S07.E17: Beef Baloney Dan and a Sarcastic No

[jewel21]

Quote

Bonnie suspects that Adam’s sponsor has an ulterior motive. And Christy is caught in the middle when Tammy plays hard to get with Chef Rudy.

Airdate: 03/05/2020

[funky-rat]

Ugh.  With very few exceptions, your sponsor CAN NOT be the opposite sex......

[Guest]

I didn’t love this episode. Relationship manipulation just doesn’t entertain me so could have done without Tammy and Rudy’s story. I actually wish Rudy had been serious when he got pissed at Tammy for putting him through hell. I like both characters but I just can’t get invested in an obvious train wreck of a relationship. 

I also can’t stand the phrase “I trust you it’s her I don’t trust” so I really hate that Bonnie ended up being right. 

1 hour ago, funky-rat said:

Ugh.  With very few exceptions, your sponsor CAN NOT be the opposite sex......

But isn’t that just a guideline rather than enforced rule. 

[Agent 817]

1 hour ago, Dani said:

I didn’t love this episode. Relationship manipulation just doesn’t entertain me so could have done without Tammy and Rudy’s story. I actually wish Rudy had been serious when he got pissed at Tammy for putting him through hell. I like both characters but I just can’t get invested in an obvious train wreck of a relationship. 

I also can’t stand the phrase “I trust you it’s her I don’t trust” so I really hate that Bonnie ended up being right. 

But isn’t that just a guideline rather than enforced rule. 

While I found that part funny, I was actually hoping that there was some development in Rudy's character. He has been shown to be arrogant and conniving, so at first I thought that this was a way to give some more insight into his character. But no, it didn't turn out that way. Like I said, when he went back into the kitchen, I found that part to be funny.

[Harvey]

Bonnie giving Adam her phone only for him to give it back instantly was so weird and funny🤣.

Edited March 8, 2020 by Harvey

[SmithW6079]

A meaty Bonnie story and a Christy is an idiot story. It's a twofer tonight.

Is the "sponsors can't be of the opposite sex" because of potential attraction? How very heterosexist. Does Al-Anon have sponsors? Does that mean Sam's husband is the alcoholic?

Bonnie was acting like an immature middle school girl.

Edited March 6, 2020 by SmithW6079

[jewel21]

At least we got a Roscoe mention. I was shocked to hear his name. And he keeps in touch with Christie, even if just through a text.

[roughing it]

3 hours ago, jewel21 said:

At least we got a Roscoe mention. I was shocked to hear his name. And he keeps in touch with Christie, even if just through a text.

And he got an A in English!

[bichonblitz]

I don't like vulnerable Chef Rudy. I like snarky, condescending Chef Rudy much better. Seeing him lovesick over Tammy doesn't ring true to his character. 

Adam was awesome this episode, he had alot of funny lines. 

Edited March 6, 2020 by bichonblitz

[DXD526]

Yaay, a Roscoe mention! And he's doing well in school! That's all us fans want, just an occasional mention so we know he's keeping in touch with his mom. 

Even if his mom is an idiot. Her behavior in this episode was just brainless, and excruciating to watch. 

I hated that Bonnie was right. It would have been bad enough if Sam were single and hitting on Adam, but the fact that she's married, too? And Bonnie gets to feel all self-righteous after she acted like a twit. Boo. 

Not a real strong episode. I miss Jill and Wendy and Marjorie when they're barely there.

[12catcrazy]

10 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

A meaty Bonnie story and a Christy is an idiot story. It's a twofer tonight.

Is the "sponsors can't be of the opposite sex" because of potential attraction? How very heterosexist. Does Al-Anon have sponsors? Does that mean Sam's husband is the alcoholic?

Bonnie was acting like an immature middle school girl.

Yep - more Christy is an idiot.   So a few episodes ago we have her trolling a hospital to find her soulmate after exchanging what she thought was a meaningful look.  So tonight, she is actually in a room with a handsome guy who offers her a seat next to him and she acts like a moron who has no social skills at all.   Wow, they have really managed to trash this young woman who had been getting her life together, working hard, and getting into law school.   Now she acts like such an idiot it's like she's too stupid to live.  Sheesh. 

Bonnie and Adam - well all sorts of Bonnie crazy there but I've seen people act that insecure in real life (and they're usually much, much, much, younger) and it set Adam up for some good lines and Bonnie turned out to be right about it in the end.   The actress who played Adam's sponsor was gorgeous - you could see why Bonnie felt insecure.  

Chef Rudy and Tammy - all sorts of crazy there (but funny because the actors are so great).   The relationship game playing was cringe-worthy but I guess a goof on what people really do (yuck).   We'll see where that level of dysfunctional relationship goes.  

[eel21788]

11 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

Does Al-Anon have sponsors? Does that mean Sam's husband is the alcoholic?

Could be a parent, uncle, child, sibling, cousin, friend, etc. It doesn't necessarily have to be a spouse. Also, she could be there just to hook up with vulnerable men.

[mammaM]

7 hours ago, jewel21 said:

At least we got a Roscoe mention. I was shocked to hear his name. And he keeps in touch with Christie, even if just through a text.

OMG!!!!!! Roscoe!!!!! I can't believe it, the writers remembered him! And he got an A in english!

[Harvey]

Slightly random but I am someone who is currently going through the same thing Tammy had to endure in this episode. A guy is ghosting me just waiting for me to push harder to be with him. So I try not to care as much as possible and just distract myself with other things. He will not win! 

[nodorothyparker]

Not one of their stronger episodes.  I guess it makes sense that Bonnie's been such a tire fire most of her life and being such a neophyte at "normal" relationships that she'd be that jealous and insecure, but that doesn't make it fun to watch. It consistently brings out a hard ugly edge to her character.  And that she turned out to be right in the end didn't make it any better.  It's such a worn trope that if another woman is introduced she must be after your husband or boyfriend that I was hoping they'd do something more interesting with it.

As much as I've enjoyed both characters individually, I still think the Tammy-Rudy pairing feels really forced like it's only happening because of the actors' previous history on 3rd Rock from the Sun.  Rudy suddenly becoming needy and vulnerable was unsettling, and not in a good kind of unsettling.

We get it.  Christy's been a trainwreck with men in the past and now that she's relatively stable doesn't seem to have any idea how to have normal interactions with them.  There's only so many variations they can do on that and I think they've done them all.

[eyesopen]

1 hour ago, 12catcrazy said:

Yep - more Christy is an idiot.   So a few episodes ago we have her trolling a hospital to find her soulmate after exchanging what she thought was a meaningful look.  So tonight, she is actually in a room with a handsome guy who offers her a seat next to him and she acts like a moron who has no social skills at all.   Wow, they have really managed to trash this young woman who had been getting her life together, working hard, and getting into law school.   Now she acts like such an idiot it's like she's too stupid to live.  Sheesh. 

 

I forgot christy's story from the episode even though it was only last night I watched it but thanks to your summary I now remember it!  Thanks, catcrazy

It's really sad the Christy character is so bad right now.  The writers don't know what to do with her and she's a main character.  Come on, dummies writers, care about the character christy and give her real, decent storylines because I don't know she's a main character.  You're turning off viewers that way.

I did like the fact that Christy's social moronness set up that hilarious line from Jill, how did she ever get married? Lol

Adam's sponsor-I know that actor.  What the heck happened to Courtney Thorne-Smith?  Ok, I haven't paid attention to her after Ally McBeal, but that is dramatic plastic surgery to stay viable Hollywood actor attractive, SMH.  But that said, I like and admire the actor and her work, when she was naturally pretty and now when she seems plastic surgery pretty.
 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Yep - more Christy is an idiot.   So a few episodes ago we have her trolling a hospital to find her soulmate after exchanging what she thought was a meaningful look.  So tonight, she is actually in a room with a handsome guy who offers her a seat next to him and she acts like a moron who has no social skills at all.   Wow, they have really managed to trash this young woman who had been getting her life together, working hard, and getting into law school.   Now she acts like such an idiot it's like she's too stupid to live.  Sheesh. 

Just, ditto. I admit I laughed at the way she was treating that guy but at the same time her character has just gotten so pathetic. I know I'm beating a dead horse but she's the Alan Harper of Mom. 

Maybe the show runners have been trolling our forums, they actually acknowledged the existence of Roscoe. 

[ch1]

I’m just annoyed by the writing for Christy.  It’s not like we’ve never seen her in a relationship so this brainless act around guys is just lazy.

 

[MissLucas]

15 minutes ago, eyesopen said:

 What the heck happened to Courtney Thorne-Smith?  Ok, I haven't paid attention to her after Ally McBeal, but that is dramatic plastic surgery to stay viable Hollywood actor attractive, SMH.  But that said, I like and admire the actor and her work, when she was naturally pretty and now when she seems plastic surgery pretty.
 

She did not look like that during 'Life According to Jim' and 'Two and a Half Men'. I wasn't even sure it was her when she first showed up. But I loved her Bonnie impression after Adam had given her the right notes LOL!

Christy's striped shirt was great but otherwise her plot was really bad - as was Tammy's. Ladies you're in your (generously counted) 30's and not teens, stop playing stupid games.

Adam got MVP - I love how William Fichtner plays his quiet acceptance of the crazy around him be it Bonnie, Christy or in this episode Tammy.

[Amazee-Dayzee]

I wanna know what the hell Allison Faris did to piss of Chuck Lorre because this is getting so ridiculous. It literally is painful for me to watch the show and how they are portraying Christy. Hey writers, if you are trolling the forums than for the love of God PLEASE stop making Christy a complete and total asshat.

I suppose I should be glad that whatever she did wasn't as bad as what Charlie Sheen did or she would be killed off and everybody showing up at her funeral would be insulting her with only Bonnie and maybe Marjorie caring. Then when the show gets to its series finale she didn't die after and they get it wrong only to have some heavy object dropped on her.

Edited March 6, 2020 by Amazee-Dayzee

[msrachelj]

On 3/6/2020 at 3:14 PM, eyesopen said:

I forgot christy's story from the episode even though it was only last night I watched it but thanks to your summary I now remember it!  Thanks, catcrazy

It's really sad the Christy character is so bad right now.  The writers don't know what to do with her and she's a main character.  Come on, dummies writers, care about the character christy and give her real, decent storylines because I don't know she's a main character.  You're turning off viewers that way.

I did like the fact that Christy's social moronness set up that hilarious line from Jill, how did she ever get married? Lol

Adam's sponsor-I know that actor.  What the heck happened to Courtney Thorne-Smith?  Ok, I haven't paid attention to her after Ally McBeal, but that is dramatic plastic surgery to stay viable Hollywood actor attractive, SMH.  But that said, I like and admire the actor and her work, when she was naturally pretty and now when she seems plastic surgery pretty.
 

Yep, she has a LOT of plastic surgery! I only saw her on that show with Jim Belushi and hated her. Did they kill her off, I remember? Well, good choice. It really is disgusting how we we treat aging women as far as their looks go. So you have these Hollywood women who go under the knife and come out like fake plastic dolls. 

[Amazee-Dayzee]

Just wanted to point out now that I was finally able to settle down and watch the episode that the name of it is "Beef Baloney Dan and a Sarcastic No". I'm not sure where the "Hot Zone" came from. I just wanted to bring it up.

Not sure if this part was intentional, but it's supposed to be "Bologna" if it's the meat. "Baloney" is when you are telling a lie or being secretive.

Crap! Now that I pointed it out Lorre is gonna probably take it out on Christy again!

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Amazee-Dayzee said:

 

Just wanted to point out now that I was finally able to settle down and watch the episode that the name of it is "Beef Baloney Dan and a Sarcastic No". I'm not sure where the "Hot Zone" came from. I just wanted to bring it up.

 

It’s the title CBS used when they put out the first promo. They changed it a day or two before the episode aired. 

[jewel21]

This is the third time this season that CBS has changed its episode titles for Mom. It's getting annoying and confusing. Two sites are giving me 'sarcastic no' and two other sites are giving me 'hot zone.'

[BookThief]

On 3/6/2020 at 2:36 PM, Harvey said:

Slightly random but I am someone who is currently going through the same thing Tammy had to endure in this episode. A guy is ghosting me just waiting for me to push harder to be with him. So I try not to care as much as possible and just distract myself with other things. He will not win! 

I hope you DTMFA. He sounds awful. Why would anyone want to be with someone who can't just be honest that they like you and/or puts the onus of the relationship on you? Nope on out of there.

21 hours ago, jewel21 said:

This is the third time this season that CBS has changed its episode titles for Mom. It's getting annoying and confusing. Two sites are giving me 'sarcastic no' and two other sites are giving me 'hot zone.'

Do you think they changed it because of the Coronavirus? "Hot Zone" may have sounded alarming at the time or something.

And seriously, why are they being so terrible to Christy? There are plenty of non-relationship story lines for her, like her internship or school or her kids, or Marie Kondo-ing the apartment, or watching TV, or reading a book. Literally anything else would be less painful than her current story lines.

[funky-rat]

On 3/5/2020 at 10:46 PM, Dani said:

But isn’t that just a guideline rather than enforced rule. 

While technically nothing can stop you from choosing a sponsor of the opposite sex, it is STRONGLY not advised in conference approved literature, guide books, the service manual, etc.  The exceptions that WSO provides for are for LGBTQ members, those who were abused/harmed in certain situations and don't feel comfortable, and similar things.

There are many reasons why it's not recommended.  Sometimes people are just there trolling for vulnerable people (as someone else mentioned) and their motives aren't "pure".  Sometimes vulnerable people will become too emotionally involved and the sponsor/sponsee relationship can go sideways or become unbalanced.  If you truly work the steps, you will need to discuss things with your sponsor that can be embarrassing, extremely personal, etc, and I wouldn't have wanted to do some of my steps (currently on step 8 - not gonna lie, 8 and 9 scare me - more than 4 did) with a man.   I have a fantastic sponsor who I just love.  I can talk to her about pretty much anything and I have no fear of judgement. 

We have an awesome man in our group who is very eloquent, and a woman in our group who needs a sponsor and is struggling to connect with someone.  She wanted to ask him, until she started reading her literature, and looking at the steps, and decided better of it.

On 3/6/2020 at 2:28 AM, SmithW6079 said:

Is the "sponsors can't be of the opposite sex" because of potential attraction? How very heterosexist. Does Al-Anon have sponsors? Does that mean Sam's husband is the alcoholic?

Absolutely not heterosexist at all.  I mentioned there are a few exceptions in my post, LGBTQ members being one.  I mentioned some of the reasons it's not recommended above.  Having attraction happens - I know some people now married because they met in recovery meetings.  But as someone working the 12 steps, I wouldn't want to do them with someone of the opposite sex - hard to explain. 

And Al-Anon is for many people - not just spouses.  We open our meeting with "The only qualification for membership is that you are a family member of friend of an alcoholic".  That's opens it up to pretty much anyone. 

The sponsor/sponsee relationship can be complex, and sometimes, you grow apart, or you don't have the same goals, or you just don't connect.  My sponsor told me she has sponsored a number of people over the years, and they all tend to crap out around Step 3.  I'm the only one who completed Step 4, and kept going.  I met her through service, and I also like that I can use her as a service sponsor as well.  I've been frustrated with our current service board, and she's been valuable in helping me work my way through it, decide where I want to go next with service, etc.

On 3/6/2020 at 2:23 PM, eel21788 said:

Could be a parent, uncle, child, sibling, cousin, friend, etc. It doesn't necessarily have to be a spouse. Also, she could be there just to hook up with vulnerable men.

Correct.  Anyone who is affected by the drinking of another person is welcome.

I love that they're talking about Al-Anon and have Adam regularly attending meetings, but I wish they'd stick closer to WSO guidelines.  Our numbers are slowly dwindling, and I think it gives people the wrong impression.

[roughing it]

On 3/6/2020 at 1:16 PM, iMonrey said:

I know I'm beating a dead horse but she's the Alan Harper of Mom.

The Chuck Lorre sitcom model.  Pretty soon she'll be running around in granny panties (if she hasn't already).

On 3/6/2020 at 1:38 PM, MissLucas said:

Christy's striped shirt was great but otherwise her plot was really bad - as was Tammy's. Ladies you're in your (generously counted) 30's and not teens, stop playing stupid games.

Actually, (generously counted) 40s is more like it.

On 3/6/2020 at 1:44 PM, Amazee-Dayzee said:

I wanna know what the hell Allison Faris did to piss of Chuck Lorre because this is getting so ridiculous.

It's Anna Faris, and yes, it's ridiculous

[AnimeMania]

On 3/8/2020 at 5:00 PM, Amazee-Dayzee said:

Not sure if this part was intentional, but it's supposed to be "Bologna" if it's the meat. "Baloney" is when you are telling a lie or being secretive.

Since it is a name that was only ever spoken, I think making sure they conveyed the pronunciation correctly was the first priority.

[kwnyc]

Quote

I also can’t stand the phrase “I trust you it’s her I don’t trust” so I really hate that Bonnie ended up being right. 

Bonnie has excellent instincts when someone is messing around with her family, Like Aunt Cookie with Tammy, and she instantly knew Adam's sponsor was on the make for him.
 

 

[eel21788]

On 3/15/2020 at 8:24 PM, kwnyc said:

Bonnie has excellent instincts when someone is messing around with her family, Like Aunt Cookie with Tammy, and she instantly knew Adam's sponsor was on the make for him.
 

 

If she hadn't been eyeing him, Bonnie still would have been over the top crazy about him talking to another woman. That's just who she is.

[Guest]

On 3/15/2020 at 7:24 PM, kwnyc said:

Quote

I also can’t stand the phrase “I trust you it’s her I don’t trust” so I really hate that Bonnie ended up being right. 

Bonnie has excellent instincts when someone is messing around with her family, Like Aunt Cookie with Tammy, and she instantly knew Adam's sponsor was on the make for him.
 

But if Bonnie truly trusted Adam nothing else would matter. If they changed the ended and used it to show Bonnie that she should trust Adam regardless of the intentions of other women I would hav been okay with it.

I actually don’t think that Bonnie has great instincts but that she is just very cynical by nature. She reacted negatively to Sam just looking at her from a distance. A better episode would have used this as an opportunity for growth rather than reinforcing Bonnie’s cynicism.