S02.E12: Live from Lanford

[Pallas]

Broadcast live at 8:00/7:00 ET and Central, and 8:00 PT. 

Mark watches the results of the 2020 New Hampshire primary for a school project, with live commentary from his sister; the family throws Louise a surprise going-away party.  

* The episode will include real-time primary results as they are reported by the network and discussed by the characters. Please note PRIMETIMER's politics rule, specifically: 

Quote

We do not allow mention of elected political figures (past or present), current political candidates, political bodies (Congress, Parliament), political movements or political parties, including jokes and asides, unless those entities are specifically mentioned on an episode of the show being discussed, or in editorial content about that episode. Even when this applies, they may be discussed ONLY in the context of the show. This means no elaboration, speculation or using what was said as a springboard to voice your political thoughts generally. Anything outside of this is considered off-topic and subject to moderation measures.

Name-calling or nickname use aimed at politicians, current political candidates or political entities is no longer permitted... 

Please be mindful of this when you post.  Thank you!

[Annber03]

I like Louise's coat.

Not surprised that party idea didn't pan out as it did-I like Dan and Louise together, too, but pushing like this, yeah, that won't help. Not with someone like Dan. His story about going to the church-aw. I think that's a good idea, though, and if he does decide to do that with the letter, I hope it helps some. 

"When's the last time we've flown? If they put us on the 'no bus' list, then we'll panic." 

LMAO :D. Quite a few good one-liners this episode. 

I love Mark. The whole discussion with him and Becky about Buttigieg was funny. And I liked him opening up to Harris later on, too (also, I kinda like her rap battle idea :p). 

Also loved all the discussion about the importance of voting in and of itself.  

[UYI]

They did a GREAT job performing this live. I thought for sure we would at least get one tripped up line or awkward pause (I was especially watching the kids closely), but I didn't notice anything like that at all. Live TV is a risk, but if it's done right it can feel like a play with cameras. They pulled it off!

I'm a political junkie, so I definitely didn't mind tying in ABC's coverage of the NH primary with tonight's show, but some of the lines in that first scene felt very forced. And then when Jackie was convincing Harris to vote and mentioned Yang, when Yang had just dropped out was kind of awkward. 😄

Hearing Dan & Louise say that they "broke up" was strange to me, as they never seemed like a real couple to me at all. It's shorter and less clunky than saying "we decided not to date and stop hanging out together", but it still felt...wrong. 

Edited February 12, 2020 by UYI

[chitowngirl]

2 minutes ago, UYI said:

And then when Jackie was convincing Harris to vote and mentioned Yang, when Yang had just dropped out was kind of awkward. 😄

Especially since Mark had mentioned earlier that Yang had just dropped out. Someone should have caught that and changed the line or have Mark add the line that he dropped out. 

[statsgirl]

Jackie wasn't following the TV results though, she was in the back. She may no have heard that Yang dropped out.

Or else they just decided to keep the line in anyway since it was so perfect to convince Harris to be interested in politics.

[chitowngirl]

6 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Jackie wasn't following the TV results though, she was in the back. She may no have heard that Yang dropped out.

Then Mark should have told her that Yang dropped out. A small nitpick in the wake of a good show. I didn’t see a stumble!

[UYI]

11 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Especially since Mark had mentioned earlier that Yang had just dropped out. Someone should have caught that and changed the line or have Mark add the line that he dropped out. 

Yep, that's why I mentioned it. I know they probably had scripted lines they had to come back to in addition to trying to keep up with what was going on in real time, but that was particularly jarring. 

[mojoween]

I haaaaated this.  Nothing felt organic in any way and it felt like TV actors trying to be stage actors.  I hope they got the experiment out of their systems.

[UsernameFatigue]

1 hour ago, UYI said:

They did a GREAT job performing this live. I thought for sure we would at least get one tripped up line or awkward pause (I was especially watching the kids closely), but I didn't notice anything like that at all. Live TV is a risk, but if it's done right it can feel like a play with cameras. They pulled it off!

 

I loved it, and thought all the cast did a great job! I particularly thought the actor who plays Mark was a stand out. It seemed like he had the most lines, and was flawless.

The only flub I saw was from Sara Gilbert. Early on in the kitchen when Harris came in, and wanted to be able to use Mark's laptop because hers was broken, Darlene said "Just because you think he is a dork doesn't mean he shouldn't have your laptop". Obviously the line should have been something along the lines of "Just because you think he is a dork doesn't mean you should have his laptop". 

I thought it totally was like a play with cameras, and enjoyed it immensely. I know others shows have done this, and I particularly remember Hot in Cleveland doing it years ago, and thought their episode was really well done as well. 

[Wanda]

My abc affiliate only covered the primaries as I’m in MA so no Conners Live. It just won’t have the same impact on demand. Didn’t even dvr

[Liamsmom617]

I loved this, but am surprised no one mentioned what appeared to be John Goodman tripping or stumbling when he put his coat over the chair in the kitchen. Was that scripted? Did I miss the joke there? But overall I agree with most of the posters here that the cast did an outstanding job of performing the episode live. I’ll admit, too, that the spiteful bitch in me loves how well the show is doing without Roseanne...not to mention that she is probably hating the… tone of the show, this episode in particular.

Edited February 12, 2020 by Liamsmom617

[jewel21]

Everyone did a wonderful job! I was expecting some flubbed lines but everyone did really well. This episode had some great one liners, too. 

[Emkat]

I think this show is awesome.  I love it.  It's very real. 

Edited February 12, 2020 by Emkat

[bamlou]

I thought it was a strong episode, probably my favourite of the season so far. I was surprised that the show didn't lean more into the live aspect and I give the cast a lot of credit for performing it so well without trying to play more to the live audience by going bigger in their performance, intentionally flubbing, or riffing when there were small cues missed (as so many of these live event shows seem compelled to do).  The live gimmick aside, the writing felt tighter and everyone felt in character and got a moment to shine. It's as if the live aspect made everyone really be on their game tonight.

And I was happily surprised to see them include two things in this episode that I'd been hoping to see for a while now:

1. DJ being pulled into the conversation to get Dan and Louise back together. It was so nice to see the three siblings having an actual conversation and all working together. More of this please! It was nice to see their interplay. DJ really should chat more with his sisters - given that all three of them have ended up having to raise each of their kids on their own, it would make sense to see them bond more over their shared circumstances.

2. Mark and Harris having a scene together. I've been wanting this for a while now! I think this is the first time that these two have had a real conversation with each other, and glad it finally happened. It's been hard to believe or get a read on these two as brother and sister when their storylines never overlap, and I think a scene like this has been necessary for a while now to care more about their sibling dynamic - which can also only help humanize Harris. She's still my least favourite but I think this was a step in the right direction with her character.

[Souris]

That was the most seamless live ep I’ve ever seen! I kept forgetting it was live. Really, really well-done by all involved! Even the kids nailed it.

[mtlchick]

Watching the west coast feed now and they changed the first joke after the first ad break to have Mark say “Bernie is winning, but that could change due to hacking.  Putin is running second.”  Got a BIG laugh out of the audience.

 

i did watch the east coast feed and it was one of the better live experiments in recent memory. And now with one live show under their belts, the west coast one is hitting the jokes and lines a bit better. 

[UYI]

Are they doing a separate live show for the West Coast, too? I know they did that on The West Wing back in the day with their presidential debate episode (the West Coast version is generally considered to be the stronger one and is the one that was chosen for DVD and streaming), but I didn't know if they were going to do the same thing here or just rerun the East Coast version. 

[Bastet]

Darlene's line about the candidates with integrity having their last gasp before the big-money ones swoop in was great.  As was the no-bus list.  And Becky's laughing at Mark's line about Putin/hacking came across as at least party Lecy laughing, but still without taking me out of the moment.

"If you look around our family, you might not know it, but people are supposed to move out."  Ha!  But, also, overdue to see a scene between Mark and Harris about her just up and moving out.  That's the most we've seen of their sibling dynamic, and it was welcome.

All three kids being into Dan and Louise seems statistically unlikely.  And all the stuff about "breaking up" and the awkward animosity between them was the weak spot of the episode for me.  But the scene between Dan and his daughters was wonderful (except for the fact Dan has never wanted anything to do with church in his life and does not think "no one can screw you in church"); I love him insisting on his own time and way, and love them objecting to "go to your room" with "we are not children" being shot down by "wanna pay rent?" as they run out of the room.

Jackie's call as Hillary to encourage voting, and then declaring "this country is doomed" based on Harris's reaction, was a great closing.

The boom mic was visible in the opening kitchen scene, and part of the scene where Jackie was taking a picture of Dan and Louise, of the West Coast version.  There were also a couple of rough camera shifts.  But the acting was really good for not only a live performance of what they'd rehearsed all week, but of what they had to learn quickly for the west coast airing; Ames covered nicely upon slightly flubbing a line.

Edited February 12, 2020 by Bastet

[PradaKitty]

...meh...

[statsgirl]

56 minutes ago, UYI said:

Are they doing a separate live show for the West Coast, too? I know they did that on The West Wing back in the day with their presidential debate episode (the West Coast version is generally considered to be the stronger one and is the one that was chosen for DVD and streaming), but I didn't know if they were going to do the same thing here or just rerun the East Coast version. 

Yes. It was a separate live show. I figure it was pretty much the same except they incorporated more up-to-date results.

Did anyone who watched the west coast feed notice if they dropped the Andrew Yang paying-for-college joke?

[Luciano]

3 hours ago, Liamsmom617 said:

I loved this, but am surprised no one mentioned what appeared to be John Goodman tripping or stumbling when he put his coat over the chair in the kitchen. Was that scripted? Did I miss the joke there? But overall I agree with most of the posters here that the cast did an outstanding job of performing the episode live. I’ll admit, too, that the spiteful bitch in me loves how well the show is doing without Roseanne...not to mention that she is probably hating the… tone of the show, this episode in particular.

If it was the bit where he doubles over the chair/table, that was just his exasperated reaction to Becky starting up again when he told them that it was none of their business.

He did stumble a little right after when he was turning around in a circle to talk again, but it wasn't something that would have stood out much even taped.

[LekoBoy]

“Mark” flubbed at least one line. He just corrected himself quickly.

[Chaos Theory]

It’s hard to make politics funny but I thought the show did an admirable job.   And performing live too.

i thought the scene between Harris and Mark was actually very sweet.   

[Snow Apple]

I'm confused about Harris' age. I thought she was 17 in this reboot timeline but she can vote so she's now 18? it didn't make sense for Darlene trying to force her back home and even involving the police if Harris was about to turn 18 shortly after she left. 

[Aileen]

23 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

I'm confused about Harris' age. I thought she was 17 in this reboot timeline but she can vote so she's now 18? it didn't make sense for Darlene trying to force her back home and even involving the police if Harris was about to turn 18 shortly after she left. 

I’m not sure if she’s 17 or 18, but 17yos can vote in the primary as long as they’ll be 18 by general election.

[DoubleUTeeEff]

3 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

It’s hard to make politics funny but I thought the show did an admirable job.

I think it's unfortunately way too easy to make politics funny. Like the line about candidates with money swooping in and taking over from candidates with integrity. I missed the Putin joke but that was funny, too.

I think most of the candidates mentioned want to make pot legal but Jackie only mentioned Biden, I think it was? That was weird.

I guess the goal of the episode was to make people more engaged in politics, with the web site plug and everything. I think they pulled it off in terms of making a funny show out of it. I'm not sure if they will have an affect on people turning out for the primaries, but I hope so.

I loved Dan yelling at Becky and Darlene that his dating life was none of their business and Becky saying "Got it" and immediately asking him more about it. Dan's exasperation at that was good too. Plus of course Darlene and Becky quickly running away at the mention of rent.

Mark, Harris and DJ were all great this episode as well. Everyone nailed it, really.

[Chaos Theory]

2 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I'm confused about Harris' age. I thought she was 17 in this reboot timeline but she can vote so she's now 18? it didn't make sense for Darlene trying to force her back home and even involving the police if Harris was about to turn 18 shortly after she left. 

Who says it has to make sense?    A friend of my cousins moved out of the house three weeks before she graduated high school. Her mother  threw a fit and did everything she could to get her to move back into the house for those last three weeks.  The mother’s reasoning was she had three more weeks to really be a mother and to instill the last bit of knowledge in her daughter.   The daughter didn’t understand why her mother was so upset and thought she should be proud of such a fiercely independent daughter.   Both were right both were wrong. 

i think the Harris/Darlene relationship is the same vein.  Harris wants her own life but Darlene wants those last few months with her daughter before she does go off and becomes an adult.   

[Winston Wolfe]

11 hours ago, Souris said:

That was the most seamless live ep I’ve ever seen! I kept forgetting it was live. Really, really well-done by all involved! Even the kids nailed it.

I really enjoyed it too, actually think it was the best of the series.  Not surprised that Goodman and the rest of the vets nailed it, but was amazed at how good the younger actors were.

Live TV is tough - back in the day Roc had one or two seasons of live episodes, and with their cast of theatrically trained actors there were very few flubs.  I remember a show called Un-dateable on NBC that did an entire live season, but the stars didn't have the chops and were much too meta in their performances.

Pulling for Dan and Louise, I've always had a soft spot for that big lug.

[TVbitch]

I think this is the best of the recent spat of reboots. And while this was not my favorite episode, and I don't watch with a fine tooth comb, if they hadn't told me, I would not have known it was "live" versus any other week. That is a compliment to the actors and crew. 

[tinderbox]

Kudos to the entire cast and crew....especially the young actor who plays Mark.  I was very impressed and entertained.  

[UsernameFatigue]

I watched the East Coast live show, and didn't realize (though it makes sense) that the cast would be doing a second show. I was in the middle of taping that one but deleted it not knowing it would be a second performance. I would have watched the second episode as well just to see the differences. And if Sara Gilbert fixed her flub from the first performance (which I assume she did). 

[izabella]

1 hour ago, TVbitch said:

I think this is the best of the recent spat of reboots. And while this was not my favorite episode, and I don't watch with a fine tooth comb, if they hadn't told me, I would not have known it was "live" versus any other week. That is a compliment to the actors and crew. 

I had no idea it was live.  Literally, no clue, and I did not notice anything different except the line Darlene flubbed about the laptop.

[iMonrey]

I don't think I would have known it was live if they hadn't been promoting it that way. It was pretty seamless except for a few weird camera cuts. Interesting this was the most involved DJ has been in the show all season long. 

[Snow Apple]

3 hours ago, DoubleUTeeEff said:

I think most of the candidates mentioned want to make pot legal but Jackie only mentioned Biden, I think it was? That was weird.

Pot is already legal in Illinois so I'm not sure why that would impress Harris. She doesn't give me the impression of caring about the world at large; just her own little world.

But maybe my impression is colored by the fact that I dislike Harris most of the time.

[mostlylurking]

Loved it.  Didn’t see any mistakes at all, except now that I’ve read it I do remember being confused about Darlene’s line.  I even kept forgetting it was live.

I have to say I was a big fan of Roseanne back in the day and was doubtful how this show would work without her.  I think it’s been great.  All the cast members gel really well.  I was skeptical, but they didn’t miss a beat.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, UsernameFatigue said:

And if Sara Gilbert fixed her flub from the first performance (which I assume she did).

Yes, her line about the laptop was correct in the Pacific timezone version.

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

The only flub I saw was from Sara Gilbert. Early on in the kitchen when Harris came in, and wanted to be able to use Mark's laptop because hers was broken, Darlene said "Just because you think he is a dork doesn't mean he shouldn't have your laptop". Obviously the line should have been something along the lines of "Just because you think he is a dork doesn't mean you should have his laptop". 

Thank you--I caught that too, but wasn't sure.

[lynxfx]

7 hours ago, DoubleUTeeEff said:

I think most of the candidates mentioned want to make pot legal but Jackie only mentioned Biden, I think it was? That was weird.

That one jumped out at me as a few weeks ago Biden said he wouldn't legalize marijuana. He back tracked on his decriminalization stance he originally took. 

It was an ok episode. Interesting idea but felt off with Dan's storyline. He way over reacted in the kitchen after the party. I just hope him opening up the advice he got will bring closure to Roseanne. 

[Liamsmom617]

16 hours ago, Luciano said:

If it was the bit where he doubles over the chair/table, that was just his exasperated reaction to Becky starting up again when he told them that it was none of their business.

He did stumble a little right after when he was turning around in a circle to talk again, but it wasn't something that would have stood out much even taped.

Thanks!! 

[justduckey]

Very enjoyable. Best of the series so far, IMO. 

[CrystalBlue]

On 2/11/2020 at 6:30 PM, mojoween said:

I haaaaated this.  Nothing felt organic in any way and it felt like TV actors trying to be stage actors.  I hope they got the experiment out of their systems.

I can see your side and respect your opinion.  I wasn't that thrilled going in to be inundated with politics, so wasn't expecting much and did get entertained by the Dan-Louise story line.  ☺️

[CrystalBlue]

9 hours ago, Bastet said:

Yes, her line about the laptop was correct in the Pacific timezone version.

West Coast viewer here:  The Putin line was funny.  😃

[Pamela]

22 hours ago, statsgirl said:

Did anyone who watched the west coast feed notice if they dropped the Andrew Yang paying-for-college joke?

Yeah, there was no mention of Yang in the West Coast version.

 

[Phoebe70]

Did not like this episode. Borrrrring. I watch comedies to escape from the news. Stop trying to shove your agenda down my throat. 

[Pandorap]

Episode was ok, I don't live in the States so no idea really about the politics angle.  I didn't realize they were following actual results until I came here, I just thought they decided to try a live show for some weird reason!

Did anyone else notice Dan taking two pills out of a big bottle, chewing them and then swigging some liquid?  It made me wonder if he was having heart pain and chewing aspirin.  Are we going to have a health scare in the future?  

[hoodooznoodooz]

Michael Fishman shined in this episode. I am stunned.

[Scout Finch]

3 hours ago, Phoebe70 said:

Did not like this episode. Borrrrring. I watch comedies to escape from the news. Stop trying to shove your agenda down my throat. 

Only free citizens of a functioning democracy have the luxury of not thinking about politics all the time. The luxury of ignoring it is a privilege that people in a lot of countries would kill to have. Those being deported, young black men getting shot by police, a transgender person who risks getting beaten up just for holding their partner's hand...they don't have that luxury.

Edited February 13, 2020 by Scout Finch

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

Did not like this episode. Borrrrring. I watch comedies to escape from the news. Stop trying to shove your agenda down my throat. 

I don't think "comedy" and "the news" are mutually exclusive--and this type of shit is what this particular fictional family talks about. I don't get the whole throat-shoving thing when we're all free to watch any number of things at any given moment.

[Yogisbooboo64]

What’s interesting to me is this….

When did Jackie become Team Louise?  From her being at the restaurant to practically forcing Dan and Louise to take a picture together, what in the actual bluedilly hell was that about?!

I hope Katey’s new show bombs and she can come right back to the show and we can get more Dan and Louise.  I felt for Dan in this episode, JG is really bringing it.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 2/12/2020 at 10:31 AM, Chaos Theory said:

i think the Harris/Darlene relationship is the same vein.  Harris wants her own life but Darlene wants those last few months with her daughter before she does go off and becomes an adult.   

Darlene should have thought about that all those times when she slept over at Ben's and David's and Dan had to take care of her kids at night and get them off to school in the morning.  Harris even commented on how she was never home.  Maybe they could have discussed college hopes and dreams then.

Edited February 14, 2020 by ItCouldBeWorse