissmans are certainly not Orthodox Jews. Conservative Judaism possibly, most likely German Reform Jews (going to the nonkosher butcher in the very first episode reinforces this impression). Having the Rabbi join them for Yom Kippur break-fast dinner in the first episode was a social "get," not a religious one. Have we even seen Abe wear a yarmulke? Which makes Midge not knowing even the opening lines to White Christmas kind of ridiculous. By 1959 it was an American standard! At the time, Reform Jews prided themselves on their assimilation, it was in many ways the whole point of the movement. Her best friend is a Christian, she went to a "Christian" college, plus she must have played the radio as a girl -- sorry, nope, doesn't pass the smell test. I do love that they continue to use real Lenny Bruce routines as part of the series. Abe should count himself lucky he didn't first see Lenny a couple of years later, he might have caught his infamous "To is a Preposition, Come is a Verb" routine. I also like that the writers dealt with MIdge's selfishness and self-centeredness head on this episode, after much grumbling from fans the first two seasons. She got it from her parents, from Shy Baldwin, and from Susie. And they were all right, too! Susie especially had a right to be pissed off -- what does Midge think Susie's going to live on? I don't think $450 every six months would get you thru, even in 1960. Speaking of which, Jane Lynch continues to steal the show every time she appears. She had all of one scene this episode and I was practically on the floor, laughing. Still not sure what Sophie's ultimate goal is, though. The idea that she wants a nobody like Susie representing her is absurd and I'm surprised the cynical Susie is swallowing Sophie's line so readily. Been way too busy to binge the series yet but looking forward to the rest!

I just love that while every other show on the planet has a 'very special' Christmas episode, for Bob THE holiday of holidays is Thanksgiving, where he gets to cook what he wants how he wants (at least theoretically). And while none of the rest of the family understands this one bit, they try to accommodate him. Because they love him, that's why (even though Louise would deny it to her last breath). And Izzy85, thanks for identifying the tattoo! I knew it meant something, but I couldn't remember the episode! The showrunners take their continuity SERIOUSLY (yet somehow tongue in cheek at the same time).