S03.E01: Strike Up the Band

[luvthepros]

On 12/10/2019 at 11:12 PM, Blakeston said:

I'm sure for many people it's second nature, but there are many of us who just don't pay much attention to the lyrics of Christmas carols.

IMHO, White Christmas is not considered a Christmas Carol. It is a Christmas standard.

[aradia22]

Ugh. The beginning of this episode reminded me that I have 0% interest in Midge and Joel.

Why is there a diverse (somewhat) lineup of dancers performing? A quick google tells me that Jennifer Jones was the first black Rockette... and she didn't join until 1987. From the very beginning, I have had a problem with this show's rosy view of history because it covers up the racism of the time period. Given the USO show, I thought at first it was WWII so I was wondering why the army was desegregated. I guess we're sometime in the 1960s if they're referencing invading Cuba but still, everyone seems awfully cheery given the racial tensions back home in the 1960s.

I don't feel like season 1 Midge would have been late to anything. The girl who was doing a beauty routine in the middle of the night so her husband wouldn't see? Also, it cannot take 3 hours to do that hair. For chrissakes, she put a hat on it. 

I didn't get why she kept cracking jokes with the soldiers. It's starting to seem like a tic instead of something that has motivation. Like, I would understand trying to soften them up to get someone to like her or if she did it because she was nervous. But sometimes it just feels like the writers refuse to let her be on screen without flapping her gums. 

The girl group was very cute.

Midge's outfit to perform was fantastic. The fashion continues to be great on this show. 

I didn't find anything in the episode funny until that guy kept trying to recruit Suzy.

I was going to complain that they seem to have forgotten that the Maisels have two children until that "not your sister" line. 

Lol, how do you not know that Bayard means Chinatown?

Why is Jane Lynch back looking like Norma Desmond? I'm surprised she complained about going below 14th St because I could have sworn they shot some of the exteriors for her house around NYU. 

LOL. I guess the show has heard the questions and complaints about how Midge's parents could afford their lifestyle. 

Miriam IS selfish. And materialistic. She creates problems and feels entitled to having other people deal with them for her. Why are we denying this fundamental character trait when there's been plenty of evidence for it for 2 seasons?

"I don't read." Oof. Her defense of Lenny Bruce and the first amendment was pretty weak. Midge is a shallow character who cares very little about social activism or personal responsibility except for that one time she co-opted a protest in Washington Square Park. 

Mei was the second funny part of this episode. I didn't see her in anything when she was on Broadway but her line delivery was killer. 

I get the argument that something is wrong in society when violence is considered more acceptable than sex. But what is this adorable argument that porn and Playboy have never been degrading or exploitative? Lol.

Midge conveniently forgets that it's her own fault that Sophie hates her. She's the one who started this feud and got herself blackballed.

Btw, 100% didn't escape my notice that Miriam pushed multiple black women in this episode. Will Shy be a developed character this season? Probably not but we can only hope.

[aradia22]

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It didn't look like she was told in advance she'd have to sing the song. They just assumed she knew the lyrics.

Given the timeline we see in the show, I feel like she had plenty of time after being told about singing and doing her set to learn the song. Or, she could do what most sane people who can't sing do and mouth the words. 

[kwnyc]

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I could have sworn they shot some of the exteriors for her house around NYU.

Yes, it does look like Washington Square...but it could have been Sutton Place, which is also where a snob like Sophie would live.

[RedbirdNelly]

On 12/7/2019 at 8:56 PM, Clanstarling said:

My take from the last episode last season was that while listening to Lenny Bruce do his "All Alone" bit on Steve Allen, she realized that to really pursue her dream, she needed to be unencumbered. 

I think the Benjamin dump wouldn't really have done much to move the story along, so I don't really mind that we didn't see it. Joel's set up was more important, in my opinion.

Minor quibble coming from a military brat - the soldiers weren't wearing khakis, which are a tan color. They were wearing olive drab fatigues. I'd put up pictures of my father (who was in the service in this era) in both, but I'm too lazy.

Agreed on all points.

on the khaki part, I was confused because it was all olive green--and made me wonder if I've just wrongly defined khaki as tan brown?

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, RedbirdNelly said:

on the khaki part, I was confused because it was all olive green--and made me wonder if I've just wrongly defined khaki as tan brown?

No, you're right. My guess is ASP doesn't know the difference between khaki and olive green.

[RedbirdNelly]

khaki misinformation aside, my son and I really enjoyed the episode. We're finally getting around to catching up with the season. We enjoy the rapid talking, the absurdities etc. Everyone seemed in full form.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, RedbirdNelly said:

on the khaki part, I was confused because it was all olive green--and made me wonder if I've just wrongly defined khaki as tan brown?

3 hours ago, chessiegal said:

No, you're right. My guess is ASP doesn't know the difference between khaki and olive green.

I discovered my former female boss was somewhat color blind when she said she saw the muted, pale green walls of our building as beige. Another important female colleague had chosen a sickly olive color for the banner of the website and did not see it as green at all.  So even though most colorblindness is experienced by males and is a red/blue issue, perhaps ASP has never seen the difference between olive and khaki.  

[SoMuchTV]

6 hours ago, RedbirdNelly said:

Agreed on all points.

on the khaki part, I was confused because it was all olive green--and made me wonder if I've just wrongly defined khaki as tan brown?

Maybe khaki’s a color, or maybe it’s a fabric, or maybe it’s a particular fabric in a particular color. Or maybe it’s even a particular style of pants. I can find something online to support any of the above 🙂

I think I can give either the character or the writer a pass, considering. 

[Clanstarling]

23 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Maybe khaki’s a color, or maybe it’s a fabric, or maybe it’s a particular fabric in a particular color. Or maybe it’s even a particular style of pants. I can find something online to support any of the above 🙂

I think I can give either the character or the writer a pass, considering. 

The difference between khaki and olive drab (green as civilians call it) is hardwired into me as a military brat. In the military they mean very specific types of uniforms, regardless of what the terms might mean to the general population. So I'm unlikely to give the writer a pass. As a writer myself, I do my due diligence to make sure I get the details right. They could have just said men in uniform (I forget the phrasing) and it would have been fine.

Edited July 23, 2020 by Clanstarling

[mostlylurking]

Two weird things:

Firstly, Joel told Midge he wouldn’t be able to get back together with her once he found out she was a comic and using him in her act. Then on top of that, Midge said their little rendezvous would be a one night thing. Put these two things together and what would make Midge think he would call??

Secondly, didn’t Midge get pissed at Susie for going after Sophie at the end of last season??  She said she wanted to let it go. So why is she in such a rage at Susie taking on Sophie as a client?

[MamaMax]

On 7/23/2020 at 5:39 PM, Clanstarling said:

The difference between khaki and olive drab (green as civilians call it) is hardwired into me as a military brat. In the military they mean very specific types of uniforms, regardless of what the terms might mean to the general population. So I'm unlikely to give the writer a pass. As a writer myself, I do my due diligence to make sure I get the details right. They could have just said men in uniform (I forget the phrasing) and it would have been fine.

I think the question is not: Shouldn't ASP know  the difference:, but rather:  would Midge?  I doubt Midge would be that conversant on the subtleties of military garb terminology. So Ill allow " never seen so much khaki" as its flows better than "never seen so much olive drab."

 

[Clanstarling]

20 hours ago, MamaMax said:

I think the question is not: Shouldn't ASP know  the difference:, but rather:  would Midge?  I doubt Midge would be that conversant on the subtleties of military garb terminology. So Ill allow " never seen so much khaki" as its flows better than "never seen so much olive drab."

 

That's fair. Though Midge is quite the fashionista, and she would at least have known the difference between the color khaki and the green fatigues she was seeing.